Shanti woke up to her system beeping loudly, demanding attention. She groaned, tossing a pillow at the device. "What now?" she muttered. The system displayed a message:
*LOW BATTERY. PLEASE CHARGE.*
She rolled her eyes. "Great timing." Shanti plugged it in, muttering curses under her breath. As it charged, she began typing away, crafting her plan to befriend Arya and gain influence.
Her system suddenly pinged again. *NOTIFICATION: Arya has shared a new challenge – a powerful figure threatening the city. Recommend assistance?*
Shanti smirked. "Oh, perfect." She messaged Arya, offering help. Arya agreed, and they planned to meet.
As Shanti got ready, her system started malfunctioning, freezing with a glitchy screen. "Seriously? Now?" She rebooted it, anxiety creeping in. The system flickered back to life, displaying *MISSION: PROTECT ARYA. SUCCESS REWARD: +100 INFLUENCE.*
Shanti raised an eyebrow. "Who's controlling you?" She pushed the thought aside, focusing on Arya.
After some time, in a room
At the meeting, Aarya shared their plan – infiltrate the figure's HQ and gather evidence. Shanti nodded, her mind racing. As they prepared, she noticed a mysterious figure watching them. Her system beeped softly. *WARNING: UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED.*
Shanti's instincts kicked in. "Arya, we have company."
Aarya followed her gaze, hand on their weapon. The figure stepped forward – a masked individual with piercing eyes. "I've been watching you, Shanti. You're playing with fire."
Shanti's system went haywire, flashing *DANGER. DANGER. DANGER.* She grabbed Arya's arm. "Let's go. Now."
As they escaped, Shanti wondered – who was that?
Aarya and shanti ran.
Then shanti wakes up. She was trembling.
Then they think, "Is this also a dream? Why am I having such weird dreams? Maybe my mental health isn't good." But there's no therapist this time. "I shouldn't focus on these pointless dreams, I should focus on my missions." And what about the system, did it get recharged? No idea. Suddenly, the system pops up and says, "I fixed myself, wasn't causing any trouble, was I?"
Shanti says angrily, "Oh, great, you fixed yourself so quickly." Then she says, "I'm sorry, system, but for some reason, I went bad for a while. And by the way, I manage everything in this world, so this is pretty bad for me."
Then she says, "I want to ask you something.
Then system cut off.
You want to become a villain?
You'll have to put in a lot of effort. First, you'll need to gain the main character's trust, then betray them. They'll come to you again because of revenge, and you'll die at their hands. Or you can take the other route - treat them badly and die of old age or imprisonment, get locked up."
Shanti says, "Yeah, imprisonment sounds better, at least it's better than dying."
Then Shanti says, "Can I ask you something?"
System says, "Go ahead."
Shanti says, "Why are you so human, system? You're understanding things so suddenly."
System is taken aback, "Human? What do you mean?"
Shanti says, "You're very human, how are you behaving like this?"
The system says, "You'll have to work really hard to become a villain. If you're choosing the second option, you'll need to do two things first - build a good relationship with the main character, but not too close."
Shanti says, "System, can I ask something else?"
The system says, "Yes, go ahead."
Shanti is saying, "Ugh, calling you 'system' is so lame. Should I give you a name or something? Just asking."
The system replies, "You can call me whatever you want, it's fine by me."
'Daffar' this name suits you.
Thank you, system said
Shanti says, "Alright, I'll call you Daffar from now on."
Daffar replies, "Sounds good to me."
Shanti says, "Anyway I should get to my role now. I'll go take a dip in the river and be back. And yeah, I had a question - how long can you maintain my male persona?"
Daffar says, "Don't worry, I can maintain it for quite a while. I can double the help for your portion, but there's a catch."
Shanti says, "What catch?"
Daffar says, "If by any chance... if I accidentally shut it down, your persona will break and you'll revert to being a female. And I don't think I need to explain the consequences."
Shanti says, "Yeah, I get it. Alright, let's go."
Shanti was going to river for bath.
Shanti heads to the river, her mind racing with the risks of her situation. As she bathes, she thinks about her next move, her grip on her male persona tenuously balanced.
Then she saw main character naveen who was subconsciously looking at river.
