Arjun’s mouse froze. The cursor began moving on its own, dragging his bank shortcut into the trash bin. Panicked, he reached for the power cord, but the screen flashed a bright, blinding blue.

He opened it. There was only one line of code, written in a font that looked like dripping ink: {WHICH VERSION OF THE TRUTH DO YOU WANT TO HEAR?}

When the file finally landed with a satisfying ding , Arjun didn't hesitate. He right-clicked and hit "Extract Here." But instead of a folder full of MKV files, a single, nameless text document appeared.

The progress bar crawled forward like a tired insect. 14%... 32%... 89%.