?Darkness fell over Aryan’s eyes once more, but this was a different kind of darkness—one that sought to consume him. He found himself in that familiar blood-stained field, where lifeless bodies lay beneath his feet. Fresh, warm blood dripped from the knife in his hand. Suddenly, he saw Nihira standing before him. With a piteous cry, she asked, "Brother, are you one of them too?" Before Aryan could comprehend anything, he saw himself plunging the knife into Nihira’s chest. Her white dress turned crimson in an instant.

  "No!"

  With a scream, Aryan sat up in bed. His body was drenched in sweat, and his heart pounded violently. The dawn had not yet broken; a faint blue light flickered in the corner of the room.

  Hearing his cry, Nihira rushed to him. Aryan pulled her into a tight embrace. Sobbing, he asked, "Nihira, are you okay? Nothing happened to you, right?" Nihira was startled and placed a hand on his back. She realized Aryan had once again endured the horrific nightmare that haunted him incessantly. Aryan cried, "Everything feels like a lie, Nihira. I feel like I am no longer a normal human being."

  As Aryan sank into the depths of this mental breakdown, at another edge of the universe, Niha Valerius-Chronos began her cosmic journey. she was moving instantly from one place to another through the fractures within the created world. Through her divine vision, Niha could see the reality around Earth suddenly bending, and a greater conspiracy was slowly being unveiled. She knew that Aryan’s mental agony was somehow connected to this phenomenon.

  Meanwhile, Nihira asked Aryan to calm down and prepared to leave for a family meeting. Though she didn't want to leave him, she had to go due to the extreme urgency. After she left, Aryan came out of his room and tried to enter the library, only to find the two servants cleaning it. Aryan realized this was done to keep the books away from him.

  Maliha then commented, "Why did you cry while hugging Nihira? Boys don't cry." Aryan said nothing. He quickly left for his college; he had things to discuss with Ryan.

  The college corridors felt emptier than usual today. Aryan walked quickly toward his classroom. The old scar on his chest tingled, as if signaling the presence of some sinister force.

  Entering the class, he didn't see Ryan. He waited until the class began, but Ryan never showed up. Not just Ryan—many others were absent. When he asked others, they said five people had gone missing the previous day, so everyone was afraid to come to college. Classes would end by the fourth period, and staying on campus after 5:00 PM was strictly forbidden.

  After class, Aryan headed home. His exam results were released today. He had scored a perfect 100 out of 100 in every subject. No one else had such flawless marks. Everywhere, people did their work—some good, some bad. But he wanted to be perfect. He muttered to himself, "I want to be the most perfect human in this world."

  On the other side, Niha was watching him from afar. Hearing his words, she said, "And I want to be a flawed human. You are flawed, yet you seek a perfect destiny." On the opposite end, Aryan said, "Niha, how perfect you are. You are perfect, yet you seek a flawed destiny." It was a convergence where they could understand each other's inner thoughts. Despite being opposites, they were bound by the same thread.

  On his way home, Aryan met a relative. Though Aryan didn't recognize him, the man knew him. Seeing Aryan, he said, "Hey, aren't you Nihira’s brother?" Aryan spoke briefly and continued toward home. Only one thought echoed in his mind: "Does no one know me for myself?" Everyone identified him through others. He felt he had done nothing to make anyone proud of him.

  Suddenly, a shadow lunged and attacked him with a knife. It struck his shoulder. The shadow figure whispered, "I am the representative of the Void." Before it could say more, it sensed someone and vanished into the darkness.

  The wound on Aryan’s chest throbbed with intense pain. Suddenly, the wound on his shoulder began to heal. Then he saw Niha approaching. Aryan’s first question was, "How did I heal?" Niha replied, "It's a gift from me. A natural gift. Any injury of yours will heal instantly. The stronger your willpower, the faster it can heal even the most severe wounds." Aryan remarked, "Then it will be even harder for me to die."

