VIRAMA: The Saga of an Ancient World

The scent of burning incense filled every corner of the room. It was night time and lanterns were the only source of illumination in the partially dark room. It was the same room which Nuzar first awakened before he fell unconscious. A bandaged figure was laying on a bamboo bed. No doubt, it was Nuzar.

Soon enough, his nose began to twitch until he sneezed. Slowly, he was regaining his consciousness. He rolled to the other side of the bed lazily and sat. His stomach made loud noises—a sign that shows he needed good food.

He sat down for a few minutes, his face buried in his bandaged palms, trying to reorganize his thoughts and memories but, food was the only thing on his mind. He stretched his body lazily, after which he stood up from the bed. He walked up to the door, and slowly opened it.

He began to walk sluggishly across the corridor and entered another room. It was a big room filled with decorative lanterns. Scent of incense mixed with the aroma of food drifted across the room. The incense was not his problem. What he really needed was food and he knew he was at the right place.

He squinted his left eye in the brightly lit room and saw a middle-aged couple eating with a young lady seated at the other side of the table, eating in silence. The young lady was a blonde beau. ” Make your wishes ” The middle aged woman said, revealing a gentle smile on her face. The young lady nodded, after which she muttered. ” Yeah, Ill ”

The middle-aged man stretched out his hand and placed it on the young ladys shoulder. ” Your mom and I know what you want the most. Don worry, the ritual was a success. All you have to do is to make a speedy recovery wish and all would be well ”. He said, reassuringly.

The blonde lady brought out a small object. Nuzar strained his eyes to see what it was, only to see an Ankh. He has read from books from his previous life about Ankhs. It was a religious object used by ancient Egyptian civilizations. It was a symbol of Life. The lady whispered something to the Ankh with her eyes closed.

Humph! superstitious fellows was what he wanted to say. Then he remembered the science defying soul fusion he had just undergone. He never believed in things like that. That was why he didn trust the bodys previous owner— The real Nuzar.

His footsteps were heavy and sluggish as he walked up to the family seated for dinner. When he got close to the table, he tripped over. The sound he made startled the family. They They turned to look at what made the noise. What they saw made their eyes widen in surprise.

” Nuzar ? ” They called out, equally surprised. Nuzar smiled, not at the surprised family but at an appealing sight….. something he really needed. What mattered to Nuzar was food. Food! food! food! — This was the only thing his brain cells were saying to him. Paying no attention to the trio, he crawled to the familysized table. He dipped his hand into a big bowl filled with rice cakes and began to stuff them in his mouth.

” Thank goodness you are okay ” The blonde girl beside him said placing her hand on his shoulder. Still paying no attention to them, he continued to stuff the rice cakes in his mouth. The smile on the faces of the middle-aged couple changed into a loud laughter. Having eaten enough rice cakes, he looked up to know what caused the laughter.

” Happy birthday to my babies ” The middle aged woman said with a motherly smile as she poured out wine into the cups placed on the table.

★ ★ ★

” Wake up, sleepy head! ” A feminine voice sounded at the other side of the door. The door opened and a blonde girl peeked. ” Its time for breakfast. ” she shouted again, but a little louder. ” Ill join you at the dinning table, Rana. ” Nuzar said rubbing his palms against his face. It had been a month since his awakening. He had already gotten used to having a new family. At first, he often mistook the lady for his sister from his previous world since she looked exactly like her. The fact that the family bore great resemblance to the people he knew in his previous life makes him prone to name mix-ups.

He rolled to the other side of the bed before getting up slowly. This time, he had no bandage on his body, but had an eye patch around his right eye. He pulled the window clothes away to welcome the warmth of the morning sun. It had been a month since his awakening. He had finally assimilated the memories of the other one. It wasn an easy task to impersonate his Host— the previous Nuzar.

…..

” What an exquisite sword art youve got there. ” A middle-aged man commented. The man was none other than the previous Nuzars father. He was seated under a shed with the blonde haired girl named Tirana or Rana….for short. They were watching Nuzar practice his sword art.

” Hes been taking his sword practice quite seriously. ” Rana said ” He has changed since that incident. He practices his sword art from sunup to sundown…never resting. ”

” Thats the only side of him I want to see. ” The man smiled. He stood up, stretching his back lazily as he walked to the courtyard where Nuzar was practicing. His hand was on the hilt of his sword which was fastened to his belt. ” Times up, Its time for a quick spar. ” He said, drawing out his sword from its scabbard.

He walked to the center of the courtyard with his sword fully drawn out of its sheath. His large sword was perfect in his large hand. While his sword was a large sword, Nuzars was a little fatter than a rapier. Both of them were now standing at the center of the courtyard, holding the hilt of their swords tightly.

” One… two… three…..Go! ” Rana shouted from under the small shed that shielded her white skin from the hot sun. Nuzar and the middle aged man were staring at each others eyes, pacing the courtyard in opposite circles with their fingers gripping their swords tightly, each waiting for the other to make his move.

They kept pacing the courtyard for a few seconds until the man made a quick thrust with his sword. The move was too fast for Nuzar to react. He retreated two steps backwards and blocked another forward slash. ” This is getting Interesting. ” The man smiled, ready to attack again. This time the man launched a barrage of attacks ranging from forward slashes to quick thrusting.

Nuzar deflected all his attacks without breaking a sweat. The man continued to be on the offense for a few seconds until he began to tire out. As seconds passed by, his speed was undergoing a sharp decline. He swung his sword wildly, hoping he could get a single hit. Nuzar blocked all the attacks. He skillfully twisted his sword around the mans and pulled it with great force, sending the mans sword flying—He had successfully disarmed the man. He then pointed his sword to the mans neck.

” Ive lost. ” The man muttered.

Nuzar sheathed his sword and walked away from the man, who had his face drenched in sweat—even his beard wasn spared. The surprised expression he had in his face was obvious. Nuzar came back with the mans sword in his hand.

” Have your sword, Uncl…..Dad. ” Nuzar almost said the word Uncle , before he realized that he wasn from this world and he was impersonating the previous Nuzar. Although he had spent a month with his new family, impersonation wasn an easy thing to do. He wasn impersonating because of the little deal he has with the previous Nuzars weak soul, he was doing it for himself.

The man was in a state of reverie until Nuzar waved his hand in front of him and handed him his sword. Nuzar walked away from the courtyard, his sheathed swords in his left hand. When he got to where Rana was seated, he winked at her . ” Im going inside to get some sleep. Don disturb my sleep, unless dinner gets ready. ” He said before leaving.

Rana walked up to the man who stood on the same spot not moving the least. ” Are you okay, Dad. ” She asked. ” Rana….. you
e right, hes really changed. ” The man replied.