AGNI RISING

9:23 P.M., 17TH NOVEMBER 2025

The radio came alive, a voice on the other end shouted. “Firefighters! Fire to Pavan Chemical Plant! The address is 23, Industrial Area, Navi, Mumbai.”

The fire chief shouted, “Team! Quick, to the engines!” The firefighters grabbed their fire jackets and ran towards their engines. The Fire chief saw a man being a little slow and shouted at him, “Aarav! Be Quicker! You are still a trainee, pick it up!”

Aarav Sen, a 24-year-old Firefighter Trainee. His brown hair waved against the wind as he rushed around. His black eyes that hid a fire deep beneath them. His mom died when he was 2, she died due to a fire and that was the first memory Aarav remembers. His father was never found and nor did Aarav try to. Because of the incident with his mother, he became a firefighter so that no one would ever lose someone because of Fire. Though a determined individual, he can also be a little Impulsive.

Aarav responded, “Yes, chief!” and ran towards the Engine. He got in and the Brigade dispatched to Navi.

10 MINUTES LATER

Pavan Chemical Plant

The team arrived at the location to find a huge fire. The civilians stood outside crying. The owner ran towards Aarav and begged, “Please! You have to save this place! There is still a worker left in!” Aarav put his hand on the man’s shoulder and assured him, “Don’t worry, sir! We will try our best!”

The group rushed into the burning building with their fire hoses. The chief shouted, “Start the water!” The water flowed through the pipes and it burst out of the end. Aarav moved to the front and sprayed water at the fire.

Aarav’s mind flashed with the memory of his mother being burned, her scream of Agony. Aarav’s hand shook as the flow of the water increased. Aarav started losing control of his hose but another member grabbed it from behind to stabilize it.

The memory kept repeating itself in Aarav’s mind as his heart started pounding. Aarav stabilized his hand and moved forward into the fire. The heat hit Aarav like a truck. He tightened his helmet and continued Forward.

“I must save him; I must save him!” Aarav kept repeating it to himself.

His earpiece crackled with Orders but he did not seem to hear them. He pushed in, the intensity of the fire increasing and the stench of plastic melting growing stronger.

Aarav found the man trapped under a collapsed beam barely conscious. Aarav grabbed the man and he slung his hand over his shoulder. Aarav turned around and started dragging the man to the exit.

Aarav heard a metallic creak as he neared the Exit. Aarav looked up nervously and then it happened. The roof flew off and the fire turned white exuding immense heat. Aarav pushed the man out as the beam above the exit collapsed. Aarav dodged it but he felt the heat. He closed his eyes and braced for Impact but something weird happened.

Aarav felt the heat but he felt no burning sensation. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the fire; it was swirling around him like it was recognizing him. It was like the fire was alive.

“What’s happening to me!?” Aarav shouted but his screams were drowned by the Fire’s roar.

He was panicking.

Aarav stared at the fire and felt pressure rising in his chest. It seemed like something inside him was awakening.

The flame wrapped around Aarav’s hands with Grace, perfection and the flame glowed brighter than any flame he had ever seen. Aarav shook his hand trying to remove the flame from his hands.

Aarav trembled seeing the flame, it was swirling around his hand with a divine glow, not burning, not harming, just waiting.

Aarav felt something inside him speak, not with words but with feeling.

You were born for this.

Aarav felt dizzy as the flame grew brighter. He fell to his knees as the world swirled around him. The flame tightened around Aarav’s hands like a gauntlet. Aarav saw the flame take the shape of a woman, the woman reached out and touched Aarav’s cheek, he felt a strange warmth, something he had last felt around his mother. It felt like she was saying, “It’s alright. You are a brave boy!”

Aarav felt his consciousness slipping as the fire swirled around him intensely.

FIRE BASE, MUMBAI

Aarav stirred in his sleep; memories of the Fire floated hazily in his mind. He heard chattering around him. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself at the Base. Aarav sat upright and looked around as his head pounded.

Aarav saw the Fire Chief approaching him and groaned. The fire chief sat near him as Aarav grumbled.

Aarav: “W… What happened? I don’t remember anything after I entered the Fire.”

The Fire chief chuckled and replied,

Fire Chief: “Well, what happened is nothing short of a Miracle!”

He pulled out his phone and played a video. Aarav saw himself push out the worker and the beam collapsing. The camera shifted upwards as Flame erupted from the roof with a white glow. The flame swirled with delicacy and grace. The flame settled back as the team got the exit open.

The fire chief spoke along with the video,

Fire Chief: “We went in fully expecting to find your burned corpse but we found this.”

He pointed at the video where Aarav laid unconsciously on the floor with Flame swirling around him but not burning him.

The team picked him up and brought him out as the entire factory collapsed to dust dousing the fire. Aarav looked up at the chief in distraught. Aarav snatched the phone from the chief and rewound the video.

Aarav pointed at the video as he showed it to the chief, “Look at that!” Aarav paused at the frame where they could see his hand engulfed in flame. Aarav held up his hand and spoke, “But look at this, there is nothing here.”

The chief took back his phone and announced, “Well, I did say, it was a miracle. Good thing I posted it online, maybe it can grow famous and I can finally earn some money.” Aarav stared at the Chief. He got up and whispered, “Wait… you posted it online?” The chief nodded enthusiastically.

