The small living room glowed with the soft orange tint of evening, the curtains half-drawn as Navir, Nimi, and Mehrak lounged together on the couch. Their laughter filled the room, rare, easy, the kind Argathe didn’t hear much anymore. Navir leaned forward, his scarred forearm catching the light as he shook with laughter. Nimi, wedged comfortably between the boys, nudged Mehrak with her elbow, grinning as she smacked his arm. “Did you see his face? That expression was priceless!” Mehrak groaned. “Nimi, you’ve pointed out the last three expressions. Can we just watch the show?” The sitcom hit its punchline and all three dissolved into another wave of breathless laughter. And then, The TV froze. Nimi stopped mid-giggle. “Hey… what happened?” The screen flickered once, twice, then cut abruptly to black. A red banner appeared at the bottom: BREAKING NEWS. Mehrak jabbed the remote. “No, no, don’t do this now, ” The banner’s glow deepened like a pulsing heartbeat. “Turn it up,”

By the third morning after the grueling final exam and scholarship assessment, exhaustion weighed heavily on them, and the world outside seemed to spiral out of control.For three days straight, every TV in the neighborhood blasted headlines like warning sirens, shattering any attempt at calm.“Terrorist attack in Osolin, Argathe’s capital…Fifteen officials arrested for underground corruption…Bodies discovered after an alleged organ-trafficking raid…New reports confirm Othmir has been exploiting Argathe’s mineral reserves for decades…”Navir sat stiffly on the sofa, the blue glow of the screen washing across his tired face. He hadn’t spoken much since the exam. Beside him, Nimi hugged her knees tightly, trembling every time a new report rolled in.“This is too much,” she whispered. “It feels like everything is falling apart at once.”Mehrak sank deeper into the beanbag, shoulders heavy, voice rough with fatigue. “Exams are over… and the world keeps sinking deeper into agony. I jus

Nimi burst through the door, cheeks flushed, eyes bright with urgency. “Navir! Quick! Turn it on!”Mehrak stumbled in after her, breathless and flustered. “Navir! The remote … hurry!”Navir blinked at them from the living room, a half-folded shirt in his hand. “You two act like the world is ending.” Still, he reached for the remote and switched on the TV.The announcer’s voice filled the room immediately. “We begin with the lowest-ranked schools…”Nimi plopped onto the couch, pulling her knees up, eyes locked on the glowing screen. “Okay… let’s see where we land.”Mehrak blew out a tense breath as he dropped beside her. “If we land anywhere in the middle, it’ll be a miracle. Ten students, eight schools… odds aren’t exactly in our favor.”Nimi nodded slightly, though her expression tightened. “Yeah… maybe near the bottom is more realistic.”Navir stood off to the side, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, gaze following each name as it passed. “Still no sign of our school,”

The bridge rose at the city’s edge, where the streets gave way to open, untended paths. Dust from the dry outskirts clung to the uneven stones, kicked up by the faint wind sweeping through the deserted evening. Beneath its arch, a thin boy crouched on the gritty sand, tracing tight, precise circles with his fingers. He murmured numbers in a soft, deliberate cadence, each syllable carrying a weight as if the figures themselves breathed.The patterns, the crescent shapes beside the numbers, the sharp, looping strokes, matched Baasit’s handwriting exactly. He leaned closer, studying the symbols with tense focus. “Baasit,” he whispered, his voice careful, almost reverent.The boy didn’t look up. He muttered under his breath, counting in a rhythm that felt like a chant. His moderately long black-silver hair fell across his face, dust-laden, falling in thin strands, eyes hidden yet fixed on the ground.Mehrak’s shoulder pressed against Navir’s. “Does he …?” His voice trembled with a mixture

The morning light crept softly through the dusty streets as the trio walked together, and the peaceful hum of sunlight settled over the area. However, their thoughts were everything but tranquil. "I still can't wrap my head around it," Mehrak said, kicking a pebble in front of him. "Baasit? Turning into a genius? Overnight?" Nimi folded her arms and knitted her brows. "He wasn't simply focused. He was different. Like something shifted inside of him." She shook her head slowly. "Remember last month? He skipped half of his classes, slept through the rest." Navir breathed sharply. "Yeah. He was the class clown, often joking around with everyone. But a week before examinations, something...shifted. And everyone was too busy to notice, I guess." Mehrak nodded."What about those sudden disappearances before the exam? That composure, he appeared to have already seen the test." Nimi paused. "Perhaps someone assisted him? Or pressed him? The way he ignored you, Navir, that was not normal."