The world came rushing back like a storm. Aditya's eyes flew open, his chest heaving as if he had just surfaced from the depths of a turbulent sea. Beads of sweat clung to his forehead, and his breath came in ragged gasps.
"What happened to me?" he murmured, his voice hoarse and barely audible, as though the words had to claw their way out of his throat.
The dim interior of the hut swam into focus. A wooden ceiling, walls made of dried mud, and faint rays of sunlight piercing through the gaps. His entire body ached, muscles stiff and unfamiliar, as if they hadn't been used in years.
A soft gasp broke through his disorientation. Turning his head with some effort, Aditya saw a young girl standing near the doorway, her wide eyes filled with a mixture of fear and astonishment.
She dropped the doll she was holding and bolted out of the hut, shouting, "Doctor! Doctor! He's awake!"
Aditya's head fell back against the makeshift pillow, his mind racing. Flashes of his dreams lingered like the remnants of a storm.
He clenched his fists, trying to hold on to the fragments. "Was it real?" he muttered. "Or just a dream?"
Moments later, hurried footsteps approached. The girl returned, tugging along an elderly man carrying a bag of herbs and tools. The man, the village doctor, knelt beside him and placed a wrinkled hand on Aditya's forehead.
"You're awake," the doctor said, his voice calm yet tinged with amazement. "Six months. You've been in a coma for six months."
"Six... months?" Aditya's throat tightened as he repeated the words, his voice barely above a whisper.
The doctor nodded. "We found you near the riverbank, barely alive. Your armor was in tatters, and you bore wounds from a battle. We didn't think you'd make it."
Aditya's heart sank. The dreams—or were they memories?—rushed back to him in a torrent. The battle, the betrayal, the cries for help.
"It wasn't a dream," he said, more to himself than to anyone else. "The kingdom... Hamsa..."
The doctor frowned. "You spoke of Hamsa many times in your sleep. Do you remember anything?"
He gripped the edge of the cot, his knuckles white. "I was a guard of Hamsa kingdom capital," he said, his voice steadying. "What happened to me? What happened to the kingdom?"
The doctor exchanged a hesitant glance with the girl, who had crept back to the doorway, her doll forgotten. "Hamsa Kingdom fell six months ago," the doctor said gently. "It's now occupied by dumir kngdom"
Aditya stared at the man, his mind reeling. "It is fallen"
"You've been unconscious for half a year," the doctor interrupted softly. "Whatever you remember... it must have been before you were brought here."
The weight of his words sank in, leaving Aditya in stunned silence. The memories, the faces, the cries—they weren't just dreams. They were echoes of a life shattered by time.
"Rest now," the doctor said, patting Aditya's shoulder. "Your body needs time to heal. We can talk more later."
Aditya lay back, staring at the ceiling. As the doctor began checking his vitals, the truth wrapped around him like a shroud.
"I've been asleep while the world moved on," he whispered. "But what happened to Hamsa... I need to know."
What exactly happened,