The young man looked at the crowd in silence.
“I want to eat…”
The young woman shifted her gaze toward him.
“You want to eat…
what?”
The young man didn’t answer.
He only smiled.
The young woman didn’t ask again either.
She simply stayed there, looking at him.
“Shivani,” he muttered silently.
“To the whole multiverse.”
Shivani showed no reaction to his words.
The young man spoke again, still looking into her eyes.
“I want to devour this entire multiverse.”
His words were calm, but something else lingered in his eyes.
Shivani stepped forward.
A soft, gentle smile appeared on her face.
“You can never destroy the pain of this multiverse.”
Shivani bent down and quietly tied his shoelaces.
“And pain is the only thing…”
She looked up at his face.
“…that makes people become strong.”
His gaze lingered on her a moment longer than necessary.
Then he started walking along the side of the road.
Shivani didn’t hesitate.
She walked beside his left side.
Her eyes stayed on his face.
He slowly and gently delivered his words.
“But Shivani, Strongness brings loneliness.”
Shivani remained silent.
Her eyes never left him.
He noticed it—but kept walking.
Shivani noticed it too.
Then Shivani looked away.
A genuine smile appeared on her lips, though she tried to hide it with her hand.
“I don’t know if strength brings loneliness, but some hate that loneliness, some love it, some enjoy it… and some fear it like the final boss of their life.”
She paused mid-step.
“But we can never avoid it.
Loneliness is one of those things that can even lead to suicide.”
A tiny silence followed—
“But,” she continued softly.
“Some people turn it into a symbol of power.”
He stopped and turned around.
But he didn’t speak, just stared at her.
For a moment, Neither of them spoke.
There was only silence.
One minute passed—
Then Shivani turned her head toward a middle-aged office worker who had been quietly listening to their conversation for a while.
She asked politely,
“Senior, would you mind sharing some of your experience?”
The office worker blinked.
For a moment, he looked around as if expecting Shivani to be talking to someone else.
“Me?” he asked.
Shivani nodded politely.
The middle-aged man scratched the back of his head.
“I don’t know whether my experience has any value.”
“Every experience is valuable in its own way,” Shivani replied.
The office worker laughed awkwardly.
“Well…
if you’re talking about loneliness, then I suppose I know a little.”
The young man remained silent.
The office worker glanced at him before continuing.
“When I was younger, I wanted to become successful.”
He adjusted the strap of his bag.
“I thought success would solve everything.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“It solved some things.
And created others.”
The young man was listening quietly.
The office worker looked toward Shivani.
“The higher I climbed, the fewer people understood what I was carrying.”
His voice remained calm.
“My parents were proud of me.
My colleagues respected me.
My neighbors envied me.”
He chuckled softly.
“But very few people truly knew me.”
Silence followed.
The office worker turned toward the boy again.
“So perhaps strength does bring loneliness.”
The boy’s expression didn’t change.
Then the office worker smiled.
“But loneliness isn’t always punishment.”
The young man finally asked.
“What is it then?”
The office worker thought for a moment.
“A mirror.”
The road became quiet.
“A mirror?” the young man repeated.
The office worker nodded.
“When there’s nobody around, eventually you stop hearing everyone else’s voice.”
He tapped his chest lightly.
“And start hearing your own.”
The smile on Shivani’s face deepened.
The office worker looked at the crowd.
“Some people break when that happens.
Some people grow.
And some people spend their entire lives running from it.”
The young man lowered his gaze.
For the first time since the conversation began, he seemed to be thinking seriously about someone else’s answer.
“Well, that’s all I’ve got.”
He laughed.
“I’m just an ordinary salaryman.”
Shivani folded her hands politely.
“Thank you, Senior.”
The office worker waved and continued on his way.
For a while, neither the young man nor Shivani spoke.
Then the young man suddenly asked,
“Shivani.”
“Hm?”
“If loneliness is a mirror…”
His voice became quieter.
“What happens when the reflection disappears?”
Suddenly—
He disappeared from his place and reappeared beside Shivani.
The next second, one figure appeared on that spot where he was.
He looked straight at that figure.
“Ohh.
You.
Shrikant.”
Shrikant met his gaze with a smirk.
“Shiv, I didn’t know you’re this lucky today.
You dodged my attack.”
Shiv stared at him for a moment before speaking.
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“But you’re far too slow.”
For a few seconds, neither of them moved.
The crowd continued flowing along the roadside, completely unaware that something was terribly wrong.
Shrikant rolled his shoulders.
“Still as arrogant as ever.”
Shiv’s expression remained calm.
“And you’re still talking too much.”
Shrikant’s fingers curled into a fist.
Shivani quietly stepped backward.
“These two are always like this.
I’ll stay out of it.
This isn’t my conversation.”
The air between the two boys suddenly felt heavier.
Shrikant’s smirk slowly returned.
“You know, I spent a long time preparing that attack.”
