Where am I?

In a classroom, 40 children were giving a test. The teacher who was proctoring the exams suddenly said, "Five minutes remaining. Last call for supplementary sheets. Tie your sheets first and then continue writing."

"Wow! Who would have thought this exam would be so long? I've only answered four questions, and three more are still remaining."

"This is the final exam! Do the teachers want us to fail? I want to enjoy the summer break. I don't want to attend supplementary classes."

The students were silently lamenting while the teacher wore a sly smile.

Among them was Aman, who felt exhausted and eagerly awaited the bell signalling the end of the test. He yawned openly, drawing envious glances from his classmates.

"How can he be like this?"

"Why can he always be so smart?"

"Look! Even the class president is writing like crazy. Why is Aman like this?"

Aman's yawn invited stares from his peers.

"Focus on your own paper! Time is running out!" the teacher shouted.

After a few minutes, the bell rang, and the teacher collected the answer sheets.

Aman nonchalantly picked up his bag and headed towards the door when Alice, the class president, patted his shoulder and exclaimed, "Hey! Where are you going? The final exams are over, and summer break has just begun! Are you leaving already for home?"

"Why not? What's the matter with you?"

Jack chimed in, "Come on, let's go to the mall and play games. I want to go Bowling."

Alice, annoyed by Aman's indifference, replied, "Yes! Let's go there! We can also invite Anishi."

Anishi, overhearing her name, joined the conversation and suggested, "Bowling sounds fun, but let's catch a movie later in the evening. Come on, Aman! I know you are a nerd, but it's our last day of school, and we won't see each other again in this setting. Aren't you a little sad? Let's enjoy ourselves till our colleges start."

Aman declined and said, "No! First of all, I'm not a nerd. Second, I didn't sleep well last night and need some rest. Third, we have our school farewell next week, where we'll all meet again. And fourth, the four of us are attending the same university! Not just us, but many others from our class are going there too. We can have fun and hang out there as well!"

Anishi frowned and retorted, "But we'll be pursuing different majors and won't be in the same classes. Plus, your definition of a good night's sleep is eight hours. You'll be fine even if you don't sleep an entire day, let alone miss one hour. Let's go now!"

"No, I'm really sleepy at the moment. I might doze off any second and don't want to sleep on the floor."

"No, we're not waiting until next week! We're going now!" Alice exclaimed.

"There's no need to yell! Fine! You win. Let me at least go home for now, and we'll meet at 5 in the evening. It's still noon, and most shops aren't even open yet."

"Great!" everyone exclaimed.

"Thanks for your understanding, Your Highness. Now, would you all be kind enough to let me go?"

"..."

Aman then made his way towards the door to head home.

As he left, the others started talking about him.

"Why is he always like that? He's talented but never shows any enthusiasm."

"Sure, he's good, but his efforts don't always yield results."

"But he always ranks in the top 5 and will attend such a good university. That means something, right?"

"Were you born yesterday? He is among the top but never first! Can't you see that? And regarding the university, aren't we also going to the same?"

"..."

"He is so disturbed by this fact. He even has a nickname of 'The unlucky consolation prize' because he has never been first."

At that time, Aman wasn't listing all of this and was walking on the road. He always knew about his nickname but never understood why he was like this. He always tries his best and is good to others, but luck never seems to follow him. All the results he has are a result of his hard work.

"Ah! Don't think about it. I will sleep for a bit and go to the arcade later. Anyways what's done is done and cannot be changed."

While crossing the road, he found an old monk. It looked like he came from the mountains and knew nothing about crossing the street.

Helpful as he is always, Aman asked him whether he would like some help.

The old monk gazed at Aman and expressed his gratitude, saying, "Oh, thank you! I came from a nearby village and have never been to a city before. I intended to go to the Dharmshala (Ashram) near Karva railway station. Can you assist me?"

Aman's mind raced with conflicting thoughts. 'Huh!? Helping him would take an hour or two. I only wanted to aid him in crossing the road. Oh, I'm already so tired. Even if I try to explain this to my friends, they won't let me cancel our plans for today. Well, I was planning to help him anyway. Why am I even pondering over it? Damn, my bad luck!'

He responded to the old man, "Sure, Sir! Please give me your luggage. I'll carry that too."

Little did Aman know that this one decision would alter his life forever.

