2026-04-11 15:16:36The harsh, sterile stench of rubbing alcohol and cheap hand sanitizer was the first thing to assault Raditya’s senses. It was closely followed by the ticking of the wall clock, which currently sounded ten times louder than normal. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Every second felt like a tiny sledgehammer slamming against the inside of his throbbing skull.
He tried to twitch his fingertips. Ice cold. It felt like he’d just been pulled out of a meat freezer. But beneath that biting cold was an intense, slow-crawling heat, moving just beneath his skin like liquid magma. His body felt weirdly restricted, like the ratty clothes he’d put on that morning had suddenly shrunk three sizes.
Oh, great. If this kid croaks on my watch, the district is gonna have my license, a woman’s voice whispered right next to him. The tone was anxious, but laced with a heavy dose of annoyance.
Raditya recognized the voice. Nurse Davis. She was notorious for playing Candy Crush on her desktop rather than actually treating sick students. But something was off. The voice didn’t sound like it traveled through the air. Raditya felt it—like a radio transmission beamed directly into the back of his brain.
He forced his eyes open. The world was a swirling vortex of colors. The white ceiling tiles, the green privacy curtain flapping from the desk fan, and the blurry shapes of people standing over his cot.
"Rad? You awake, man? Yo, Rad!" That was Ben. His buddy’s round face hovered into view, but it looked bizarrely sharp to Raditya's still-adjusting eyes.
Raditya tried to speak, but his throat felt like it was clogged with hot sand. He squeezed his eyes shut again, and that was when the "dream" slammed into him. A dream far more vivid and visceral than the physical world around him.
In the pitch-black void behind his eyelids, Raditya was no longer in the stuffy nurse's office. He was floating in a vacuum filled with crackling blue electricity. And standing right in front of him was a woman who looked exactly like Clara. Except she wasn’t wearing her school uniform; she was draped in nothing but a thin wisp of fog that did absolutely nothing to hide her perfect curves.
The heat that had been crawling under his skin suddenly pooled in his lower abdomen. Fueled by the residual lightning coursing through his veins and a massive spike of adrenaline, Raditya no longer felt like the school’s punching bag. He felt dominant. Invincible. The "Clara" in his dream stepped closer, her slender fingers tracing his jawline—which suddenly felt incredibly sharp and chiseled.
"Wanna feel what you can do?" the voice whispered, dripping with provocation.
In that hyper-realistic delusion, Raditya felt "Clara" press herself against him. He could feel the warmth of her chest crushing against his, the intoxicating scent of sweet sweat, the teasing sway of her hips. Raditya didn't hold back. In that electric void, he claimed the phantom. Their breaths collided, heavy and fueled by primal lust. Raditya’s hands roamed her smooth thighs, climbing higher until he felt the wet heat hidden beneath the phantom fabric.
His tongue trailed roughly down her elegant neck while his hands gripped her hips, pulling her into an uncontrollable, frantic rhythm. Raditya felt every muscle clench, every friction of skin generating literal sparks. It was rough, wild, and quenched a thirst he had buried under his thick glasses for years. The climax detonated like the very lightning bolt that had struck him on the field, sending a wave of absolute euphoria crashing through his system so violently that his physical body on the cot jerked hard.
"YO! HE'S CONVULSING! COACH BAKER! NURSE DAVIS! HE'S HAVING A SEIZURE!" Jonny screamed in panic, rudely yanking Raditya out of the most epic wet dream of his life.
Raditya gasped, sucking in a massive lungful of air as if he’d been deprived of oxygen for a millennium. He coughed, and the electric sensation slowly receded, leaving behind a profound, terrifyingly deep clarity in every cell of his body. His headache was completely gone.
"Chill, Jon. I'm fine," Raditya rasped. His voice came out an octave lower, raspy and resonant. He even startled himself.
He swung his legs over the edge of the cot and sat up. His eyes snapped into focus. The first thing he noticed was the expressions on Ben, Jonny, and Nurse Davis’s faces. They looked like they’d just seen a ghost wearing a clown suit in broad daylight.
"Holy... is that... Raditya?" Ben stammered, his eyes squinting, his jaw dropping so low he was practically drooling.
"Uh, yeah? Who else would it be? I only passed out for a minute, right?" Raditya replied, rubbing his eyes. His vision was incredible now. He could literally see dust motes dancing in the air across the room.
Nurse Davis took a hesitant step forward, almost dropping her thermometer. "Sweetie... your face was covered in acne this morning, right? Because when I was wiping the mud off you, I thought... um..." Nurse Davis suddenly flushed beet red. Her thoughts immediately went feral. Holy crap, this kid is gorgeous. That jawline... those eyes... why is my heart racing for a high schooler? If my husband had half this much energy in bed, I wouldn't be so miserable. If I wasn't his nurse, I'd drag him behind the medicine cabinet right now...
Raditya froze. He had just "heard" that. Loud and clear. Yet Nurse Davis’s mouth was firmly shut, and her hands were busy nervously adjusting the collar of her scrubs. He slowly turned to Ben.
