Eklavya:
Amit suddenly moved in front of me and kicked that person—no, that thing—sending it crashing across the floor.
It twisted unnaturally, its limbs bending at angles no human body should allow. Its breathing came out in broken, wet sounds.
It lunged again.
Fast.
Too fast.
I froze.
Amit didn't step back.
He stepped forward.
His hand struck its chest.
For a split second, nothing happened.
Then—
A faint blue light burst from his palm, spreading across the creature like glowing cracks in glass.
The thing screamed.
Not like a human.
Like something tearing apart from the inside.
Its body jerked violently. Its fingers clawed at Amit's arm, its jaw stretching wider than possible.
The blue light tightened.
Wrapped around it.
Contained it.
And then—
It collapsed.
Still.
Silent.
My breath stopped.
"AMIT… he… he… he killed that person—I mean monster… I mean whatever that thing was!"
My voice cracked. My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
That thing… whatever it was… had been horrifying. Twisted. Breathing like something broken.
And Amit had stopped it.
No hesitation.
No panic.
No fear.
But how?
It was like reality skipped a moment. One second it stood in front of us. The next—it was nothing.
I stared at him.
"Who are you?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he crouched beside the creature. His palm glowed again—soft blue light wrapping around it like threads.
As if he was stitching reality back together.
The creature's body slowly dissolved into faint particles of light, fading into nothing.
Just when I was about to demand answers—
My vision blurred.
My head spun.
A cold sensation ran down my spine.
And suddenly—
Someone else was standing there.
Right beside us.
My heart nearly stopped.
W-Where did he come from…?
He hadn't walked in.
Hadn't run in.
He was just… there.
Did he… come from the wall?
No.
That's impossible.
My jaw slowly dropped as reality itself began to feel unreliable.
The man adjusted his glasses calmly, as if nothing strange had happened.
"Are you done sealing him?" he asked.
Amit didn't turn.
"Almost."
Sealing.
The word echoed in my head.
So he killed that thing and then sealed it
Like this was routine.
This is crazy
My mind finally snapped.
"Amit, who are you?" I demanded. "No—what are you? And who is this guy?! And WHAT is going on?!"
Amit stood slowly.
For a moment… he didn't look like the Amit I knew.
He looked older.
Tired.
He exhaled.
"I was going to tell you normally," he said quietly.
"Maybe over tea. Maybe somewhere calm. Maybe without all this."
The other guy smirked faintly.
"That would've required you to avoid destroying the surroundings."
He glanced at the cracked floor.
Amit frowned.
"It was controlled."
"Debatable," the guy replied.
I stared at both of them.
"…Can someone explain before I lose my mind?"
They exchanged a brief glance.
Then the guy with glasses stepped forward.
"We are… Aetheris."
The word meant nothing to me.
"Aetheris?" I repeated.
He nodded.
"We exist to destroy creatures like the one you just saw."
My throat went dry.
"And what do you want?" I asked.
He answered without hesitation.
"You."
My stomach dropped.
Why me?
Are they going to kill me because I saw them?
My heart pounded so loudly I could hear it.
Amit had destroyed that thing in seconds.
If he wanted to…
I wouldn't even have time to react.
I hadn't even lived properly yet.
I didn't even have someone I could call a best friend.
It seems like amit saw my horror.
"…Pure emotion," Amit said.
I blinked.
"…What?"
The guy with glasses adjusted them.
"Pure emotion is a form of power," he said calmly.
"Rare. Extremely rare."
His eyes studied me carefully.
"And you have it."
My chest tightened.
Amit stepped closer.
"I'm not asking you to fight because you're strong," he said quietly.
He placed his hand over his chest.
"I'm asking because you care."
I couldn't speak.
"You felt it, didn't you?" he continued.
"That fear. That helplessness."
Images flashed in my mind.
Its twisted face.
Its broken breathing.
My frozen body.
"They're appearing more often," Amit said.
"They kill people. Destroy lives."
His voice softened.
"And only Aetheris can stop them."
Silence filled the air.
The other guy spoke.
"I cannot explain everything right now. Even if I tried… you wouldn't understand yet."
He placed a hand on his chest.
"But this is how we protect people."
A faint glow flickered in his palm. Controlled. Stable.
"It isn't magic," he said.
"It's a gift."
My chest tightened painfully.
"…So you're saying I have that?"
Amit nodded.
"That's why we need you."
Need me.
For what?
To fight those things?
To risk my life?
Fear crept into my voice.
"…Why me?"
Neither of them answered immediately.
The silence made it worse.
"…Why should I help you?" I asked. "Why should I risk my life for something I don't even understand?"
Amit looked directly into my eyes.
Not like I was a weapon.
Like I was a person.
"Because you can't stand seeing people suffer," he said.
My breath caught.
"You don't want anyone else to feel the pain of losing someone they love."
Something inside me cracked.
Memories surfaced.
Pain.
Loss.
Helplessness.
My fists slowly clenched.
He was right.
I hated that feeling.
More than anything.
If I turned away now…
If more of those things appeared…
Could I live with myself?
Silence stretched.
My heart pounded.
Fear told me to run.
To forget everything.
To pretend none of this was real.
But something deeper refused.
I looked up.
"I will do it."
Both of them froze.
"…Wait," Amit blinked. "That easily?"
The guy with glasses adjusted them.
"You didn't hesitate long."
I glared at them.
"Don't make me regret it."
Amit stared at me for a second.
Then he smiled.
Not joking.
Not mocking.
Proud.
"Welcome," he said quietly,
"to the worst decision of your life."
The other guy nodded.
"Training begins tomorrow."
My brain lagged behind.
"…Training?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"5 a.m."
"5 WHAT?!"
Amit laughed softly.
"Oh. And one more thing."
He pointed to the empty space where the creature had been.
"More of them are coming."
A cold chill ran through me.
"…You could've said that earlier."
He smiled faintly.
"Where's the drama in that?"
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
Because somewhere deep inside my chest…
Something had changed.
Something had awakened.
Not fear.
Not courage.
Something else.
Something alive.
A word echoed faintly in my mind.
Antithesis.
No…
That wasn't it.
Architect…?
No.
Wrong.
The real word slipped away before I could grasp it.
But whatever it was…
My life would never be normal again.