"3RD PERSON POV"
"FEW WEEKS LATER"
The night was young, and Hyderabad was still alive with energy. Even at midnight, cars and bikes moved steadily along the roads. On a quieter street, where only a few vehicles passed by, a sleek car cruised peacefully without any hurry.
Inside the car, Aravind sat behind the wheel, one hand resting casually on the steering while he chatted with Chandni, who sat beside him in the front seat. In the back seat, Suryakantham leaned against the window, her eyes lazily following the passing streetlights.
It had been a few weeks since Chandni had started living with them, and life had settled into a new, comforting routine. Sometimes, Chandni and Suryakantham would have playful catfights, each trying to steal more of Aravind's attention, but it was all in good spirit and filled with laughter.
Everything was going smoothly. The AB Group, once shaken, was now stable again, and its market value was rising steadily. Bala had taken over most of the business responsibilities, handling them skillfully, which gave Aravind more time to spend with Chandni and Suryakantham.
As the soft hum of the engine filled the car, and the city's lights blurred into long trails outside the windows, Aravind smiled to himself, feeling a rare sense of peace.
As Aravind drove, he glanced at Suryakantham and Chandni, a warm smile on his face. "The atmosphere at the restaurant was really nice," he said. "The food too. It was a great dinner experience."
Suryakantham smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it was. It feels so good when we spend moments like this together."
"I think so too," Chandni added, her eyes shining. "We should spend more time like this. What do you think, Aaru? How about going on a trip somewhere?"
Hearing this, Aravind chuckled softly. "Of course we should. We can arrange a trip whenever you two like."
Suryakantham leaned forward slightly, excitement in her voice. "Yeah, but when?"
Hearing this, Chandni smiled and gave Suryakantham a teasing look. "We can decide later," she said playfully, "but it's me who will choose where we go."
Suryakantham laughed and shook her head. "No way. It should be me. I have more experience than you, and besides, you don't even have a passport! You can't even take care of yourself."
Chandni grinned. "So what? I can make one anytime. And anyway, I have Aaru to take care of me."
Suryakantham smiled slyly. "No, he's going to take care of me."
Chandni immediately shot back, "Didn't you just say you have experience? Shouldn't you be able to take care of yourself?"
Seeing this, Aravind let out a helpless sigh and thought, 'Here we go again.' Before the girls could start another cat fight, he quickly said with a smile, "Chill, girls. We can decide later. And I'm going to take care of both of you, so don't argue over silly things."
Suryakantham and Chandni were just about to respond when they suddenly heard the sound of police sirens. It wasn't too loud yet, but it was getting closer.
"It seems something happened nearby," Suryakantham said, glancing out the window.
Chandni nodded, and just as Aravind was about to say something, his eyes widened. A figure suddenly appeared right in front of their car.
Without wasting a second, Aravind slammed the brakes. The car screeched and slid a little before coming to a halt, stopping just inches away from the person.
As the car came to a sudden stop, Aravind quickly rolled down the window to see who was crazy enough to jump in front of a moving car in the middle of the night. When he looked outside, he saw Shankar kneeling on the ground, clutching his head tightly in pain.
Feeling the sudden jolt, Chandni frowned and said, "What the hell, Aaru? What are you doing?"
Aravind, still staring outside, replied, "It's not my fault. It's his fault," he said, pointing at Shankar. "Hey, Shankar! If you really want to die, go jump in front of someone else's car!"
Hearing his name, both Chandni and Suryakantham quickly turned to look and immediately became tense. Suryakantham whispered, "The CM's killer..."
But Aravind didn't pay much attention to their reactions. His focus stayed on Shankar, who, upon hearing Aravind's familiar voice, looked up with a pained expression. Struggling to stay steady, Shankar cried out, "H-Hey, Mamu... help me... those damn cops did something to my brain... it's killing me!"
Hearing this, Chandni quickly tugged at Aravind's arm and said, "Aaru, what are you doing talking to him? He's a killer! He could hurt us or drag us into trouble. Let's just go!"
Aravind calmly moved his hand, signaling her to wait, and said, "Hold on a minute, Nini." His eyes, however, were not focused on Shankar anymore but on an invisible screen of SYS.
[Host, it seems you are getting involved with the plot again.]
Hearing this, Aravind let out a small sigh and thought, 'So, do I have to help him now? If yes, where's the mission?'
SYS quickly responded.
[No host, you don't have to. Just like last time, you only needed to help the heroine and you already received your reward when Chandni became your girlfriend. However, I suggest you use the skill you obtained last time on him. There's something interesting you might find.]