What kind of black magic is this? Did the lightning literally burn the ugly off him? This makes zero sense, why does he look like a Calvin Klein model? I look like a freaking troll standing next to him. The voice belonged to Ben, echoing clearly inside Raditya’s head.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Ben?" Raditya asked, feeling his skin crawl.
Ben flinched. "No, you... you just need to look in a mirror, Rad. Seriously. I think the universe just gave you a hard reboot."
Raditya slid off the cot. Strangely, he didn't feel weak at all. His legs felt solid, grounded, and agile. His shredded, soot-stained clothes felt incredibly tight now, especially across his chest, and his stomach felt as hard as a washboard.
He walked over to the small, water-stained mirror hanging above the sink in the corner of the room.
He stopped three feet away from it, took a deep breath, and gathered the courage to look at whatever crispy, charred monster he had become. Slowly, he raised his head.
Thump.
Raditya nearly jumped back. Who the hell was the guy in the glass?
The greasy, acne-riddled face that had haunted him every morning was gone without a trace. In its place was an absolute masterpiece. His skin was clear, healthy, and slightly tanned, as if he spent his weekends surfing instead of playing video games in the dark. His nose was sharper, dividing his face with perfect golden-ratio symmetry. But the scariest part was his eyes; they were no longer dull voids hiding behind thick lenses. They were piercing, deep, and darker than before, radiating a dangerous, magnetic aura that could make anyone choke on their own spit.
His stiff, awkward hair now fell into a perfectly effortless messy look, like he'd just walked out of an editorial photoshoot. And his broken glasses on the floor? He didn't need them. The world was in crystal-clear 4K.
"Is this... me?" Raditya muttered, touching his cheek. It felt firm. The cheekbones were absurdly masculine.
"It's you, Rad. Unless that lightning bolt body-swapped your soul with a Hollywood actor," Jonny commented, his voice dripping with absolute resignation and envy.
Suddenly, a barrage of new voices started bombarding his skull. It was the crowd of students gathering outside the half-open door of the nurse's office.
Is that really the kid who got struck? Why does he look so cool? God, I want to get hit by lightning if it makes you look like that.
Oh my god, his shirt is totally ripped... are those abs? Please tell me those are abs. Have mercy on my eyes.
Hey, stop pushing! I wanna see the nerd who turned into a prince!
Raditya gripped the edges of the sink. The voices swirled, overlapping and overlapping until his ears rang. His mind was suddenly flooded with thousands of petty desires, ridiculous fantasies, bitter jealousies, and dark little obsessions from everyone within a twenty-foot radius.
"Raditya?"
A soft voice sliced through the cacophony in his brain. He turned. Clara was standing there in the doorway, flanked by her usual clique of popular girls. Her eyes were wide. Her usually confident, slightly arrogant face was pale with pure shock.
To Clara, Raditya was no longer the quiet stalker who kept his head down in the back row. The guy standing by the sink radiated a dominant, almost primal charisma. Clara felt a bizarre tremor shoot up from her feet straight to her chest.
Impossible. That's the guy from the field? Raditya the loser? Why... why does he look so unbelievably hot right now? I... why am I sweating just looking at him?
Raditya "heard" Clara’s thoughts. And even crazier, he could feel his new body physically responding to her internal "attraction." A flash of the explicit sex scene from his void dream resurfaced, forcing him to shift his weight to avoid popping a very visible pitch-tent in the middle of the nurse's office.
He stared at Clara, his gaze sharp, entirely unaware that his stare now carried a magnetic pull that was incredibly dangerous to the girl standing in front of him.
"Hey, Clara," Raditya said smoothly.
Clara jolted as if waking from hypnosis. She swallowed hard, then unconsciously bit her lower lip—a subconscious tell that Raditya's new brain immediately translated as pure sexual interest.
"A-are you okay?" Clara asked, her voice slightly breathless.
"I'm... a lot more than okay," Raditya replied.
He realized something in that exact moment. The world hadn't changed; he had. And this power... this ability to know exactly what kind of filthy, selfish garbage was really festering inside the heads of everyone in front of him... it was terrifying.
Raditya turned back to the mirror, staring at his perfect reflection under the flickering fluorescent lights. This wasn't a dream. This was a completely absurd new reality. A reality where the bottom-feeder had just become the apex predator, and where the truth could no longer hide behind fake smiles and high school pleasantries.
A slow, sharp smirk crept onto Raditya's face. And right on cue, he heard the collective minds of everyone in the room scream a single word inside their heads: Perfect.
A curse? Or a blessing? Raditya didn't know yet. All he knew was that starting today, surviving Merdeka High School was no longer going to be boring. Because beneath this flawless new face, he could smell the rot of human thoughts just as clearly as he could feel the lingering electric buzz in his groin.
