Vijay muttered under his breath. He had decided he would not avail himself of any additional services. He would refuse anything firmly.
If you are truly skilled, let's see you deduce the fact that I am a transmigrant!
Thinking this, his face set in a mask of skepticism, he followed behind a woman with red and yellow paint smeared across her face, stooped low, and entered the tent.
The inside of the tent was almost dark. It was illuminated only by a few stray beams of light that pierced through the fabric. In that dim glow, he could make out a table strewn with books.
Books? I was expecting palm-leaf manuscripts, perhaps.
Maybe Agastya himself translated these from Tamil into the Adi language, he mused silently.
The woman in the turban seemed unaffected by the gloom. Dressed in a long black robe, she glided across the packed earth as if floating on water, circled the table, and sat opposite him. She lit a candle.
A dim yellow flame sputtered to life. The interior of the tent seemed simultaneously brighter and more shadowed, instantly adding a deeper layer of mystique to the atmosphere.
Vijay sat quietly. His gaze swept over the table, skimming a weathered book lying open. He saw notations inside—Chakra Rekha, Shankha Rekha, Meena Rekha—terms for lines and patterns. They felt alien, like esoteric code. This was curious to Vijay, a man well-versed in the classical intricacies of Tamil grammar.
Was Agastya… an 'Elder'? Could he be from my world too…? Vijay muttered the thought without realizing it.
The woman, who had introduced herself as a precise palmist, pushed a sheet of paper and an inkpad towards Vijay.
"First, press the lines of your index finger into the ink and then onto the paper," the palmist instructed in a soft, somber voice.
Vijay complied silently.
"Finished." He placed the paper with its inky imprint in the center of the table.
The palmist picked up the paper with both hands, studying it intently for a long moment. Then, suddenly, she looked up. "My apologies, I forgot to ask. What is it you wish to inquire about?"
"The past, the present, the future," Vijay replied.
"No problem." She set the paper down carefully. "Alright, which timeframe would you like examined first?" Having placed the paper, the palmist lifted her head and fixed Vijay with a deep stare from her grey-blue eyes.
"Let's start with the 'present'," Vijay said after a brief moment of thought.
The palmist gave a slow nod and flipped open the book directly in front of her.
On the page, written in bold, was Karma Rekha.
"On your Karma line, what has appeared is a Prapat Rekha," the palmist stated, her grey-blue eyes boring into his.
Prapat Rekha… isn't that the line of rebirth? he murmured inwardly. His eyes darted to the page. Beside the description was an illustration of a lion and a phrase that read, 'A New Journey Begins'.
Just as the palmist parted her lips to speak further, the cloth flaps of the tent were suddenly thrown open. Sunlight flooded in, painfully bright. Vijay, who had been half-turned, instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
"Pretending to be me again! Telling fortunes is my work!" an aged male voice growled in anger. "Go tend to the donkey, you foolish girl!"
Tending to a donkey? Vijay's eyes were now adjusting to the light. He saw a man whose face was identically painted with red and yellow streaks. The only differences were his taller, wiry frame and the genuine irritation in his eyes.
The woman sitting across from him immediately sprang to her feet. "Don't worry about it, I enjoy doing this!" she said in a defensive, petulant tone. "And I must say, my predictions and interpretations can be quite accurate sometimes. I was being serious…"
As she spoke, she hitched up her robe, scurried around the side of the table, and dashed out of the tent in a flash.
"Sir, would you like your lines interpreted?" The real palmist smiled at Vijay, his expression now professional.
Vijay's lips twitched. He asked with genuine intent, "Is it free?"
"... No," the real palmist replied.
"Then no need." Vijay withdrew his hands, stuffing them into his pockets. Feeling the familiar shape of his pistol and the meager weight of his coins, he stooped and exited the tent without another word.
---
Vijay quickly put the incident out of his mind. At the 'Stick and Meat' market, he spent seven coppers on a portion of passable, if not excellent, mutton. He then bought some soft beans, cabbage, onions, potatoes, and other sundries. Combined with the flour he'd purchased earlier, it totaled twenty-five copper coins—the equivalent of two small silver pagodas and one copper left over.
"Truly not enough to spend. The pension of a poor man…" Vijay sighed. He'd had to use not only the two notes he'd brought but also add a silver coin from his own pocket to his expenses.
He sighed again, pushed the thought aside, and hurried home.
Now, I can finally perform the star-alignment ritual to increase my luck!
…Even after the second-floor tenants had gradually left for the day, Vijay was in no rush to begin the ritual. Instead, he painstakingly translated the incantation for the "Blessing of the Seven Planetary Deities" and related phrases from ancient Adi into the local Neythal tongue. His plan was to try the original mantra first; if it proved ineffective, he would attempt the ritual again the next day using the local translations!
The reason was simple: one must account for the differences between worlds. When in Rome, do as the Romans do!
Translating the archaic, devotional Sanskrit ritual prayer was a struggle, hampered by the limitations of his self-compiled lexicon in this world.