After an hour of walking, they finally reached the Karva station. Aman inquired, "Sir, do you know where to go from here?"

The old monk serenely replied, "Thank you, my dear child! My friend will come to pick me up from here. You can leave now."

Aman hesitated to leave him alone and asked, "Sir, do you know when he will arrive? Or do you have his phone number? I can call him and inquire. It's not ideal for you to wait here."

The monk replied, "Oh, there aren't many good-hearted kids like you! Don't worry, even if he doesn't come, I have a map with me. He has told me the path many times before I came here." With that, he took out a piece of paper with a hand-drawn map. "Thank you, child. But I won't need any more of your help."

'Who carries a hand-drawn map nowadays? Although the old monk says he doesn't need my help, I'm still hesitant to let him go alone.'

"Sir, I can take you there."

"No need, child! And please, do not follow me."

'Why is he asking me not to follow him? Ah, perhaps he is concerned about me. I don't think I can persuade him. I will follow him from a distance to ensure he reaches his destination safely.'

"Okay, Sir."

Aman pretended to leave as the old monk turned his face away and started moving. Aman waited for a moment to create some distance, then quietly began following him. After a few minutes, the old monk arrived at an old and abandoned building and entered it.

Aman thought to himself, 'This doesn't look like an Ashram at all. Ah! I knew I couldn't be that lucky. I must help him.'

He cautiously stepped inside the building. "This building can't possibly be an Ashram. Even I can see that. Where did the old monk go? I need to..."

Suddenly, he was startled. In front of him, the old monk had a knife plunged into his heart. Another man dressed in black approached, uttering, "You should have died earlier. Your entire clan was killed; why didn't you follow them? Now you are going to di..." He suddenly looked at Aman and said, "Oh my, my, we have a rat here."

Aman stared at the man's face and was shocked to see the emptiness in his eyes. The more Aman gazed into those eyes, the more he felt like he was peering into an abyss of nothingness.

"What the... What is happening? Old Monk, are you safe?"

"My, my... this is unexpected. I thought he would run, but look, he is concerned for you. Ha, ha, ha!" He spoke to the old monk.

The man in black sneered, "A child who is going to die is concerned for the King of Time, Ashoka. Oh my, I have now witnessed everything in this world. Look here, rat, run if you want to live. Maybe if you can outrun me, I'll spare your life."

At that moment, Aman experienced an overwhelming rush of adrenaline. He found himself facing the 'Fight or Flight' situation for the first time in his life. His entire body screamed at him to flee from the man in black. But he contemplated, 'I need to survive. Will he truly let me live? I could report him to the police, but he still says I can run? I don't think I can do that. Besides, the old monk will die. What was his name? Ashoka? I must save him too! What should I do? Damn, my bad luck!'

As Aman hesitated, the man noticed and remarked, "Oh, you don't want to? Ah, I see. You understand that you can't outrun me." He suddenly vanished and reappeared before Aman. Grabbing him by the collar, he said, "So, you also want to save that king?"

The old monk, Ashoka, shouted, "Let him go, Chun Ma!"

"Why should I?" Chun Ma, the man in black, turned to Aman. "Well, I should just devour you as well."

Ashoka stared at Chun Ma and declared, "I had planned to depart this world quietly on one of the seven holy planets. But now, can I leave like this?"

Suddenly, Ashoka emitted a radiant glow akin to that of a blue star.

Chun Ma exclaimed, "No, you still had power left in you? Stop!!"

Abruptly, Aman found himself transported to a place. "Where am I?"

"The room appears white. No, it's not just white! Wait, there is no room!" Aman screamed as he ran across the white floor. The space seemed to stretch into infinity. With both the sky and floor white, Aman couldn't even see the horizon. Panicking, he cried out, "Where am I?"

Then a voice spoke, "Kid, you should have left. Why did you follow me?"

Aman turned toward the voice and beheld a majestic figure. The person wore golden silky garments, had a trident fastened behind his back, and wore a golden crown. He resembled a king from an ancient empire. His face bore a striking resemblance to the old monk, but there were distinct differences. The old monk was tired and short, while this figure appeared fierce and stood over ten meters tall. Aman realized this person was not human. Though fear gripped him, he recalled Ashoka's kind voice and politely inquired,

"Sir, where am I?"