Darkness pulsed.

  A high-pitched hum blared through the silence.

  It wasn't from the locker room.

  It was from inside Yug's skull.

  Then—

  His eyes snapped open.

  The breathing was sharp. Measured. Precise. The sore, bruised body suddenly stiffened.

  His fingers began to flicker, responding to an unknown rhythm.

  And then it began.

  The eyes turned white— cold and glowing.

  A line of blood trailed down from both the corners of the eyes.

  And the moment the drop of blood was about to touch the floor—

  "Yug! Wake up!"

  Rishabh burst in, panting and battered.

  He knelt and grabbed his shoulder.

  The whiteness faded in Yug's eyes and he gasped— a jolt surging through his spine as he got up.

  "Wha—!?"

  Rishabh was frozen by the things he just witnessed. It felt something… out of this world.

  "Are you good? Your eyes… were all white." Rishabh finally spoke with a faded voice.

  "Who? Me?" Yug asked, confused as if he lost all memories of what had happened.

  All of a sudden—A sharp sensation of pain pulsed through his whole body, making him groan and clench fists.

  Rishabh spoke, still clutching on Yug's shoulder."Vijay… all of his gang. They'll—"

  BANG!

  The locker room door exploded open.

  Tarun entered in, shirt half-off and chest heaving and sweat pouring from the body.

  The seniors he trained with nearly broke one of his bones into pieces.

  And with frustration and exhaustion, he collapsed on the door with his back slamming against the wall.

  But even in exhaustion, he could let out a weak grin— just after he saw Rishabh and Yug.

  "You guys look even worse…" Tarun said, "Did I miss a party?"

  No one laughed.

  Rishabh stood, picking Yug up with a hand of reassurance. "We need to talk, Tarun."

  "If it is about the "Order of Eternal Overacting" blah blah again—"

  "Manav… I heard him. He is going after Principal Mehra…"

  Tarun raised an eyebrow.

  "What if he's shooting a prank video?"

  "No, I'm damn sure." Rishabh moved around the room anxiously, thinking about all the plans again and again.

  "And they've set their first big target."

  Yug tilted his head in doubt, now on a bench.

  "Who?"

  "Tarun. It's you."

  Rishabh finally stopped moving, just in front of Tarun, staring into his eyes.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Tarun's smile slipped for a fraction of a second, but he seemed to be unfazed with the news.

  "Me? A good choice. I'm strong and probably in the top five most kissable faces of the school."

  Then, a subtle shift in his tone—

  "But if they come after me… they better give it their best shot."

  He got up and began to move out of the locker room, avoiding Yug's gaze out of the guilt of rejecting him.

  "But, Tarun—" Rishabh threw a book on him which contained the solved code.

  Tarun cast a glance at it. "Something about this feels off."

  "That's exactly what—"

  "Something off… like your brain! You forgot it in the freezer, didn't you?"

  Both Rishabh and Yug were dumbstruck at Tarun— a big body but a small brain.

  Rishabh had nothing left to say. He knew any more words wouldn't work.

  "Thanks for the warning, little lion!" Tarun spoke, but didn't look back and waved a heartfelt goodbye in a tensed room.

  ——————————————

  Rishabh arrived in the class while he was still limping throughout the way.

  Yug had just been sent to the medical room, where he was barely holding on.

  Tarun was already seated at his place, letting out a silent salute that said, "See, I'm still fine".

  Beside him. Vijay sat cold and still.

  Vijay took most of the space of the bench, barely letting Tarun sit properly.

  He sat with a relaxed confidence. He owned the whole room like his own.

  Rishabh sat down while he examined for any changes. Nothing.

  Even Manav looked at him with a surprisingly soft smile, just like a friendly neighbour.

  "You were pretty smooth. But you couldn't do anything."

  The words behind the smile pushed Rishabh to the edge of restraint.

  But, the next step was taken the very next moment.

  Vijay looked at Manav. He was all set.

  A slight nod. All that was needed.

  Flick—fzzt—crack.

  All the lights went off.

  The school went blank and every student scrambled like it was the end of the world.

  And Tarun noticed something.

  Dark figures.

  A dozen of students in a quick, yet deliberate movement.

  All of them from different classes, but definitely a part of the Eternal Order.

  They were running towards the same place.

  The Principal cabin.

  And after those few minutes, the lights were back like it was all just an accident.

  "Woah!" Tarun looked at Vijay, "If I would have been touched inappropriately, I'd file a complaint to the Principal."

  Vijay leaned slightly forward— surprised with the fact that Tarun's eyes caught the movements.

  Only a few students awkwardly laughed.

  Even Tarun leaned closer to Vijay, his face now dead serious. He whispered.

  "Or did you already take him down?"

  Vijay laughed it off, ignoring Tarun like he didn't hear anything.

  But it wasn't only Tarun who saw the students.

  Rishabh's eyes caught the Eternal Order too.

