Year 129 (Second Paradigm) [The Present]

A pitch-black environment surrounds a humanoid figure, while the figure is definitely human, the appearance of the human is not clear due to the darkness enveloping the figure. The darkness like a veil affected by the wind moves shakily. While the darkness keeps moving around the body a faint sound is heard; the sound resembles a chord from a harp. The darkness starts moving faster and the sounds starts reverberating loudly. A faint whisper is then heard, it was faint but the words were clear; "Atharv".

A white light explodes consuming the darkness and the humanoid figure and the sound of a mechanical wheel whirring starts to resonate. A flurry of images pass by; the image of a shadow of a woman with long black hair on her knees bleeding to death with three swords stabbed through her body;

an image of a bloody hand with red glistening nerve-like markings;

an image of a dirty and abandoned lab with a yellow signboard on top;

an image of a headless figure sitting on a saloon chair;

the image of a seashore which looks like ice and white-sand with waves crashing against the land;

a final image of a man sitting in a dilapidated storage house on the floor with bodies of dead men and women around him and a body of a dead woman in his arms. As the flurry of images came to a halt the sound of the mechanical wheel whirring also ends and the faint whisper is heard again, "Atharv"

The faint whispers gradually getting louder take the form of the voice of the woman. Then a young boy about eighteen-nineteen years of age with short brown-black hair and a clean shave with dark brown eyes comes back to his senses and looks at the young girl who is about his age calling his name and staring at him with morose eyes. The boy is standing outside a room, leaning against the wall.

"Atharv, are you okay? You were zoned out.", a young girl of about eighteen years of age asks curiously with a look of concern.

Atharv, rubbing his eyes, " What happened inside Yasu? Will they be taking the complaint to the police?"

"Ahh, they said that they will think about it. As of now they have reprimanded him and have taken away the benefits he enjoys as a first-tier.", Yasu replies timidly.

"What's there to think about? Isn't it obvious that they need to take action?", Atharv remarks aggressively.

"Let it be Atharv, it was just a one-time incident. Let it go."

"A one-time incident Yasu! What the hell is wrong with you? He misbehaved with you and not just you, he has been causing trouble for countless people. If you can't be your own voice then I will."

Atharv walks past Yasu to enter the room, Yasu holds his hand but he frees himself without hurting her and enters the room. He then heads over straight to a cabin. The cabin was closed with a nameplate hanging which read 'Melvin Dsouza'. He knocks on the door and is permitted to come in.

"Hello Atharv, what are you still doing in college?", Mr. Melvin interrogates.

"Sir, I want to talk about the issue that Yasu brought to you right now."

Mr. Melvin doesn't raise his head up just keeps going through the papers on his desk, signing them occasionally, "I think I have already had this discussion with Yasu."

"There was no discussion; you just outright told her you can't help her.", Atharv remarks in a crude tone.

"I guess I can't", Mister Melvin calmly replies still going through the papers.

"What kind of a teacher are you? I guess it's better this way now I can do what I want.", Atharv starts getting up.

Mr. Melvin sighs and then asserts, "Atharv wait." He stops working and opens his spectacle and keeps them on his desk. "Do you think I approve of this behavior? Obviously, I don't but I'm helpless. This is Vijay we are talking about, he's in the medical department and one of the best students they have. We've raised a complaint to their department and administrative action will be taken. That's all we can do for now."

"But why? He's just a student of this college like us.", Atharv questions him back.

"Nobody looks at the world like you do Atharv, which if I have to describe is juvenile at best. After the civil war ended there was a time where there were literally no doctors left to treat us. We're trying to rebuild society here and we need people like Vijay. Therefore the system puts students like Vijay on a higher pedestal in society than you and me." Mister Melvin tries to explain.

"But even if he's at the top of the hierarchy that doesn't give him the right to behave like that."

Mister Melvin now slightly raising his voice replies, "Says who? And who are you to tell him that? Atharv you at most will be in the fifth or sixth tier when you graduate that also if you make it to the big leagues, which is highly improbable realistically. I don't mean to pull a rank on you but even I rank higher than you.

"Don't act like a fool who's new to this world. Necessity always takes priority over altruistic ideals. This is how it's always been, if you want to beat him then first reach his level. He's reached that high pedestal on his own merit why don't you do the same and then teach him a lesson on ethics. This is something for the people at the top to deal with and they'll do so in their own way. It's not like we're not taking action and you're no one to guide us on the severity of the punishment."

"So to tell him that he's wrong I have to become a doctor?", Atharv asks in an irritated tone.

"Or a Technological researcher, or an Administrative office, or a ....", Mister Melvin remarks sarcastically.

"Do you know how stupid you sound.", Atharv replies rudely.

Mr. Melvin now slightly losing his temper, speaks in a stern voice, "See Atharv, I'm fond of you, you're a good boy. I can understand the anger comes from a good place but you need to accept reality. The world was never fair and that won't change. Just because you think like that doesn't make it right. We need people to bring back our lost technology, we need people to find cure for diseases and bring back our pride as fellow humans. That is what we urgently need. At least Vijay is contributing towards rebuilding society. We need to take these things into consideration also."

"I guess there is not much ordinary people can do against the gifted.", Atharv remarks softly.

"I'm sorry for that but I've had enough of your ideals for one day, sorry but I can't help you. Our job here is done.", Mister Melvin replies and then gets back to his papers.

