The forest still smelled of smoke.
Even miles away from the burning palace, the faint bitter scent clung stubbornly to the night air. The flames of the Lakshagriha had devoured everything behind them—walls, beams, oil, deceit.
And according to the world…
The Pandavas.
Dead.
Burned alive with their mother in a palace built from betrayal.
The moon hung high above the dense forest canopy, silver light slipping through tangled branches in thin scattered streaks. Every now and then the wind stirred the leaves, creating restless whispers that echoed through the darkness.
Sahadev moved silently along a narrow path between the trees.
Each step was deliberate.
Measured.
His mind was still racing through the events of the night.
The smell of burning wax.
The collapsing structure.
The tunnel.
The moment they slipped away unseen while the palace turned into a blazing tomb behind them.
Now the world mourned their deaths.
Exactly as planned.
But deception did not bring peace.
It brought waiting.
Strategy.
The quiet tension before the next move.
Sahadev paused beside a massive sal tree.
Something felt wrong.
The forest had fallen too quiet.
Even the insects had stopped their nightly chorus.
His hand instinctively moved toward the dagger hidden within his clothing.
Then he heard it.
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Measured.
Confident.
Not the cautious movement of someone hiding.
The sound came closer.
Branches shifted.
A tall figure stepped into the pale moonlight.
Golden armor caught the faint silver glow.
Kavach.
Kundal.
A warrior whose presence alone carried the weight of an unspoken challenge.
Karna.
For a moment neither man spoke.
The forest itself seemed to hold its breath.
Sahadev's expression hardened slightly.
Of all people.
Karna tilted his head slightly, studying the young Pandava standing before him.
There was no surprise in his eyes.
Only curiosity.
And something sharper beneath it.
"Well," Karna said calmly, his voice low but powerful in the quiet forest.
"It appears the flames of Lakshagriha were not as thorough as Hastinapur believed."
Sahadev straightened.
"So it would seem."
The distance between them remained several paces, yet the air already felt tight with restrained hostility.
Karna took a slow step forward.
Dry leaves crunched beneath his foot.
"I was told the Pandavas died tonight."
His gaze sharpened.
"And yet here you stand."
Sahadev met his eyes without hesitation.
"You were told a story."
Karna's lips curved faintly.
"Interesting."
He circled slightly, studying Sahadev from another angle the way a seasoned warrior studies an opponent before combat.
"You walk alone."
Sahadev's hand rested lightly near his dagger.
"And you wander far from Anga."
Karna chuckled quietly.
"Careful, Pandava."
He stopped again, arms folding across his chest.
"You speak as if you have the advantage here."
The tension sharpened.
In another place.
Another time.
This meeting would not have ended peacefully.
Sahadev's eyes never left Karna's.
"We both know why the palace burned."
The forest wind stirred.
Karna's expression did not change.
"But we do not know what comes next."
Before Sahadev could respond—
The air changed.
A strange vibration passed through the ground beneath their feet.
Both men noticed it instantly.
Warriors trained to read danger before it revealed itself.
Karna's head snapped toward the open clearing beside them.
"Did you—"
The air warped.
The space between the trees twisted like disturbed water.
A faint humming sound filled the clearing.
Neither man had ever heard anything like it.
Sahadev stepped back instinctively.
"This is no natural phenomenon."
Karna's hand moved toward the sword at his waist.
The distortion grew larger.
The moonlight bent around it strangely, as though reality itself had been pulled sideways.
The forest leaves began to rustle violently even though the wind had died.
"What trickery is this?" Karna demanded.
Sahadev's eyes narrowed.
"It is not trickery."
The ground suddenly lurched beneath them.
The distortion exploded outward.
Blinding white light swallowed the clearing.
Karna lunged forward instinctively, grabbing Sahadev's arm before the violent force could separate them.
For a single impossible moment—
There was nothing.
No forest.
No ground.
No sky.
Only rushing light and the sensation of falling through empty space.
Then—
Impact.
Hard.
Stone slammed against their bodies.
A thunderous roar filled the air.
Karna rolled instantly to his feet, pulling Sahadev upright with the reflex of a battle-hardened warrior.
Both men froze.
The world around them had changed.
Completely.
Tall structures rose into the sky like mountains made from smooth shining stone.
Strange glowing lights hung above wide black roads.
Metal creatures raced across them with terrifying speed.
A deafening mechanical roar echoed through the air constantly.
Sahadev slowly turned in a circle.
His calm composure had cracked slightly for the first time.
"What… is this place?"
Karna's eyes narrowed.
Another machine roared past the alley where they stood.
Bright lights flashed.
A horn blared loudly.
Karna instinctively stepped forward in a defensive stance.
"What creature produces such sound?"
Sahadev crouched and touched the ground.
Smooth.
Cold.
Artificial.
Not earth.
Not stone.
Something else entirely.
People walked past the alley entrance carrying glowing objects in their hands.
Their clothing was strange.
Their speech unfamiliar.
One of them glanced into the alley.
Then froze.
"Bro… what the hell?"
Another looked.
Two ancient warriors standing beneath a flickering streetlight.
Golden armor.
Long hair.
Weapons.
They stared for three seconds.
"Is that a film shoot?"
"No idea but that armor looks real."
They hurried away nervously.
Karna turned toward Sahadev.
"Explain."
Sahadev slowly stood.
His mind raced through every fragment of knowledge he possessed.
Astronomy.
Time cycles.
Cosmic ages.
The machines.
The towering structures.
The artificial lights.
The language they heard.
Realization settled slowly in his expression.
"We have not traveled to another land."
Karna crossed his arms.
"Then where are we?"
Sahadev looked at the endless glowing city stretching beyond the alley.
His voice lowered.
"…Another age."
A motorcycle thundered past.
Wind rushed through the alley.
Karna's gaze hardened.
"How far?"
Sahadev exhaled slowly.
The answer felt impossible even as the evidence stood all around them.
"Far enough that the world we know has become history."
He looked at Karna.
Silence followed.
The roar of the city continued around them.
Machines.
Lights.
Endless movement.
A civilization that had grown from the ashes of the ancient world.
Karna turned slowly toward the glowing skyline.
His voice was quiet.
But filled with iron.
"…Then fate has made a grave mistake."
Above the city—
The tear in reality shimmered once more.
Watching.
Waiting.
Because this was only the beginning.
Two warriors from the age of the Mahabharata had just arrived in the future.
And history was about to meet the one thing it had never prepared for.
Change.