Looking at Ghosh, Shakshi asked in a flat, emotionless tone,
"So tell me—what exactly are we supposed to do?"
As if all of this were some kind of prank, and she was being forced to act along even though she didn't want to.
Ghosh ignored the tone completely and said,
"For now, we're leaving this place."
"And the guests?" Shakshi asked.
"Let them stay here," Ghosh replied.
"And give me all your phones."
The moment she heard that, Kirti snapped,
"No way."
Before she could react further, Aarav snatched the phone from her hand and switched it off.
"I swear, I'll kill you," Kirti said angrily.
"You can do whatever you want later," Aarav replied calmly.
"Right now, we need to get out of here. They could arrive any moment."
"Who are they?" Shakshi asked this time.
Ghosh looked at Aarav.
Without answering, Aarav grabbed Kirti's wrist and started pulling her outside.
"Let's go."
One by one, they all moved out, unnoticed by the guests.
They headed toward the staircase.
Frustrated, Kirti muttered,
"Why aren't we using the lift?"
No one answered her.
They began descending the stairs slowly when Ghosh suddenly sensed movement—someone approaching them from the corridor near the wall on the lower floor.
Instantly, he raised his hand, signaling everyone to stay silent.
Kirti, already irritated, was about to speak—
—but Aarav clamped his hand over her mouth.
With his other hand, he placed a finger on his lips, silently telling her to stay quiet.
Just as the man from the corridor stepped closer to the stairs—
Ghosh lunged at him, wrapping his arms tightly around the man's neck.
Within seconds, the rest of the team joined in, restraining him.
Ghosh rendered the man unconscious, then dragged him toward the downward staircase and left him there.
After that, they continued descending quietly.
Even now, Kirti still felt like all of this was fake—just an elaborate prank.
Shakshi, on the other hand, had started sensing something was off…
yet even she couldn't shake the thought that maybe Venkatesh was just planning some kind of surprise for Aarav.
Aarav noticed that one member of the team stayed behind, pressed the man's neck firmly, and injected something into it—some kind of chemical.
After that, they continued moving down the stairs.
They had just reached the first floor when a terrorist suddenly appeared from their left side, an assault rifle in his hands.
The moment he saw Ghosh and his team, he raised his rifle—
Bang!
Ghosh fired first.
The bullet struck the man's head.
Seeing this, Shakshi and Kirti screamed together.
The gunshot echoed through the building, instantly alerting the remaining terrorists.
Ghosh and the others rushed down the stairs, but at the bottom, two terrorists were already waiting, rifles aimed straight at them.
Ghosh immediately stepped back and took cover.
By now, Shakshi and Kirti were completely shaken.
They had just seen a man get shot in the head.
Without wasting a second, Ghosh pulled out a grenade, yanked the pin, and hurled it toward the two terrorists.
BOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the floor.
At that moment, every trace of doubt vanished from Shakshi and Kirti's minds.
This was real.
Painfully, terrifyingly real.
They were shaking.
"Move!" Ghosh shouted.
But Shakshi and Kirti froze, panic gripping them.
"Stay strong," Aarav said firmly. "Nothing will happen."
He stepped forward with Ghosh—
—but Ghosh stopped him.
"Stay back with your mother and sister. This isn't the time to play hero."
Just then—
A bullet flew toward them.
In that instant, Aarav grabbed Ghosh and yanked him down.
The bullet missed them by inches.
In the same motion, Aarav pulled out his gun and fired back, shooting at the terrorist.
After that, they pushed forward toward the parking area.
Shakshi stared at Aarav in shock.
"Where did you get that gun?"
Aarav didn't answer.
Suddenly, a voice echoed—
"Stop right there!"
Everyone turned.
A terrorist stood there, his rifle aimed at Wasim's head.
Wasim stood with his hands locked behind his head.
"Take one more step," the terrorist warned,
"and I'll shoot him."
Without thinking, Aarav aimed straight at Wasim's head and fired.
But at the exact moment the trigger was pulled—
Wasim ducked.
The bullet struck the terrorist instead.
Aarav clenched his teeth.
That's why fighting the plot is impossible, he thought.
No matter what you do, you can't change it.
According to the plot… Wasim cannot die today.
Just then—
"Harry!" Shakshi screamed.
She broke free and ran toward him.
Neither Ghosh nor anyone else could stop her.
The moment she reached him—
Wasim grabbed her, pulled out his pistol, and pressed it against her head.
Panicking, Shakshi cried,
"Harry, what are you doing? Stop this!"
Wasim burst into loud laughter, his voice now deep and cruel.
