The morning in Siliguri was just like any other day. The same street noise, the steam rising from the tea stalls, and the distant sound of an approaching train.
Reyansh Chaturvedi, along with his younger brother Aarav, was standing by the roadside, thoroughly enjoying some momos.
"Bro, if aliens really existed, I swear they would attack America first," Aarav said with a laugh.
Reyansh smiled.
"Yeah, you're right. Because where do Indians even have the time to fight aliens? We barely get a breather from paying off EMIs."
Both of them burst into laughter.
Right at that exact moment—
The entire city was suddenly plunged into darkness.
Reyansh snapped his head up to look at the sky.
The smile completely vanished from his face.
In the sky... there was something.
At first, it just looked like a black speck.
Then a second one appeared.
Then a third.
And within just a few seconds, the entire sky was filled with massive shadows.
People stopped dead in their tracks wherever they stood.
Cars suddenly screeched to a halt.
An eerie silence washed over the entire street.
And right then—
Every mobile phone.
Every TV.
Every radio.
Every electronic screen switched on by itself.
The screens were completely black at first.
Then suddenly, two glowing white eyes emerged upon them.
A heavy voice echoed.
Cold.
Robotic.
It felt as if speaking a human language was merely a programmed function for it.
"Inhabitants of Earth. You are no longer free. Resistance is futile. As of today, this planet is under the control of the Veltraq Empire."
The entire city froze in terror.
"Call Mom, quickly!" Reyansh yelled.
He immediately pulled out his phone.
No network.
By now, chaos had broken out all around them.
People were running.
Crying.
Screaming.
Massive, metallic-looking spaceships began descending from the sky.
And then—
A beam of blue light shot down from the heavens.
The entire building right in front of them vanished in a single second.
Nothing but smoke and a cloud of broken debris remained.
Aarav was trembling.
"Bro..."
Reyansh gripped his hand tightly.
"Run, Aarav!"
The entire city had turned into a living hell.
Some people lay on the streets, screaming.
Others just stared blankly at the sky, as if their minds still refused to accept that all of this was real.
Reyansh was somehow dragging Aarav along, running through the narrow alleyways.
Then suddenly—
A dark shadow streaked above them like lightning.
Reyansh only managed to catch a fleeting glimpse.
A tall body.
Glowing white eyes.
And a face that was definitely not human.
That thing landed on the street.
And in the very next instant, several people were thrown high into the air.
Aarav screamed in absolute terror.
Reyansh immediately covered his eyes.
"Don't look over there! Look down!"
Both kept running for their lives.
A few minutes later, they reached the old quarter of the city.
In front of them was a rusted iron door.
Reyansh began pounding on it with all his might.
"Uncle! Open the door quickly!"
The door opened instantly.
The fear on his uncle's face was plain to see.
"Get inside quickly!"
As soon as the door shut, the outside noises faded a bit.
Inside, his mother was crying.
"Reyansh... son, what is happening out there?"
But Uncle didn't give an answer.
He ran straight toward the underground bunker room built inside the house.
Reyansh and the rest followed right behind him.
Upon entering the room, Reyansh froze.
In the middle of the room, the air was swirling.
A massive, swirling vortex of blue light was constantly flickering in an unstable manner.
Several screens mounted on the walls were shattered.
Some were spitting sparks.
Warning signs were flashing relentlessly.
Aarav backed away in fear.
"Uncle... what is this?"
Uncle stared at the portal for a few seconds.
Then, in a low voice, he said—
"This... is humanity's last resort."
Reyansh couldn't understand a thing.
Uncle quickly started checking the machines.
His hands were shaking.
"Listen, listen to me carefully. What is happening outside... it's not a war. We weren't prepared for them at all."
He looked toward a broken screen.
Maps of different countries were blinking on it, with red markers lighting up in many places.
"For years, some of the world's governments were secretly working on a project. The Wormhole Transition Program."
Reyansh listened in silence.
"We discovered a long time ago that there are other civilizations in the universe. And there are certain planets where the environment can cause the human body to evolve."
Reyansh's brows furrowed.
"Meaning... people have been there before?"
Uncle nodded.
"Yes. Researchers. Soldiers. Volunteers. Some came back. Many did not."
