The air inside the building was a sharp departure from the humid, diesel-soaked atmosphere of the campus. It was chilled, smelling of sterile ozone and something Veer couldn't quite place—a scent that reminded him of his father's old study. Veer stepped inside, the heavy iron door swinging shut behind him with a final, metallic thud that seemed to sever his connection to the noisy college outside.
He didn't find a high-tech reception or a military guard. Instead, he followed a dim hallway that led into a sprawling, cluttered laboratory. It looked less like a government facility and more like a madman's workshop. In the center of it all, hunched over a flickering monitor, was a man Veer recognized instantly. Dr. Khurana.
Khurana had been his father's closest friend. When Veer was younger, the doctor had been the "Uncle" who brought him strange puzzles and spoke of the stars. Since the murder, Khurana had stayed in the shadows, distant and guarded. Seeing him now, surrounded by equipment that looked decades ahead of anything in the college, sent a jolt of realization through Veer.
"Veer?" Khurana turned, his eyes widening behind thick glasses. He stood up quickly, his lab coat fluttering. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't have come to this part of the campus. It's restricted. It's dangerous."
Veer didn't back down. He walked further into the room, his eyes darting to the massive, black metallic cylinder hummimg in the corner. "I found the flyer, Uncle. In my father's old ledgers. Why did you never tell me he was working with the MHA? Why did you never tell me what he was really researching?"
Khurana's face paled. He moved toward Veer, his hands raised in a placating gesture. "Because your father wanted you to have a life, Veer! A normal life. He didn't want you near the portals or the Association. He knew the cost of Titan better than anyone. He died trying to keep this world away from you."
"A normal life?" Veer's voice rose, the "I am the best" ego cracking to reveal the raw desperation underneath. "I'm an eighteen-year-old failure with a three-crore debt on my head! Black SUVs are parked outside our house every night! My mother is handing me her grocery money so I can buy a math book I'll never understand! Is that the life he wanted for me?"
Khurana looked pained. He reached out, grabbing Veer's shoulders. "Listen to me. Titan isn't a game. It's a death trap. The MHA sends 'Yoddhas' there, yes, but for every one that survives, ten are lost to the atmosphere or the creatures. Your father's research was about protecting people from that place, not sending them into it. Go home, Veer. Forget you saw this lab. I'll find a way to help your mother with the interest payments. Just stay away from the recruitment."
"I don't want a handout, Uncle," Veer hissed, pulling away. "I want a way out."
While Khurana was distracted by a sudden alarm on his console, Veer's eyes landed on a stray tablet lying on a nearby workbench. It was unlocked. His fingers moved instinctively, scrolling through encrypted files that bore his father's digital signature.
As he read, the "Lanth" persona began to dissolve. He wasn't looking at math formulas; he was looking at biological synchronization charts. He saw his own name. A project titled 'The Inheritor.' His father hadn't just been researching Titan; he had been preparing Veer for it. The data suggested that Veer's genetic markers weren't just compatible—they were a perfect match for the "Black Crystal" energy. The tablet showed a map of the college, highlighting a secret entrance to the MHA screening center located right beneath the lab.
"Veer, put that down!" Khurana shouted, noticing the tablet.
But it was too late. Veer had already seen the truth. His father hadn't been trying to keep him away because Veer was weak; he had been trying to keep him away because Veer was the most valuable asset the Association could ever find.
"You lied to me," Veer said, his voice cold and terrifyingly calm. "You told me he died for a business rivalry. He died for this."
"He died to save your soul, Veer!" Khurana cried out, his voice filled with a fatherly grief. "If the MHA finds out about your synchronization rate, they will never let you go. You will become a tool. A weapon. Please, walk away."
Veer looked at the doctor, the man who had tried to protect him like a second father. He felt a pang of love, but it was overshadowed by the crushing weight of the 1,000 rupees in his pocket and the three-crore debt.
"I'm already a tool, Uncle," Veer whispered. "The creditors are using me. The college is using me. At least on Titan, I might be the one holding the handle."
Before Khurana could stop him, Veer turned and ran toward the back of the lab, toward the hidden elevator his father had mapped out in the files. He wasn't waiting for an invitation anymore. He was going to take what was his.