The Fractured Truth

The world blurred as they fell, the library vanishing into a swirl of shadows and forgotten whispers. Ravi tried to reach for Raj, but his fingers slipped through empty air. A deafening silence swallowed them. Then—impact. The floor beneath them was solid, cold, and unnervingly smooth. Ravi groaned, pushing himself up. Raj landed beside him with a grunt, Meera gasping as she steadied herself. Aarav hit the ground last, clutching the book to his chest. "Where… are we?" Raj muttered.

Dim, unnatural light bathed the endless corridor before them. The walls shimmered, shifting between solid and translucent. Ravi turned, searching for the Librarian—but he was gone. Instead, the air was filled with a low hum, like a machine running beneath their feet. Aarav shivered. "This place feels wrong." Meera narrowed her eyes. "We're not in the library anymore. This… this is something else." Ravi's fingers curled into fists. "And I don't think we're alone."

A door stood at the far end of the corridor. Unlike the others they'd encountered, this one wasn't worn or crumbling. It was pristine—white, seamless, humming with energy. Something was behind it. Aarav clutched the book tighter. "This place… it's where they rebuild people, isn't it?" His voice was hoarse. "Where they turn them into something they're not." Raj exhaled sharply. "Then that means Rana—" "Vihaan," Aarav corrected, "—was rewritten here."

Meera stepped forward, hand brushing against the door. The moment she did, it shuddered—not locked, but resisting, as if something inside didn't want them to enter. "There's something waiting for us," she said. "Something unfinished." Ravi met Raj's gaze. "No turning back?" Raj smirked faintly. "We passed that point long ago."

Ravi pressed his palm against the door. A pulse of cold spread through his arm. The door clicked, then swung open on its own. Beyond it, the space was vast—white walls, stretching infinitely. And in the center stood a single chair, surrounded by floating screens, wires hanging like veins. The chair was empty. But someone had been there recently.

Aarav's breath hitched. "This is where they changed him." Meera touched the nearest screen, but it flickered, glitching as if trying to erase itself. "They're hiding something." She tapped rapidly, overriding whatever system controlled the data. And then—a name appeared.

Vihaan Khatri – Subject 001

Ravi's stomach twisted. Raj inhaled sharply. "They experimented on him?" The screen flickered again, loading more text. Status: Rewritten. Parameters: Anger. Fear. Isolation. Purpose: Destruction. Aarav clenched his fists. "They made him into this."

A distorted voice crackled through unseen speakers. "They did more than that." The room shook. The screens glitched violently. And then—footsteps. Slow. Steady. Coming closer.

A shadow formed at the far end of the white void, stepping forward. Familiar. Terrifying. Rana.

But something was wrong. His eyes were distant, empty, flickering like static. "You shouldn't be here," he said, voice unnervingly flat.

Meera's hand tightened on the screen's edge. "He's not… himself." Aarav took a shaky step forward. "Rana? Do you remember?"

Rana's gaze flickered. Just for a second. Then—he winced, his body glitching, as if something inside him was breaking. His voice, quieter now, almost uncertain: "Vihaan…?"

Then the room screamed. Sirens blared. The walls cracked. And behind Rana, something monstrous stirred.