The next morning started like any other-or at least that's what Karna hoped. But nothing had been normal since the moment he woke up in this alien body, in an alien world, surrounded by cousins and wives and brothers who had no idea who they were.
They said they were going to college again.
Karna had no idea what this so-called "college" truly was till yesterday. From what he could gather, it was some sort of gurukul, except the gurus were neither Rishis nor warriors. They used chalk instead of shastras, and instead of imparting wisdom, they bombarded students with indecipherable jargon.
As they entered the campus, Karna tried not to get overwhelmed. He stuck close to Rhea, Diya, and Sia at first, walking quietly while Shaurya and Arnav started their usual back-and-forth banter, much to Karna's irritation. But as soon as they reached their respective departments, everyone split into groups.
Karna sat in a room where a man with spectacles droned on about something he called neural pathways.
Neural... what?
Karna blinked. The man pointed to a confusing diagram on a bright screen that moved and changed on its own. Sorcery?
He looked around. The other students were nodding thoughtfully, taking notes on glowing tablets.
Karna, meanwhile, stared blankly at the board and started re-evaluating all his life choices-both past and present.
"I defeated armies... why is this harder than killing Ghatotkach?" he thought in agony.
The professor paused, adjusting his glasses as he looked at Karna. "Karan? You're quiet today. If you're not feeling well, you can take the day off and rest."
"Oh. Yes." Karna nodded instantly with a seriousness that would have made Vidur proud. "I feel very unwell. Very."
The professor looked concerned. "Still not fully healed, are you?"
Karna gave a grave nod and stood up, mentally cheering as he walked out of class.
Outside, he exhaled deeply, relieved to be away from words like "hippocampus" and "dopaminergic circuits."
As he strolled down the hallway, lost in thoughts of ancient battlefields and simpler times, he heard a familiar voice.
"Bhaiya! Skipped class too?" Shaurya grinned, leaning casually against the corridor railing, clearly having bunked his own lecture.
"Skipped?" Karna frowned. "You didn't attend your class?"
Shaurya grinned wider. "I don't attend most of them. Half of our professors don't know I exist. The other half just pretend they don't."
Karna gave him a look. "And that doesn't bother you?"
"I'm allergic to boredom," Shaurya declared with pride.
Karna sighed, shaking his head. For a moment, the lighthearted air brought back a memory-Nakul and Sahadev sitting beside him, tending to his wounds after Indradev had tricked him and taken his Kavach and Kundal.It was not by their own choice though.It wasn't pity either.It was because of his Mata Kunti's request.
He blinked.
"Those days... even pain was familiar," Karna murmured.
"Huh?" Shaurya raised an eyebrow. "Did you say something, bhaiya?"
Karna didn't reply.
They stood beside a wide, open hallway window. The opposite building-taller and newer-belonged to the science department. Karna's eyes lazily wandered until they caught something unusual on the rooftop.
A shadow.
A figure.
He squinted.
It was a girl.
And someone behind her.
The silhouette-a dark, blurry figure-raised a hand and pushed.
The girl screamed.
Karna's heart dropped.
He saw her fall.
A rush of wind and silence.
Then-
A thud.
Screams erupted on the ground below. Students ran in panic. Blood pooled too quickly on the concrete.
"Did you-?" Shaurya's voice was sharp now.
"I saw it!" Karna bolted, leaping down the stairs with Shaurya at his heels.
They reached the scene in moments.
The girl's eyes were wide open.
Her mouth curled.
A small, crooked smile rested on her lips-one that made no sense.
It wasn't fear.
It wasn't agony.
It didn't even look like of her own.It looked more like a crooked message from someone.
Karna's body turned cold.
He didn't know this girl. But something about her expression felt wrong.
Wrong in a way he hadn't felt since Kurukshetra.
He turned to Shaurya, who whispered suddenly:
"Vipad samīpe asti."
("Danger is nearby.")
Karna's eyes widened.
"Sahadev... you remember? Were you lying before?"
Shaurya blinked, clueless. "Huh? What did I say?"
"You just spoke in Sanskrit. Ancient tongue. Our tongue."
Shaurya scratched his head. "I did? Must be the heat. I'm running on one chai and three hours of sleep."
Karna stared at him, trying to read between the lines. Was he pretending? Or... could the memories be hiding somewhere within?
Before he could ask again, a crowd gathered. Someone called for security. Others were calling it a suicide.
But Karna knew what he saw.
That shadow didn't hesitate.
That smile wasn't normal.
And that sentence from Shaurya wasn't just a fluke.
Something was watching them.
And it had started moving.