Atharv sits there surprised at his reaction, he then gets up and leaves. He finds Yasu waiting for him. He disappointed with himself just walks past her. Yasu at once understood that he couldn't get the results he wanted. Both of them silently start walking towards the exit corridor. As they're passing by the stairs they see Vijay standing there with a couple of friends. Yasu puts her head down and walks away trying to hide but Atharv suddenly just froze, he clenched his fists and tried to make up his mind to confront Vijay, but he was afraid. He was indecisive; he kept procrastinating but didn't dare to take action. Hundreds of simulations started running in his head with different outcomes. Leaving him confused on which to choose. While imagining every simulation, he also felt fear. The fear of what would happen, the fear of uncertainty. The fear that he might lose, the fear that he might get beaten up, the fear of suspension, his parents, the fear for Yasu. This trance was broken when Yasu pulled him and they both walked towards the exit ignoring Vijay.

Just before they reached the exit, Atharv stops and turns to Yasu.

"Don't tell Om about anything that happened today. You know how short-tempered he is."

"I know, don't worry. I won't tell big brother", Yasu replies with a sweet smile.

Atharv remorsefully speaks, "I'm sorry Yasu, I was absolutely useless."

Yasu smiles and hugs him they then head towards the exit gate.

This gesture annoys Atharv even more as it was Yasu who needed comforting. Irritated with himself he thought how it was possible that he made everything about himself.

***

Inside a small establishment at the outskirts of a downtrodden town. A tall dark man holds a much smaller man against the wall by his collar while another companion of the attacker is standing next to him sneering at the man who is being harassed.

The tall dark man who was clearly a roughian speaks authoritatively, "Did you think of us as idiots, we want our money back!"

The man who is being put against the wall tries consoling him, "Listen brother I explained the process to you, since the weather conditions have been bad it will take slightly more time for the boats to return."

" We don't care, in-fact give us double of what we invested.", The roughian's companion adds, who is just as tall as him.

"Double!!", the man put against the wall exclaims.

The roughian's companion threatens, "Are you saying you won't", He punches the man who was put up against the wall in the gut.

The man against the wall whose name was Dev looked visibly hurt, he catches his breath and replies, "You're absolutely not making sense."

"Did you think that we would wait nicely as you use our money? We were as it is going to take away your shipment once it was back. Now since the shipment isn't back give us double of what we invested." The roughian explains as laughs maniacally.

" No, in fact, give us all the money you have.", the companion sneers.

"See mister you're new here and you're getting really greedy there now.", Dev cautions them.

One of the men punches him again in the face causing his nose to bleed while the other man draws a big knife

Dev looking a little alarmed seeing the knife, speaks casually, "Hey Charun I think I need your help." Looking at the man sitting at the next table.

No response comes back.

the roughian snarkily remarks, "Oh so you have a partner then I guess we don't need to toy with you, we can straight up kill you without much trouble."

Dev looking over to Charun, "Charun!! They're not kidding, they're pretty serious".

Charun doesn't say anything just lazily puts up his right hand and makes a symbol of a gun with his fingers

The Roughians laugh.

"Looks like he's given up on you also.", one of the assaulters speaks.

"Charun why do you always have to be that way!", Dev exclaims.

An orange light begins to flicker at the tip of Charun's index number.

"Don't worry, after we kill you, we'll get him for you", the roughian pulls his hand back to stab him.

Dev sighs as he is about to get stabbed, with an expression of boredom and worry on his face.

An orange color small sphere starts forming on the tip of Charun's index finger.

As the man was about to stab Dev, Charun releases the orange-colored sphere from his finger, which whizzes out like an arrow. It hits one of the roughians on the neck, penetrating through the neck it hits the other one on his cheek and passes out from the other end and then makes a hole on the wall. The man who was hit on the neck holds his neck as blood oozes out and falls on the floor while he chokes on his own blood. The other man falls on the floor, struggling like a fish out of the water he screams and screams. Dev with that expression of boredom and scoff in his eyes looks at Charun.

"Show-off!", Dev retorts.

"Why do you put yourself in such a situation", Charun remarks while looking away.

Dev then looks at the man struggling and kicks him in the face with all his strength rendering him unconscious. He then turns to Charun and starts walking towards him carelessly.

"You didn't have to kill them you know" Dev speaks casually.

Everybody in the establishment starts chatting and gossiping. Everyone alarmed that he is a Kusokan. Most of them look at him with disgust and anger. Charun gets up to leave with Dev just then they see a woman standing in front of them with a long nozzle gun pointed at Charun.

Charun acting on his reflexes cuts off the nozzle of the gun with his palm as a warning to the woman. Charun looks at her sternly, telling her to back off. The lady holding the now much smaller gun was shocked along with everyone in the establishment. Regaining her senses she quickly pulls the trigger but as she is about to act on it Charun places his palm on the opening of the now shortened nozzle. His palms which were just human-like a second before start emitting an orange-red light along the periphery. The shinning palm releases a tremendous amount of energy from the other end into the gun causing the bullet to blast out of the closed end of the gun, blowing up in the woman's face. She falls to the ground holding her face as it bleeds, screaming "I can't see! My eyes!"

Charun walks out of the establishment without a care in the world while Dev clicks his tongue and follows looking at the woman with pity.

***

Atharv reaches the proximity of his apartment, it was sometime in the afternoon. After reaching the main gate he spots a group of young boys downstairs smoking 'Synthetic Beedi's (Cigarettes made from tendu leaves). He waves at them as he was passing, joining their conversation. One of the boys offered Atharv a puff to which he humbly Atharv declines, saying "Sorry, I don't smoke".

Story By: Four Eighty One

Art By: Sakshi Chokhani

(The Story, Characters, and Art are all original pieces of work, kindly refrain from using them without permission)

Chapter 4: The Awakening Part 1 releases tomorrow