Location: Rudra's Mansion, Mumbai
Date & Time: January 1, 2025 | 12:45 AM
Rudra pulled the heavy teakwood door of his mansion shut and locked it from the inside. Outside, the wailing sirens and the frantic screams of the crowd still echoed, but the thick, reinforced walls of the house muffled the chaos into a dull, distant hum. Exhausted and gasping for air, he slumped against the door and slid down to the cold floor. His hands were still trembling uncontrollably.
He raised his palm, staring at it intensely under the dim foyer light. This was the same hand that had touched that 'stone.' There was no mark, no burn, not even a slight discoloration.
"Hallucination..." he whispered, his breath hitching. His voice felt small in the vast silence of the room. "The sleep deprivation is finally making me see things. Just a trick of light and a tired mind."
With shaking fingers, he pulled his phone from his pocket. The screen was an endless flood of notifications. Every news app, every social media platform was screaming the same headline—'The Sky Glitch.' He played a video captured from New York's Times Square. The same eerie blue and purple sky was visible there, exactly as he had seen it in Mumbai. London, Tokyo, Sydney... the phenomenon had occurred simultaneously across the entire planet.
Seeing the global confirmation brought a fleeting sense of relief to his chest. At least the sky wasn't a figment of his imagination. He wasn't losing his mind entirely. However, as he scrolled through the live news feeds and read the thousands of comments, he noticed something. People were talking about the strange light, the paralyzing fear, and the sudden silence—but nowhere was there a single mention of 'glowing stones' or 'falling objects.'
Rudra let out a hollow, bitter smile and tossed the phone aside. "See? The stone was just in your head, Rudra. If something like that had actually happened, the whole world would be talking about it." He muttered to himself, desperately reinforcing his walls of denial.
He reached for the remote and switched on the massive LED TV in the hall. Every channel featured news anchors in a state of visible panic, but suddenly, a "Live Broadcast" banner flashed across the screen. The Prime Minister of India was addressing the nation. His face was grave, etched with concern, but his voice carried a calculated calmness necessary to prevent total anarchy.
"My dear fellow citizens," the PM began, "There is no need to panic over the events of tonight. Our space agencies and scientists across the globe are already investigating this. It appears to be a rare, unprecedented astronomical event. I urge you all not to give in to rumors and to maintain peace. Our security forces are deployed everywhere. You are safe."
Rudra switched off the TV. He knew the PM's words might dampen the public's panic for a while, but it was obvious that even the smartest scientists were currently stabbing in the dark. Logistically, he knew the city would be changing by the hour—barricades would be going up on every major road in Mumbai, and police patrolling would be intensified to prevent any window of looting or violence born out of fear.
He stood up, his legs feeling heavy and unstable, and retreated toward his bedroom. He didn't take off his hoodie; it felt like his only remaining anchor to reality. He collapsed onto the bed, closing his eyes, but sleep remained a distant stranger. He balled his hand into a tight fist. A small, nagging part of his mind insisted that the stone was real, but his logic and his trauma were working overtime to bury that truth deep underground.
At this moment, he wasn't thinking about the dawn of a new era or the mystery of the universe. He was simply wishing his parents were there. If they were, the world wouldn't feel so terrifyingly large, and he wouldn't feel so devastatingly small.
Chapter Summary
Location & Time: Inside Rudra's Mansion | Early hours of New Year's Day.
The Confirmation: Rudra confirms via global news that the "Sky Glitch" was a real, worldwide event, which briefly settles his fear of being insane.
The Denial: Since no one else reported seeing glowing stones, Rudra convinces himself that the metallic fluid incident was a vivid hallucination caused by his mental trauma.
World Status: The Indian Government labels the event a "Rare Astronomical Phenomenon." Security is tightened across Mumbai to maintain order.
Character Condition: Rudra is in deep emotional pain, seeking comfort in his isolation and his hoodie, while his mind actively suppresses the memory of the "Awakening."