Chapter 1 The dream
“Run!!”
The voice was so close… as if someone had screamed directly into my ear.
I turned around.
The red streetlights along the road glowed faintly through the rain… painting blood-like shadows across the wet ground.
Two masked soldiers charged toward us.
Their boots slammed heavily against the soaked pavement.
“Over here!”
Someone grabbed my hand and pulled me into a narrow alley.
I crashed straight into the wall.
My breathing was out of control.
“Why do you freeze at the last second every single time?” the boy snapped angrily.
I looked at him…
Deep blue eyes.
Those same eyes.
My throat went dry.
“Kael Beris…”
Kael looked at me in confusion.
“Yeah? Who else?”
Gunshots echoed from a distance.
Kael pulled a pistol from inside his jacket and moved toward the corner.
“There are three of them,” he whispered.
“I’ll cover you… open the back route.”
But I couldn’t move.
Yesterday…
Just yesterday, I had seen this same boy.
Those same eyes.
Yesterday, Kael Beris had shot my older brother, Anvi, straight through the chest.
And now…
He was standing right in front of me.
As if nothing had happened.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion suddenly shook the alley.
Kael shoved me to the ground.
A bullet flew past my head and buried itself into the wall.
“Focus!!” he shouted.
“Do you want to die?!”
My mind was spinning.
Was this a dream?
But the cold rain… felt real.
The pain in my hand… felt real.
I could even feel Kael’s breathing.
How could this possibly be a dream…?
Kael reached his hand toward me.
“Roni… trust me.”
Trust.
That single word shattered something inside me.
Yesterday, in the real world, I had sworn—
If Kael Beris ever stood in front of me again…
I would kill him.
But here…
Here, he was my closest friend.
Another gunshot rang out.
Without hesitation, Kael stepped in front of me.
The bullet grazed his arm.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Kael Beris was about to say something when—
TRRRRRNNNN!!
The loud sound of an alarm exploded in my ears.
I jolted awake.
My breathing was broken and uneven.
For a few seconds, I could only stare at the ceiling.
Then suddenly, everything came rushing back.
Rain…
Gunshots…
Kael…
I immediately sat up.
My breathing became even faster.
I quickly pulled up my sleeve.
And my blood froze.
There… in the exact same spot…
Was a small scratch.
Exactly where I had been injured in the dream.
“How… is this possible…?”
Slowly, I got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom.
The moment I stopped in front of the mirror, I saw myself.
Dark circles under my eyes.
Exhaustion on my face.
And in my eyes… a strange fear.
I gripped the sink tightly.
Then Kael’s voice echoed through my mind again—
“Trust me…”
I immediately shut my eyes.
“Enough…”
I splashed cold water on my face and started getting ready.
Downstairs, the dining room was filled with an unnatural silence.
The TV was off.
Mom sat on the sofa.
Her eyes were red from crying.
Dad stood near the window.
The anger on his face was impossible to hide.
Aryan sat quietly near the table.
My younger brother.
Only ten years old.
But today… he seemed quieter than ever.
He slowly looked at me.
“Brother…”
I stopped.
“Anvi bhaiya… isn’t he ever coming back?”
Silence filled the room once again.
I had no answer.
I looked toward Dad.
His fists were clenched tightly.
There was nothing in his eyes except hatred.
Then I looked at Mom.
Through her tears, she was trying to smile.
Maybe just so we wouldn’t completely fall apart.
My chest felt heavier.
“I’m going to the office…”
That was all I said before leaving the house.
Outside, a black car was waiting for me.
The driver silently opened the door.
I got inside.
The car slowly moved through the rain-soaked streets.
After a while, the man sitting in front handed me a black file.
“Sir… this contains the full details of today’s assignment.”
I took the file…
But my attention wasn’t on it.
I kept staring at the rain outside the window.
And with every falling drop…
Kael’s face became clearer in my mind.
“Sir…” the man suddenly spoke again.
I slowly looked at him.
“You seem quite stressed these days.”
I let out a quiet breath.
“I’m fine.”
A few moments later, the car stopped in front of a massive glass building.
I looked outside.
“Aetherion Technologies.”
One of the biggest engineering companies in the city.
Hundreds of employees.
Advanced projects.
A perfect reputation.
From the outside, everything looked completely normal.
And maybe…
That was the most dangerous thing about it.
I closed the file and stepped out of the car.
Inside the building, people rushed around as usual.
The reception area glowed under bright white lights.
Everything looked normal.
Perfectly normal.
But I knew…
The real face of this building was hidden underground.
I walked straight toward the elevator.
But instead of pressing the button for the upper floors, I pulled out a black card from my pocket.
I swiped it beneath the elevator panel.
“Access Granted.”
Suddenly, the elevator stopped.
Then a hidden panel slowly opened.
Inside it, a secret button leading downward began glowing.
For a few seconds, I stared at it silently.
Then, without showing any emotion, I pressed the button.
The elevator began descending.
5…
10…
15 floors…
With every second, the silence grew heavier.
Then—
Ding.
The doors slowly opened.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
Before me stood a massive underground facility.
Armed guards.
Digital screens.
Weapons.
Tactical teams.
And on the giant central screen, there was only one face—
Kael Beris.
Written beneath it in glowing red letters—
MOST WANTED.
