For most people, the world didn't change overnight.
The sky was still blue. The traffic still screamed. The rich still ruled. And the poor still begged.
But for a few people—in government, banking, and media—a strange pattern was starting to emerge.
A pattern with no name, no face, and no origin.
---
At the Reserve Bank of India
Inside a temperature-controlled vault room where only the top financial security officers were allowed, a junior data technician frowned at his screen.
"Sir," he whispered to his supervisor, "This doesn't make sense."
"What now?"
"Another silent ownership shift just happened. Sharma Infrastructure, a mid-tier construction group, got bought out in 0.2 seconds. No trace. No buyer name. The transaction passed through a scrambled mirror of encrypted shell companies and exited offshore."
"So? That's common these days."
The junior tech shook his head. "No sir. This one came from... nowhere. Literally."
He enlarged the screen.
> Origin: NULL
Amount Used: Untraceable (Security Clearance Level: -INFINITY)
Transaction Confirmed: YES
Final Holder: Ryu Holdings Pvt Ltd (New Entity - Unregistered)
The supervisor stared at the blinking screen.
"Get the Minister on the phone."
---
Meanwhile, in New Era City
Reyan was reading a digital financial newspaper with his morning tea.
> "Mystery Conglomerate 'Ryu Holdings' buys 7 companies in 24 hours. All owners refuse to speak. Tracing efforts blocked. Is this a new world player?"
He smiled quietly.
> "System. How many people are watching us now?"
> [42 active surveillance attempts.]
[Origin: 12 from India, 6 from USA, 8 from China, 5 from Europe, 3 from Dark Net entities, 8 unknown AI crawlers.]
Shall I wipe them out?
> "Not yet. Let them watch. Let them wonder."
> "But block all hacks trying to touch Arya's school data."
> [Shield active. No breach possible.]
---
At Eden District Academy
Arya walked through the corridors like any other day.
But the eyes had changed.
Some curious.
Some respectful.
Some fearful.
Her locker was freshly painted—by someone else.
Her desk had a new cushion—placed silently before she arrived.
And Ritika... kept her distance.
At lunch, Arya found a note slipped into her bag.
> "You're not who you say you are."
"You're hiding something."
"Tell your brother to stop playing with empires."
—Unknown
Arya's heart stopped.
"...Reyan…"
---
Back at Zenith-9
Reyan was on the rooftop, feeding birds with his phone floating in front of him via magnetic air-hold.
The system beeped.
> [Suspicious Note Delivered to Arya. Tracking Source...]
> [Source: Anonymous device. Found. Owner: Parth K. Iyer. Age: 19. Hacker. Suspended Student. Location: Sector 33, Old City.]
> Shall I erase him? the system asked.
Reyan stared at the skyline.
> "No. I want to meet him."
> "Send him an invitation."
---
Sector 33 – Later That Night
Parth sat in his underground garage with old computers and wires dangling like vines.
His fingers typed fast, tracing Ryu Holdings through dark net nodes.
> "Come on, come on… Who are you?"
Suddenly, the lights flickered. His screens all turned black.
Then… one line appeared.
> "You looked too far."
Another line followed:
> "The Ghost has seen you."
Then a voice came from behind him.
"You wanted to know who we are?"
Parth turned.
Reyan stood at the top of the stairwell—wearing black.
Behind him, shadows moved. Armed, silent, system-made guards.
Parth froze.
Reyan stepped forward slowly.
"I don't mind being hunted," he said. "But threaten my sister again… and your bones will be the only data you ever upload."
Parth dropped to his knees.
"I… I didn't mean to…"
Reyan tossed him a small cube.
"Work for me instead. Hackers like you are better used than wasted."
Parth stared at the cube. It was worth more than anything he had ever seen.
> [New Asset Registered: Parth K. Iyer – Digital Analyst, Loyalty Level: Testing.]
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