Corridors mein alarm ki red lights abhi bhi paagal-pan mein ghoom rahi thi. Mere piche guards ki goliyaan diwaron se takra kar chingariyaan chhod rahi thi, par main ruka nahi. Main aur Subject 0—ya jo bhi uska asli naam tha—hum tezi se level 5 ki taraf badh rahe the.
"Harsh! Upar se!" Subject 0 chillaaya.
Maine bina soche apni dagger ghumaayi aur ek shadow slash release kiya. SWISH! Ek security drone do tukdon mein kat kar neeche gira.
"Tumhe kaise pata chala ki drone upar tha?" maine haanpte hue pucha.
"Maine yahan 20 saal guzare hain, ladke. Har vent, har camera aur har security sensor mere dimaag mein chapa hua hai," usne aage badhte hue kaha.
Main uspar bharosa karne laga tha. Wo mera guide tha, mera purana mentor—ya shayad mujhe aisa hi lag raha tha. Hum Level 7 tak pahunch chuke the. Yahan ka pressure level bahut zyada tha, mere 'Necro-Monarch' core ko yahan balance banane mein mehnat karni pad rahi thi.
"Server room bas ek aur floor door hai," Subject 0 ne kaha. "Wahan pahunchte hi tumhein sirf apna system access wahan ke main console par connect karna hai. Phir Project Zero ka pura database tumhare control mein hoga."
Maine haan mein sar hilaya. Mere dil mein ek ajeeb sa junoon tha. Main jaanna chahta tha ki mere existence ka sach kya hai.
The Server Room
Hum ek heavy duty steel door ke saamne khade the. Yeh 'Project Zero' ka hub tha. Subject 0 ne ek purana card keycard machine par swipe kiya. Door dheere-dheere khula. Andar ka nazara kisi sci-fi movie se kam nahi tha. Hazaaron servers, blue lights, aur cables ka jaal.
"Hum aa gaye," Subject 0 ne kaha, aur uski awaz mein ek ajeeb sa badlaav aaya. Wo ab thoda seedha khada tha, uske chalne ka dhang bhi badal gaya tha.
Main console ki taraf badha. [System: Connecting to Host...]
"Harsh," Subject 0 ne piche se pukara.
Main console mein maintain tha. "Ek second, data download ho raha hai."
"Data ki zaroorat nahi hai, Harsh. Mujhe tumhari zaroorat hai."
Main palta. Subject 0 wahan khada tha, par ab wo ek bewajah ka budha nahi lag raha tha. Uske haathon mein ek energy weapon tha, jo usne apni sleeves se nikaala tha. Uski aankhon mein wo scar tha, par ab us scar se kaali energy nikal rahi thi.
"Tum... tum kya kar rahe ho?" maine pucha.
"Main 20 saal se is din ka intezaar kar raha tha," wo hansne laga—ek aisi hansi jo mere baal khade kar gayi. "Tumhe kya laga, main ek simple experiment hoon? Main Project Zero ka pehla 'failed prototype' hoon. Mujhmein wo saari powers daali gayi thi jo tumhare andar hain, par main unhe control nahi kar paya. Mera body degrade ho raha tha, aur phir... tum aaye."
"Main?"
"Haan! Tumhari 'Null' energy aur Monarch ka core! Tum wo missing piece ho jo mujhe 'Complete' kar dega. Agar main tumhari energy ko absorb kar loon, toh main na sirf zinda rahunga, balki main 'God-King' ban jaunga."
The Trap
Main apni dagger nikaalne ke liye jhuka, par mere haath kaam nahi kar rahe the. kya?
"Floor par dekho, Harsh," usne kaha.
Maine niche dekha. Hum jahan khade the, wahan ek circular seal bani hui thi. Wo ek Containment Grid thi. Main itne gusse aur excitement mein tha ki maine ise notice hi nahi kiya!
"Yeh console sirf database ke liye nahi tha," usne button dabaya. Click! Mere charo taraf laser barriers khade ho gaye.
"Yeh ek 'Siphon' hai," usne samjhaya. "Yeh tumhari energy ko dheere-dheere drain karega aur seedha mere andar transfer karega. Main tumhe maaroonga nahi, Harsh. Main tumhe khali kar doonga. Tum ek hollow shell ban jaoge, aur phir main... main is duniya ka naya Monarch banunga."
Mujhe apne andar ki power drain hoti hui mehsoos ho rahi thi. Meri vision dhundhli ho rahi thi. Dhat teri ki! Maine itni badi galti kaise ki? Maine ek aise insaan par bharosa kiya jiske paas 20 saal ka prison experience tha.
