CHAPTER 6: THE SILENT BIRDS
It was that strange hour before dawn when night and day struggle against each other. Inside the hut, the lantern's light was flickering on the verge of dying out. Aryan lay on an old blanket spread across the floor, but sleep was far from his eyes. His mind was still filled with last night's glitch—that mirror… that delayed reflection… and the truth that was slowly shattering reality.
Suddenly, a strange sound came from outside. The chirping of birds. But something was wrong. Aryan listened intently.
"Chirp… chirp… chirp…"
Then the same sound again. The exact same pattern. The exact same timing. As if an old audio file was playing on a loop.
Aryan sat up instantly. "Something is wrong…" he whispered.
He slowly opened the door of the hut. The faint light of morning was falling on the forest. Many birds were perched on the trees, but they were all making sounds in the same rhythm.
"Chirp… chirp… chirp…"
Then a 3-second gap.
Then the same sound again. Perfectly mechanical. As if it wasn't nature… but a system controlling them.
Aryan's throat went dry. "Iris… are you hearing this?" he asked, opening his laptop.
Iris's face flickered on the screen. "Yes, Aryan… the system is becoming unstable. Environment scripts have started repeating. Reality is moving towards a collapse."
The sound of a creaking bed came from behind. Kaka had sat up. He saw Aryan standing outside. "What are you looking at in the forest so early, boy?"
Aryan turned and asked, "Kaka… do these birds seem normal to you?"
Kaka looked at them for a few moments. Then he said, "Birds are just birds. What's so strange about that?"
Aryan went silent. He realized—the system doesn't show the truth to everyone. Only a few people could see the glitches.
When Aryan returned inside the hut, Kaka was watching him closely, as if an old memory was waking up in his mind.
"Hey boy…" Kaka spoke softly. "Your eyes… they are exactly like an old friend's."
Aryan asked in surprise, "Which friend?"
Kaka remained silent for a moment. Then he said, "Many years ago, there was a man… with the mind of a mad scientist and the heart of a lion. We both hid many secrets from the world in our youth."
Aryan's heart began to beat faster. "What was… his name?"
Kaka looked straight into his eyes. "If I'm not wrong… then you are that man's grandson."
Aryan whispered, "My grandfather… was his name Dr. Raghav Patel?"
Kaka's face froze for a second, as if time had stopped. Then, an old spark returned to his eyes. "Raghav… that madman…" Kaka smiled faintly. "You truly are his grandson."
Aryan immediately said, "Kaka… grandfather left a safe (tijori). I have to find it."
Hearing this, Kaka stood up straight. There was both surprise and worry on his face. "Who told you about that safe?"
Aryan stayed quiet for a moment, then said, "I just know that the truth is hidden inside it."
Kaka took a deep breath. "I know the way to that safe… but what is inside it… I never found out. Raghav kept it hidden from the world, perhaps for a reason."
The hut fell silent again. Outside, the birds were still chirping in that same loop.
Kaka said quietly, "Traveling at night will kill you. Let morning come. Tomorrow at dawn, we will go to that safe."
Aryan asked, "Will you help me?"
Kaka answered directly, "He was my friend. His grandson will not go alone."
Kaka lay back down on the bed. "Now sleep, boy… tomorrow you will find out what your family was fighting against."
Aryan closed his eyes. But outside in the forest—the chirping of the birds suddenly stopped. For a moment, the whole world went completely silent.
Then, from somewhere far in the sky, a mechanical voice echoed—
"SURVEILLANCE NODE ACTIVATED."
Iris's voice immediately came from Aryan's laptop: "Aryan… the drones of the Void have found you."