Prologue: The Resonance of Time

​

It is a famous saying that history repeats itself. There are countless universes and countless civilizations where life was driven purely by hope, imagination, and possibilities.

​There is no end to possibilities. There are multiple Earths across the multiverse, existing in different timelines.

​On a few Earths, the Nazis won World War II and dominated the world. In another timeline, there was never a person named Einstein or Newton.

​There was even a timeline where the dinosaurs never became extinct; instead, they evolved and reached heights of success that humans could never achieve.

​But today, I will not tell you about those timelines. Today's story belongs to a timeline where humans evolved to use their life force—a timeline where humans were able to harness nature's energy and their brains together.

It is the ultimate timeline, the original timeline, and the root cause of all branch timelines.

​Today, I, the Watcher—the one who sees all, I, Time itself—will tell you the story of a warrior who reached the peak of mankind and saved the world of the living from countless disasters.

A man who faced countless tragedies yet remained unwavering in his beliefs: the boy who turned into a man while facing his fate.

​Today, I, Time itself, the one who sees it all—the almighty Samay—will tell you The Chronicles of Arjun, the greatest warrior in history.

​So tighten your seatbelt, because the journey is going to be truly adventurous.

​Chapter 1: The Gates of Vajra

​"HEY! Stop, stop! Thief! He stole my apples! Somebody stop him!"

​The scene starts with a fruit seller shouting and pointing at a skinny running boy.

​Suddenly, a hand grabs the boy while he is running.

​"Oye, kiddo. Give those apples back."

​The voice of the guy who grabbed him was commanding and dominant. He was a tall guy with broad shoulders, a wide chest, deep dark eyes, and long curly hair. His presence alone was enough to strike fear into his enemies. His name was Bheem.

​Another voice spoke up. "Bheem, hand him over to the fruit seller. He will handle it himself. We shouldn't interfere in his punishment. He did what he wanted to do; now the judgment lies in the hands of the fruit seller, not us."

​This voice was calm and logical. It sounded like the voice of a man who had years of experience knowing what was right and what was wrong. It was the voice of Dharma, the older brother of Bheem.

​Yet another voice chimed in. "How about instead of handing him over to the seller, shouldn't we just pay for these apples instead? It's not like he stole them with the intention to sell—his intention was to feed his starving belly."

​The voice was calm and proposed a logical, rather than critical, solution. It was Arjun, the youngest of them all. He was tall with broad shoulders, holding a bow in one hand and carrying an arrow quiver on his back.

​Dharma and Arjun looked at each other's faces, and a tiny laugh came out when they saw the boy's face, who was trembling in fear under Bheem's grip.

​"Haha, I guess that's also a good idea," Bheem said, letting the kid run back down the alley. Arjun handed 1 copper coin to the seller for his apples. (1 copper coin \= $1).

​"Huff... We are almost there," Bheem said, putting his hand on Arjun's shoulder.

​"Yeah. The Vajra Academy is visible from here. Its tall, magnificent infrastructure and stone architecture are mesmerizing. It's like looking at a giant castle built for battle."

​Those 30-meter-tall walls, the huge castle, and the academy facilities spread built across 250 acres of land were simply amazing.

​They passed through the wide streets of Vajra City, approaching the giant doors of Vajra Academy.

​"STOP!"

​A guard stopped them from entering.

​"Identify yourselves," the guard commanded.

​"We are here to join Vajra Academy. I am Dharma, the eldest brother of these two. They are Bheem and Arjun," Dharma said to the guard.

​"I know why people come to this academy. I am not asking for an introduction; I am asking who allowed you to come here?

Give me the academy's pass that was provided with the admission form," the guard said, looking annoyed.

​Bheem huffed and looked toward Arjun. Clearly, he was not happy with the guard's attitude, not to mention Bheem's short temper.

​"Arjun, give me the passes."

​"Passes?" Arjun looked dumbfounded. "Weren't you supposed to carry them?"

​A strange silence fell between the three of them as a small leaf drifted past them.

​They looked at each other, knowing how big of a trouble they were in—realizing that they would have to wait an entire year if they couldn't enter the academy today.

​They were about to think of an idea, but then, suddenly, a horse carriage stopped behind them. It was a very luxurious carriage drawn by white horses.

​The door of the carriage opened, and a man stepped his foot out.

​The person was none other than...

​The person was none other than their granduncle, Bhishma. And with him were their cousins.

​Bhishma was 82 years old, but aside from his silver hair and beard, there was nothing about his appearance that suggested his age. His face looked as if he were in his 30s, not his 80s.

​Bhishma stepped out of the carriage, surrounded by four young boys.

​Those boys were:

​Duren—he was one year older than Dharma.

​Second was Damon—he was one year younger than Dharma and the same age as Bheem.

​Next was Vikir—he was one year older than Arjun and one year younger than Bheem.

​And the last was Yuji—he was one year younger than Arjun.

​(For comparison, Dharma is 19 years old.)

​"Haha, so there are beggars at the academy's front gate," Duren mocked, sneering at Dharma and his brothers.

​"Eww, disgusting bastards. The guards should kick them out," Duren added, while Vikir, Damon, and Yuji started laughing.

​Bheem clenched his fists in fury, and Dharma stared straight into Duren's eyes, while Arjun remained completely unbothered.

​"DUREN! What is this behavior? They are your cousins! Is this what you have been taught in the royal palace?" Bhishma barked in a commanding, authoritative tone.

​Duren merely looked away, avoiding eye contact.

​Bhishma then looked at the guard and commanded, "Guards, let them enter the academy. They are of royal blood. I will speak to the authorities about their passes. I am the guardian of all these children."