  And it all made sense to him.

  ——————————————

  A year ago, the classroom shivered with a presence.

  The presence of Vijay.

  Manav was walking behind him with a box full of different expensive gifts.

  It was Vijay's first day at school.

  And he had a simple demand— a gift from everyone, as a tribute of loyalty.

  At the end, Vijay looked at the last student, taking a nap on his seat.

  Yug Verma.

  Vijay patted Yug's back calmly, but his anger was clear with the veins almost popping out.

  "What happened?" Yug spoke softly, rubbing his eyes as he just woke up.

  "Where's my gift?"

  Vijay began tapping the desk aggressively.

  "Gift? I don't have any for you."

  "Get me one then."

  Tap. Tap. Tap. The rhythm grew even sharper.

  "I spent all my money… last week."

  Yug stretched lazily.

  The tapping stopped abruptly. So did mercy.

  And that day marked the beginning of Yug's daily torment.

  Just a few moments had passed— Yug crashed on the classroom wall.

  His eye was swollen and nose was broken.

  Vijay looked at Yug like he made a stunning painting. He cracked his knuckles, like he was about to add final strokes to his masterpiece.

  "Please. Leave me…" Yug begged for mercy.

  Vijay stopped moving.

  "Should I?"

  "Please…" Blood dropped down from Yug's torn lips.

  "Be my little loyal dog."

  "What?"

  "Bark. Like a dog."

  Tears dropped from Yug's eyes.

  Not from pride or pain.

  But for his mother—He didn't want his hospital bills to be another burden to her.

  Manav jumped with excitement like a baby discovering a new toy.

  The others looked like they wanted to intervene.

  But their bodies didn't move an inch. Helpless.

  The voice was soft, but loud enough for everyone to hear it.

  "…woof…"

  ——————————————

  In the present, the medical room smelled like antiseptics and the bright white light above flickered faintly.

  Yug sat on a plain white cot— shirtless and bandaged all over.

  His bruises were fresh but dark, while his chest tightened up.

  He held a cold ice pack on his face and the other one on his sore back.

  He stared at his reflection in the cracked mirror. A trail of blood on his left eye was dried up.

  He walked, barely, to the mirror and scraped off flakes of dried blood like rust peeled off from old iron rods.

  And for just a second—His left eye glowed white.

  Dim. Faint. Cold.

  "Is this what Rishabh told me about?" His brain raced through different thoughts tumbling over each other.

  And it vanished with the same speed it had appeared before.

  Yug stumbled back, touching his eyes like he wanted to call it back again— like he wanted to know everything about it.

  He had no clue about what happened with him.

  He was just a usual student who got unusually bullied like he was trapped in a never-ending loop. But how did the eyes…?

  Just when he actually began to think, he was interrupted.

  "Get back! I'm not done yet."

  The school nurse yelled from behind, slamming a bottle of medicine and gauze onto the tray.

  Yug silently returned to the cot.

  But his mind wasn't there anymore.

  His own reflection now looked way distant. It appeared to be a boy trapped in mysteries and decorated in bruises.

  His bruises throbbed.

  But that glow?

  It was definitely still somewhere deep in him.

  ——————————————

  Hours later.

  The shrill school bell tore through the hallways.

  Students moved out in clusters.

  Laughing. Talking. Pushing.

  But all of them were excited to go home.

  Tarun was the one standing out among them— he greeted every single person he saw, as it was a daily habit.

  He had his guard up, but nothing happened.

  "I knew it. I'm sorry Rishabh, but you're wrong."

  He looked around.

  No signs of Yug or Rishabh.

  "Good. They must've left early."

  He was on the streets with his phone in his hand, scrolling through social media.

  "Phew… I guess I'm too jacked up for the Eternal Illuminati conspiracy."

  The students' laughs faded slowly, but didn't vanish altogether.

  "Rishabh needs to stop overthinking. He's not getting white hair by the time he's reached seventeen, right?"

  That's when—He stopped moving.

  The laughs disappeared.

  But the footsteps were still there— different footsteps.

  These were tactical and somewhat lesser in number than the previous ones.

  He moved his eyes from the phone, only to see a ton of students circling around him.

  "The Eternal Order. I finally remember the name."

  The phone slid back into Tarun's pocket.

  Tarun's smile faded into something intense.

  "I guess… the nervous little professor saw it all coming. Damn, he's smart."

  Tarun turned around, reading all of his enemies. There were more than 20 of them.

  All were gangster-looking seniors.

  They weren't here for show, but to break him.

  As the dust on the ground flew up, the Eternal Order took out their weapons— knives, sticks, rods and planks of wood.

  But Tarun counted on his fists blindly.

  He planted his feet into the ground, cracked his neck and slid into his stance that promised a hell of an evening.

  "I surely owe Rishabh a soda. And maybe a hug. Nah, just a soda would do it."