Silence filled the room for a few seconds.
The sounds of continuous explosions could be heard from outside.
Uncle spoke again—
"But this information was never made public. Humanity wasn't ready yet."
He looked toward the portal.
"And now... this invasion has ruined everything."
For the first time, Reyansh noticed that the machines were constantly displaying errors.
Synchronization Failure.
Energy Grid Offline.
Transition Instability Detected.
Uncle's voice grew heavy.
"The Veltraq Empire destroyed the satellites and global energy grids first. They knew about the wormhole network."
He took a deep breath.
"The entire system has collapsed. The other gates are probably already shut down."
Reyansh was still trying to process it all.
"So... now what?"
Uncle turned toward him.
"Now, the people who can be saved... must be sent to the other side."
His mother immediately interjected.
"Are you out of your mind? I will not send my son anywhere!"
This time, Uncle almost shouted.
"Sister, understand! Staying here means we aren't going to survive!"
For a few seconds, only the hum of the machines echoed in the room.
Then, calming down slightly, he said—
"This bunker is not permanently safe. Our shielding won't hold out for long."
He looked back at the portal.
"And this gate is becoming increasingly unstable too."
Reyansh asked softly—
"Then why don't you all go?"
Uncle remained quiet for a few seconds.
Then, slowly, he spoke—
"The portal cannot send many people safely at once. Especially now, when the synchronization is broken."
He switched on a screen.
It displayed human body scans.
"The transition pressure is extremely dangerous. A weak body will collapse straight away. A young child's nervous system could be severely damaged."
Terrified, Aarav clung to his mother.
Uncle looked at Reyansh.
"Your age is right. Your body is healthy. Your survival chances are the highest."
Reyansh's breathing grew a little heavy.
"Meaning... I am not some chosen one."
For the first time, Uncle gave a faint, bitter smile.
"No, son. You are just one of those people who actually has a chance to survive."
Looking into his eyes, he added—
"And right now, that is enough."
Silence fell over the room once more.
Outside, the entire sky was burning in flames.
An explosion went off somewhere far away.
The house shook slightly from the impact.
Reyansh looked at his mother.
Then at Aarav.
His little brother was trembling with fear.
And in that very moment, Reyansh understood—
If he stayed here, they would all likely die.
He asked softly—
"If I leave... will you protect the two of them?"
Without a second thought, Uncle replied,
"Even at the cost of my life."
Reyansh stood in silence for a few seconds.
His heart was pounding furiously.
He was scared.
Terrified.
But there was a fear even greater than that—the fear of losing his family.
Slowly, he took a step toward the portal.
The blue light was trembling unstably.
The machines were blaring warnings.
Uncle quickly began fitting a metallic collar around his neck.
"This is a bio-monitor. It will track your body condition on the other side."
He looked at him.
"If the system doesn't crash entirely... I might be able to receive the data."
Reyansh gave a subtle nod.
He turned back to look one last time.
His mother was crying.
Aarav was staring at him, terrified.
Reyansh forced a faint smile.
Then, he stood squarely in front of the portal.
His heartbeat was so loud that he could hear it echoing in his own ears.
A second later—
He leaped into the blue light.
Suddenly, everything went white.
It felt as though his body was being stretched into a thousand pieces.
Then, out of nowhere—
An excruciating pain ripped through his entire body.
The portal had gone completely unstable.
He felt as if something was tearing his arm apart.
The collar began throwing off sparks.
And then—
Everything went blank.
Reyansh crashed down onto some cold grass.
For a few seconds, he couldn't even move.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
And the sight before him took his breath away.
The world in front of him looked absolutely nothing like Earth.
The sky was a faint, silvery hue.
The trees were so colossal that they seemed to touch the clouds.
Glowing waterfalls cascaded down from distant mountains.
The air was so pure that just breathing it in made his entire body feel weightless.
No pollution.
No machines.
No cities.
It felt as if this world was completely untouched.
But...
Beneath that peace, there was something strange.
Something wrong.
And just then—
The metallic collar around his neck suddenly lit up.
"Biological Environment Scan Initiated."
Reyansh's breath caught in his throat.
Because that voice...
Was not human.