  Niha said, "I'm very hungry, I want to eat something. Can I come to your house?" Aryan replied, "My sister stays at my house, please don't come." Niha ignored him completely.

  Realizing there was no point in arguing, Aryan began walking with Niha. He felt a strange sensation—on one hand, the shiver of the healed wound, and on the other, Niha’s peculiar stubbornness. Upon reaching the front door, he saw Nihira standing on the balcony. Seeing Aryan with a girl, a shadow of surprise and suspicion deepened in Nihira’s eyes.

  Aryan entered the house. Surprisingly, Nihira didn't start an argument; instead, she began talking to Niha. Later, she and Aryan went to Aryan’s room.

  Niha remarked, "There's a problem with your lineage. Everyone I see isn't entirely human." Aryan countered, "In your eyes, no one is human." Niha said, "Your house has been warded just now so that shadow cannot enter." Aryan asked, "Forget that, how did you get to that spot so quickly?"

  Niha replied, "How many times must I say? Time and distance do not apply to me." Then Niha ate the food Nihira had prepared and praised it.

  Aryan said, "She doesn't usually cook herself, but she did it for you. More importantly, you said you don't need to eat." Niha replied, "I don't need food, but I appreciate the taste. Well, Aryan, I'm leaving now." Aryan said, "Go, take care of yourself, and meet me again."

  Shortly after Niha left, his sister came in and asked, "Is that girl something to you?" Aryan replied, "No, no. It's nothing."

  Nihira teased, "Hey, I'm your little sister. Don't hide anything from me. Thinking of her as my future sister-in-law, I cooked for her myself."

  Embarrassed, Aryan retreated to his room. Later, he went to the filter for a glass of water, but the servants didn't let him do even that. Then he and Nihira had dinner.

  During dinner, Nihira reminisced about her childhood moments with Aryan. Aryan realized his sister was actually trying to talk about Niha.

  After talking to her, Aryan went to bed but didn't actually sleep. He planned to go to the library tonight. Since it had been cleaned, he could make an excuse that he went there to search for the meaning of his nightmares if caught. Perhaps Nihira had removed his father’s diary, but Aryan was there for another book.

  Aryan stepped out of his room with extreme caution. The whole house was silent, save for the ticking of the old clock which made the silence feel heavier. In the dim light of the corridor, the oil paintings on the walls seemed to watch him. Maliha and Malisa were surely deep in sleep, but Aryan took no risks.

  He stood before the mysterious library on the second floor. Today, he wasn't looking for answers about himself, but information about Niha Valerius-Chronos. Finally, he found the book: The Five Pillars of Creation.

  1st Pillar - Archos the Unyielding. He was a human king whose subjects betrayed and killed him. Even in death, he wished for his subjects' well-being. Because of this desire, neither the Earth, nor Heaven, nor Hell would accept his death. Since then, he has been ascending the infinite narrative hierarchy, gathering the other pillars.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  2nd Pillar - Ouroboros Valerius-Syzygy. A fractured god, the abstract existence of Yin and Yang. His existence began with creation. He is the physical manifestation of good and evil, yet he is the opposite of his own existence. Thus, he needs the 1st Pillar’s help in every action. He is an abstract existence of a psychological primordial nature.

  3rd Pillar - Niha Valerius-Chronos. The last and most powerful of the Ethereal Primarch race. She comes from Lucid-Ethel, a world of perfect imagination where no concepts apply. Her primary duty is to protect Earth from otherworldly entities.

  4th Pillar - Astreus Valerius-Kinesis. Created from the power of the first three pillars. He is the abstract existence of motion. He preserves everything in creation. He knows that for a forest to grow, old trees must die. He monitors the movement of narrative layers.

  5th Pillar - Malkor Valerius-Abyssus. He wasn't meant to be the 5th Pillar. He came from the deepest pit of hell, breaking the balance of good and evil. He manifests the agony that the 1st Pillar seeks to heal.

