Night had never felt this alive before.
Every light buzzed too loudly. Every shadow seemed to shift when he wasn't looking. Aaryan walked the streets of his colony like a ghost in his own skin — the world around him moved, but not with him.
It was moving around him.
Like he was a bug in the program. And the code — this mysterious, invisible code — was starting to glitch the world to match him.
His phone had stopped working entirely.No battery issue. Just… black screen. Permanently.
And that glowing QR mark on his neck?
Now it pulsed — rhythmically — like a beacon. Like a countdown. Like something was listening.
🧪 Experiment
In his room, Aaryan locked the door, turned off the lights, and stood in front of the mirror.
"Let's test this."
He focused.Breathed.Closed his eyes.Thought of the feeling when the man in the junkyard attacked… that moment of fear… and the collapse of visibility…
And then…
He vanished.
Not entirely.Not like last time.But his outline blurred, face shimmered, and his body faded from one corner to the next — like his presence was being sketched in pencil and half-erased.
He took a step.The floor creaked.But his reflection didn't return.
He was invisible — partially — and voluntarily.
He grinned.
"Okay… not crazy. Just cursed."
🌕 Midnight Glitch
That night, as Aaryan tried to sleep, a strange click echoed from his ceiling.
He sat up, heart thudding.
Click.
Click.
And then… the light fixture began to rotate. Slowly. Mechanically. Even though there was no motor inside it.
It stopped — pointing directly at his bed.
A faint blue light spilled onto his blanket.
And then — a voice came from nowhere.
"You are not alone."
Aaryan leapt out of bed. "Who's there?!"
"You are not the first. Nor will you be the last."
"Find The Observer. He sees what is not meant to be seen."
And then — silence.
The light flickered and died. The fixture returned to normal.
🏃♂️ The Observer
The next morning, Aaryan skipped school.Not because he was scared.
Because he needed answers.
He remembered something from the strange message board — an old user comment that mentioned a man called Observer. A wanderer who lived in the abandoned Sector-11 metro tunnel, where signal died and shadows moved.
No one went there. Ever.
Perfect.
🌫️ Sector-11
The tunnel was dead.
No electricity. No lights. No wind. The deeper Aaryan walked, the heavier the silence became. Not empty silence — active silence, like the air was listening.
Then he saw him.
Sitting on an overturned briefcase, eyes closed, surrounded by hundreds of old analog TV sets — all flickering static.
A man in a long, patched coat. Grey beard. Eyes stitched shut with wires. Literally.
"So," the man said calmly, "You're the new glitch."
Aaryan froze.
"How do you know me?"
"I don't know you. I see you. That's different."
He smiled.
"My name is Kavi. They call me The Observer."
☠️ Truth Drops
Kavi slowly stood, joints creaking. "You've activated the Index Code, haven't you?"
Aaryan said nothing.
Kavi turned to one of the screens. It flickered — and showed Aaryan's room, from last night. The moment the light moved. The voice. The message.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
"These aren't recordings. They're residual echoes. Your code leaves footprints across existence. I see what the world forgets."
Aaryan stepped back. "What am I? Why is this happening to me?!"
Kavi didn't smile this time.
"You've been indexed, Aaryan. You carry a glitch-code inside you. Once it's awakened, the universe tries to rewrite itself to adapt — but sometimes, it fails. And when it fails... The Protocols come for you."
"Protocols?"
"Entities. Guardians. Assassins. Cleaners. Call them what you want. They erase anything the system can't stabilize."
Aaryan whispered, "Like the hooded man... and those two with him…"
Kavi nodded.
💣 Revelation
Kavi took out a shattered mirror piece and held it toward Aaryan.
Aaryan saw his reflection.And behind it — two versions of himself:
A powerful figure, floating mid-air, glowing with symbols, a leader of hidden warriors.
A broken figure, faceless, chained, surrounded by the Protocols.
"Two futures," Kavi murmured. "You must choose. Soon."
"But I don't know what to do!"
"Then you'll be erased like the rest."
🌀 Intrusion
Suddenly, every TV in the tunnel flickered.
Then screamed.
The air turned cold.A siren blared — but only inside their heads.
Kavi gasped. "They found you—"
The ground trembled. The wall cracked.
A figure emerged from the stone.
Not the hooded one.This one was liquid metal. Faceless. Featureless. Radiating code.
Protocol Hunter.
Aaryan instinctively turned — but this time, instead of running, his skin responded.
He vanished.
Not glitchy this time.
Clean. Silent. Perfect invisibility.
Kavi shouted, "Don't stay hidden too long! You'll lose pieces of yourself!"
But Aaryan didn't listen.
⚔️ The Fight
The Hunter charged.
Kavi threw a glass shard at its chest — it passed right through.
Aaryan watched from the side — now in the crack between visibility and void.
He moved. Fast.
His invisible form dodged, phased, jumped over broken wires.
His body felt fluid. Enhanced. The world slowed down. The Hunter tried to track him — but failed.
Aaryan reached out instinctively — and touched the Hunter's neck.
The mark on his arm glowed.
The Hunter froze.Its code stuttered.And then — it collapsed into shards of light.
He reappeared, gasping.
Kavi stared.
"You… used the anti-code signature. That's impossible."
Aaryan shook. "I didn't mean to."
"No one does. Unless the code has accepted you…"
🌒 Final Moments
As they left the tunnel, Kavi spoke one last time:
"You need to find the others. The ones like you. Before the Protocols do."
Aaryan turned.
"Where do I start?"
Kavi pulled out an old key.
"There's a city below the city. A forgotten place. Find the door. Listen to the silence. It speaks louder than screams."
And then — he was gone.
🧬 Chapter Ending…
That night, Aaryan opened his notebook and began to draw — without knowing why.
He drew a symbol.
A circle of three eyes.A doorway made of code.A phrase written in a language he couldn't read.
He didn't know what it meant.
But something inside him did.
And far away, in a room of blinking red lights, a new Protocol opened its eyes and whispered:
"Target: Aaryan. Status: Dangerous."