The neon lights of Neo-Delhi flickered against the rain-slicked pavement. For Arjun, the city was never quiet; it was a constant roar of flying transports, holographic billboards, and people screaming to be heard.
He was twenty-two, working a dead-end job at a high-tech scrap yard. His life was a series of "Yes, sir" and "Sorry, sir."
"Hey, glitch-boy! Move those energy cores faster!" his supervisor, a man with a cybernetic arm, barked.
Arjun didn't argue. He never did. He just lowered his head and hauled the heavy crates. He was the "soft" guy, the one who was too easy to bully.
On his way home, cutting through a dark alley to save time, he saw it—a crack in the air. A Rift. It was small, glowing with a sickly purple light. A stray kitten was cornered near it, hissing at a shadow-like creature crawling out of the tear.
Without thinking, Arjun lunged forward. "Get away!" he shouted, grabbing the kitten.
As he pulled back, a bolt of blue lightning shot out from the Rift, hitting him square in the chest. His vision turned white. A mechanical voice, cold and ancient, echoed directly into his brain.
[Target Neutralized.]
[EXP Gained: +5]
[Silence Streak: 00:05:12... Power accumulating...]
Arjun stood in the rain, breathing hard, the kitten shivering in his jacket. For the first time in his life, the world felt truly quiet. And for the first time, he felt like he was finally in control.