Aryan's pulse hammered in his ears as the warrior before him studied his face. The man had a powerful build, a sharp jawline, and piercing eyes that gleamed like molten gold in the firelight. His armor was unlike anything Aryan had seen in museums—layered metal plates over silk, adorned with sacred inscriptions.
"You wear no warrior's mark. Who are you?" the man asked, his voice firm.
Aryan swallowed hard. His clothes were in tatters—his modern outfit had somehow been replaced with a simple white dhoti and angavastram. His sneakers were gone, replaced by rough sandals. His phone, his watch, everything—vanished.
"I… I don't know," he said, his voice hoarse. It wasn't a lie. He had no idea how he got here, why he was alive, or what was happening.
The warrior frowned. "A lost man with no clan, no weapons, and yet… there is something about you."
Before Aryan could respond, another voice called out.
"Brother, what is it?"
Aryan turned. A tall man with a regal aura approached, his long hair tied in a warrior's knot, his forehead marked with a tilak. His eyes were calm, yet sharp, like a hawk surveying the battlefield.
Aryan's breath hitched. He knew this man.
Yudhishthira.
The eldest Pandava. The man destined to rule Indraprastha and later Hastinapura. The embodiment of dharma itself.
Aryan's mind spun. He had studied the Mahabharata his whole life, debated its historical accuracy, analyzed its strategies. But now, he was living it.
"You found him by the river?" Yudhishthira asked.
The warrior beside Aryan—who Aryan now realized was Bhima—nodded. "He is unharmed, but he speaks strangely. His eyes… they are not those of a common man."
Yudhishthira studied him for a long moment before speaking.
"Dharma has brought you to us. You may not know your past, but for now, you are under our protection."
Aryan exhaled, his body trembling with a mix of relief and fear.
He had landed among the Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharata.
But one thought still haunted him.
Why am I here? And what if my knowledge of history changes everything?