Bureau ka Headquarters—wahan pahunchna suicide mission se kam nahi tha. Yeh building shehar ke beechon-beech ek kaali, futuristic tower ki tarah khadi thi, jiske charo taraf high-voltage energy barriers the. Maine aur Sia ne shehar ke sewers ke raste infiltrate kiya tha. Gande paani ki badboo aur chuhon ki aawaz ke beech, hum us tower ke basement level tak pahunch gaye the.
Sia mere peeche thi, uska haath mere kandhe par tha. Woh lagatar mujhe 'Mana Shield' provide kar rahi thi, taaki Bureau ke thermal sensors mujhe detect na kar saken.
"Harsh," Sia ne dheere se kaha, uski awaz mein darr tha. "Tumhe sach mein lagta hai hum wahan tak pahunch payenge? Main andar se energy ka itna bada surge feel kar rahi hoon... ye normal nahi hai."
Maine uski taraf dekha aur halka sa sar hilaya. "Sia, darr mat. Aaj hum sirf apne doston ko nahi bacha rahe, hum us puraane Harsh ko bhi dafna rahe hain jo sirf ek 'Null' ban kar jeeta tha. Aaj hum unhe batayenge ki Monarch kya cheez hai."
The Infiltration
Hum 'Sector 4' mein enter hue. Yahan ka layout maze jaisa tha. Camera angles aur laser grids har jagah the. Main apni 'Void Sight' ka use kar raha tha. Main dekh sakta tha ki guards kahan khade hain, unki heart rate kya hai, aur wo kab turn lene wale hain.
"Left, 3 seconds," maine ishara kiya.
Hum ek security room ke paas se nikle. Wahan se guards nikalne hi wale the, par maine apne haathon se kaali dhuan (shadow smoke) nikali aur unhe vision-block kar diya. Hum bina awaaz kiye aage badhte gaye.
Humara maqsad tha 'Project Zero' ka main lab. Sia ne mere liye pura data nikaal liya tha—wahan inmates ko kahan rakha gaya hai, aur Sentinel ka patrol route kya hai.
Tabhi, main ruk gaya. Mere instinct ne warning di.
[Warning: High-Level Combat Entity Detected.]
Main corridor ke mod par gaya. Wahan ek lamba, choda insaan khada tha. Usne ek uniform pehni thi jo normal soldiers se alag thi. Uske kandhon par 'SENTINEL' likha tha. Aur jaise hi usne apna chehra ghumaaya, mera dil ek pal ke liye ruk gaya.
Woh Aryan tha.
Par yeh wo Aryan nahi tha jo mere sath classroom mein baithta tha. Uska chehra pathar jaisa thanda tha. Uski aankhein—jo kabhi masti bhari hoti thi—ab blue neon light se chamak rahi thi. Uske gaalon par metallic lines thi, jaise kisi ne uski skin ke neeche wiring daal di ho.
"Aryan?" main aage badha.
"Target Identified," Aryan ki awaz mein insaaniyat nahi thi. Wo ek machine ki tarah bol raha tha. "Harsh Mehra. Class: Unique-Rank. Order: Neutralize."
The Clash of Friends
"Aryan, ye main hoon, Harsh! Mujhe pehchano!" main chillaaya.
Aryan ne koi jawab nahi diya. Usne apni mutthi bhendi, aur uske haathon se plasma energy nikalne lagi. Uska combat stance perfect tha—ek professional killer ka.
SWISH! Woh itni tezi se meri taraf aaya ki main dodge karne se chook gaya. Uski punch mere pet par lagi aur main do diwarein todte hue peeche gira. Ugh! "Sia, peeche raho!" main chillaaya.
Aryan ruk nahi raha tha. Woh lagatar humle kar raha tha. Har ek punch mein wo itni power daal raha tha ki cement ki diwarein khilone ki tarah toot rahi thi. Main defensive mode mein tha. Main apne dost ko maarna nahi chahta tha.
"System! Scan Aryan's status!"
[Scanning... Sentinel Mark 1. Brainwashed. Memory Core: Locked. Neural Chip: Active.]
Neural Chip. Matlab ye sab us chip ki wajah se tha. Agar main us chip ko destroy kar doon, toh Aryan wapas aa sakta tha.
"Sia, mujhe distraction chahiye! Uske left side par attack karo!"
