Midnight.
Heavy snow battered the earth in thick waves, smothering the ground in silence. But silence did not reach the interior of the facility.
Alarms blared.
Gunships hovered above the tree line, floodlights cutting through the storm. Soldiers scrambled across the snowy perimeter, their advanced rifles drawn and scanning every flicker of movement. Anti-air turrets rotated with eerie precision. A full lockdown was in place.
Inside the command building, Narad stood like a storm himself—rigid, burning with restrained fury.
Behind him, Bhanu, Sara, and Vasu stood silently. Vasu's left shoulder was bandaged—his arm gone, freshly lost in battle.
Narad's voice cut through the silence like a blade.
"How the hell did this happen?"
The air was dense, suffocating.
"WILL SOMEONE TALK?!"
His shout cracked the tension in the room. Vasu stepped forward, gritting his teeth as pain twisted through his side. His remaining hand clenched at his hip.
"It started while I was training in the woods."
He paused, his jaw tightening.
"I noticed someone. Om—he was sprinting through the forest like his life depended on it. But… he wasn't running from anything, not at first. He looked focused, unaware. He didn't even realize he was being followed."
Narad raised an eyebrow. "Followed?"
Vasu nodded grimly.
"There were around twenty people trailing him. Silent. Efficient. Like assassins. All armed."
"So I warned Om telepathically."
Narad leaned forward. "And then?"
Vasu's eyes darkened.
"Then… he appeared."
The room grew quiet.
"A man. Or something like a man. I tried to intercept him. But he… he wasn't like the others."
Vasu's voice trembled—not from fear, but from humiliation.
"I attacked first. I went all in—flames, bursts, close-range combat. Nothing worked. He didn't even dodge. My strongest moves—ignored like a breeze."
He lowered his head.
"He watched me. Cold. Detached. Like I was beneath notice."
Sara's eyes narrowed. "He countered you?"
"No. Worse. He let me exhaust myself."
Vasu's breath hitched.
"Then, without a word, he reached out. And before I could react, he... he took my arm."
"It wasn't even a fight. It was a statement."
Narad stepped toward him. "Did he say anything?"
Vasu nodded, his face twitching with frustration.
"He called me weak… and said this was a punishment for challenging fate."
Narad punched the wall with such force that cracks split the steel.
"At least you're alive."
The silence returned, bitter and suffocating.
Then Vasu added in a rasping voice.
"Boss, I think… he knew who I was. That I'm your 'left hand.' That's why he took my left arm. It wasn't random. He wanted to send you a message."
Narad's eyes narrowed, filled with cold fire.
"Hurting my people just to send a message? Bastards."
Sara interjected.
"They didn't kill Om. And they didn't kill Vasu. Meaning this wasn't a clean assassination."
"It was psychological warfare."
Narad turned to Bhanu. "You reached Om. What did you see?"
Bhanu stepped forward, voice grave.
"When I arrived, Om was unconscious. Barely breathing. His body—battered beyond belief. It was a miracle he was still alive."
Sara looked down, fists clenched.
"I rushed him back to the facility," Bhanu continued. "But I returned to the site afterward."
He took a deep breath.
"The battlefield was like a cratered hellscape."
"Multiple impact zones, as if meteors had struck. Trees weren't burned—they were disintegrated. There were swirling scorch marks… unnatural, almost ritualistic in shape."
Narad's frown deepened.
"What about the enemy?"
Bhanu nodded.
"Blood trails, footsteps. At least 15 to 20 people were involved. Based on their footprints and residue, I'd say each one was Rathi-level or above."
Sara's expression tightened. "Om fought them alone?"
Bhanu's voice dropped.
"Yes. And he killed two. Several others were seriously wounded."
Vasu blinked in disbelief. "He killed two Rathi… and survived that?"
"He didn't survive," Bhanu corrected. "He endured."
The room fell into stunned silence. Om's broken body flashed in each of their minds. The impossible odds. The brutality. The pain.
Then Narad muttered, almost to himself.
"So many enemies. They had him cornered. Why didn't they finish the job?"
Vasu echoed the sentiment. "Leaving him alive was a mistake. They had the chance."
Bhanu suddenly spoke again, slower this time.
"They took something."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Om's earring. 'Zero'. It's gone."
Sara's mouth fell slightly open.
Narad sat down heavily in his chair.
His face turned pale as realization hit.
"So their target wasn't Om."
"It was Zero."
Bhanu added, "They disabled every trace. I checked. "
Narad whispered, "They planned this."
Sara's voice turned cold.
"This wasn't an assassination."
Vasu spoke cautiously. "They moved too smoothly. Too well-organized. I recognized one of the attack formations… I've seen it once before."
"In a classified W.I.A. threat report. Used by the League of Evil."
The name landed like a hammer in the room.
Silence. Heavier than before.
Sara broke it.
"But why here? Why target a broken Inheritor in a failing nation?"
Narad answered grimly.
"Because the 'broken Inheritor' had something unique."
"Zero isn't just an AI. It's an ancient relic. No other even comes close to its value."
Bhanu added, "And they didn't just want to steal it—they wanted to test it."
Sara turned toward Narad.
"Then this wasn't just League of Devil."
"They had help. From someone who knew about Zero."
Narad didn't blink.
"Arnold."
The name came out like poison.
" About the ring. He knew."
Bhanu frowned. "But Arnold leads W.I.A."
Narad's eyes glinted with fury.
"W.I.A. isn't clean. Not anymore."
He stood, eyes blazing.
"This was an alliance. Arnold's betrayal and the League's execution."
"And their message was clear."
He looked around the room. Each of them stood straighter under his gaze.
"He knows we don't have strength to oppose him, Vasu's hand was taken as a warning to us."