Rudra learned very early that life never gives warnings.
It simply destroys.
The night his father died, there was no storm. No dramatic final words. Just silence. A rope. A chair turned sideways.
Suicide, the police said.
Weakness, the neighbors whispered.
But Rudra remembered something else.
Fear.
The kind of fear that lives behind the eyes of a man who knows he is already dead.
Three years later, Rudra still carried that look inside him.
And tonight, he was about to understand it.
12:36 AM.
The overpass was nearly empty. Rain soaked the city in silver reflections. Headlights cut through the darkness below like restless predators.
Rudra stood alone under a flickering streetlamp, staring at his phone.
Unknown Number.
One message.
"If you want the truth about your father, come alone."
No name.
No explanation.
Just coordinates.
He should have ignored it.
Every rational thought told him this was a trap. But grief is a disease that rots logic from the inside.
He came anyway.
The rain intensified.
Wind pushed against him.
And then he heard it.
An engine.
Loud. Aggressive. Too fast for an empty road.
Rudra turned.
A truck.
Speeding directly toward him.
No horn.
No hesitation.
The headlights blinded him.
For half a second, instinct froze his body.
This was how it ended.
Just like that.
But then—
The world stopped.
The rain hung motionless in the air.
The sound disappeared.
Even his heartbeat became distant.
And a voice echoed inside his skull.
Cold. Mechanical. Unfeeling.
[System Initializing]
Static crawled across his vision. Red lines fractured the darkness.
[Host Detected]
[Consciousness Syncing]
[Ability Granted: Wrong Choice Perception]
Time snapped back.
The truck was twenty meters away.
A transparent red interface filled his sight.
CHOICE ANALYSIS:
Jump Left — Certain Death (Skull Impact, Instant Fatality)
Jump Right — Survival (Severe Spinal Fracture, 73% Paralysis)
Remain Still — 61% Survival (Unknown Emotional Loss)
Rudra's breath caught in his throat.
He did not question the system. There was no time.
Left meant death.
Right meant a ruined life.
Remain still meant survival.
But emotional loss?
What loss?
Ten meters.
Seven.
Five.
He made his decision.
He did not move.
The truck swerved violently at the last second, tires screeching against wet asphalt. Metal scraped his shoulder as the side mirror shattered against him.
Pain exploded through his arm.
His body hit the ground hard.
Silence returned, broken only by rain.
He was alive.
His shoulder throbbed. Blood mixed with rainwater.
The truck had crashed into the barrier several meters ahead.
The driver stumbled out, drunk and panicked.
But Rudra wasn't looking at him.
Across the street, beneath a black umbrella, stood a girl in a red dress.
She was completely dry.
The rain did not touch her.
She was watching him.
Not shocked.
Not concerned.
Studying him.
Their eyes met.
And the red system interface flickered violently.
[Error]
[Anomaly Detected]
[Prediction Interference]
The girl tilted her head slightly.
As if she could see it too.
Then she turned and walked away.
No rush. No fear.
She disappeared into the rain.
The system vanished.
The world felt normal again.
But Rudra's chest felt strangely hollow.
Unknown Emotional Loss.
The system had not meant death.
It meant her.
He did not understand why.
Sirens approached in the distance.
Another set of red warnings flashed briefly.
Remain Here — 34% False Arrest Probability
Confront Driver — 71% Assault Charge
Leave Immediately — Surveillance Initiated
Surveillance?
His jaw tightened.
The message.
The truck.
The timing.
This was not a coincidence.
Someone had arranged this.
Rudra walked away before the police arrived.
Two hours later, he sat alone in his apartment.
Small. Cramped. Bare.
Rain tapped against the window.
He stared at the empty wall.
"Show yourself," he said quietly.
The air shimmered.
[System Online]
A translucent panel appeared.
Host: Rudra Malhotra
Age: 22
Status: Stable
Injury: Minor Fracture (Left Shoulder)
Mental Stability: 82%
Ability: Wrong Choice Perception — Level 1
He exhaled slowly.
