> "You have… 45 days to live," the doctor said, avoiding his gaze.
Rajat chuckled. Not because it was funny—but because it was absurdly on-brand. Cheated on, broken dreams, a degree he never even got to use… and now, this. Pancreatic cancer. Of course.
"Any final requests?" the nurse asked gently, her voice trembling.
He looked out the hospital window, past the dull city skyline of Jaipur. "Yeah," he muttered. "I wish I had never lived this life at all."
When he closed his eyes, he expected pain.
Instead… he woke up to metal walls, glowing light, and a voice without a mouth.
"You have been chosen," it said. "Your life was… uninspired. But your mind was never the problem. You lacked the tools."
"Tools?" Rajat blinked.
A vial of shifting gray liquid hovered before him. "This is the Essence of Skill Mastery. Drink it… and begin again."
He drank.
And the world went white.
When his vision cleared, he was lying in his old room in Jaipur.
The year was 2020. His phone buzzed.
[Breaking News: India enters nationwide COVID-19 lockdown starting midnight]
> Rajat smiled.
This time... I'm going to master everything.