The whir of the ceiling fan.
The pale cream-colored walls of his childhood bedroom.
The faint smell of old textbooks and camphor from the pooja room next door.
He was really back.
Rajat sat up in bed, heart pounding. He checked the date on his beat-up Samsung Galaxy J7:
25th March 2020.
His throat went dry. Today was the first day of the lockdown.
He opened his phone gallery—no photos past 12th boards. No selfies from SSIMS. No hospital visits. No marriage. No chemo scars.
It was real.
All of it.
The R.O.B., the Essence, the rebirth.
His hands trembled—not with fear. But possibility.
> "I'm 17 again… and I have the most broken cheat in existence."
---
He jumped to his study table. Old physics guides, notes from Allen, hand-written biology diagrams—it was all here. He opened a random NCERT Biology page and just stared.
Within seconds, it was as if the words printed themselves onto his soul. He didn't just read them—he understood them.
Cell structure. Molecular biology. Genetics.
Everything was crystal clear.
And it wasn't just memory—it was intuition, insight, connection. Like his mind was weaving a tapestry of logic, layered and flawless.
He picked up his pen, flipped the page, and redrew the diagrams of a human cell from memory. No textbook, no glancing back.
It was perfect. Every label, every minor organelle.
> "I could pass NEET tomorrow. No—top NEET tomorrow."
But that wasn't enough. Rajat had no interest in just clearing NEET. He wanted more.
Acing NEET was step one.
Next: mastering medicine faster than anyone in history. Reshaping the healthcare system. Preventing the cancer that killed him. Maybe even curing it.
Hell—if he wanted, he could invent a new branch of medicine altogether.
---
He opened the NEET 2020 syllabus. A nostalgic smile tugged at his lips.
> "Alright... let's game the system."
Phase 1: NEET 2020 Goals
Score Target: 720/720
Revision Strategy:
Physics: NCERT + Concepts of Physics by H.C. Verma (both volumes) + Past 10 years' papers
Chemistry: NCERT + OP Tandon + Allen Modules
Biology: NCERT only (he already memorized the full text in under 15 minutes)
> "With Skill Mastery, I'll finish this in days. But that's just the warm-up."
---
He didn't need online classes, but he signed up anyway—to gather insights, learn how others studied, and prepare better systems.
In mere hours, he started re-writing Allen's notes with improvements. Condensed, interconnected, hyper-efficient.
He created mnemonics that made others look childish. He solved full-length mock tests in record time—with 100% accuracy.
---
But that night, while the rest of the world clapped at their balconies, Rajat stared into the dark sky.
> "I have the power to reshape reality. But should I reveal it now? Or wait?"
Because he knew once he stepped into the spotlight—even academically—eyes would turn. People would notice.
And the man who once died in obscurity would become the center of the world.