𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦

𝟯. 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗔𝗧 𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗘

Kingdom of Kadamba (modern Karnataka), Dwapara Yuga

Blood. Blood everywhere. Air became pungent with a metallic smell and the land was dyed red. Millions of bodies are lying on the ground. Bitter cries of widows echoed through the place.

Amidst of this, a tall and lean figure was standing. He has a a quiver slinging on his shoulder and was drenched in blood. He was holding an arrow dripping with blood in a palm and bow by its string on the other. It's dark and gloomy around but he was shining brighter than thousand suns.

He turned around and said, "will you save me and everyone from this fate?", in a deep and imploring voice which sent shivers through the listener's spine.

Ahyan woke from the nightmare, unsettled, beads of sweat pooling on his forehead.

"Where the heck am I?" he pondered, dazed.
He took in the details of the place he was now.

The bed he's lying on felt like a cloud. The sheets and pillows are of the rarest silk. There is a small desk beside his bed with drawers. The design is delicate and intricate, like those sculptures in the Ellora caves.

There's a tall mirror with gold (?) frame in a corner with a dressing table. A gold vase filled with strange coral coloured flowers is there in a corner.

Everything screamed extravagance. "Why does the heaven look like a Sanjay Leela Bhansali's set?" he mused.

"Wait, can we get nightmares even after dying?" he wondered.

"Oh shit, I died! No more Netflix marathons, 3 am Maggi, making out with my boyfriend, no, ex-boyfriend, fuck him! I died because of that fucker! Why did he even get into a relationship with me when he wanted a perfect little Indian family? I can't talk to my parents anymore. I just got my dream job as a comic artist. Why the heck did I die?" he thought as sobs wracked his body.

So many thoughts ran through his head, overwhelming him. His breaths became short, and the room sank. He registered someone screaming at a distance before his world became black.

He regained consciousness as he felt water on his face.

He opened his eyes and saw an elegant middle-aged couple clad in gold and bourgeois Indian traditional clothing looking at him concernedly.

There's a young woman, maybe in her early 20s, standing a few feet away from them with a brass tumbler in her hand. Head slightly bowed, she was peeking through her long eyelashes.

He came back to reality when he heard the girl's voice.

"Yes, Maharani," the girl bowed and gave him the glass. He drank it as if his life depended on it.

"Do you feel thirst and hunger after death? And do you get an in-built translator too? Cool! Maybe dying isn't that bad," he thought.

"Which godly couple are you? And you girl, are you an Apsara?"

The lady chuckled, and the man grinned boisterously, whereas as the said girl went beet red, bowing her head to hide her flushed cheeks.

He just stared at them, perplexed, thinking what was so hilarious about what he asked.

After laughing his heart out, the man replied, "Putra, you are very much alive, and this is Vijayaprastha, the capital of Kadamba Rajya in aryavarta. We found you unconscious on the Sudakshina shore, when we were performing yagna. We are the King and Queen of this kingdom. I'm Mayuravarma and this is my wife, Suravarchssa. Our Kulaguru, Sage Vashistha came 2 days ago and said that you're from Kali Yuga and you came to Dwapara Yuga for a reason," he clarified.