Taking a deep breath, Vijay prepared to venerate the five elements and the constellation.
As he took the first step, he murmured slowly, "My thanks to the Earth that supports me."
On the second step, he stated with sincere focus, "My thanks to the Water and Air that give me life."
On the third step, Vijay let out a soft grunt. "My thanks to the Fire that protects me."
On the fourth step, he exhaled a held breath and concentrated. "My thanks to my stellar constellation, Simha, seated in the firmament."
Returning to his original spot, Vijay closed his eyes and waited for a result. Within him swirled a mix of anticipation, restlessness, hope, and fear.
Could he return?
Would there be any effect at all?
Could something unexpected happen?
The darkness behind his eyelids was stained with blotches of hopeful light. Vijay's thoughts spun wildly in his head, difficult to rein in.
It was then that he felt the surrounding air grow still, becoming dense and mysterious.
Immediately, a low murmur sounded at the periphery of his hearing. It seemed at times real, at times sharp, sometimes imagined, occasionally alluring, sometimes mad, and at other times delirious.
Although he couldn't clearly understand the words of the murmuring, Vijay found himself unable to stop listening, unable to stop trying to decipher what it was saying.
His head began to ache again. It felt as if someone were driving a steel drill bit into his skull.
Vijay felt his head would explode. His thoughts were flooded with psychedelic colors.
He knew something was going wrong and tried to open his eyes. Yet, he couldn't even accomplish that simple action. His whole body was tensing up, feeling as if it might shatter at any moment. At this point, a self-mocking thought arose in Vijay's mind:
If you don't seek death, you won't die…
He could bear it no longer. Just at the moment his mind felt it would break, the murmuring vanished. Everything around him became preternaturally quiet. His mental state was… unstable.
And it wasn't just his mental state; Vijay felt his own physical body experiencing the same unsettling sensations.
He tried once more to open his eyes. This time, the task was effortless.
Before his eyes was his own desk and his mobile phone. He was back in his world. But something was different—it was night time. He looked out the window. There were no people, no sounds. His phone was dead.
A door shimmered into existence before him. Confused, he walked towards it and pushed it open.
---
Beyond that door stood a vast Peepal tree. Beneath it, a river the color of deep, cosmic crimson flowed like blood. Lush green meadows stretched on both banks. Twelve thrones were arranged there—five on one side, five on the other, and one directly facing the great tree. Behind the Peepal tree blazed the constellation of Leo. Behind each throne, a different zodiac constellation shimmered faintly.
Vijay sat down at the base of the Peepal tree, then tried to find a way to leave this place.
At that moment, brilliant light erupted from the thrones of Capricorn and Libra. A voice, emanating from the very Peepal tree, spoke to Vijay, its tone ancient and rustling like leaves.
Will you accept them?
Vijay was terrified by the sight and the direct question. But after a moment, he replied, "I accept."
---
Immediately following his words, Vijay felt his mind go empty, his spirit scattered.
---
In Ithamba Dolli, the capital of the Neythal Kingdom. In the Udhirra district, within an opulent palace.
Before a mirror, a young woman named Adhirai chanted a prayer, holding a small, ornate dagger. "Primordial deity, accept me," she pleaded.
But the mirror gave no answer.
Father cheated me. 'The mirror of the sage Sadhu Rishi,' he called it. 'My treasure,' he said, just to trick me into marrying that old man! Furious, she moved to open the window.
Through the window, she saw her pet dog dangling precariously from a ledge. She rushed to save it, hauling the animal to safety. But in doing so, she lost her balance and began to fall headlong from the window herself.
---
Over the Bay of Bengal, a weathered-looking three-masted ship rode through a squall.
A man named Arputhan stood on the deck, his body moving with the pitch and roll of the sea as easily as if he were on solid ground. He wore a tunic embroidered with lightning patterns. In his hand was a strangely shaped glass bottle.
"The Yali's blood is still insufficient…" Arputhan muttered.
Then, at that precise moment, a hairline crack appeared in the space between the glass bottle and the surface of his palm. In an instant, the bottle slipped. Watching his precious cargo fall towards the raging sea, he cried out, "Lord, save us!" and dove overboard after it.
---
On the Libra throne to the left of the Peepal tree, Adhirai regained her senses. In a state of terror and confusion, she tried to assess her surroundings. She saw the hazy figure of a man opposite her on the Capricorn throne, looking just as bewildered as she felt.
Immediately, both of them noticed a third, shrouded figure standing near them.
The 'mysterious figure' was none other than Vijay. He too glowed with a faint, sunlight-like radiance.
"Sir, what is this place?" Adhirai and Arputhan first stammered in shock, then fell into an action-frozen silence. Finally, they immediately began speaking in unison:
"Who are you? Are you a god?"
---
Author's Note:
This is a work of complete fiction. Any resemblance to existing novels, characters, or events is unintentional and coincidental. All characters, scenes, and incidents are products of the author's imagination and are not intended to infringe upon any copyrights.