Chapter 23 — The Day the Light Vanished
> Yesterday, at approximately 5:30 p.m., near the Bay of Bengal...
The sunlight vanished abruptly from the sky.
For nearly twelve seconds, the entire region was plunged into darkness.
The TV screen flickered with grainy footage — reporters standing near the coast, their microphones trembling in the wind. On-screen graphics read: "MYSTERY BLACKOUT OVER SOUTH ASIA."
> Across the internet, speculation has exploded. Some claimed an alien invasion, others a secret military weapon, or even the start of an extinction event.
But according to a preliminary report from ISRO, the cause could be a massive asteroid temporarily blocking sunlight — though this explanation remains unconfirmed.
The anchor's voice was calm, but beneath it ran a thin current of tension — the kind that grips an entire world when logic begins to fail.
> Early atmospheric readings show ozone disruption across a one-kilometer band. The PMO has issued an emergency nationwide lockdown until further analysis is completed. Only medical emergencies are exempt. Citizens are urged not to leave their homes and to contact emergency line 0101 if necessary. Affected regions include Eastern India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. At 12 p.m. today, the Prime Minister will address the nation. Until then, stay calm and stay indoors.
The faint hum of the television filled the living room — steady and low.
Savitri sat on the sofa, hands folded tightly in her lap. The morning light filtering through the curtains seemed softer than usual, as though afraid to enter. After a few seconds, she exhaled quietly and clicked off the TV.
The silence that followed was heavy — not peaceful, but waiting.
She rose, smoothing the edge of her sari, and stepped out into the kitchen.
Soma was already there, rinsing the last of his breakfast dishes. His movements were unhurried, almost methodical — unaware of how the world outside had begun to hold its breath.
"Did you finish your breakfast?" Savitri asked gently, her voice steady but tired around the edges.
"Yes, Grandma," Soma replied, placing the dish in the rack. The warm smell of parathas still lingered faintly in the air.
Savitri leaned against the doorway, studying him for a moment — his calm face, the casual rhythm of normalcy that felt strangely out of place today.
"Yesterday afternoon, your teacher called," she said at last, a small smile forming. "He told me you did very well on your exam. I wanted to congratulate you last night, but you were already asleep."
Her tone softened, and she reached into the cupboard, pulling out a small chocolate bar.
"Here. You earned it."
Soma blinked in surprise, then grinned. "Thanks, Grandma."
She stepped closer, ruffling his hair lightly — an old habit she never seemed to outgrow.
"Keep studying like this," she said quietly. "I want to see your name among the top students this year."
"I'll try," Soma said, smiling faintly. His voice carried no sense of pride — just quiet sincerity.
He turned to leave, but Savitri called out again, as if remembering something.
"Oh, Soma — the school's been suspended. The government ordered all institutions to close until further notice. Your exams are postponed too."
Soma stopped by the doorway. "Really?"
"Yes," she said, glancing briefly at the muted TV screen. "It's better this way. Until they know what caused… whatever that was yesterday."
Soma nodded slowly. Got it. He turned and disappeared into his room.
---
The morning light slanted through the curtains, dust motes drifting in the quiet air.
When Soma entered his room, he stopped mid-step.
Alex hovered near his desk, her faint silver glow spilling across the walls. In her hands — if light could have hands — the Void Filler rotated slowly, humming with a low, resonant pulse. The soft shimmer of the metal orb cast moving rings of light that danced along the shelves and ceiling.
Soma closed the door quietly, lowering his voice.
"What are you doing with the machine?"
Alex turned toward him, her tone calm, almost innocent.
> "I was thinking… of a more efficient way to use it."
Soma rubbed his forehead, already feeling a headache forming.
"Alex… we have to find another way to expand the twin-sun world. We can't use this thing — it's too dangerous."
Her glow pulsed softly — thoughtful.
> "Then we should send it beyond the solar system," she said simply. "That way, it won't interfere… with Earth."
Soma blinked.
"Beyond the solar system? Even at hypersonic speed, that would take thousands of years."
Alex's eyes glimmered faintly, her tone turning quietly confident.
> "Last night, I studied… the Void Walker ability. It doesn't only allow flight through space — it can bend and mold the very fabric of it. If we integrate… it into the machine, it could teleport… beyond the speed of light."
"Break the speed of light…?" Soma muttered — half disbelief, half awe flickering in his eyes.
