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The hideout was bathed in a dull glow from Vikram’s laptop, the only source of light as the trio braced for the inevitable. Outside, the city of Mumbai carried on, oblivious to the storm brewing in the shadows.
Kabir tightened the straps on his gloves, his mind still reeling from the vision. The ring lay on the table, glowing faintly, tempting him.
Ananya’s voice cut through the silence. “We need to move. Now.”
Vikram’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “They’ve got a team sweeping the area. SUVs, armed men. They’ll be here in fifteen minutes, tops.”
Kabir exhaled sharply. “Is there another way out?”
Vikram nodded. “A service tunnel beneath the building. It leads to an abandoned subway line.”
Ananya grabbed her backpack. “Then let’s go.”
But just as she spoke, the power cut out.
The laptop screen went dark. The hum of the hideout’s ventilation stopped. A chilling silence followed.
Then—
BANG! BANG!
The door shook violently as someone tried to break through.
“They’re early,” Vikram muttered, pulling out his gun.
Kabir grabbed the ring, his fingers hesitating over it. He knew what it could do—but was he ready for the cost?
No time to think. He pocketed it instead.
“Take the tunnel,” Vikram ordered. “I’ll slow them down.”
“No way,” Kabir shot back. “We fight together.”
“Not this time,” Vikram said. “You have the ledger, and you’re the only one who can stop them. I’ll cover your escape.”
Kabir clenched his fists. He hated this. But there was no time for debate.
“Stay alive,” he said.
Vikram smirked. “That’s the plan.”
Kabir grabbed Ananya’s wrist, and they bolted for the service tunnel. Behind them, the door burst open, and gunfire erupted.
Vikram was holding the line.
Into the Depths
The tunnel was dark, damp, and reeked of mold. Ananya’s flashlight flickered as they hurried forward.
“You think he’ll make it?” she asked.
Kabir didn’t answer. He couldn’t.
Instead, he focused on their escape. The tunnel led to an old maintenance shaft, rusted and narrow. They climbed through, emerging in a long-abandoned subway platform.
“Almost there,” Ananya breathed.
Then—footsteps.
They weren’t alone.
Kabir’s muscles tensed as shadows moved in the darkness. The Syndicate had anticipated this escape route.
Ananya’s grip on her flashlight tightened. “What now?”
Kabir reached into his pocket, feeling the ring’s cold metal.
He had no choice.
Slowly, he slipped it onto his finger.
The Awakening
The power surged instantly.
Kabir’s heartbeat slowed, his senses sharpening. He could hear the Syndicate operatives moving, smell the gunpowder on their weapons.
He moved.
The first man barely had time to react before Kabir struck, his fist crashing into his ribs with bone-shattering force. Another lunged forward—Kabir dodged effortlessly, twisting his body and delivering a brutal counterattack.
They were nothing to him.
A gunshot rang out. Kabir turned just in time—too late to dodge.
But then, something extraordinary happened.
The bullet slowed mid-air, as if time itself had bent around him. His body reacted instinctively, shifting just enough for it to graze past his shoulder instead of piercing through.
Ananya’s eyes widened. “What the hell?”
Kabir didn’t know either. But he felt it. The ring wasn’t just giving him power. It was changing the very way he moved—enhancing his instincts, sharpening his reaction time beyond human limits.
More Syndicate men poured in.
Kabir took a deep breath.
Time to test the full extent of this power.