  As Aryan finished reading, dawn arrived. Nihira was already awake. He got caught while returning to his room. Nihira assumed her brother had a habit of waking up early. But Aryan couldn't understand what Nihira was doing so early.

  Nihira explained, "I have so much work all day that I don't get time to study. So I wake up at dawn." Aryan then asked, "Oh right, your exam results were out yesterday. You didn't tell me your marks."

  Nihira said tearfully, "It wasn't good. I got a GPA of 4.0." She expected Aryan to be angry. But Aryan placed a hand on her back and said, "Do better next time."

  Aryan noticed tears glistening in Nihira’s eyes. He knew she always wanted to be perfect like her father, but by a twist of fate, she felt like a failure today. Aryan comforted her and went to his room, but the words from The Five Pillars of Creation remained in his mind like a hooded cobra. Niha was no ordinary girl; she was a cosmic guardian—an 'Ethereal Primarch'.

  Back in his room, Aryan stood before the mirror. The scar on his chest was still restless. Niha said his willpower could heal wounds, but the scar hadn't changed at all.

  Just then, a strange sound came from outside the window. Aryan looked down and saw Maliha and Malisa standing in a corner of the garden, whispering to each other.

  Suddenly, the sky turned that copper color again, just as he had seen from the bus. The wind picked up, and the temperature inside the room plummeted. Aryan felt someone standing behind him. He turned quickly, but no one was there. However, a long shadow was slowly stretching across the floor, even though the light source wasn't opposite to it.

  Aryan noticed the shadow wasn't normal; it flowed across the floor like liquid tar. The air grew heavy, and the crimson glow of the copper sky entered the room, making the atmosphere horrific. The shadow began climbing the wall and extended a long, dark hand toward Aryan. Aryan couldn't move his body, as if an invisible force had bound him in chains.

  But the shadow sensed something else and moved toward the garden. Under the copper sky, the shadow left Aryan and stood before Nihira. Nihira was no ordinary teenager; she was a 'Natural Born', with 'Archos Energy' flowing through her veins since birth. The higher the level of this energy, the more powerful the user. Through this power, Nihira could control the 'Concept of Darkness'. She was even capable of controlling the 'Concept of Death'.

  Maliha threw a kitchen knife toward her. Nihira lunged at the shadow with that ordinary knife. When she swung it, it didn't just cut the air; it created cracks in the layers of reality. When the shadow tried to attack, Nihira controlled the concept of darkness to create an impenetrable wall around her. The intensity of her power made the garden tremble. However, the shadow had risen from the void; no darkness could affect it. Nihira then tried to attack the shadow's existence using the concept of death. But the shadow kept teleporting from one place to another. It had no fixed shape or existence.

  Nihira’s pupils were burning like fire, but her body was breaking from exhaustion. Every time she struck the shadow’s existence, it reconstructed itself within moments.

  The center of the shadow's existence was not fixed in one place. Moreover, the control over the concept of darkness had no effect on it. She couldn't keep up with the shadow’s light-speed movements.

  The shadow suddenly extended its dark hand toward Nihira’s throat. Nihira pressed her back against the wall, making a final attempt to protect herself. Every strike of the shadow was instantly reconstituted, as if time itself was repeatedly healing it. The shadow gripped Nihira’s throat tightly. Her body grew limp, her vision blurred, and blood began to trickle from her mouth.

  At that exact moment, Aryan’s old scar flared like fire. He jumped from the upstairs window. He was still in a semi-conscious state. He attacked the shadow. But the shadow moved from that spot. Everything in the attacked area turned into nothingness. It wasn't 'death' like Nihira’s power; in that space, even death did not exist. This power was beginning to manifest in him as well. Sensing trouble, the shadow fled as morning began to break.

  Everything went quiet. Suddenly, Aryan charged toward Nihira. He took her knife and held it to her throat. Then, abruptly, Aryan collapsed into unconsciousness.