"Tum... tum ek gaddar ho," maine daant pees kar kaha.
"Main sirf ek survivor hoon," usne kaha aur console par kuch type karne laga. "Project Zero ka database... use delete karne ki zaroorat nahi hai. Use bas mere account mein transfer karna hai."
The Desperation
Mere dimaag mein system notifications ki baadh aa gayi.
[WARNING: Energy drain at 40%]
[WARNING: Host vitals dropping.]
[Suggestion: Use the 'Void Link' to stabilize.]
Void Link? Maine use kabhi use nahi kiya tha.
"Harsh, jaldi maro," Subject 0 ne mazak udaya. "Tumhari energy ka swaad... itna purana aur naya... mmm, badhiya hai!"
Main ghutnon par aa gaya tha. Meri taakat meri nas-nas se bahar kheench li ja rahi thi. Par main haar nahi maan sakta tha.
"Tumhe kya laga?" main dhire se bola. Subject 0 ruka aur meri taraf dekha.
"Kya kaha?"
"Tumhe kya laga, main Monarch hoon... main itna kamzor hoon ki tumhare trap mein phans jaunga?"
Maine apni aankhein kholi. Mere andar ka Void abhi bhi zinda tha. Main jaanta tha ki agar main apne Monarch core ko poori tarah release kar doon, toh yeh prison ka system blast ho jayega. Main marunga nahi, par main ise khatam kar dunga.
"System," maine apne dimaag mein command diya. "Overload protocol activate karo. Monarch mode: FULL CAPACITY."
[ALERT: Energy capacity exceeds safety limit.]
[Warning: Host may suffer internal damage.]
"DO IT!" main chillaaya.
Achanak, mere poore sharir se ek blast hua. Laser barriers kaanch ki tarah toot gaye. Poora room hilne laga. Subject 0 piche ja kar gira. Uski energy weapon hath se chhoot gayi.
"Yeh... yeh namumkin hai! Siphon fail kyun nahi ho raha?" wo chillaaya.
"Kyunki tumne mujhe drain nahi kiya, tumne mere 'Void' ko trigger kar diya hai!"
Main khada hua. Mere pairon ke neeche ka floor melt ho raha tha. Main apni puri taakat ke saath aage badha. Meri aankhon se purple fire nikal rahi thi.
"Gaddari ki saza maut hoti hai," main uske paas pahuncha aur uska gala pakad liya. Wo hawa mein latak raha tha.
"Harsh... please..." wo rone laga. "Main bas... main bas jeena chahta tha..."
"Jeena sab chahte hain," maine kaha. "Par gaddari karke nahi."
Maine uske chehre mein dekha aur apni energy ko uske andar push kar diya. Wo chip (jo Siphon ki thi) uske dimaag ke andar blast ho gayi. Wo wahi zameen par gir gaya, jhatke khaate hue. Wo mara nahi tha, par wo ab ek khatra nahi raha.
Maine console ki taraf dekha. Data transfer abhi bhi 90% par tha. Maine console ko todne ke bajaye, use hack kiya.
[Access Granted: Project Zero Files.]
Mere samne screens khul gayi. Files... aur files. Project Zero sirf ek experiment nahi tha. Yeh Project... mera tha.
Main wahan khada raha, data ko dekhte hue. Mujhe wo sab mil gaya tha jo main dhoond raha tha.
Main kaun hoon?
Screen par mera photo tha, par wo school ka Harsh nahi tha. Wo koi aur tha.
"Main... ek weapon hoon?" maine badbadaya.
Poora Block 9 ab alert mode mein tha. Pura prison ab mere peeche tha. Par ab mujhe darr nahi tha. Mujhe bas... badle ki pyaas thi.
"Project Zero," maine screen ko ghoora. "Tumne mujhe banana chaha tha. Ab dekho, main tumhe tabah kaise karta hoon."
Maine console se ek chip nikali aur apne pocket mein rakhi. Ab mujhe yahan se nikalna tha. Par is baar, main chupke se nahi... main dushman ko khatam karke nikalunga.
Maine Subject 0 ki taraf dekha, jo abhi bhi hosh mein nahi tha. Maine uske pairo ko lock kar diya. Bureau wale jab aayenge, toh unhe apna 'failed experiment' mil jayega.
Main server room se bahar nikla aur corridor mein khada ho gaya. Samne se 50 guards bhagte hue aa rahe the.
"Tayaar ho jao," maine apni dagger summon ki, jo ab ek 'Void Edge' mein badal chuki thi. "Aaj raat... main kisi ko zinda nahi chhodunga."