# Chapter 1 — This Time

  ## Prologue — The Ruined World

  The world was already dead.

  Skyscrapers stood broken like hollow skeletons. Roads were torn apart. The sky itself looked cracked, red lightning crawling through the fractures as if reality had been split open.

  At the top of a ruined building stood a lone figure.

  Wind pulled at his dark coat. Blood traced a thin line down from his forehead, yet his eyes were steady.

  Below him, something enormous moved through the wreckage — a monster formed of shifting shadow and bone. Every step it took made the air vibrate.

  The boy looked down at it.

  For a brief moment, he closed his eyes.

  Then he smiled faintly.

  “This time…” he whispered.

  His fingers curled slowly into a fist.

  “I will win.”

  The monster lifted its head.

  And the world trembled.

  — Darkness —

  ---

  ## Present Day — A Very Normal Morning

  A phone vibrated aggressively on a wooden table.

  Aarav’s hand reached out blindly from under the blanket, knocked something over, and finally grabbed the phone.

  “…Hello…”

  On the other side, his friend’s voice exploded,

  “Where are you?! We’re waiting at the metro station! We’re getting late!”

  Aarav turned his face deeper into the pillow.

  “Five minutes…”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “You say that every single day!”

  Call disconnected.

  Silence returned.

  Aarav slowly sat up, hair completely chaotic, eyes half open.

  Inside his mind, a calm narration began:

  > My name is Aarav. I’m 17 years old.

  > And I do not have a girlfriend.

  > I have never had a girlfriend.

  > At this point, I might need government assistance.

  He stood up lazily.

  > My life is extremely boring.

  > School. Home. Homework. Sleep. Repeat.

  > Honestly, the only exciting place in my life is my dreams.

  > In my dreams, I can do anything.

  He brushed his teeth half-asleep, almost walked into a wall, wore his uniform, and threw his bag over his shoulder.

  Another normal day.

  ---

  ## School — Lunch Break

  The classroom buzzed with noise.

  Aarav sat by the window, staring outside. Thinking about absolutely nothing important.

  Then—

  “Hi… Aarav.”

  He turned.

  A girl was standing beside his desk.

  His brain paused.

  A real girl.

  Initiating conversation.

  With him.

  “Oh… hi.”

  She looked slightly nervous.

  “Are you free after school? I… wanted to talk to you about something.”

  Inside his mind:

  > This is it.

  > This is the turning point.

  > The single life ends today.

  > History is being written.

  After school, they stood near the staircase.

  The hallway was quieter now.

  The girl looked down at her hands, then slowly looked up at him.

  “Aarav…” she began softly.

  Her voice was slower now. Careful.

  “I’ve been thinking for a while and… I just wanted to say… I think… I like you.”

  "Well you going out with me "

  Inside Aarav’s head:

  > Yes.

  > Yes.

  > YES.

  > Absolutely yes.

  > Say yes immediately. Don’t mess this up.

  > This is not a drill.

  His heart pounded loudly.

  He opened his mouth to respond—

  And something shifted.

  The air felt heavier.

  The sound around him dulled, as if the world had stepped back.

  His thoughts were still screaming *yes* —

  But his expression slowly went blank.

  And his voice, calm and emotionless, said:

  “Not interested.”

  Silence.

  The girl froze.

  “…Oh.”

  She tried to smile.

  “That’s okay.”

  She turned and walked away.

  Aarav blinked.

  Wait.

  What?

  His heart started racing.

  He didn’t mean to say that.

  He *didn’t* want to say that.

  His friends rushed over.

  “Bro! Was that a proposal?!”

  Aarav stared at the empty hallway.

  “I… don’t know what just happened.”

  And for the first time—

  Something inside him felt slightly disconnected.

  ---

  ## Evening — The Bridge

  School ended.

  The group walked home, joking and laughing.

  But Aarav was quiet.

  Still replaying the moment.

  They crossed a wide bridge.

  His friends walked a little ahead.

  He accidentally bumped into a group of older boys.

  One of them grabbed his collar.

  “Watch where you’re going.”

  Another stepped closer.

  “Maybe he needs to learn properly.”

  Aarav looked down at the hand gripping his collar.

  And suddenly—

  Everything froze.

  A flash.

  A vision.

  The boy’s head hitting the ground.

  The bridge cracking violently from a single impact.

  Concrete splitting.

  Shockwaves tearing through the road.

  Blood spreading across broken cement.

  Silence.

  Then—

  Reality snapped back.

  The boy was still holding his collar.

  The bridge was perfectly fine.

  No cracks.

  No blood.

  Just traffic noise and evening wind.

  Aarav’s breathing turned uneven.

  For a second… he wasn’t sure which version was real.

  His friends ran back toward him.

  “Hey! What’s going on?”

  The older boys let go and walked away, muttering.

  Aarav stood there, staring at the ground.

  The world looked normal.

  Sounded normal.

  Felt normal.

  But it wasn’t.

  Because something had spoken through him earlier.

  And something had shown him a future

  that hadn’t happened.

  The wind grew slightly colder.

  Aarav looked up at the sky.

  For a brief second—

  He felt like he was being observed.

  Not by people.

  But by something far beyond this world.

  And somewhere… very far away…

  Someone smiled.

  ---

  End of Chapter 1