​The guards nodded and pulled open the giant doors.

​Bhishma glanced at Dharma before entering the academy, with the four cousins following closely behind him.

​Bhishma turned to Dharma, handed him a coin, and said, "Here, take this silver coin. Go to the Vajra administration and request new passes and IDs." (1 silver coin \= 100 copper coins \= $100).

​Bhishma’s voice was devoid of emotion—commanding and authoritative, like an officer addressing a civilian—though his eyes subtly betrayed a faint hint of care and empathy toward Dharma and his brothers.

​"Please forgive my rudeness, Granduncle, but I cannot take money from you. I do not wish to accept anything for free. We will manage somehow. You can leave us on our own... just as you have left us on our own until now."

​Bhishma stood silent and speechless. He knew Dharma’s personality—righteous, rigid, and principled—and he understood exactly what Dharma was referring to.

​"If you cannot take it for free, then pay me back when you have the money. And there's no need to pay interest—consider it a small loan from your granduncle."

​Dharma stayed silent for a few seconds before nodding. He took the silver coin and began walking toward the Vajra Academy administration office.

​There was a flicker of helplessness in the eyes of Bhishma—a man who rarely showed emotion—perhaps burdened by his past choices or today's reality.

​Before parting ways, Bheem and Duren locked eyes, both glaring with intense anger and disgust.

​"Brother Bheem," Arjun said softly, guiding him along after Dharma toward the office.

​As they were about to enter the building, Dharma bumped into another boy who looked curious and friendly.

​Who was this boy? What was the dark history between these cousins? And why was there such a massive financial divide between them?

​Well, we will find out in the next chapter.

The boy who fell to the ground after getting bumped stood up, shook some dirt from his clothes, and said, "Sorry, I didn't notice you."

​"By the way, my name is Nakul Maurya. I am from the Maurya Vansh, and my father's name is Shalya Maurya.

I am the prince of the Madra Kingdom," Nakul said with a bright, joyful smile.

​One thing was certain: Nakul was the kind of guy who could make friends with anyone. He gave off a genuinely friendly vibe. (Vansh \= Clan / Dynasty).

​Arjun saw Nakul smiling and replied, "I am Arjun Arya, and these are Bheem and Dharma.

We are from the Arya Vansh, and we are prince of the Hastinapur Kingdom."

​Nakul's eyes instantly lit up. "Ooh! You are from Hastinapur?" he asked with a grin. "The kingdom that holds major power and wealth!"

​"Hehe, then you must be those prince who have many friends among the prince of the other four major kingdoms!"

​Arjun stayed silent. His silence acted as his answer, clearly communicating no.

​"Umm..." With an awkward smile, Nakul asked, "Why were you walking to the academy?

I mean... why didn't you use chariots? And why didn't things look good between you and those guys with the white-bearded man?"

​"So, you were spying on us?" Arjun asked, his face showing nothing but emptiness—with eyes that seemed to pierce right through the soul.

​Nakul gave a panicked laugh. "Aah! No, no! I just saw the commotion, that's all. If you don't want to answer, it's okay! Hehe..." He gave another awkward smile.

​Dharma looked at Arjun and said, "Arjun, it's fine. There's no need to intimidate him."

​Dharma then turned to Nakul and explained, "We are currently going through difficult times, and I don't want to walk around talking about our family's internal conflicts, because I value my Vansh's dignity.

Just keep in mind that we don't have the financial backing that you have."

​"Oh, okay," Nakul said with an awkward smile.

​The trio moved toward the administrative offices, collected their IDs and passes for the exam, and left for the main hall to take the examination.

​As they were about to enter the hall, they heard a voice calling out to them.

​"Heyyy! I know our first conversation didn't go well, and I asked things I shouldn't have asked... but I want to ask one last thing. Can we be friends?"

​A faint smile appeared on the faces of the three brothers.

​Arjun turned and said, "Yeah, we can be friends—if you pass the examination." If passing exam is criteria for being friend then consider me your friend from now hehe.

Arjun then stepped inside the examination hall.

​Inside the exam hall, there was a large blackboard and a desk where an examiner sat.

​Everyone was assigned seats in alphabetical order among the 160 examinees.

Arjun sat on the front bench, with Bheem sitting directly behind him, followed by Damon, then Dharma, then Duren, and so on.

​Arjun was writing his answers with complete composure, just as most students were writing in calm silence.

However, there were two guys who were barely writing anything at all, wearing helpless expressions—smiles that practically said, "Hehe, I'm doomed."

​And those two were none other than Bheem and Duren, the muscle-brained cousins.

​The written exam ended, and an hour later, an announcement instructed all the students to move toward the training fields.

​Dharma and Arjun walked toward the field, comforting and teasing Bheem at the very same time.

My hands are still cramping," Bheem complains, shaking out his massive wrist. "I was writing so fast the ink almost caught fire!"

​"Brother Bheem," Arjun says with a completely straight face, "you wrote three lines in two hours.

The only thing catching fire was the examiner's patience while watching you chew on the back of your quill."

​"Hey! I was thinking!" Bheem huffs, puffing out his wide chest.

​"Ah," Dharma adds with a gentle smile. "So that was the sound echoing through the exam hall.

I thought the fruit seller from this morning had come back for another copper coin."at least you got your name spelled right. You did spell it right, didn't you?"

​Bheem stops dead in his tracks, his eyes widening. "...Wait. Was the paper asking for my name or my clan name first?"

​Dharma and Arjun share a quiet look, both letting out a small laugh as Bheem starts panicking. All three of them laughed and entered training arena.