"Stand still. Quietly," he said.
"Or you, your son, and your daughter—none of you will survive."
He looked at everyone standing before him, then laughed mockingly.
"So? How was my game?
Did you enjoy it?"
Then his eyes narrowed.
"But where is Tiwari ji?"
"Oh—sorry… Shastri ji."
Ghosh froze.
Only a handful of people—top officials and a few team members—knew Venkatesh Shastri's real name.
Ghosh stared at him.
"How…?"
Wasim smiled.
"That's a secret."
Then, slowly, he asked—
"But where is our dear friend…
our archenemy…"
His eyes gleamed.
"Mr. Venkateshwar Shastri?"
Both Aarav and Ghosh had their guns aimed at Wasim.
Wasim laughed again and asked mockingly,
"So where is Mr. Shastri?
Gone on a vacation somewhere? Kashmir, perhaps?
But tell me… will he even return alive from there?"
A frown appeared on everyone's face at his words.
But Aarav stood calm.
He already knew the answer.
No matter who lived or died today—
nothing was going to happen to Venkatesh.
---
Far away, on a jungle road, two military jeeps were moving forward.
Venkatesh sat in the front passenger seat of the first vehicle.
Suddenly, he noticed a fallen tree blocking the road ahead.
As soon as the jeep reached near the tree, it stopped.
And then—
Gunfire erupted from all directions.
Bullets rained down.
Everyone ducked instinctively.
Venkatesh immediately signaled the driver to reverse the vehicle.
Both jeeps began moving backward while the soldiers returned fire, creating cover.
Several terrorists fell, shot down one by one—
—but at the same time, some of their own soldiers were hit too.
Venkatesh fired steadily, dropping two or three attackers with precise shots.
Somehow, they managed to push through the ambush—
when suddenly—
BOOM!
The jeep carrying Venkatesh exploded.
The vehicle flipped violently and crashed off the road.
Venkatesh lay inside, barely conscious.
His vision blurred.
The sounds around him faded.
And then—
his eyes slowly closed.
Harry's eyes scanned everyone standing in front of him.
With the gun still aimed at Shakshi, he moved backward toward his car and ordered her to get inside.
Trembling, Shakshi opened the car door and climbed in.
---
Watching all this, Aarav quietly slipped away.
Using Ghosh as cover, he moved sideways, disappearing to the left without anyone noticing.
---
On the other side, Wasim kept his gun trained on Shakshi.
He moved toward the driver's seat, about to open the door—
when suddenly—
A car came speeding in from the side, heading straight toward him.
At the last moment, Wasim jumped, landing on the roof of his own car as the speeding vehicle slammed into it.
The windshield shattered into countless pieces.
Everyone froze.
Inside that car—
was Aarav.
Without hesitation, Aarav raised his gun and fired.
The bullet struck Wasim's shoulder, throwing him off balance. He fell hard onto the other side of the car.
Aarav jumped out immediately and rushed toward him, ready to finish it—
but gunfire erupted from the side.
Wasim's remaining men had arrived.
Bullets flew toward Aarav.
He instantly dove behind cover.
Taking advantage of the chaos and the cover fire from his men, Wasim escaped, retreating with the terrorists.
---
Aarav leaned out from cover and fired back.
Two terrorists fell, one after another.
At the same moment, Ghosh and his team reached Aarav's position, opening fire and forcing the remaining terrorists to retreat.
Under heavy cover fire, the terrorists pulled back—
Wasim disappearing with them into the chaos.
After all the terrorists had retreated, Ghosh and his team finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They safely escorted Venkatesh's family away in a car.
Ghosh sat in the front passenger seat, a soldier was driving, and Venkatesh's family sat in the back.
Ghosh stretched his hand backward and said to Aarav,
"Gun."
Aarav asked, confused,
"Which gun?"
Ghosh shot him a sharp look.
"The one you're carrying."
Aarav replied,
"That one's mine."
Ghosh sneered.
"Do you have a license?"
Frustrated, Aarav handed the gun over to Ghosh.
---
Shakshi turned toward Aarav and asked,
"Where did you get that gun from?"
Aarav quickly made an excuse.
"Uncle Ghosh gave it to me."
Shakshi looked at Ghosh and asked,
"What was all this? What is happening? How did Harry suddenly turn into a terrorist?"
Ghosh stayed silent.
He didn't know the full truth either—the real details were known only to Venkatesh and Aarav.
He finally said,
"Ma'am, whatever you want to know, please ask your husband. Even I don't know much about this matter."
