The last thing Nivaan remembered was sinking.
Not into water—but into the elevator floor.Cold.Black.Silent.
But when his eyes snapped open again, he was no longer in the elevator.
He was sitting in a glass conference room.Lights humming.AC too cold.The kind of sterile silence that only comes before trouble.
Across the table:Avni. Kiyan. And a stranger.
Or…someone who should be a stranger.
Tall.Blazer too neat.Watch too expensive.His face familiar in the worst way—like a nightmare you half-remember.
"Good morning, Nivaan."His voice was warm.rehearsed.Fake.
Nivaan blinked. "Who—?"
The man smiled like he'd been waiting for that question.
"Dr. Zareen. Cognitive Wellness Division."
Kiyan's leg bounced under the glass table.Avni's hands were folded, too still.
Corporate damage control mode.Great.
Nivaan tried to stand.His head pulsed.That glitching static buzzed at the edge of his hearing.
Dr. Zareen raised a hand."Easy. You fainted. Perfectly normal."
Perfectly normal?Bro was acting like blacking out was a daily KPI.
"Why am I here?" Nivaan asked.
Avni leaned forward."You had… a moment. We just want to make sure you're okay."
"You say 'we' like anyone here cares," Nivaan muttered.
Avni froze.Something flickered in her eyes—guilt. Or regret.Hard to tell. Both looked identical in fluorescent lighting.
Dr. Zareen slid a sleek tablet toward him.
"Before anything else, I need verbal confirmation."His tone softened."Do you consent to continuing employment at MindMesh?"
Nivaan stared.
That was the question?After six missing months?After he died and respawned??
"Why," Nivaan asked slowly, "would I need to confirm that?"
Kiyan answered—too fast."Protocol."
Only insecure people answer that fast.
Nivaan looked at him.Kiyan looked away.
"I just fainted," Nivaan said. "Can we not talk paperwork right now?"
Dr. Zareen chuckled lightly.The way an executioner might.
"This is not paperwork," he said."It's… acknowledgement."
The tablet lit up by itself, blue lines scanning his face.
Scanning.Identity: Confirmed.Cognitive Stability: LOW.Recommendation: Retention Required.
Retention.Not employment.Retention.
Yeah, HR would love that.
"What does that mean?" Nivaan asked.
Zareen answered too casually."It means you're still adjusting. We'll help."
The lights flickered.Just once.
But Nivaan saw Dr. Zareen stiffen.Only for a second—before he relaxed again, pretending it never happened.
Kiyan and Avni didn't even blink.Like flickering lights were just… normal.
Nivaan's heart dropped.His memory didn't return—but a feeling did.
He had been here before.In this same room.In this exact setup.
Déjà vu or something worse.
Zareen tapped the screen."Sign."
Nivaan pushed the tablet back.
"Not until someone tells me what happened to me.Why I disappeared—and why none of you look surprised I'm back."
Avni's face collapsed for a second.
Then she whispered,"You left on purpose."
The words hit harder than they should.
"I would never—" Nivaan began.
But his voice broke.Because he didn't know.He had no proof of who he was then.
Zareen steepled his fingers."You initiated a confidential off-grid mental health sabbatical.Our records show informed consent."
"That's a lie," Nivaan said immediately.
He didn't know how he knew—but he did.
Zareen's eyes sharpened."Interesting."
The room went quiet.The kind of quiet that wants to eat you.
Kiyan finally spoke, voice low.
"You came to me first.Asked me to cover for you.You said it was safer if no one knew."
Nivaan's stomach twisted.
He wanted to call him a liar.But the way Kiyan looked at him…like he was scared to tell even this much…
"Why would I do that?" Nivaan asked.
Kiyan swallowed."You said someone was following you."
Someone.
The static surged in his ears.That whispering voice returning—
He's lying.Don't trust him.
Nivaan's hands curled into fists.
Dr. Zareen tapped his pen against the table.
"I'd advise you ignore internal voices for now."
Internal voices.Like he knew.
Nivaan stared at him.
"You heard that?"
Zareen didn't answer.
The room suddenly felt smaller.Oxygen thinner.
Nivaan stood."Let me talk to someone higher. Someone outside this room."
Zareen calmly closed the tablet."You already did."
That made no sense.
Zareen continued,"Before you left six months ago, you requested total memory lockdown.You insisted it was the only way to keep you—and Avni—safe."
The moment he said her name,she flinched.
Nivaan turned to her."What was I protecting you from?"
She opened her mouth.Closed it.Her throat bobbed like she swallowed a scream.
"I don't know," she whispered."And that's what scares me most."
Silence.Heavy.
The whispering in his head grew louder.
Don't trust them.They know.They watched._
His pulse raced.
"I want to go home," Nivaan said.
"No," Zareen replied.Not loud—but absolute.
Kiyan stood. "Doctor—"
Zareen raised one finger.Kiyan shut up so fast it hurt to watch.
"You will stay on-site until we've verified cognitive stability," Zareen said.
Translation:You're not going anywhere.
Corporate prison.Sleek. Pretty. Well-funded.
Avni's eyes pleaded,Please don't fight.
Nivaan didn't care.
He grabbed the door handle.
It didn't open.
Fingerprint lock.Smart.Predictable.
Zareen tilted his head."Please. Sit."
Nivaan didn't.
So Dr. Zareen said something that froze the room:
"If you leave this building now…you will not survive the night."
The static fell silent.
Even the AC stopped.
Nivaan finally asked the only question that mattered:
"Why?"
Dr. Zareen smiled.
"Because the people looking for you…never stopped."