Shanti was desperate to ask Main character what he was looking at but decided to not to.
As river flows naveen step on river and moves towards it.
Shanti said dafaar what he was doing?
Trying to die Daffar said.
What? What? This thing doesn't happen in original novel?
Daffar says, "He's trying to commit suicide. This isn't part of the original storyline."
Shanti watches as Naveen keeps walking into the river, oblivious to everything.
On the other hand He thinks, "Finally, it's all ending. I can die in peace." As the waves rise, it starts raining suddenly.
Shanti thinks, "I should do something." She yells, "Hey boy, listen! Look here!" Then she thinks, "Oh well, he's got plot armor, he'll be fine."
Daffar interrupts, "Save him! He doesn't have plot armor. The story hasn't started yet, so he doesn't have it. If he dies, it's a problem."
Shanti panics and starts moving into the river, thinking, "The river's not that deep, but the more you go in, the more you'll drown."
Shanti rushes into the river, determined to save Naveen. The strong currents pull at her, making it hard to move forward. Daffar guides her, "Faster, Shanti! He's almost under!" She pushes through the water, her breath catching as she stumbles.
Just as Naveen's head disappears, she grabs his arm, pulling him up. He gasps, coughing water, and looks at her in shock. Shanti struggles to keep them both drifting . "What were you thinking?" she yells over the rain. Naveen's eyes are dazed, uncomprehending. Daffar's voice comes, "Get him to shore, now!" Shanti nods, using all her strength to drag Naveen towards the riverbank...
Naveen coughs, regaining some clarity as Shanti drags him onto the riverbank.
He looks up at her, confusion and shock still clouding his eyes. "W-what...what happened?" he stumbles , shaking. Shanti collapses beside him, exhausted.
Daffar says, "Get him to safety. You need to explain things. Now."
Naveen's gaze shifts to Shanti, his expression cold and calculating. He says, "You saved me." His tone is flat, devoid of gratitude or curiosity. Shanti's heart skips a beat as he adds, "Why?"
"Because I have to," Shanti says, breathing hard from dragging him out. "Do you want to die? Are you okay?"
Naveen doesn't answer. His eyes are devoid of anything — no gratitude, no anger, no fear. Just empty. He stares at her, water dripping from his hair, unblinking.
Then his gaze shifts downward.
Shanti follows it and her stomach drops. The river did more than soak her. In this male persona, her kurta clings to her frame, water streaming off the fabric. But her dhoti — it's gone she was embarrassed. Ripped away by the current while she was pulling Naveen out.
She's standing there on the bank, exposed from the waist down, the cold rain still falling. Her male body is on full display, shivering, vulnerable.
Daffar's voice cuts in, low: "Shanti. Your persona. If anyone sees you like this..."
Naveen's expression doesn't change. Still that flat, calculating look. Still devoid of reaction. But he doesn't look away either.
Shanti's fists clench. The water, the rain, the risk — it all crashes in at once. And Naveen just keeps staring.
Daffar says, "Move. Now. Before someone else see you like this."
For a long second, Naveen just keeps staring, his eyes still devoid of everything. Then, without a word, he shrugs off his own wet angavastram.
He steps forward. Shanti tenses, ready to bolt, but he doesn't reach for her. He just holds the cloth out between them, his gaze fixed somewhere past her shoulder now. Deliberately not looking.
"Cover," he says. His voice is flat, emotionless, same as before. But it's not cruel. Just... factual.
Shanti snatches the angavastram, knotting it around her waist with shaking hands. The fabric is soaked too, but it's something. The worst of her exposure is gone.
Daffar exhales. "Good. That was close. Persona's still holding."
Naveen turns his back to her completely, facing the river again. "You're cold," he states.
Not a question. "So am I."
Shanti wraps her arms around herself, teeth chattering.
Shanti crosses her arm, shaking from cold."why-
"You asked if I wanted to die," Naveen cuts in, still not looking at her. "I don't know." A pause. "But you didn't let me. So I owe you. For now." He added 'after this help i will save your life in future for this dept'.
No way i don't even want to you help me future and this isn't dept. Shanti said
Naveen just stared at her but didn't respond anything.
The rain keeps falling. Neither of them moves.