---
At that moment, a blue screen appeared in front of Aarav's eyes, glowing faintly.
White text appeared on it:
[You survived and successfully changed the plot]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the reward title: Fate Bender]
[Description: You can now resist fate and alter your story]
Aarav stared at the screen, completely stunned.
He had transmigrated countless times before,
yet never—not even once—had he seen a system, a mission, or any message.
He had never known why he kept transmigrating.
---
Suddenly, the blue screen turned red.
A new message appeared:
[ERROR: The world has discovered your existence]
[Time and space manipulation detected]
[World stability compromised]
[Warning: Irreversible collapse detected]
[Outcome: You will perish along with this world if the collapse continues]
Aarav's breath grew heavy as the red screen flickered before his eyes.
Suddenly, the red screen began to turn green.
Glitches rippled across it, lines of distorted light flashing erratically.
At the same time, Aarav felt the world around him begin to fracture.
Space trembled.
Time itself froze.
And then—chaos.
Reality seemed to crack apart like shattered glass, frozen mid-collapse.
---
Just then, a message appeared on the glowing green screen before him:
[The world is attempting to repair itself]
[First attempt: Failed]
[Second attempt: Failed]
.
.
.
.
.
.
[Hundredth attempt: Failed]
[Repairing the world is not possible]
[Searching for another crumbling world]
---
A few seconds passed.
Another message appeared:
[Another world fragment found]
[Initiating world merge]
[Merging process: 40%]
[Searching for additional fragments]
[Fragments not found]
---
Then, without warning:
[Restarting sequence initiated]
1
2
3
[World restart in progress — 10%]
[World restart in progress — 60%]
[World restart in progress — 100%]
---
The green screen slowly turned blue once again.
A new message appeared:
[Congratulations! The world has been stabilized 🎉]
[This world has merged with another world and will continue merging with compatible fragments]
[Congratulations! You may now alter fate without restrictions]
[All the best]
---
And just like that, the screen vanished.
The frozen air moved again.
Sound returned.
Time resumed its flow.
The world was back in motion.
But Aarav knew—
Nothing would ever be the same again.
Some time later, they were inside the military headquarters.
Ghosh spoke to Shakshi in clear, firm words,
"You'll have to stay here for a while—until we either capture Wasim… I mean, your Harry, or at least get some concrete information about him and his group."
Saying that, he turned and began to walk away.
Shakshi snapped angrily,
"So basically, you're keeping us locked up here?"
But Ghosh didn't respond.
Seeing this, Shakshi raised her voice,
"You have no right to stop us here. You can't detain us like this."
Suddenly, Ghosh turned back, his temper flaring.
"Don't talk to me about rules and rights here," he said coldly.
"Your so-called boyfriend turned out to be a terrorist. Instead of interrogating you like criminals, we're keeping you here for your safety. You should be grateful for that."
He paused, then added sharply,
"And we're doing all this only because Rahul is my friend. Otherwise, you'd be facing interrogation right now."
---
As both an officer and a friend, Ghosh was burning with anger—toward Shakshi and her daughter alike.
While Venkatesh had sacrificed everything to protect the nation, his own wife had been deceived into betraying him.
Yes, it had all been part of the terrorists' plan.
Still, Ghosh couldn't suppress his rage.
---
Aarav said nothing.
Staying here was necessary for their safety.
And just like Ghosh, Aarav was angry at Shakshi and Kirti as well.
But they were still his family.
So he remained silent.
After venting his frustration, Ghosh finally stormed out of the room.
---
Aarav took out his phone and opened an application belonging to Venkatesh's department.
RAI
Research, Analysis, and Intelligence.
He was already logged in.
As soon as the app opened, a news alert appeared—
an update about the attack on Venkatesh in Kashmir.
According to the report, all accompanying officers had been killed.
Venkatesh, however, had survived and had been rushed to a nearby military hospital.
Seeing this, Aarav immediately called SK.
SK, who was standing outside the military hospital, hesitated when he saw Aarav's name on the screen—but then picked up the call.
The moment the call connected, Aarav asked,
"Where is Dad?"
SK tried to dodge the question.
"He's here… just busy in a meeting."
Aarav interrupted him instantly.
"Has he regained consciousness?"
Hearing this, SK realized that Aarav already knew about Venkatesh's accident.
He didn't understand how Aarav knew—but he chose not to dwell on it.
At that moment, the ICU doors opened, and a doctor stepped out.
"He's out of danger," the doctor said.
Hearing this, Aarav finally let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Into the phone, he said quietly,
"Please… take care of him."