Tarun felt a tug on his hand and opened his eyes to look at the hand which was touching the cat. His eyes opened wide when he saw a white light glowed.
Slowly, the white light wrapped around him, first around his hand, then around his shoulder, and finally around his entire body.
He panicked and shook his hand to get away from that light, but alas, that light was still moving to cover his whole body. His body acted strangely; he felt heart-numbing pain throughout his whole being, as if it were being torn apart.
Then his consciousness began to fade. A scene flashed through his eyes when Arun mocked him of a dying virgin. Mumbling, he mocked himself.
"Dying?" He felt pity for himself, pity for being powerless, and pity for not being able to do anything.
Not even a cry could be heard as he vanished from the spot.
He slowly opened his eyes, not knowing how much time had passed. Because of the pain he suffered, his mind was still groggy. Gradually, his mind cleared. Suddenly, he found himself lying on the bed in a large room. The light and pain that accompanied the realization of a near-death experience still stuck in his mind. As he tried to stand up, he could not move, as his body was still in pain. When he fell again onto the bed while groaning, he felt ashamed of himself. Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out to him.
"Oh! You are awake"
Turning around, he saw a girl walking hurriedly toward him; she stopped in front of him and touched his forehead with her hands.
"You were sleeping all week and your body was burning as if you had just walked out of the volcano itself." She began chatting with a smile on her face, as if someone had relieved her of some burden.
He was stunned when he saw her; he had never seen such a beautiful girl in all his life. The young woman wore a black skirt and a white blouse, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, and her fair skin and cute features made her look like she just stepped straight out of a toy store.
"Hello?" Her voice broke him from his dazed state; he glanced around the room before looking at her.
"Where am I?" He thought this place was quite different, even though he possessed tremendous wealth; he had never seen a place this grandiose.
For a moment, she had a look of confusion on her face, but then it disappeared like smoke as she remembered something, and she spoke in an excited voice as if she was telling her favorite story.
"Ahh! I forgot you don't belong here, you're actually in a guest room in Avaron's palace."
He was quite perturbed when he heard something he had not heard in his lifetime. His loud voice cut her off midway.
"Wait, can you repeat it clearly for me, I don't believe I heard it right"
As if looking at some idiot, she cleared her throat and spoke.
"You are in Avaron, in a Palace." She spoke slowly and clearly, to allow him to understand.
After hearing the name she said, he began mumbling while looking at her.
"It looks like I am really dead," he commented with a dejected look on his face, as if his last hope of living had just evaporated. He then paused for a moment and looked at his hands, then back at her and continued mumbling.
"Looks like I am in Heaven"
She laughed and stopped him midway from spouting more nonsense.
"You are not dead, they've summoned you."
He had never heard of the word summoned before. The truth he learned all his life has been turned upside down for him. Somewhere deep down, he felt scared of the changes he was seeing around him.
While he was trying to sit up, he was suddenly overcome with pain; he fell over and screamed again.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH"
She tried to stop him but was late; she held him and spoke with a sweet voice.
"Relax, I know it's quite a shock to hear about the summoning, but wait one more day and you'll be able to find out what's happening. I'm not the best person to answer your question. Wait for a few minutes so that I can fetch you the medicine," she let go of his hand and placed it on the bed again, before fleeing the room to return later. Her hands were holding a bowl.
As she placed the bowl on his bedside, next to his pillow, he turned around to see some green soup in the bowl. His nose picked up an unpleasant odor, just like the one in the garbage bin. He felt like puking, but he held it in. He then raised his eyebrows at her.
"Don't look at me with that face. This is the solution to your pain. Please open your mouth so I can give you the potion, but remember not to taste it, just gulp it down"
As she instructed, he opened his mouth unwillingly. Slowly, she placed a spoon of potion in his mouth.
"PPFFFF". He sprayed the entire potion on her face. It was the worst taste he had ever encountered, and he looked at the green liquid-covered face of the pouting girl. He suddenly felt the urge to laugh.
She reprimanded him.
"I told you not to taste this potion." She pulled out a cloth from her skirt and wiped her face. As before, she filled the spoon with the potion and fed it directly to him through his throat.
He closed his eyes and gulped down the potion, trying not to remember how disgusting it tasted. He suddenly felt something inside his body, as if a warm liquid was spreading throughout him. A few seconds later, he felt the pain in his body disappear as he released a quiet groan.
This time, he did not feel that much pain in his body as he sat down on the bed. Looking down, he saw he was bare to his waist. Hurriedly lifting the quilt to see inside, he cursed aloud.
"FUCK!" he then looked at her, feeling quite ashamed.
It was as if he was a monkey performing in a circus as she looked at him with an amused expression. She began laughing loudly.
She asked with a smile on her face, "Why are you shocked like a girl?".
He looked at her nervously and asked.
Is it you who changed my clothes?"
"It's me, of course. Did you expect the queen to change your clothes?" She asked in an amused tone but quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
It took him a moment to decide what to say to her; he opened his mouth, but shut it again; he didn't know what to say to her, but after a few seconds he took a few deep breaths and said.
"Thank you for saving me; I don't know what would have happened if it wasn't for you."
She raised her hand to stop him from speaking, then spoke hurriedly.
"No need to thank me. This is my duty. By the way, what is your name? I'm Lucy, the Personal Maid of the Queen in Avaron Palace," she exclaimed with pride.
Seeing her speak like that, it looked like she was describing her life's accomplishments. He slowly opened his mouth to speak to her.
"I am Tarun, Tarun Shekhawat" Tarun held out his hand for a handshake, and she looked at him for a moment before reaching out for it.
As he held her hands, a warm feeling spread through his heart. He stared at her for some time before he let go of her hands.
"Let's take a break today, and when you're ready, I will bring you dinner. Tomorrow, our king will meet with a temple priest directly. Feel free to ask him questions you may have." She smiled at him and turned to leave.
As he watched the moving figure, he smiled to himself.
"Nice."