So you're saying I need to upgrade the machine.
> "Yes," Alex replied, drifting closer, the silver sphere glinting in her hands. "
He nodded slowly, exhaling.
"Alright then. Let's do it."
---
Soma closed his eyes.
The world around him faded into a quiet hum — replaced by the familiar glow of the rune forming inside his mind.
Seven radiant rings rotated in perfect symmetry, their light spiraling into the dark void. His focus shifted to the fifth ring — Genesis, the Ring of Creation.
A column of light appeared before him. Glowing text formed, floating in the air like a command screen written in starlight.
---
SOUL STORAGE
1. Soul Fragments: 300,590
2. Awakened Souls: 7,070,090
3. Intelligent Souls: 60
4. Transcendental Souls: 0
5. Immortal Souls: 0
6. Divine Souls: 0
---
He opened the Creation tab. Beneath Alex's data, the glowing symbols shimmered — rearranging themselves into lines of readable text.
> Void Filler
An autonomous machine capable of absorbing ether and matter, teleporting it directly into the twin-sun world.
Material: Refined Metal Essence
Absorbing Range: 100 km
Mobility: Hypersonic Flight Capability
The text began to flicker — then shift, updating itself .
> Void Filler (Upgraded)
An autonomous machine capable of absorbing ether and matter, teleporting it directly into the twin-sun world.
Material: Reinforced Metal Essence
Absorbing Range: 1,000 km
Mobility: Void Walker Integration
Requires 1,200,000 Awakened Souls
Yes / No
---
Soma hesitated.
"Is it ready?" he asked, his voice echoing into the void of his mind.
> "Yes," Alex replied softly, "but we'll need multiple units to expand the twin-sun world efficiently."
Soma inhaled deeply, then nodded.
"Alright… let's make them."
He focused on the screen, repeating the word in his mind:
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
YES.
The fifth confirmation triggered a faint pulse of light. A final message appeared before him:
> Not enough souls.
Requires 1,200,000 Awakened Souls to create additional units.
---
When Soma opened his eyes, the air shimmered faintly.
Four silver spheres hovered in front of him, radiating a quiet hum. Their metallic surfaces glowed with the twin sigils of Genesis and Aetherion — two rotating rings etched in living light.
He stepped forward, reaching out hesitantly to touch one. It was cool to the skin, almost weightless.
"Alex," he said softly, "send them beyond Earth's atmosphere."
> "Understood."
She raised her hand. The window unlatched itself with a soft click.
A rush of cool air filled the room as Alex's light expanded, surrounding the orbs. One by one, the spheres floated out through the open window — each leaving behind a faint trail of silver vapor that dissolved into the morning sky.
Soma leaned over the sill, watching until they vanished into the blue.
Moments later, he glanced down at the holographic screen glowing on his wrist. Four small red dots pulsed steadily against a black map grid.
> "They're already thousands… of miles away," Alex said after a brief calculation.
Beyond the upper atmosphere — free of Earth's gravity. You can activate them now."
Soma looked up, astonished.
"Really?"
> "Yes."
He hesitated only a heartbeat — then pressed ON.
From high above, four silver points flickered like distant stars. A ripple of light expanded outward, silent but vast, as though the sky itself had exhaled.
Soma turned to Alex.
"What happens next?"
Her voice lowered, almost reverent.
> "Now we wait," Alex murmured. "Until the fabric between… two star fields begins to stretch… and the two suns start to merge."
The room fell into silence again — the only sound the faint hum of the ceiling fan and the faraway chirp of sparrows outside.
Then — knock, knock.
Soma blinked, pulled back to reality.
He opened the door to find Savitri standing there, a small frown softening into concern.
"Who were you talking to?" she asked gently.
Soma hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck.
"No one. Just… talking to myself."
Savitri squinted at him, suspicious but not unkind.
"I don't know what's going on with you lately," she murmured, "but our garden's flowers were destroyed last night. Come help me fix them."
For a moment, Soma just stood there — the faint reflection of the stars still lingering in his eyes.
Then he smiled, nodding.
"Coming, Grandma."
He followed her down the hall, leaving the quiet hum of the cosmic machine behind.
Outside, sunlight fell across the ruined garden, and the ordinary rhythm of life began again — unaware that somewhere, far beyond the sky, space itself had just begun to shift.