The world was shifting.
Not in ways most people could see—but in the deep undercurrents of gravity, light, and instinct. The balance of nature, once a steady hum, now pulsed unevenly like a heart under stress.
Animals began migrating out of season.
Earthquakes trembled in places where no fault lines ran.
The Moon pulled at the tides more violently than before—as if reaching for something.
And high above it all, the Sun blinked.
For just a moment.
A solar flare the size of North America erupted from its surface, unseen by most—but Kael felt it burn through his chest like a second heartbeat.
He was in the desert when it happened.
And he smiled.
Elsewhere...
Mumbai.
The sky darkened at noon.
Clouds rolled in unnaturally fast, not storm clouds—but deep, heavy pressure systems without moisture. Every bird vanished. Traffic lights flickered. Phones died in people's hands.
And in the city's outskirts, three people moved toward the center.
They didn't know it yet.
But the universe did.
Nyra
She ran barefoot through an alleyway behind her college campus, chasing something only she could feel.
The pull of water.
She felt it beneath the streets, in pipes, in sewers. It whispered to her, begged for her command. Her skin shimmered with condensation. Her breath steamed in the unnatural heat.
She had no idea where she was going.
Only that she had to get there.
Aarav
He stood atop a train, hands outstretched as wind tore past him.
Time had slowed again.
The world moved like syrup while he moved between the seconds.
He wasn't sure why he boarded this train. He only knew he felt closer to something here. Like stars burned stronger in this direction. Like fate itself had curved his path.
When the train stopped, it was near the city center.
He leapt down.
And felt the ground tremble.
Kael
Kael walked calmly into the metro station—silent, composed, radiating invisible heat. The world bent slightly around him.
People moved out of his way without knowing why.
He could feel it. The others were near.One felt like water.
The other—like absence.
Not cold. Not empty. Just... undefined.
Like distant light still on its way.
He clenched his fist. Sparks crackled between his fingers.He was ready to meet them.
But not to talk.
To test.
Then... it happened.
A pressure wave burst through the station.
Lights exploded.
People screamed and scattered.
And for one moment, in the smoke and chaos, the three vessels passed by one another—without realizing it.
Aarav brushed past Nyra in the confusion, eyes wide, senses spiraling.Kael stepped onto the opposite platform just as Nyra turned away.Three trajectories—three orbits—collided for just a heartbeat.
None of them knew what the universe had just tried to force into motion.
But the balance shivered.
A second flare erupted from the sun.
This time, the Earth felt it.