Wait… if that's not the first Arjun—then who's coming toward me?
It runs.
Not walks.
Not steps.
It closes distance like space itself folds for it.
The hallway stretches, bends, screams—
and then the entire world snaps.
The ceiling above the classroom collapses in one violent instant.
Concrete doesn't fall.
It erases downward.
Like the sky is biting into the building.
"ARJUN!"
Meera's voice cuts through everything.
Karan shouts something I don't hear.
The hallway flickers—
the thing in front of me lunges—
and I don't get to choose.
The world yanks.
No movement.
No transition.
Just—
gone.
I slam into solid ground.
Hard.
Air punches out of my lungs.
Dust fills my mouth.
For a second, I think I'm dead.
Then I cough.
"Arjun!"
Hands grab my shoulder.
Real.
Shaking.
Meera.
I blink hard.
The hallway is gone.
The building—
gone.
We're outside.
Not just outside the classroom.
Outside everything.
The campus is broken open like something peeled it apart.
Roads split in jagged lines.
Buildings leaning at impossible angles.
The sky—
wrong.
Still watching.
Karan groans somewhere to my right.
"Okay… okay… I'm alive… I think…"
He sits up slowly, clutching his side.
"You two good?"
Meera nods quickly. "I'm fine."
Then she looks at me.
"You?"
I nod.
But I don't feel fine.
I feel… lighter.
And I hate that feeling now.
"What happened?" Karan asks, looking around.
"No idea," I say.
"That's becoming a pattern."
A distant scream cuts through the air.
Then another.
Then many.
We all turn.
The city isn't just damaged.
It's happening.
People running.
Some glowing faintly with system windows flickering in front of their faces.
Others—
just running.
No system.
No interface.
Just fear.
A man trips near us.
Crawls backward, shaking.
"There's something in the road—something—"
He doesn't finish.
Because something grabs him from below.
The asphalt splits open.
A thin, black limb drags him under.
Gone.
Silence hits for half a second.
Then chaos resumes louder.
Karan stares. "Okay. New rule. We don't touch the ground too confidently."
"Agreed," Meera says.
My vision flickers.
[ZONE TRANSITION COMPLETE]
I flinch.
"No more transitions," I mutter.
"Too late," Karan says, pointing.
Across the street—
a group of people stands still.
Not running.
Not screaming.
Watching something.
One of them suddenly moves.
Fast.
Too fast.
He lunges at another person.
Tackles him.
Bites.
"What the hell?!" Meera shouts.
The bitten guy shoves him off—
then his eyes flicker.
A faint glow.
System.
He stands up slowly.
Looks around.
Then smiles.
Karan steps back. "Nope. I don't like that smile."
The glowing guy speaks.
Voice calm.
Too calm.
"Players," he says. "We need to group."
The others look at him.
Confused.
Terrified.
One of them shakes his head. "What are you talking about?!"
The glowing guy sighs.
Then shrugs.
And pushes him.
Straight into a crack in the road.
The man falls.
Screams.
Gone.
Meera grabs my arm. "We're not staying here."
"No argument," Karan says quickly.
We move.
Fast.
Every step feels wrong.
Like the ground might decide not to exist under us.
We pass more people.
Some with that same glow.
Some without.
The difference is obvious now.
Players.
And everyone else.
And players—
aren't acting human.
"Stay away from anyone glowing," Karan mutters.
"Noted," Meera says.
I don't say anything.
Because my head is still echoing.
Fourth iteration.
Original Arjun.
Memory loss.
I clench my jaw.
Focus.
A loud crash behind us.
We turn.
The building we came from—
or what's left of it—
finally collapses.
Not falling.
Sinking.
Like something below is swallowing it whole.
The gray sky pulses once.
And for a split second—
I see it again.
That finger.
Watching.
I look away immediately.
"Nope," I whisper.
"Yeah," Karan agrees. "Let's not make eye contact with the sky."
We duck into a broken storefront.
Glass shattered.
Shelves overturned.
Temporary cover.
Meera leans against a wall, breathing hard.
"We need a plan," she says.
"Survive," Karan replies.
"That's not a plan."
"It's a starting point."
They both look at me.
I hesitate.
Because for the first time—
I actually have one.
Not a good plan.
Not a safe one.
But a direction.
"If I'm the fourth iteration," I say slowly, "then something happened to the first one."
Karan exhales. "Yeah, we covered that."
"No," I say. "We didn't."
I look at both of them.
"Everything that's happening to me—Echo Step, memory loss, duplicates—it all started with him."
Meera nods slowly. "So you think fixing him fixes you?"
"I don't know," I admit.
"But I know one thing."
I step forward.
"If I don't find him, I won't exist long enough to survive this."
Silence.
Karan scratches his head. "So your plan is… find yourself before you stop being yourself."
"…yes."
He nods once. "Okay. Weird. But I've heard worse today."
Meera watches me carefully.
"You're serious."
"I don't have time to not be."
A distant explosion shakes the ground.
We all flinch.
Outside—
something large moves past the street.
Not fully visible.
Just a shadow.
Too big.
Karan peeks through the broken glass.
"…yeah, we're definitely not the top of the food chain anymore."
Meera straightens.
"Then we move carefully," she says. "Avoid players. Avoid whatever that was. Stay together."
My system flickers again.
I brace for a message.
But it's not mine.
Meera gasps.
A faint glow appears in front of her eyes.
"No way…" she whispers.
Karan looks at her.
Then freezes.
"Wait… I see something too."
Both of them stare at nothing.
Reading.
Processing.
I watch.
Uneasy.
"What does it say?" I ask.
Meera swallows.
"…it says I'm a Player."
Karan laughs once.
Dry.
"Same."
They look at each other.
Then at me.
"Guess we're in the game now," Karan mutters.
I don't respond.
Because something feels wrong.
Their systems—
they look… normal.
Clean.
Stable.
Mine—
never was.
Meera looks at me again.
"We'll figure yours out too," she says.
I nod.
But I don't believe that.
Another scream outside.
Closer.
We move again.
Step by step.
Through broken streets.
Through shifting ground.
Through a world that doesn't wait.
And as we move—
I repeat it in my head.
Find the original Arjun.
Understand what happened.
Before I'm gone.
The goal locks in.
Sharp.
Clear.
No confusion.
No hesitation.
This is it.
This is where it actually begins.
We turn a corner.
And stop.
Because the road ahead—
is filled with players.
Dozens of them.
All glowing.
All armed with makeshift weapons.
All looking at us.
At me.
One of them steps forward.
Smiling.
"New ones," he says.
Then his eyes flicker.
And his smile widens.
"Especially you."
My chest tightens.
He points directly at me.
"I've seen your type before," he says softly.
The others around him shift.
Closing in.
Karan whispers, "Arjun… tell me you didn't bring attention here."
I don't answer.
Because the player in front of us tilts his head—
And says something that freezes my blood.
"You're not supposed to still exist."
Silence crashes down.
Meera grips my arm.
Hard.
Karan raises his rod slowly.
And the player's smile grows even wider.
"Good," he says. "That means killing you might actually fix something."
Behind him—
more players step forward.
Surrounding us.
No escape.
No time.
And for the first time since everything began—
I realize something worse than dying.
They're not trying to survive.
They're trying to correct me.
Wait… what happens if they're right?