Ayan's eyes fluttered open.
Pale strands of morning light slipped through the gaps in the curtains, casting faint lines across the floor. The chill of the ground bit into his palms as he pushed himself up, groggy and unsteady. He sat there for a moment, his breath shallow, eyes flicking around the room.
He turned his head slowly, scanning every corner, every shadow. But nothing suspicious caught his attention.
His knees pressed into the cold floor as he shifted his weight.
The way his limbs moved, shaky and unsure, it looked like he might collapse. But he didn't. Instead, he dropped lower, fixing his stance, elbows steadying him as if preparing to crawl through a battlefield.
His gaze locked on the table across the room. The laptop sat there. Silent.
Without thinking, he began to crawl toward it.
A thought crossed his mind.
What was that sound?It felt like... someone just spoke to me.
"No, never mind," he muttered under his breath. "I guess it's just a side effect Mr. Kanisk mentioned."
He crawled to the table.
His fingers gripped the chair leg, and with shaky effort, he pulled himself up. The cold wood pressed against his skin as he leaned on it for support.
He staggered once.
Then again.
His knees buckled, but he forced them to straighten.
Ayan gritted his teeth.
No... Not now. Just move already!
Three unsteady steps carried him forward before he slumped into the chair, breath ragged, heart pounding in his chest.
He opened the laptop's lid. The hinge gave a slow, strained creak. His thumb hovered for a moment, then pressed the power button.
The screen glowed to life. A familiar star-shaped logo pulsed in the dark. Moments later, the home screen appeared.
No hesitation. No pause.
Ayan clicked open the browser. Each keystroke was sluggish, but deliberate.
He typed: [World War III Wikipedia]
His eyes scanned the screen, dry and stinging, as the page loaded.
[World War III]
The heading glared back at him in bold serif font. Below it, lines of text began to scroll down as he flicked his fingers over the trackpad.
[World War II officially ended on January 20, 1946, after the United States successfully tested the world's first nuclear bomb, codenamed "Trinity-Gadget," on August 12, 1945, at Sandy Island, approximately 770 km from the Australian coast. Initially, the United States had planned to deploy the bomb on Japan, but Japan surrendered before such action was necessary. Following Japan's surrender, most participating nations laid down arms, and by January 20, 1946, a global peace treaty had been signed by the United States, the British military, and other major world powers.]
A tight breath escaped him.
[However, the classified information regarding the nuclear bomb was eventually leaked. This revelation sparked a global arms race, as multiple countries began developing nuclear weapons after witnessing its catastrophic power.]
[British India gained independence from British colonial rule on September 18, 1945, through the unity and leadership of prominent figures, and became a new nation, Indrath. After contributing to the development of post-independence Indrath, each of these leaders eventually passed away.]
Scroll.
[Indrath's nuclear program was halted in 1974 due to a lack of funding and inadequate infrastructure for uranium refinement, as the country prioritized national development. However, in 1978, after a new prime minister was elected, Indrath resumed its weapons research. By 1980, Indrath publicly announced the development of a new type of weapon named the Radio Wave Plasma Bomb.]
[From 1980 to 1991, Indrath maintained a policy of silence and peace, refraining from any tests or demonstrations of the Plasma Bomb. However, chaos soon spread globally. Despite Indrath's non-aggressive stance, terrorist organizations began to form, claiming divine visions and a religious mandate to obtain power greater than nuclear arms. These groups-initiated data breaches and targeted attacks on Indrath, aiming to steal its advanced technology.]
A cold weight settled in his chest. He rubbed his thumb across the corner of the laptop, breathing slow, steady.
[By late 1991, several of these terrorist organizations had allied with groups across multiple countries. They infiltrated Indrath, instigating a civil war under the guise of religion and prophecy. The first foreign invasion during this period came from Yugoslavia, which, despite its own devastation and prior surrender, sought to obtain the Plasma Bomb to secure dominance.]
Scroll.
[While Indrath had been sharing its Plasma Energy technology with allied nations for peaceful purposes, Yugoslavia attempted to steal it. They collaborated with multiple terrorist groups representing various religious ideologies.]
[In response, and in an act of national self-defense, Indrath launched a retaliatory strike on Yugoslavia and several terrorist strongholds in 1994—during the height of its internal civil war.]
He reached the final segment of the article. His eyes caught a blinking hyperlink at the bottom of the page.
[Click here to see how World War III ended]
He didn't hesitate. His finger moved on instinct and clicked.
The page heading shifted.
[Ending of World War III]
[World War III began when they attempted to invade Indrath and seize its technology. The war escalated as the world split into four factions: the first led by Indrath, the second by Yugoslavia, the third by a coalition of terrorist organizations, and the fourth made up of neutral nations that refused to support any side.]
He shifted slightly. A tingle crawled up his neck as his eyes traced the next line.
[For seven years, the war raged on—an intense mix of military and cyber warfare. During this period, Indrath remained relatively inactive on the global stage. However, in secret, the country was preparing something far more dangerous.]
[Indrath's covert agency, the VIR (Vigilant Intelligence Regiment), was tasked with acquiring all the necessary materials and classified components to activate the Plasma Bomb—an advanced weapon based on radio wave technology.]
[By the second quarter of 2000, the bomb had been fully assembled. Breaking its previous stance of peace, Indrath made the decision to deploy the weapon.]
Ayan dragged two fingers across the touchpad.
The screen shifted, and a new block of text rose from the bottom.
He leaned in, eyes narrowing as the next paragraph appeared.
[Unlike nuclear weapons, the Plasma Bomb caused no explosions or radiation fallout—but its effects were even more devastating. The weapon required no physical launch or detonation mechanism. It remained stationed within Indrath and was remotely controlled during its first and only use.]
[This weapon could be programmed to target specific species or even genetic sequences. And this was the first—and last—time it was used on the human population.]
[At the beginning of the year 2000, the global population stood at approximately 6.1 billion. After the Plasma Bomb's activation, that number dropped to 2.6 billion.]