Daffar says, quieter this time: "He helped you, Shanti. No plot armor. No story. Just him. Be careful."
Shanti looks at Naveen's back — tense, socked, still half-drowned himself. "We need to get out of the rain," she says.
Naveen doesn't respond. But when she starts walking toward the tree line, shivering, he follows. One step behind. Not helping, not hiding. Just... there.
The river keeps flowing, like nothing happened.
---
Shanti and Naveen finally reached the gurukul.
Shanti's head was spinning. _He almost died just now. But for a second… it felt like that never happened. How?_
The system's voice answered, quiet. "I don't know either. Maybe it was free will."
"Free will?" Shanti frowned. "What's that?"
"I'll explain later," the system said. "But every character here acts on their own thoughts. Nobody was following the plot back there. When Naveen wanted to die, he tried to die. That's free will — doing what's really in your mind, not what the story planned."
Shanti paused. "Wait. You're the system, right?"
"Yes."
"So… you're like the god of this world?"
"No," the system said. "I work under God. But God hasn't come to this world yet. I'm not much help right now. I did turn the 'free will' setting on, though. That's why things aren't following the story. I'll switch it back later. Don't worry."
Shanti rubbed her eyes. "I'm so confused. First — which character am I? I don't even know. Second — there's another transmigrator ? What am I supposed to do? Why are we even here?"
The system answered, flat. "Because I pulled you from another world. You were about to die there. I brought you here instead. In your real world… you're already dead."
-----
I know that very well, but what can I do right now?
Suddenly she sees Naveen running away and going into a room.
She thinks, Yeah, he's going to his room.And then, Wait a second, Mr. System, can you turn off this free will? Otherwise he might do it again and that could be a problem.
The system says, "Yes, I'm turning it off. Just a sec. By the way, I want to tell you something. BTW, you are an official player here."
"Official player? What does that mean?" Shanti asks.
The system says, "Official player means you're just a player. You came into this world as an extra character. And of course, your family is also an extra right now."
"Okay fine," Shanti says. "So what's the big deal about that?"
The system says, "No big deal. And the second thing, BTW, you already finished your role before it even started."
"Which role?"
The system replies, stuck on the point, "Don't you know? Your villain role."
As soon as the system says that, Shanti gets shocked and says, "Yes, I saved him, but how did my role end just from that one time?"
Then the system says, "Now you have to choose another option. You'll have to build his trust. Because if you don't do anything, your existence in this world will disappear. And you'll become a system-like character forever, or just a soul. Because you don't have a body outside to go back to."
After that Shanti says, "Okay."
---
After that she says, "Anyway, I should go back inside now. By the way, when is the story going to start? I mean sorry, the story's flashback."
Then the system says, "Yes, it's going to start soon. But there's another problem."
"What problem?"
"This story - the author is rewriting it. Rewriting it again."
"Rewriting? Yes, an author can rewrite. It can happen because there are a lot of transmigrators in the story. That's how it works."
Then the system says, "Not like that. This story is being written by the author, and readers will read it too."
"Wait a second. What do you mean, readers? I mean, what do you mean?"
The system says, "This story is being rewritten by the author, and he will post it again. And this time he's going to post it with a twist."
Oh so this indeed a good news.
Then the system says, "No need to get too happy. The readers already know a lot of things about the future. And as soon as this flashback starts - BTW, you do know about flashbacks, right?"
The Shanti says, "Yes, I know."
"Tell me what happens." system said
The Shanti says, "A flashback simply shows the past of the story that's going on right now. It shows what happened in the past. That's what created the future."
Then the system says, "Very good. And BTW, this flashback is on right now. What you just did was shown in the flashback, and people have already read this chapter. Do you want to read the comments on that?"
Then Shanti says, "Yes, why not? I'll get spoilers from it." she added, "By the way, where is the comment section?"
Then the system says, "Wait, comment section? Yes." And the system says, "Right now you have a window here to the web novel. Now you can read the comment section."
Then she presses the comment section button. And this time she writes, this time she writes again: "The Man's Revenge Alternative Timeline by by author." She writes that and sees that there are a lot of good reviews there, and a lot of bad ones at the same time.
Then she says, "How are there both bad and good reviews together?"