  Nihira sat on the ground, gasping for breath, the dark bruises on her neck appearing sinister. Maliha and Malisa rushed from the garden and took Aryan inside. Nihira stared silently at her brother. Aryan’s chest wound was still pulsing with blood, like a cosmic compass vibrating in sync with external danger.

  Three hours later, Aryan regained consciousness in his room. Nihira entered. The black marks were still on her neck. Seeing her, Aryan asked, "What happened to your neck?" Nihira realized he remembered nothing. She said, "Nothing, I just fell down while coming downstairs." Aryan didn't press further.

  Vague memories of the incident flickered in his mind. He only remembered holding a knife to Nihira’s throat. He felt terrible. Nihira sensed his mood.

  She told Aryan, "Invite Niha over; there's a feast today." Before Aryan could say anything, she added, "No arguments, we're all having dinner together tonight." Aryan gave in to her stubbornness and agreed.

  Aryan felt hesitant about Niha. He didn't know where to find her, as she always appeared and vanished like mist. However, as soon as he stepped outside, he saw Niha sitting on a gate pillar, swinging her legs and eating an apple.

  "Invitation accepted," Niha said, taking a bite of the apple, as if she had already read Aryan’s mind.

  Aryan was stunned. "I haven't even said anything yet!"

  "Your face is like an open diary, Aryan. It's written there in big letters—'My sister is forcing me to invite you'," Niha jumped down. "Besides, I'm not the kind of 'Ethereal Primarch' who passes up good food. It's lucky you stepped outside the house because there's a blanket-like barrier around your place; it's hard to see what's happening inside or even to enter."

  When they entered the drawing room, Nihira was busy making grand preparations with Maliha and Malisa. Seeing Niha, Nihira smiled and said, "Come in, Niha sister! I've cooked special dishes for you today."

  Niha caught the scent of the food and winked at Aryan. "See? Your sister understands my taste. And you think of me as just a place to talk nonsense."

  A strange atmosphere filled the dining table. Nihira was supervising seriously, while Niha was drumming on the table with a spoon. When Maliha came to serve water, Niha suddenly asked her, "Hey Maliha, is there a ghost in this house who steals pickles from the fridge at midnight?"

  Maliha was taken aback. "No, sister, why?"

  "I mean, it's written in Aryan’s diary that he looks for pickle jars in his sleep," Niha said with a very serious face. Aryan choked on his water and started coughing. "I never wrote any such thing!" he shouted.

  Nihira laughed and said, "Aryan really was a pickle thief when he was a kid. But now he’s grown into a 'cosmic thief'."

  The dinner proceeded slowly. Niha kept pestering Nihira with questions about the recipes, even though she mentioned that in her world, they only lived on 'memories and imagination'. Aryan noticed that behind the laughter, Nihira’s dark neck bruises were covered with makeup, but they hadn't disappeared. A deep sense of guilt gnawed at him.

  After finishing, Niha suddenly leaned in and whispered in Aryan’s ear, "Doesn't the picture of reality look a bit straighter now? Sometimes a little laughter keeps the sinister shadows away."

  Aryan looked out the window. The sky was clear now, but in the distance, behind a bush, he saw that strange copper glow again. Was this peace just the silence before the storm? Nearby, the shadow prepared for a surprise attack but fled like a startled bird upon seeing Niha.

  As Niha was leaving, Nihira said, "Sister-in-law... I mean, sister, please come again. Forgive me for calling you sister-in-law by mistake." Niha replied, "Hey, you can call me whatever you want, no problem. See you again. I’m off."

  As soon as Niha left, Aryan asked, "Why did you call her sister-in-law?" Nihira laughed. "Hey, Niha sister didn't mind. What's your problem?" Aryan’s face turned bright red with embarrassment. He sat down to watch television.

  On the news, it was reported that many descendants of famous families had gone missing. Only the Nishat family remained untouched. Aryan and Nihira both realized the shadow was up to something, but neither spoke of it to the other.