Chapter 21: The Invisible Gold and The Quiet Vow (The Finale)
May 2010. The Home Office, Villa Vienna.
The world was obsessing over Iron Man 2 and the rising popularity of Facebook. But Aarav Pathak was looking at a primitive website on his secure server.
Bitcoin.org.
In his previous life (2025), he had watched from the sidelines as Bitcoin turned ordinary geeks into billionaires. He had died regretting he never bought in when it was just a few cents.
Now, it was trading at $0.004.
"System," Aarav thought. "Is this market liquid enough?"
[Analysis: Market is nascent. Large injections will spike price artificially.]
[Strategy: Micro-buying. Spread investment over 12 months.]
Aarav called his private banker in Switzerland.
"I want to set up a dedicated server farm," Aarav said. "And I want to authorize a series of small, automated transactions. We are buying a digital asset."
"Which one, Sir? Gold futures? Oil?"
"No," Aarav smiled. "Magic internet money."
Over the next year, Aarav poured ₹10 Crores (approx $2.2 Million) into the crypto ecosystem. He didn't just buy; he mined. By 2012, he would hold a wallet containing keys that would eventually make him wealthier than most small countries. It was his ultimate insurance policy—a secret fortune that no box office flop could ever touch.
June 2010. The Dream Factory.
The checkbook lay open on the desk.
Pay to: Industrial Light & Magic (Consultancy) / Nvidia / Autodesk.
Amount: $50,000,000 (₹225 Crores).
Aarav and Preity stood in a massive, empty warehouse in Film City. It was dusty, smelling of cement and possibility.
"This," Aarav swept his hand across the emptiness, "is DreamWeaver Studios."
"50 Million Dollars, Aarav," Preity whispered, looking at the blueprints. "That's more than the budget of Don."
"We aren't building a movie set, Preity. We are building an industry," Aarav said. "Why do we go to London for color grading? Why do we go to LA for CGI? We will do it here."
He hired the best. He poached technicians from Weta Digital. He bought supercomputers that required liquid nitrogen cooling.
DreamWeaver VFX was born.
In the years to come, this studio would create the dragons for Game of Thrones, the spaceships for Star Wars, and the VFX for Baahubali. Aarav wasn't just the face of Indian cinema anymore; he was its engine room.
August 15, 2010. Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
No media. No helicopters. No Bollywood glitz.
Just the cool mountain air, the scent of pine trees, and a small, ancient temple nestled in the hills.
Aarav wore a simple cream sherwani. Preity wore a traditional red Himachali outfit, her mother's jewelry glinting in the soft sunlight.
There were only twenty people present. Her family. His few remaining distant relatives. Farhan. Ritesh. Hrithik (who had become a close friend).
The priest chanted the mantras. The fire crackled.
Aarav looked at Preity across the holy fire.
"I spent two lives trying to find this moment," he whispered as they took the phere (rounds).
"Shut up and walk," she giggled, wiping a tear. "You're slowing down."
They laughed.
When he put the sindoor in her hair, the System didn't ping. There was no [Quest Complete]. There was no [Relationship Level Up].
There was just silence. A beautiful, golden silence.
Aarav Pathak, the man who owned the world, finally belonged to someone.
September 2010. The Great Escape.
They vanished.
For one month, the paparazzi scoured the globe. Was he in Switzerland? Was he in the Maldives?
They were in a camper van, driving through New Zealand.
No makeup. No schedules. Just Aarav driving, and Preity navigating (badly).
They hiked the mountains where Lord of the Rings was filmed. They ate instant noodles by a campfire. They slept under the stars.
One night, lying on the roof of the van, looking at the Milky Way, Aarav felt a vibration in his mind.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Main Objective: "The King of Bollywood" - ACCOMPLISHED]
[Secondary Objective: "Financial Empire" - ACCOMPLISHED]
[Personal Objective: "True Love" - ACCOMPLISHED]
Aarav closed his eyes. "Is this it?"
[Host has achieved all Life Goals.]
[The System's purpose is fulfilled.]
[Initiating Shutdown Sequence...]
Aarav smiled. He didn't feel panic. He felt relief. He didn't need the stat screen to tell him how to act anymore. He didn't need the percentage counters to tell him if he was happy.
"Goodbye," Aarav thought. "And thank you."
[System Deactivating...]
[3... 2... 1...]
[Goodbye, Aarav.]
The blue screen faded from his mind forever. The hum was gone.
He turned to Preity, who was sleeping on his shoulder. He kissed her forehead.
"I'm retired," he whispered to the night sky.
Epilogue: 2025 (The Full Circle).
Location: Villa Vienna, Mumbai.
The date was October 15, 2025.
Exactly 35 years since he woke up in that small room in Lajpat Nagar. And exactly the day he had died in his original timeline.
Aarav Pathak, 55 years old, stood on the terrace.
He looked distinguished. Silver-fox hair, fit, glowing with the grace of a life well-lived.
He looked down at the driveway. A young boy, 14 years old, was playing cricket with a plastic bat.
"Dad! Watch this cover drive!" the boy shouted.
"Elbow up, Rajat!" Aarav shouted back, smiling. He had named his son after his father.
Preity walked out, holding two cups of coffee. She still looked beautiful, the years adding grace to her dimples.
"DreamWeaver stocks hit a new high today," she said, handing him the cup. "And that crypto wallet you lost the password to? It's apparently worth three trillion dollars now. If only you remembered the key."
Aarav laughed. He hadn't lost the key. It was in a safe deposit box in Zurich, intended for a rainy day that never came. He didn't need it. His studio was producing the biggest hits in the world. He was a producer, a mentor, a philanthropist.
He looked at the city of Mumbai. The skyline had changed. Towers touched the clouds. The Sea Link spanned the ocean.
He remembered the sterile hospital room where he had died the first time. The regret. The loneliness.
Then he looked at his son playing cricket. He looked at his wife sipping coffee. He looked at the home he built.
He took a sip of coffee. It tasted perfect.
"No regrets," Aarav whispered.
The sun set over the Arabian Sea, casting a golden glow over the King who walked away to live like a man.
THE END.