"India never needed to be saved. It just needed someone to remember what was buried beneath its dust."
⸻
Year: 1703
Location: Undisclosed Village, Aravalli Hills, Bharat
A storm raged through the night—louder than Mughal gunfire echoing from distant provinces. Thunder roared like divine fury. And something unnatural fell from the heavens.
It wasn't a meteor.
It wasn't a curse.
It was a machine.
A colossal sphere—forged from unknown alloys—slammed into the red earth, carving a crater deep into time itself.
Locals called it a "curse from gods."
The Mughals ignored it.
The British would never learn.
But one dying priest etched his final words into the walls of an abandoned shrine:
"He who awakens the fallen mind shall not rule men… but fate itself."
Frightened villagers buried the object beneath layers of salt, clay, and centuries.
The Codex fell silent.
But it never stopped watching.
Never stopped learning.
⸻
Year: 2025
Location: Delhi, India
Arnav Verma had lived his entire life as a ghost.
Orphaned at two. Forgotten by the system. Ignored by society.
Today was his 18th birthday—his final day at the orphanage.
The world outside didn't care. But fate did.
A call from a lawyer changed everything:
"Mr. Verma… you've inherited a property and a sum of ₹1,00,000 from your late parents."
Nothing fancy. A crumbling house in a neglected Delhi neighborhood.
Not quite a slum. Not quite a society.
Just… forgotten. Like him.
He enrolled in a local college, scraping through life with part-time jobs. That's where he discovered programming… and hacking. A beginner, nothing more—but obsessed.
Then came the trip.
Not Manali. Not Goa.
Just Aravalli Hills. Remote. Quiet. Cheap.
He and two college friends packed a tent, some beers, and a borrowed bike.
The forest air felt different. Heavy. Ancient.
That night, around the campfire, something awoke.
⸻
"System initializing… Matching host consciousness… Error… Correction in process…"
"Welcome, Arnav Verma. You have been chosen by the Shadow Codex."
Lightning split the sky.
No—
Lightning split him.
⸻
💠 [Shadow Codex Activated]
• System Permission Level: 1 (Observer)
• Black-Tech Archive Access: 3%
• Underworld Influence Index: 0
• Objective: Seize control of local criminal networks within 30 days
• Failure Penalty: Termination of neural link
⸻
Arnav blinked.
Blue holographic symbols flickered in his vision.
A system? In real life?
A nobody. A background hacker.
Now… something else.
He didn't realize it yet—but the world had just split in two:
• One India, ruled by corrupt officials and corporate empires.
• Another, soon to be ruled by a ghost in the shadows.
He wasn't a survivor anymore.
He was the first Technocratic Overlord.