The Calm Before the Storm

July 27, 2009 – 7:00 AM

Aritra's Residence, Jadavpur, Kolkata

The morning sun filtered through the thin curtains of Aritra's bedroom, casting soft golden hues over the room's meticulously arranged desk, where a high-performance laptop hummed quietly. The soft hum of the ceiling fan overhead mixed with the distant honking of vehicles outside. Kolkata was already alive, bustling with morning activity, but inside, Aritra's world was methodically structured.

Aritra sat at the edge of his bed, rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes. Today was a workshop day, and while he was not one to get overly excited about routine classes, he enjoyed the hands-on nature of practical work. It gave him a chance to step away from the chaos of corporate domination, even if only for a few hours.

His phone vibrated on the nightstand, and he instinctively reached for it. Ishita's name flashed across the screen. He answered on speaker while slipping into his navy-blue button-down shirt.

"Morning, boss," Ishita's voice carried an unmistakable edge of excitement. "Check your mail. You're going to want to see this."

Aritra's brow furrowed slightly as he sat down at his desk, tapping on the touchpad to unlock his laptop. He navigated to his email, opening the latest sales report for Nova One. As the numbers loaded, he leaned forward, his normally sharp mind momentarily stunned. 150 million.

"We crossed 150 million units sold?" he murmured, half to himself.

Ishita laughed on the other end. "You sound surprised. This was inevitable. The demand is still surging. We haven't even reached the final peak yet. Analysts are predicting we could hit 180 million within the next quarter."

Aritra exhaled slowly. He had expected success, but this level of dominance was bordering on the absurd. "How are the margins holding up?"

"Strong. Production efficiency is improving, and with the new supply chain optimizations, our profits per unit are actually increasing instead of declining. The per-unit cost is now down to $79, while we're selling at an average of $179 globally. That puts total revenue at—"

"Around $26.85 billion," Aritra finished the calculation in his head.

"Profits sit at $15.45 billion after all expenses. And that's just from Nova One," Ishita added. "OmniLink is an entirely different monster."

Aritra clicked over to OmniLink's user analytics report. What he saw nearly made him stop breathing.

"220 million unique users?" His voice carried disbelief. "We were at 120 million just a month ago!"

"And now? We've absorbed almost every other independent platform's active users. Chat apps, streaming services, video-sharing platforms—they're all hemorrhaging users, and they're landing here. We've effectively become the all-in-one digital ecosystem of 2009." Ishita's voice was laced with triumph.

Aritra leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. 220 million. That was an unimaginable number for 2009. Most of these users weren't just from mobile; a significant portion had logged in from PCs as well. OmniLink was no longer competing with other platforms. It had devoured them.

His eyes darted to another section of the report: Anime Content Analytics.

"The first five episodes of all ten anime series we released have crossed 150 million views per episode?"

"Not just that. Retention rates are above 90%. People aren't just watching—they're obsessed. We've hit a cultural tipping point," Ishita said. "Our AI-powered animation production pipeline is also fully optimized now. Meaning, we can scale content production without ever slowing down."

Aritra closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the sheer magnitude of their success. They had disrupted hardware, software, streaming, animation, and social media—all in one year.

"And what about influencers and short?videos" he asked finally.

Ishita laughed. "Oh, that's where it gets even crazier. The short dance videos went beyond viral—they ignited an entire movement. We expected engagement in Japan, South Korea, and China. But now, influencers from the U.S., Europe, and even Russia are copying the format. Girls everywhere are replicating the dance trends, believing they originated from real influencers**.**""

Aritra chuckled, the sheer irony of it not lost on him. Human influencers, competing against code. The world was shifting faster than anyone could predict.

"Boss," Ishita's voice dropped slightly, more serious now. "We've won. The ecosystem we built isn't just dominant. It's the future. But dominance makes enemies. Don't forget that."

Aritra's smirk lingered. "I haven't. But right now, I have a bigger challenge to handle."

"What's bigger than global domination?" she asked, half-joking.

"My workshop practical at college," Aritra deadpanned. "It starts in an hour."

Ishita burst out laughing. "The most powerful young man in the world, and you're still worried about college assignments."

"Of course," Aritra said, standing up. "Because power isn't about abandoning responsibilities. It's about controlling them."

He hung up before Ishita could respond. He had a class to attend. Unaware that, even as he prepared for something as simple as a college workshop, an unstoppable storm was already set in motion against him.

The Blackwoods were on their way.

And Aritra Naskar had no idea what was coming.

July 27, 2009 – 8:00 AM

Aritra finished buttoning up his shirt, grabbing his backpack from the chair. The world outside his home was already brimming with life, the distant sounds of morning traffic blending with street vendors calling out their first sales of the day. His mother was in the kitchen, preparing his breakfast, a routine that remained untouched despite his rise to power.

He smiled as he walked past the hallway mirror, catching his own reflection—a young man who had built an empire before even turning eighteen, yet still rooted in his origins.

He had no idea that, thousands of miles away, a family of power far older than his empire was moving their pieces into position, setting the stage for a confrontation that would change the course of his life forever.