It started with a press conference.
No alarms, no sirens. Just a white room in Geneva, a logo the world had never seen, and a woman the world didn't know.
At 9:03 a.m., every screen on Earth switched to the live broadcast. Phones, televisions, tablets, projectors etc.
The logo behind the podium showed a golden serpent wrapped around three burning eyes. It meant nothing to most. But to those who worked in silence behind the world's wars, it was a warning sign older than their careers.
The woman at the podium was calm. Blonde, mid-thirties, her voice steady and direct. She wore a simple grey suit, her posture measured and rehearsed.
"My name is Dr. Eliza Grange. I represent Project Kairos, and I'm here to tell you the truth."
She waited a moment, then continued.
"For the last 3 million years, our solar system has been sealed from the rest of the universe."
That sentence shook everything.
"We did it to protect ourselves. Long ago, we had access to what we now call the Primordial Force. Some knew it as chakra, mana, prana, ki. The names don't matter. What matters is that it was real—and we weren't ready for it."
The screens behind her showed fragmented footage: planetary ruins, strange distortions in the sky, things that looked like living machines moving between broken moons.
"They came through dimensional rifts. Invaders. Creatures that didn't belong in our universe. And we couldn't fight them."
"So we sealed the sky."
"That Seal cut us off. It locked away the Force. It gave humanity time to survive. To grow."
She moved aside slightly. The screens changed again, this time showing hidden facilities—mountainside temples, submerged bunkers, desert monoliths lit from within.
"Kairos created sanctums in every major country. Controlled zones where the Force could be studied safely. And in those sanctums, we trained warriors."
She turned back to the camera.
"Today, with the Seal collapsing, we no longer have time to stay hidden.
These are Earth's Top 100 awakened individuals."
The names began scrolling. Faces appeared. Backgrounds. Countries. Strength rankings.
#100 – Reza Othman (Jordan)
#84 – Hiroto Kagawa (Japan)
#75 – Maria Nuñez (Spain)
#61 – Kwame Barika (Ghana)
#47 – David Sinclair (Australia)
#38 – Seraphina Kwan (Malaysia)
#29 – Dorian Sato (USA)
#19 – Aayushi Virani (India)
#11 – Waleed Ar-Razi (Egypt)
#10 – Akari Zen (Japan)
#9 – Helena Rose (United Kingdom)
#8 – Faisal Idris (Indonesia)
#7 – Tanaka Mabuso (South Africa)
#6 – Ivan Mikhaylov (Russia)
#5 – Rashid Barzan (UAE)
#4 – Zubair al-Fateh (Saudi Arabia)
#3 – Eliza Grange (United Kingdom)
#2 – Aayushi Virani (India)
#1 – Liang He (China
"From Rank 100 to 11: global assets.
From 10 to 5: city-level assets. Able to withstand nuclear impact.
From 4 to 1: country-level assets. Alone, they could destroy a nation."
Then the screen went dark.
"But there's one more."
Her voice changed. Not louder. Just more careful.
"He was not trained. He is not one of us. He was born as the Seal weakened. No one guided him. No one taught him."
ISHAN VARDHE – UNRANKED – ORIGIN: INDIA
Five seconds of silence passed. Then the screen showed it: a breach near Saturn. A hostile force emerging from the void. Ships that looked alive. Creatures that bent gravity. They moved toward the heart of the solar system.
And then one man appeared.
No armor. No ship. A hooded figure alone in space, unmoving.
He lifted one hand. The fleet vanished.
No explosion. No collision. Just disappearance.
"This is Ishan Vardhe," Eliza said. "We do not rank him because we cannot. His potential is unmeasured. Possibly planetary. Possibly greater."
"He has made no threats. He has accepted no titles. He has asked for only one thing—"
"To be left alone and that is what we will do."
The screen faded to black and the feed ended.
⸻
In a quiet house in Pune, Ishan Vardhe sat at the center of his family's living room.
No one spoke. The air felt heavy. His name hung there, not as pride, not as shame—just truth.
He looked down at the cooling chai in his hands.
It had begun.