And the system says, "Maybe some people don't like it, and some people do. Anyway, as soon as Shanti reads the first comment on the chapter, she gets shocked."
"Wait a second. This isn't chapter 12. It's 112 In this chapter they're showing the past. Yes, in this chapter they're showing your past," the system says.
Then she thinks, _Anyway_, and reads more and says, "Wait a second. First comment by Reader2XD. Reader2XD wrote: I liked the original version of this novel, and I also liked the tragic love story in this novel. I really ship Shanti x Naveen. And maybe..."
Then down in the comments they see, "Man, what is this nonsense? Man's Revenge was the best. They added a useless love story.
Love story? Between me and Naveen? I'm literally five years older than him," Shanti says.
Then after that the system says, "Hey wait, calm down. It's not a love story like you're thinking."
---
The system clears its throat. "Okay, listen up. Next chapter, I'm going to explain the love and hate between you and Naveen over the next few years."
Shanti frowns. "Love and hate? We barely know each other. And I'm five years older than him."
"Doesn't matter," the system says. "The author rewrote the timeline. In the new version, you two get tangled up a lot. Sometimes you save him. Sometimes he hates you. Sometimes... it looks like more."
Shanti groans. "Please don't say the readers actually think we're a couple."
"They do," the system says. "Reader2XD isn't the only one. Half the comment section ships you. The other half is mad about it."
"Great," Shanti mutters. "So what, I'm stuck being his love interest now?"
"No," the system says. "You're stuck being his problem. Love, hate, guilt, trust - it all gets mixed up. For the next few years in-story, you two keep colliding. You pull him back from the edge. He blames you for his pain. You argue. You protect him anyway. He pushes you away. Then he comes back."
Shanti rubs her face. "That sounds exhausting."
"It is," the system says. "That's why it's chapter twelve hundred and twenty-one. A lot happens before you two figure it out."
"So what am I supposed to do now?" Shanti asks.
"For now?" The system sounds tired. "Survive the flashback. Don't let the readers' comments get in your head. And don't punch Naveen. Yet."
Shanti sighs. "No promises.
Over the next few months, Shanti and Naveen keep running into each other.
It's never planned. She turns a corner in the gurukul - he's there, staring at the pond. She goes to the library - he's sitting in the darkest spot, alone. She walks back late from training - he's on the roof, way too close to the edge.
Every time, Naveen looks like he's already gone. Eyes empty. Like he's thinking about ending it.
Shanti wants to help. She really does. But what can she say? "Don't die"? She's not his friend. She's not his family. To him, she's just that older girl who showed up one day not even girl on his eyes.
And she can't forget what the system told her: Your villain role.
She already decided. If she's the villain, fine. She'll be the villain. At least villains get to choose. At least they act.
So today, she makes up her mind. She'll take a step. Do something real. Push him, scare him, save him - she doesn't even know. But she won't just stand there anymore.
She finds Naveen near the old well behind the gurukul. He's sitting on the stone rim, legs dangling over the dark drop. Not moving. Not speaking.
Shanti takes a deep breath and walks toward him. One step. Two steps. Her hand reaches out.
Right then, something happens.
A loud crack splits the air. The stone under Naveen shifts. He slips - for real this time - and falls backward into the well.
"NAVEEN!" Shanti screams. She lunges forward and grabs his wrist. His weight yanks her down. Her knees slam the stone. Her arm feels like it's going to rip off.
He's staring up at her, shocked. Like he didn't expect anyone to grab him. Like he didn't expect her to grab him.
"Hold on!" she gasps. "Just - hold on, you idiot!"
Below them, the well is deep and black. Above them, no one's around.
Her fingers start to slip. Naveen isn't even trying to climb. He's just... looking at her.
And in that second, Shanti gets it. This wasn't her villain move. This was the story forcing her hand. She tried to act, and the world shoved back harder.
The system whispers in her head: "See? Love. Hate. You save him even when you plan not to."
Shanti grits her teeth. "Shut up," she hisses. Then louder, to Naveen: "If you die, I swear I'll jump in after you and haunt you. So climb!"
Something changes in his eyes. Slowly, he reaches up with his other hand and grabs the stone.
Together, they pull.
---