"What are you?"
[Primary Function: Display Wrong Outcomes]
[Right Choices Must Be Determined Independently]
He let out a humorless laugh.
"So you only show failure."
[Correct]
"How generous."
Silence.
He leaned forward.
"What happens if I investigate my father's death?"
The interface pulsed.
Investigate — High Threat Level (Organized Entity Involved)
Ignore — Fatal Event Probability Within 30 Days
Seek Red Dress Girl — Emotional Destabilization 91%
His heart slowed.
Emotional destabilization.
That girl again.
"Who is she?"
[Target Classified: Anomaly]
[Interaction May Alter System Structure]
Before he could ask another question—
The room temperature dropped sharply.
The window rattled.
Rudra turned slowly.
She was standing outside.
Three floors above ground.
On the narrow ledge.
Balanced effortlessly.
Red dress moving gently in wind.
Black umbrella above her head.
The rain avoided her completely.
She raised her hand.
Knocked once on the glass.
Soft.
Deliberate.
The system erupted in warnings.
Open Window — 94% Life Altering Event
Ignore — Regret Probability 100%
Attack — Immediate Death
Regret 100%.
His throat tightened.
He stepped closer to the window.
"Who are you?" he asked through the glass.
She smiled faintly.
He unlocked the latch.
[Final Warning: Irreversible Choice]
He opened it.
Wind rushed inside.
She stepped in gracefully, as if gravity had loosened its grip on her.
Up close, her eyes were darker than they should be. Faint silver patterns moved within her irises.
"You survived," she said calmly.
"You can see it," Rudra replied.
"Yes."
She glanced at the floating red text behind him.
"You received a broken version."
His pulse quickened.
"You know about this?"
"Yes."
"Who are you?"
She studied him for a long moment.
"My name is Mira."
The name felt familiar, though he knew he had never heard it before.
"You were not targeted tonight," she continued.
"You were tested."
"For what?"
"For eligibility."
The word echoed in his mind.
"Eligibility for what?"
"For the war that is coming."
The system flickered again.
Refuse Involvement — Identity Erasure
Remain Ignorant — Lifelong Manipulation
Seek Truth — Extreme Psychological Pain
Rudra stared at her.
"You're part of this."
"Yes."
"Are you going to kill me?"
Silence filled the room.
Then she answered.
"Yes."
His body went cold.
"Then why are you here?"
Her voice softened slightly.
"Because I am trying to find a future where I don't."
The system glitched violently.
[Core Breach Detected]
[Secondary Entity Linked]
[Ability Upgraded: Wrong Choice Perception — Level 2]
Images flooded his mind.
Cities burning.
Masked figures moving through shadows.
Blood on his hands.
Mira standing across from him—
Driving a blade through his chest.
The vision shattered.
He staggered back, breathing hard.
"You're my enemy," he whispered.
"Possibly."
"And yet you saved me."
"I needed to see if you would choose correctly."
"And did I?"
She looked at him carefully.
"You chose the only path where the future is not fixed."
The rain intensified outside.
The city felt distant.
Unreal.
Rudra felt something unfamiliar rising inside him.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Purpose.
"If there's a war," he said slowly, "then I want the truth."
Mira stepped toward the window again.
"That," she replied, "is the most dangerous decision you've made."
She stepped out into the rain.
And vanished.
The system remained glowing faintly in the darkness.
[New Path Unlocked]
Rudra stood alone.
His father's death was not a suicide.
He had been chosen.
There was a coming war.
And the girl who might kill him—
Was the only one who could explain it.
He looked at the red interface one last time.
"If you only show wrong choices," he said quietly, "then I'll create my own right one."
The system did not respond.
But for the first time, Rudra felt it watching him.
Not as a tool.
Not as a guide.
But as something waiting to see what kind of monster he would become.
And somewhere in the city—
Someone else was watching too.