Hearing this, Aravind thought, 'You mean NeuroSense?'
After Chandni became his girlfriend, Aravind had received two rewards: Architecture Mastery and NeuroSense.
NeuroSense granted him a deep medical understanding of the human brain, including its structure, functions, disorders, and neural communications. With this skill, he could instantly analyze brain activity, detect abnormalities, and understand complex neurological conditions with accuracy.
Hearing Aravind's question, SYS quickly replied.
[Yes Host.]
Aravind nodded slightly, and the screen disappeared from his vision. He turned his attention back to Shankar, who was still kneeling on the ground in pain, and activated NeuroSense to scan his brain.
Seeing Shankar's brain activity, Aravind's eyes widened slightly, and a strange smile appeared on his face. He turned to Suryakantham and said, "Suri, drive the car toward the cafe."
Hearing this, both Suryakantham and Chandni spoke at the same time, "What? You're not planning to help him, right?"
As they watched Aravind open the car door, Chandni said angrily, "Aaru!"
Aravind stepped out of the car, looked back at them with a reassuring smile, and said, "I'll explain everything later. Just trust me, okay?"
Hearing his words, both girls hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded. Suryakantham quickly got out of the passenger seat and moved to the driver's seat.
Aravind then looked at Shankar, who seemed a little more stable now, and said, "Shankar, get inside quickly."
Hearing this, Shankar struggled to stand up and said, "Thanks, Mamu. I'll never forget your help!"
As the car moved toward Aravind's café, Suryakantham sat behind the wheel, driving carefully. Chandni was seated beside her, both girls looking tense and nervous. Their eyes kept flickering toward the back seat, where Aravind and Shankar were sitting.
Suddenly, Shankar groaned in pain, clutching his head. "This pain is killing me, Mamu... Those police definitely did something to me," he said through gritted teeth.
Hearing this, Aravind replied calmly, "Well, I think I know what they did to you."
Shankar immediately looked at Aravind, his eyes sharp and suspicious. "You're not with them, right?"
Aravind rolled his eyes and said in an annoyed tone, "If I were with them, you wouldn't even be sitting here right now."
Hearing this, Shankar asked, "Then how do you know what's happening to me? Are you a doctor too?"
Aravind shook his head and said, "No, I'm not a doctor. And that's not important. What's important is whether you want to know or not, because you're not in a good state right now."
Hearing that, Shankar quickly said, "Tell me, Mamu. What's happening to me?"
Aravind smiled and said, "There are two things — one is good, and the other is bad. Which one do you want to hear first?"
Shankar groaned in frustration. "Mamu, do you think I'm in any condition to choose? Just tell me already!"
Aravind chuckled lightly and said, "If you say so. Well, the good news is, the police aren't coming after you to kill you. In fact, they can't even kill you now, even if they want to."
Shankar frowned in confusion. "What? Why? Isn't that a good thing?"
Hearing this, Aravind said with a calm smile, "Well, it's not exactly a good thing, Shankar. You see, the bad news is... the police performed an illegal experiment on you. And the reason you're feeling this pain is because you are no longer just Shankar."
The car fell into complete silence. No one understood what Aravind was saying for a moment.
Shankar blinked in confusion and said, "Huh? What do you mean?"
Aravind let out a long sigh and explained patiently, "They implanted another person's memories into your brain. Right now, you have two sets of memories inside your head — yours and someone else's. And they're fighting each other to take control of your body."
He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in, before continuing, "If your memories win, congratulations, you'll remain Shankar. But if the other person's memories overpower yours, then your identity — everything that makes you you — will be erased. In simple terms, you'll die mentally, and the other person will take over your body."
Hearing this, Shankar's face turned pale, and a visible tremble ran through him. The atmosphere in the car grew heavier.
Aravind continued in a steady voice, "Even worse, there's a high risk that your brain might not survive the clash. Two different memory systems are trying to rewrite the same neural pathways, and the brain isn't built to handle that kind of stress. If the pressure becomes too much, it could cause a complete neural collapse, and you could die physically too."
He glanced at Shankar seriously and added, "The pain you're feeling right now — it's because the foreign memories are aggressively trying to overwrite your original memories. Your brain is resisting, but the battle inside is causing the intense pressure and pain you're experiencing."
As Aravind finished, the car was silent once again. Chandni and Suryakantham stared ahead, their faces stiff with shock. Shankar's eyes widened in terror, his breathing becoming shallow as fear took over.
(A/N: No Dr. Sarah in harem)