A deafening cheer erupted around him, pulling him out of the darkness.
Varun blinked, his vision adjusting to the bright sunlight above. A cool breeze brushed against his skin, and a familiar yet distant scent filled his nostrils—the scent of freshly polished wooden chairs, ink, and the faint perfume of the girl sitting beside him.
Wait.
His heart pounded as he took in his surroundings. Rows of students dressed in black graduation robes, their faces brimming with excitement. The massive convocation hall of his college in Hyderabad. The grand stage in front where professors stood, handing out degrees.
And then—he saw her.
Ananya.
She was right beside him, her long black hair tied in a loose ponytail, wearing a bright smile. She nudged his arm playfully.
"Hey! Why do you look so lost?"
Varun's breath hitched. His girlfriend. His first love. The woman who left him.
He stared at her, feeling an overwhelming rush of emotions. She looked exactly as he remembered her in college—young, beautiful, full of life. Not the woman who would later abandon him for a richer man.
"No... this can't be real..."
His fingers trembled as he touched his own face. He looked down at his hands—they were smooth, unscarred, youthful. He wasn't in his weak, malnourished, 34-year-old body.
His mind screamed at him. This was impossible.
He turned to his left and saw his two closest friends, Ravi and Karthik, grinning at him. The very same friends who, in the future, would cut ties with him the moment he was of no use to them.
Ravi slapped his shoulder. "Bro, we finally made it! We're graduates now!"
Karthik smirked. "Man, I swear, these four years felt like a lifetime. But now, we're officially free! No more assignments, no more professors—just success waiting for us out there!"
Varun's mind spun.
This was 2010.
He was at his graduation ceremony—the moment before his life started to go downhill. The moment before reality crushed all his dreams.
"This is real. I have been reborn."
A deep chuckle formed in his throat, but he suppressed it. How ironic. Just a few moments ago, he had thrown himself off a balcony, thinking his story was over.
But fate—or something beyond fate—had given him a second chance.
Fake Smiles, Fake Words
As his friends continued talking excitedly, Varun simply sat there, observing them.
He heard their words. He saw their expressions. But now, he knew the truth.
These were not his friends.
Ravi—who laughed with him now—would later get a high-paying job in an MNC and never answer his calls again.
Karthik—who spoke about "sticking together" in the future—would one day turn his back on him, ignoring him in public just because Varun wasn't successful enough.
And Ananya…
He glanced at her.
The girl who was holding his hand right now, telling him how much she loved him.
She would be the same person who would later choose money over love.
Varun clenched his fists under his robe. It was all fake. The smiles, the words, the so-called "friendship."
Money. That was the only thing real.
If he had money in the future, they would stick to him like leeches. If he failed again, they would abandon him like last time.
But this time, he wouldn't let that happen.
This time, he wouldn't be that helpless fool who watched his life fall apart.
He had a second chance.
The System Awakens
Just as he made this vow to himself, something happened.
A strange, blue-tinted screen suddenly flashed before his eyes.
━━━ SYSTEM ACTIVATED ━━━
[Welcome, Varun. You have been granted the Technology & Business System.]
[Your journey to power, wealth, and domination begins now.]
━━━ SYSTEM FUNCTIONS UNLOCKED ━━━
🔹 Stock Market Prediction (Locked) – Ability to predict market trends.
🔹 Business Blueprint (Locked) – Unlocks business models from the future.
🔹 Technology Innovation (Locked) – Access to future technological advancements.
🔹 Investment Mastery (Locked) – Provides insights into major investment opportunities.
[Mission: Establish Your First Source of Income]
Reward: Unlock 'Stock Market Prediction'
[Time Limit: 30 Days]
━━━ ━━━ ━━━
Varun's breathing became shallow.
He blinked, staring at the floating blue panel in front of him. The text glowed faintly, hovering as if projected in his vision.
"What… is this?"
He turned his head slightly, scanning the people around him.
No one else seemed to notice the panel. The students were still talking, laughing, and celebrating their graduation.
Was he hallucinating?
No. This felt real.
A system? A Technology & Business System?
His pulse quickened.
"If this is real… then I have more than just a second chance. I have a cheat code."
His lips curled into a slow, knowing smile.
In his past life, he had been powerless. He had been stepped on, abandoned, and left to rot.
But now?
With the knowledge of the future… and this system in his hands…
He was going to change everything.