Sia ne apni healing energy ko 'Light Burst' mein convert karke Aryan ki aankhon par mara. Woh ek pal ke liye blinding light ki wajah se ruka. Yehi mauka tha!
Main tezi se uske piche gaya. Maine apni 'Void Edge' summon nahi ki—kyunki wo bahut sharp thi, main use marna nahi chahta tha. Maine apne haathon ko Shadow Energy se cover kiya aur ek 'Precision Strike' Aryan ki gardan ke peeche us chip ke location par maari.
CRACK! Chip tutne ki awaaz aayi.
Aryan ekdum se freeze ho gaya. Woh neeche gira, uski aankhon ki blue light dheere-dheere bujhne lagi. Main bhaag kar uske paas gaya aur use sambhala.
"Aryan? Aryan, utho!"
Aryan ne dheere se apni aankhein kholi. Woh kaanp raha tha. "Harsh? Ye... ye kya hua? Main yahan kaise...?"
Uska chehra dard se bhara hua tha. Usne Bureau ki us laboratory ko dekha, fir mujhe dekha. "Harsh... wo... wo log humein... experiment..."
"Shh," maine use chup karaya. "Ab sab theek hai. Main tumhe yahan se nikal lunga."
The Bigger Threat
Humne Aryan ko uthaya. Sia ne use heal karne ki koshish ki, par tabhi wahan ka alarm phir se bajne laga. Lekin is baar alarm ki awaz alag thi—kisi khatre ki nahi, balki kisi 'Protocol' ki.
[ALERT: Project Zero: Omega Stage Initiated.]
Ek loud speaker par Director ki awaz gunji. "Harsh, tumne achha khela. Par tumhe kya laga, sirf ek Sentinel tumhein rokne ke liye kaafi hai? Humne tumhe yahan bulaya tha, Harsh. Humne tumhe trap kiya tha."
Diwarein hilne lagi. Corridor ki lighting wapas red ho gayi. Aryan ghabra kar bola, "Harsh, humein yahan se nikalna hoga! Director ne... unhone 'Omega' activate kar diya hai. Wo yahan ka pura floor collapse karne wale hain taaki saare evidences destroy ho jayein—aur hum bhi."
"Exit kahan hai?" maine pucha.
"Wahan!" Aryan ne ek ventilation shaft ki taraf ishara kiya.
Hum teeno bhaagne lage. Par Bureau ke soldiers har taraf se goliyaan chala rahe the. Maine apni puri energy ko ek 'Void Dome' mein convert kar diya, jisne humein goliyon se bachaya.
"Sia, tum Aryan ko leke niklo! Main piche se cover deta hoon!"
"Nahi, Harsh! Hum tumhein akela nahi chhodenge!" Sia chillaayi.
"Jao!" maine command diya. "Main Monarch hoon. Main inhein tab tak rokunga jab tak tum exit tak na pahunch jao. Main wapas aa raha hoon!"
Sia aur Aryan bhaag gaye. Main corridor ke beech mein khada ho gaya. 100 soldiers mere saamne the. Main akela tha. Mere andar ka Void ab ek uncontrollable fire ki tarah jal raha tha.
"Aao," maine apni dagger ko rotate karte hue kaha. "Aao aur dekho ki ek Monarch ka gussa kya hota hai."
Maine apna haath hawa mein uthaya aur pure corridor ki gravity ko palat diya. Soldiers chhat se ja takraye. Main wahan khada raha, ek shant samudra ki tarah, jabki mere charo taraf tabahi mach rahi thi.
I am not just a weapon, maine socha. I am the end of this Bureau.
Main shaft ki taraf dauda. Maine piche mud kar dekha—pura lab jal raha tha. Director ka plan fail ho gaya tha, kyunki maine data chura liya tha aur ab mere paas ek Sentinel (Aryan) bhi tha.
Hum exit ke bahar nikle. Bahar ki thandi hawa mere chehre par padi. Main, Sia, aur Aryan... hum teeno wahan khade the. Bureau ki lights tower ke oopar se humein dhundh rahi thi.
"Hum kahan jayenge?" Aryan ne pucha.
Maine shehar ki raushniyon ki taraf dekha. "Hum wahan jayenge jahan se yeh sab shuru hua tha. Hum Bureau ke headquarters par attack nahi karenge... hum unke 'Source' ko destroy karenge."
The real war has just begun.