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Chapter 45
The Mirror laughed, a sound like grinding gears.“The Foundation understands the duality of power. When one anomaly rises, they create a counter. You, boy, are a temporary disturbance. I am a permanent solution. And you,” he tilted his head, focusing on Bianca, “you’re just a girl playing with wires. Your contribution is insignificant.”Bianca stiffened, her face hardening. Her defiance burned brighter than any fear.The confrontation began not with words, but with a raw burst of psionic energy. Raditya unleashed a mental assault, not as direct as before, but more a widespread wave, designed to destabilize the Mirror’s systems. But the robot absorbed it, its eyes glowing a menacing red. A searing wave of pain shot back, overwhelming Raditya’s senses. He gasped, clutching his head.“No, that won't work, Raditya!” Bianca cried out, her scanner buzzing with frantic readings. “He’s deflecting it!”Argo reacted instantly, firing a concussive burst from his unique, unidentifiable weapon. Th
Chapter 44
The pandemonium was absolute. Teachers, students, agents alike, were now lost in a whirlwind of personal confessions and amplified grievances. The Organization’s tight grip on the school was fractured. Raditya had unleashed not just chaos, but anarchy.And in the midst of it all, a chilling thought surfaced, separate from the throng. It wasn’t from a teacher or student. It was sharper, colder, more dangerous. It was from a distant consciousness, one that echoed in the deeper layers of the school’s network. It was a familiar echo, a twisted reflection of his own amplified abilities.As Raditya struggled to maintain the immense psychic broadcast, feeling the edges of his consciousness fraying, he saw a figure emerge from the terrified crowds in the auditorium. It was Clara. Tears streamed down her face, her once bright eyes now vacant and dull. But her thoughts, amplified and distorted, pulsed with a raw, broken desire for him.“Radit… you always made me feel special… please… make them
Chapter 43
Argo, who had been silently observing, finally spoke.“Not everyone. The Foundation needs subjects. But they also need leverage. And to maintain order when their primary objective is achieved. Those who show promise will be… retained. The rest are… collateral damage. Or disposable assets.” His tone was chillingly neutral, a testament to his past experiences.Raditya felt a fire ignite within him, hotter than the energy coursing through his veins. He looked at the schematics on Argo’s tablet, tracing the ventilation shafts leading into the auditorium. He felt the impending dread of thousands of young minds about to be silenced.He could see the cold, calculated efficiency of the Organization’s plan. His plan, now controlled by them. His life, his powers, twisted into a tool of subjugation. The thought of being the instrument of such a devastating operation, especially with his father as the architect, was almost unbearable.But he also knew something else. Something profound that had c
Chapter 42
Raditya's hand hovered over the console. Azure energy crackled around his fingers, unstable, almost hungry. He could feel it wanting to discharge. His father’s voice still echoed in his head, a unique blend of twisted affection and cold calculation that only he could pull off."If this world must forget, then Father is the first I will erase." He hadn't meant it as a threat. That was the worst part. He'd meant it as a kindness.The contract. Mayor Mulyadi's signature at the bottom, clean and unhurried, like the man had signed a building permit. Leo's fleeing thoughts had carried that detail to him and Raditya wished they hadn't. Because now he couldn't stop thinking about what it meant for everyone still inside those walls.His eyes moved across the monitors. One feed after another. The chaos was getting worse. The hum of the system thrummed against his skin, a symphony of impending doom.A deafening klaxon wailed, far louder and more insistent than the usual fire drill alarms. It was
Chapter 41
The video shows him on the parade ground, on that day that will never be forgotten. Moments before the lightning strike that engulfed his consciousness headed toward him, something else held him back. That figure, reaching out its hand, as if trying to lock his consciousness so it wouldn't drift away.In those seconds that made his whole body feel frozen, something pulled him out of that place, out of his nightmare. It pierced through his field of vision, trying to open a lock of truth buried deep within him. A flash of maroon was faintly visible at the edge of the frame.But then… something much larger suddenly shone upon him from behind the darkness beside the field. Something so bright. A large shadow moved in front of the sun, and he shouted at someone to run.In the recording, Mulyadi is seen standing behind his dark shadow, as if he had just stepped out of an… elevator. It wasn't just him who transformed. There, he could see himself in the video, standing tall. His eyes, which w
Chapter 40
Instantly, Leo spun around, throwing open the door behind him in a frenzy. His body blurred, his shadow seemed to vanish as he fled in a panic through the secret door next to the same toilet where Raditya and Bianca had exited earlier. It was an escape hatch Raditya had just learned about.THUD!From the closed door, an echo resounded. Dizziness washed over Raditya, the anger he had been harboring now curdling with the horrifying truth. A contract? The principal? A vendetta? Leo hadn't just betrayed him; he had ensnared him in a trap far larger and more cruel. This was total ruin. He had to save everyone.Outside the room, he could hear new warning sirens. Louder, more rapid. The panicked screams of students and teachers, and the steady, rhythmic march of military boots. This was no fire drill, as Argo had claimed. It was something far crazier. Something that felt far more terrifying. Where were his parents? Why did no thoughts of them cross his mind? Why only a void? They were still
