Power?

Tamim woke to Fahim's persistent voice from outside, to which he can listen because the scanner outside is connected to his phone, which is now connected to his earphone. He looked at the watch and saw it was 10 a.m.

"Wait, 10 a.m.? I was sleeping all this time."

Tamim stood up and opened the door.

Fahim's relief was palpable. "Dude, I was worried. You were not picking up my phone." He trailed off, relief mingling with concern.

Tamim brushed it off: "Just overslept, I guess."

Concern etched on Fahim's face: "You need to ease up on yourself, man. locking yourself away-this exam shouldn't consume you like this."

Tamim feigned indifference. "I'm fine, really."

Fahim persisted, "Alright, answer the question: were you sleeping past 20 freaking hours?"

"Yah, I guess. I slept at 2 p.m., so maybe "says Tamim.

"It seems fishy, you okay?"" says Fahim.

"Yuh, I'm," says Tamim.

"That means you didn't eat for 20 hours," says Fahim.

"Yah, maybe," replied Tamim.

"That means you will be going to my house now; you gonna have lunch, and then I am gonna show you something really amazing ," says Fahim.

That evening, Fahims House, a two-story small building,.

In a small room with scientific equipment, Tamim and Fahim are looking at a glowing stone that is placed inside a firetube (a tube made of high-intensity fire that is covered by Len, the strongest metal on earth), protected inside a cubic glass box.

"So, when the outer layer melts, these glowing objects will emerge?" Tamim raised an eyebrow.

Fahim's eyes sparkled with fervor. "Yes, believe me. Five years of dedication won't be in vain."

---

The scene shifted.

Tamim was wandering through a supermarket after he left Fahim's house, contemplating the rising egg prices. "Even with the hike, I can't skip these," he mumbled, picking up a dozen and heading home.

Amidst the usual city crowd, Tamim's journey took an unexpected turn.

Tamim saw, a few meters away, an elderly woman and man crossing the road. A truck is coming at full speed. Going to hit the elderly couple.

The truck driver is pressing the brake, but it isn't working.

Tamim, seeing this, suddenly felt an unusual pressure in his brain. His hand moved automatically, and the truck stopped with sudden pressure. Tamim's body also felt that pressure. Because of that, the eggs in Tamim's hand dropped to the ground.

Shaken, he pondered the inexplicable events, Fahim's enigmatic words resurfacing in his thoughts. The memory of their conversation materialized.

"You know what happened yesterday?" Fahim had begun to have a tone of urgency in his voice.

Tamim, clueless, replied, "What happened?"

An exasperated Fahim exclaimed, "You really don't know?"

Tamim sighed. "I was asleep, remember?"

Fahim hesitated before revealing, "Yesterday, millions experienced unbearable pain and died. One guy on V-Tube claimed that he survived, stating that he felt stronger than ever and also said he can now create fire from his body, like he'd become a superhuman."

The flashback faded, leaving Tamim grappling with reality. "Could it be? Did I truly stop that truck?" His mind swirled with doubt; the concept of possessing superhuman abilities seemed preposterous.

Tamim comes home after a few moments.

Tamim was engrossed in cooking the eggs, and his mind reeled with unanswered questions. Lost in thought, an unforeseen jolt interrupted-the knife carelessly slipped, seemingly aiming for his hand. A split second later, shock surged through Tamim as the blade shattered on impact, leaving his hand unharmed.