Mumbai woke like something bruised.Heat rose off wet asphalt as the monsoon's humidity clung to the city's concrete spine. Vendors shouted. Engines coughed. A bus dragged itself through puddles as if reluctant to exist. The world moved quickly, loudly—just not kindly.
Inside a one-room home above a paan shop, Arjun Vale opened his eyes because the mattress stabbed his back. Not because he slept well. His dreams were too heavy for that.
He sat up slowly. The mirror leaning against the wall caught him in a moment he'd rather forget: hair long and unkempt, face thin enough to show every bone's outline, eyes grey-brown with too much grey. There was nothing warm in them. They were the kind of eyes that made people look away first.
He splashed water on his face, wiped it with a towel stiff from too many washes, and checked the note his mother had left:
Eat something. Take care.
He folded it twice without reading it.He never ate in the mornings anyway.
By the time he boarded the BEST bus, Mumbai had already decided it didn't care how anyone felt. Arjun stood pressed between strangers, clutching the metal pole as the bus rattled through potholes deep enough to hide secrets in. He watched the city blur in the window—slums, skyscrapers, temples, billboards—every piece of it loud, bright, and exhausting.
Sometimes he wondered if anyone else felt the world pressing down on them like a hand on the back of their skull.
School was worse.
The hallways buzzed with an energy he didn't have. Laughter ricocheted off walls, lockers slammed, and sneakers squeaked across the polished floor. And at the center of everything—like a gravitational pull—stood Samar Pratap.
Tall. Athletic. Sharp grin.Everyone liked him because it was easier than disliking him.
When Samar saw Arjun walking alone, he smiled like he'd been waiting for this.
"Phone," he said casually, palm open.
Arjun's grip tightened around the cracked device in his pocket. He worked nights at a small repair shop, soldering chipped circuits for scraps of cash. That phone was one of the few things he'd bought himself.
He shouldn't refuse.He never refused.
But something inside him felt… restless.Like a corner of his mind that had been dark for years suddenly flickered awake.
"Didn't hear me? " Samar stepped closer. "Give it."
Arjun swallowed. His throat felt like broken glass.
And then—A faint static spark ran behind his eyes.
A blue box flickered into existence at the edge of his vision.Not on his screen.Not in front of him.
Inside his vision.
[MAIN QUEST: SURVIVE TODAY]Reward: +1 ResolvePenalty: Unspecified
He blinked once.Twice.
The box didn't disappear.
Another message layered over it, crisp and impossible:
[SUB-QUEST: REFUSE]Objective: Protect your phone.Reward: +10 EXPPenalty: Physical harm likely
His breath stopped.His heartbeat didn't.
Samar's hand wrapped around his collar and yanked him forward.
"Don't make me ask again, man."
The first punch landed under his ribs.A dull, brutal sound.
Kids nearby looked over—then looked away.
That was the school rule:Mind your own business.Survival by silence.
Another punch.This one was sharper, aimed with a practiced ease that said Samar knew exactly how to hit without leaving visible marks.
Arjun's fingers pressed harder against his phone.
The blue message glowed.Waiting.Calm.Almost patient.
He didn't know why he spoke.Maybe he was tired of being invisible.Maybe the box in his vision pushed him.Maybe something small inside him finally cracked.
"No."
The word came out soft.But inside Samar's ears, it might as well have been thunder.
Samar blinked.Surprise.Amusement.Then something darker.
"Oh? Vale wants to play hero today? "
He slammed Arjun against a locker.Pain flared bright and immediate.His vision shook.Someone laughed nervously.Someone else whispered, "He's dead."
Through the dizziness, the blue box updated:
[SUB-QUEST: REFUSE—ACCEPTED]+10 EXPTrait Progress: 3%
Another punch.Arjun gasped.The hallway shrank around him.
But he didn't let go of the phone.
Not this time.
A bell rang—shrill, merciful, artificial.Teachers spilled into the corridor.Faces tightened.Voices rose.
Samar clicked his tongue in annoyance, shoved Arjun once more for good measure, and walked away like nothing happened.
Rishi muttered, "Lucky," under his breath.Danish gave Arjun a look like he was trying to understand why anyone would bother resisting.
Then they were gone.
Arjun stayed where he was for a moment, hand on the dented locker, ribs throbbing with each breath. His hair fell over his eyes, shadows cutting his face in half.
The world moved.Kids walked past him.No one asked if he was okay.
No one ever did.
The blue box pulsed again.
[SUB-QUEST COMPLETE]Reward: +10 EXPTrait Unlocked: IRON WILL (Lv. 0)
Arjun exhaled slowly.
He didn't feel stronger.He didn't feel different.
But for the first time in years, he felt something shift inside him.
Small.Quiet.Sharp.
A beginning.
Outside the classroom window, the sky over Mumbai cracked open with light. A breeze swept in, carrying dust and distant traffic. Somewhere on a nearby rooftop, a figure stood watching the school.
Not a student.Not a teacher.Someone who had been following Subject awakenings for years.
And today, something faint and dangerous had flickered awake in a thin boy with grey-brown eyes.
The figure tilted their head.
"So it begins."