The digital clock on the bedside table flickered: 05:00 AM.
Aaryan Sahu opened his eyes, the cold, calculated discipline of his "Ayanokōji" routine already surging through his veins. He didn't feel fatigue; the Level 1 Architect System had already optimized his recovery. He turned to the side, looking at Simran.
"Wake up," Aaryan said, his voice devoid of warmth. "The exercise block starts now."
Simran groaned, pulling the blanket tighter. "What happened, Aaryan? Just one day... please give me leave."
"I think you've forgotten the terms," Aaryan replied, his blue-tinted mechanical eye glowing faintly in the dark. "If you don't follow the instructions of the routine, you aren't my girlfriend from ten onwards. You chose this path."
Simran sat up abruptly, her eyes wide. "But I'm not your slave! Why should I follow every command?"
"Efficiency is not slavery," Aaryan countered, standing up. "It is a necessity. If you cannot maintain the discipline, you cannot stay by my side."
Simran looked at him, seeing the coldness that letterbird_13 had noted in the comments. She realized he wasn't joking. "Okay... fine. I'm coming."
The Morning Protocol
For the next 30 minutes, the room was filled only with the sound of rhythmic breathing and the physical strain of their exercise routine. Simran felt a strange surge of strength—she was already many times more powerful than she had been just weeks ago.
Following the workout, they transitioned into Deep Study for 1 hour. Aaryan sat in the last row of the desk area, his mind processing Class 10 CBSE curriculum data at a rate no normal student could match. Simran watched him, her anger slowly fading into admiration.
By the time they finished, Simran felt normal again. She headed to the bathroom, and when she emerged, wrapped only in a towel, her mind wandered into the "naughty thoughts" of a girl back in a relationship.
Aaryan entered the room to grab his school bag. He didn't even look up. "I'm not looking at you if you're thinking that."
Simran froze. "What? What are you talking about?"
"The thought you were just thinking," Aaryan said calmly. "It's irrelevant to the schedule."
"Can you... can you read my mind?" she whispered, clutching the towel.
"Yeah," Aaryan replied, stepping past her. "I am."
Damn, Simran thought, a chill running down her spine. The System was more invasive than she realized.
The Shadow in the School
At school, the atmosphere was different. Simran's friends approached her during the break, looking relieved. "Simran, you finally look normal again!"
She forced a smile. "Yeah, I am normal."
But she kept her eyes on Aaryan. Even in class, he was a ghost—a "Mastermind" who sat quietly, absorbing information while everyone else played. She caught his eye across the room. He knew she was watching.
"What happened?" he asked after the bell rang.
"You can read my mind," Simran challenged, her voice low. "So read it. Tell me what I'm thinking now."
Aaryan looked away, staring out the window toward the Bhilai skyline. "No. I won't."
"Why?"
"Because some things are personal for everyone," Aaryan said. "Even for me, a mind is a private sanctuary. I only intervene when it affects the Architect's goals."
Riya, who had been standing nearby, interjected with a pout. "I am also here! Please, focus on me too."
Aaryan nodded slightly. "Okay. Let's move."
The Return of the Old Enemies
The day took a dark turn after coaching. As they walked home—their car having suffered a sudden puncture—the atmosphere grew heavy.
From the shadows of an alleyway, a group of familiar faces emerged. It was the Old Gangster and his crew, the same ones who had tried to kidnap Simran before. They moved in quickly, thinking they had the advantage.
But they were wrong.
Simran didn't wait for Aaryan's command. She moved like a blur. Her movements were precise, her strikes carrying the weight of a supernatural force. She beat the entire gang badly, her eyes glowing with a terrifying, dark intensity.
She grabbed the leader by the throat. "Tell me... who is your boss? Who sent you?"
Terrified, the gangster choked out the truth. They were working for her father's brother—her own uncle.
The revelation hit her like a physical blow. Her uncle was trying to kill her and her father. A wave of extreme anger washed over her, turning her vision red.
"Simran, stop," Aaryan warned, sensing the shift in her bio-data.
"Don't stop me!" she screamed. She didn't head home; she began running toward her uncle's estate at a speed that shouldn't be humanly possible.
The Dark System Bug
Aaryan didn't hesitate. "System: Activate Speed Boost," he commanded.
He caught up to her in seconds, grabbing her arm, but Simran turned on him. She wasn't herself. She attacked Aaryan with a ferocity that forced him into a purely defensive stance. He blocked her strikes, refusing to strike back, but her strength was reaching a breaking point.
Finally, seeing no other option to save her from herself, Aaryan found an opening. He delivered a precise strike to a pressure point, making her unconscious.
He and Riya carried her home. When Simran finally woke up, she was shivering. "What... what happened to me?"
Riya looked at Aaryan, then at Simran. "The System has a small bug. If a user experiences extreme anger, the System can overtake the body and mind to complete the user's desire. It's like a Dark System."
Aaryan's mind immediately went to the girl he had seen in his dreams—the one with the dark aura. "Is it possible for more than one System to exist in one multiverse?"
Riya hesitated. "Statistically, the chance is $1/10^{20}$. It is essentially impossible."
"But it just happened," Aaryan said, his voice cold. "Which means I am one step closer to that girl."
He looked at Simran, his expression softening only a fraction. "We will gather information about your uncle first. We need to know why he did this before we strike. Then, we go to your house."
Simran nodded weakly. "Okay."
They ate dinner in silence, the weight of the "Dark System" hanging over them. As they went to sleep, Aaryan stayed awake, watching the "System Architect" interface flicker in the dark. The quest was no longer just about survival; it was about uncovering the glitch in the multiverse.