Warden..? Anurag ne socha. Wo ye chiz pehle kabhi notice nahi kiya tha, par warden hamesha raat ke 12 baje ke baad hi hostel ka chakkar lagata tha. Fir woh apne bed par jakar baith gaya. Woh thodi der chain ki nind sona chahta tha, isliye usne apna phone thodi der ke liye switch off kar diya tha. Uski aankhein lag gayi .
Jyada thakan hone ke wajah se wo pura din sota raha. Uski aankhein shaam Suraj dhalne ke baad khuli. Use apne kamre se bahar nikalne ka man nahi kar tha.
Fir Anurag apne room mein baith kar Broken Gravel ko dekhne laga, jo ab uske table par ek chote se wooden piece ki tarah pada tha. Tabhi achanak se uske darwaze par kisi ne dastak di. Woh utha aur darwaza khola. Samne Tarun khada tha. Tarun ka chehra bilkul safed ho chuka tha, or uske hath mein uska phone tha jisme screen par ek red cross bana hua tha.
Anurag use achanak yahan dekh kar hairan ho gaya. Usne bola,Tarun? Tum yahan kaise? Or tumhare phone ko kya hua hai...
Tarun kamre ke andar aaya or darwaja jhat se band kar diya. Fir wo dhire se bola Anurag... hum mushkil mein hain. Tumne jo midnight app par ek notification daala tha, system ne us notification ko dekh liya hai. Aur jo bhi log tumhara post ko like kar rahe the, un sabhi ke phones freeze ho chuke hain.
Anurag turant apna phone check kiya. Uske sare post delete ho chuke the or wahan sirf ek hi message dikh raha tha:
[The Scarlet Night has been advanced. Due to extreme disrespect from user 09, the event will begin tonight at 1:00 AM instead of next week.]
[Location : The Entire City]
[Objective: Death match]
Kya? Anurag ka dimag sunn ho gaya. Us waqt shaam ke 7:00 baj rahe the. Usne bola iska matlab humare paas jyada waqt nahi hai. Humein jo bhi karna hoga jaldi sochna padega. Tabhi Tarun bola, system ne sare rules ko change kar diya hai. Is baar koi alag jagah nahi hogi. Humara pura shahar is battle ka hissa banne wala hai. Or jo normal log hain...Wo humare liye sabse bada khatra ban sakte hain. Fir wo dono milkar plan banane lage.
Raat ke 9:00 baj rahe the, pure Shahar ka mausam achanak badal gaya. Aasman mein taaron ke jagah kaale badal chha gaye the. News channels par chal raha tha ki ye ek rare astronomical event hai, par Anurag or uske friends ko pata tha ki ye maut ka farman tha.
Anurag, Suraj (user 33) or Aira (user 23) ko apne hostel ke paas ek purane dhaba mein bulaya. Uske sath Tarun bhi tha. Sare friends ek jagah ikattha hue.
Fir Anurag ne bola ki humein plan banana hoga. Tabhi Aira kaanpte hue boli, Mene abhi abhi app par dekha, is shahar mein total 120 users hai. Or system ne un sabhi ko ek hi message bheja hai..' kill user 09 to get instant level 10 upgrade and Immunity for all future tasks.'
Yeh sunte hi Suraj jor se table par hath mara, or bola unhone Anurag ko ek target bana diyaa hai! Ab pure Shahar ke users humare pichhe aayenge.
Anurag ne socha ki ye unka sabse bada daav hai. Lagta hai system ko mujhse dar lag raha hai, isliye wo sabhi users ko mere khilaf bhadkane ki koshish kar raha hai. Lekin hum iska fayda utha sakte hai.
Tarun puchta hai kaise?
Anurag jawab diya ki agar sare users ek hi jagah aayenge, to woh apas mein bhi ladenge aur humein ek aisi jagah jana hoga jahan narrow pathways ho or main apni Broken Gravel or Blood Dagger ka istemal kar sakun. Suraj ne idea diya, The old Temple at the edge of the city. Wahan bade bade pathtar hain. bul bulaiya jaise raste hain, or wahan mobile network bhi nahi rehta hai. Perfect Anurag bola. Hum wahan ja rahe hain. Hum dikhayenge is system ko ki Insaan jab marne par aata hai to wo hone ko bhi palat deta hai. Tabhi wo chaaron old Temple chale gaye.
Raat ke 12:00 AM ho rahe the. Temple ke unche burj par Anurag khada ho gaya. Aasman mein chaand puri tarah laal ho chuka tha. Pure Shahar mein ek ajib sa sannata tha aur Temple ke paas ke jungle se ajib se janwaron ki aawazein aa rahi thi. Anurag ne apni Ghost Eye ko active kiya. Uska vision badalne laga. Wo dekha ki jungle mein se lagbhag 50 log Temple ki taraf aa rahe the. Unke hathon mein weapons bhi the, or un sabki aankhein laal thi. Woh sabhi system ke control mein aa chuke the, level 10 ka lalach unhein darinda bana diya tha.
Tarun, Suraj or Aira uske pichhe khade the. Wo log aa rahe hai humare taraf, Anurag ne Blood Dagger ko apne pocket se nikate hue bola. Temple ke purane darwaje ko todte hue pehla team andar aaya. Wo teen users jinke hathon mein nukile pathtar the. Unhone temple ke andar aate hi kaha. user 09 kahan hai? Mujhe uski jaan chahiye! Unmein se kisi ne chillakar kaha. Suraj aage badha, uske dono hath lohe ki tarah ho chuki thi. Wo bola pehle mujhse aakar lado. Fir usne jor se un tino par hamla kiya. Wo tino ghayal ho gaye. Temple ke zameen par khoon khoon ho gaya. Aira ne pichhe se Holy water bottle un logon par fenka, or Tarun tezi se dushmanon par waar kar raha tha.
Anurag dekha ki unka team bohot achhe se lad raha tha, par dushmano ki ginti bohot jyada thi. Fir achanak uski nazar zameen par padi. Temple ke piche ek well tha. Usne dekha ki jo bhi user mar raha tha unka khoon behte hue well me ja raha tha.
Anurag ne socha, khoon kuen ki taraf kiyun ja raha hai? Lagta hai system humare khoon se kuchh bana raha hai! Tabhi Anurag ne Suraj ko awaz diya, "Suraj, Aira! Temple ka entrance hold karo! Fir usne Tarun se kaha, tum mere sath chalo." Anurag or Tarun Temple ke Central courtyard ki taraf bhage, jahan wo purana well tha. Jaise hi wo kuen ke paas gaye, kuen ke andar ek blue light chamak rahi thi jo ki aasman se aa rahi thi, jo sidhe us kuen se connect kar rahi thi.
Kuen ke kinare par ek shaks khada tha. Usne hostel warden ki dress pehni hui thi, par uske jism se aag nikal raha tha. "Warden! "Anurag ne chillakar kaha.
Warden ne piche mud kar dekha. Uska chehra puri tarah se kaala ho gaya tha or uski aankhein laal chamak rahi thi. Warden ne bola, Anurag... tumne mere sare bane banaye khel kharab kar diye. Tum jante nahi ho, Main is shahar ka 'System Manager' hun.