The air was thick with smoke, sweat, and screaming.
Aryan stumbled through the alleyways of Mumbai, his hoodie soaked in blood—not his own, not yet. Chaos gripped the streets outside like a curse, another riot over religion or politics or some other thing the news channels would spin into ratings. The city had seen worse, but for Aryan, this was the end of something.
He had only stepped out to buy medicine for his mother. One wrong turn, and he was here, caught in the dark theatre of human cruelty.
He saw them—three men dragging a girl into the shadows. Her face was bruised, her mouth gagged. She kicked and struggled, but it was like watching a flower against a monsoon.
Aryan didn't think. He acted.
He launched a broken brick at one of the men's heads. A crunch. Blood. A scream. The other two lunged at him with metal rods. Aryan dodged the first strike, punched the second square in the jaw—but pain exploded in his ribs as a rod slammed into his side.
He kept fighting.
Somewhere in the scuffle, the girl escaped.
That was the last thing he saw before he felt the cold steel slide into his stomach.
He gasped.
The world slowed.
The men ran.
And he collapsed—on the dirty concrete, under a flickering streetlight, the city howling around him like a beast without conscience.
---
Time stopped.
The pain was gone. The sounds faded. He was... floating?
He opened his eyes.
There was no hospital. No street. No riot.
Only an endless expanse of white mist.
And then—two figures emerged from the void.
One radiant, motherly, cloaked in glowing silks—Parvati ji.
One towering, dreadlocked, skin like ash, eyes glowing like stars—Shiv ji.
Aryan could not speak. He could only fall to his knees.
> Shiv ji's voice was thunder and calm:
"Aryan. Son of Kalyug. You died protecting a stranger, in a time where even friends betray."
> Parvati ji's voice was soft rain:
"You have suffered, yet chosen dharma. In a world that burns, your soul tried to heal."
Aryan finally found his voice. "I… didn't think. I just did what felt right."
> Shiv ji smiled faintly. "That is why you are here."
---
A golden scroll appeared between them, floating midair.
Words burned onto it:
"SYSTEM OF DHARMA"
Version: Divine Edition
Host: Aryan (Soul #102374)
Rebirth Status: Approved
Starting World: Dwapar Yug
Starting Location: Vrindavan
System Functionality: Karma Engine | Skill Tree | Affinity Tracking | Quest Log
Special Boon: 'Prem-Siddhi' (Blessing of Parvati ji)
Aryan's heart pounded.
> "We offer you a second life," Parvati said.
"But not in your world. In a time where gods still walked, where dharma and adharma clashed with blade and soul."
> "You will be reborn in Vrindavan," Shiv ji continued.
"You shall grow near Lord Krishna himself. Your system will guide you. Your choices will shape history."
Aryan trembled. "Why me?"
> "Because even in Kalyug," Parvati said, eyes glowing with divine love,
"you proved that light still flickers in the dark."
---
The scroll burned into golden dust and swirled into Aryan's chest.
> SYSTEM ACTIVATED
Rebirth in 3… 2… 1…
Aryan felt himself pulled downward, fast, through stars and fire and time.
The last thing he heard was Shiv ji whispering:
> "Walk the path of dharma, Aryan. Love freely. Fight justly. And remember… even the gods must choose."
---
To be continued in Chapter 2: "Born in Vrindavan"