Aarav grabbed his phone and searched the internet. He found the video and the news headlines. Aarav shouts, “Oh my God!” He turns the screen towards Chief as the Newsperson spoke.

“A shocking Incident out of Navi today! A firefighter was trapped inside a burning chemical factory but when he was rescued, he was found to be completely fine with fire swirling weirdly around him. Is it a coincidence or an answer from Nature?”

The news telecast cut off and the channel went black. Aarav switched off his phone and rushed around scratching his head,

Aarav: “Oh God! Oh God! Please let this be a coincidence, please let this be a coincidence!”

The door to the Fire base opened up and a few men wearing Black suits walked in. The middle one asked loudly, “Which one of you is Aarav Sen?”

Aarav stared at the men as the tension in the room grew. He slowly raised his hands as the man’s eyes shifted to Aarav.

The man announced: “You have to come with us. We are from the ACI. You have the right to remain silent but you do not have the right to ask questions until we reach the Headquarters.”

The men moved close to Aarav and grabbed both his arms. Aarav kept silent as the men carried him out. The men stuffed Aarav in the backseat of their SUV with no license plates and Tinted windows. The men drove off as the team stared at the car.

THE NEXT DAY

ACI HEADQUARTERS, DELHI(Astra Commission of India)

Aarav was kept locked in an Interrogation room. All he could see was the colour white staring at him through all 4 walls. On the other side of the wall, people monitored him through the one-way glass.

Man 1: “Did you inform her?”

Man 2: “Yes, she will be here any minute.”

The door opened and a woman walked in. Everyone straightened up as she reached the mirror and stared at Aarav.

Woman: What’s the circumstances?

Man 1: “The video that went viral online signalled that this man has an Astra. Now which one is what we have to find out.”

Another man walked in and even the woman straightened up.

Man: “So, Priya, what’s the status?”

Priya fixed her glasses and removed the stray hair from her face.

Priya: “Sir, we are working on determining the Astra. I will go in now for the interrogation.”

Man: “Alright, get me the report quickly. It has taken a lot of effort to supress the news, I want an analysis report right away.”

The man walked out and Priya grabbed a notepad and walked into the white room.

Aarav looked at the ceiling as he heard the door open. He stood up quickly knocking his chair back. He looked and saw Priya. Her hair tied into a bun, her calm demeanour that immediately Irritated him.

Aarav: “What the hell is happening? Why am I here? Everything of mine was confiscated, why?”

Priya kept her calm further irritating him. She took her seat and gestured at Aarav to take his seat. Aarav took his seat and crossed his arms.

Priya: First of all, I am Dr. Priya Kapoor. I am your Investigator...to say the least. You must cooperate with me if you want to know what is happening to you.

Priya: “To understand what happened, tell me the Incident, whatever you remember. We know you saved the man and were trapped in the burning Factory.”

Aarav: “W…well, I felt trapped and expected death as the flames grew but then it seemed to bend around me, it seemed to be weird. It did not harm me, it felt like it was protecting me.”

Priya’s face went white as she heard this.

Aarav continued: “Even after I woke up, I had no injuries, not even a small burn. So, what do you think it is? A weird chemical reaction?”

Priya broke out of her trance and spoke, her calm demeanour breaking.

Priya: “The chemicals in the factory were explosives. If they had been under fire, there would be only one chemical reaction and that is an Explosion. This… This is something else.”

Priya reached beneath the table and pressed a button. The wall in front of Aarav lit up and the Video from the Factory played. As the fire shot out the roof, Priya grabbed the table, her knuckles whitening. Her heartbeat sped up and the lights in the room flickered. A low hum grew in her ears.

Priya whispered: “Astra… awakening…”

There was a flash of gold in Priya’s eyes. The room disappeared, replaced by swirling embers dancing around her like fireflies made of Ash.

The air grew hot enough to sting. A deep voice echoed in her mind. Not speaking in words… speaking in force.

“Agni… has chosen.”

Priya clenched her teeth. Heat seared through her palms though she wasn’t touching anything.

The embers surged together, forming the silhouette of a man.

Aarav.

But not as he was.

As he could become.

Fire crowned his shoulders, flowed like molten metal under his skin. His eyes glowed the exact shade of the ancient murals she had seen only in ACI’s forbidden archives.

He raised his hand and fire bent outward, spiralling like a galaxy being shaped.

Behind him, something far greater stirred: a blinding sphere of white-gold light, pulsing like a heartbeat.

The Brahmãstra.

It wasn’t awake…

But it was listening.

Priya gasped, the vision trembling.

The floor of the fiery world cracked open beneath her, showing glimpses-

Not of land, but timelines, futures colliding, cities burning, oceans lit red-

Aarav turned towards her in the vision.

His fire surged, almost desperate.

“Help me.”

Lights flashed as Priya’s body convulsed on the floor. The room snapped back into focus. Cold tiles. Bright lights. Her body shaking.

Aarav rushed to her side, grabbing her shoulders.

Aarav: “Priya! What happened?”

Her voice was a whisper, breathless and terrified.

Priya: “Your fire… it’s not just waking, Aarav.”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as Aarav brushed her hair.

Priya: “It’s calling something bigger.”

She looked up at Aarav as she saw a tiny glimmer of the blaze in his eyes.

An explosion from the other side of the building caused the radio to buzz and the alarms to blare loudly. The radio buzzed with an unfamiliar voice.

Radio: “Hand him over. Now!”