“Mm.”
“And you dodged it without even looking.”
“Mm.”
Shrikant narrowed his eyes.
“Are you mocking me?”
Shiv tilted his head slightly.
“No.”
A brief pause followed.
Then he added,
“Don’t you think the sky looks beautiful today?”
For a moment, silence covered the road.
Then Shrikant laughed.
A genuine laugh.
The kind that appeared when someone was too angry to stay angry.
“You really haven’t changed.”
His smile slowly disappeared.
“But I have.”
The atmosphere shifted.
The temperature seemed to drop.
Several pedestrians unconsciously rubbed their arms.
A dog that had been sleeping near the roadside suddenly stood up and ran away.
Shiv noticed it.
Shivani noticed it too.
Shrikant took a single step forward.
“I came here because I wanted an answer.”
Shiv looked at him.
“What answer?”
Shrikant’s eyes became unusually serious.
“Back then…”
His voice lowered.
“When you had the chance.
Why didn’t you kill me?”
The world seemed to grow quieter.
Even the traffic noise felt distant.
Shiv kept staring at him.
For a long moment, he didn’t answer.
Then—
“I forgot.”
Shrikant froze.
“…What?”
“I forgot.”
The reply was calm.
Natural.
As though he were talking about losing an old receipt.
A genuine disbelief appeared on Shrikant’s face.
“You forgot?”
Shiv nodded.
“Yes.”
The corner of Shrikant’s eye twitched.
“I spent years thinking about that day.”
His voice gradually became colder.
“I searched for answers.
I questioned myself.
I questioned you.
And you’re telling me…”
A dangerous smile appeared on his face.
“…that you forgot?”
Then he asked,
“Was I supposed to remember?”
The road fell silent.
The next moment, a voice came from three students behind Shrikant.
“Senior Brother Shrikant, why are you causing trouble here?”
The three hurried over.
One of them stepped in front of Shiv and bowed slightly.
“Please accept our apologies on behalf of our senior.”
Shiv didn’t respond.
Shivani walked over and stopped beside Shiv before turning toward the students.
“By the way…
why are you all here?”
One of the students replied,
“It’s a Team Quest.”
“A Team Quest?”
“Yeah.
Didn’t you hear the announcement?”
“Announcement?”
After Shivani’s question, the three students glanced at each other in confusion.
Shrikant muttered just loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear,
“They don’t belong to our university.”
The students froze.
For a moment, they simply stared at Shiv and Shivani.
Then one of them blinked.
“…You’re not from Mahashunya Vishwavidyalaya?”
Shivani shook her head.
“No.”
The three exchanged looks again.
Their confusion only deepened.
“But then why are you here?” one of them asked.
Shivani replied softly.
“We’re heading to our home.”
The students fell silent.
One of the students hesitated.
“If you don’t mind me asking…
which university do you two belong to?”
Shivani briefly glanced at Shiv before answering.
“Paramashunya Vishwavidyalaya.”
Then—
The students slowly turned toward Shiv.
Then toward Shivani.
And then, back to Shiv once again.
For some reason, the answer only raised more questions.
Shivani noticed their confusion and replied,
“It means ‘The Supreme Void University.'”
The students suddenly froze.
“Wait…
you mean The Supreme University?!
THAT Supreme University?!”
Meanwhile, Shiv remained completely indifferent to the conversation.
His gaze was fixed on Shrikant.
The same was true for Shrikant.
The atmosphere between them hadn’t changed at all.
The students noticed it immediately.
One of them held his wrist and pulled forward.
“Senior Brother Shrikant, we should focus on the quest.”
No response.
Another student gently pushed him from behind.
Shrikant’s expression shifted slightly.
The students inwardly sighed in relief.
At least that got his attention.
After a few seconds, Shrikant exhaled slowly.
“Okay, we’re going to our quest.”
His gaze never left Shiv.
“This isn’t over.”
Shiv replied immediately.
“It never started.”
A dangerous smile appeared on Shrikant’s face.
Then he laughed.
Actually laughed.
“You really are annoying.”
Shiv only stared at him, with no reaction.
A moment later, Shrikant turned around.
“Let’s go.”
The three students immediately followed.
After walking several steps, he suddenly stopped.
Without turning around, he spoke.
“Shiv.”
“Hm?”
“The next time we meet…”
A brief silence followed.
Only a smile appeared on Shrikant’s face.
Then he disappeared.
The three students hurried after him.
Shivani watched the direction they had left.
“A Team Quest?”
“Hm.”
She asked Shiv politely.
“Should we go see it?”
Shiv calmly replied without looking at her.
“We’re heading home.”
Shivani smiled gently.
She didn’t argue with him.
Shiv immediately started walking.
Shivani laughed and followed after him.
Neither of them noticed that several people nearby were still staring at them.
Some people fear loneliness because it leaves them alone with themselves.
Others cherish it for the very same reason.