Chapter 160: Chapter 158: God’s Assembly... Each God’s Suggestion...
(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
Guys I hope you put more comments and power stones... Which will encourage me...
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God Indra remained seated upon his throne long after Brihaspati had finished speaking.
The king of the gods stared silently into space.
"...."
The celestial attendants nearby wisely chose not to disturb him.
They had served Indra for centuries.
They knew this expression.
This was not the face of a king planning a battle.
This was the face of a man regretting his past decisions.
Many.
Many past decisions.
Unfortunately for Indra, one particular memory kept resurfacing.
Again. And again. And again.
Mahendragiri.
The sacred mountain.
Guru Parashurama’s domain.
The day he had arrived there.
The day he had demanded the Pinakodhanda bow.
The day he had acted exactly like the king of the gods often acted.
Without thinking.
Without patience.
Without considering consequences.
At the time it had seemed reasonable.
Now...
Now he wanted to travel back through time and personally strike his past self.
Several times.
Very hard.
Indra groaned. Actually groaned.
Thinking how messed up the situation is.
Deva Guru Brihaspati raised an eyebrow.
The sight was unusual.
God Indra rarely admitted mistakes.
The king rubbed his forehead.
"
"Hmm?"
"I was an idiot."
The guru remained silent.
"...."
The fact that Deva Guru Brihaspati didn’t immediately deny it only made Indra feel worse.
The king leaned back heavily.
"If I had simply remained quiet..."
Silence.
"If I had simply behaved properly..."
More silence.
"If I had simply made a good impression..."
The silence somehow became even more painful.
Indra looked toward the heavens.
"Of all the people I could have offended..."
The king pointed upward.
"Why did it have to be him?"
Deva Guru Brihaspati folded his hands calmly.
"You possess a rare talent."
Indra blinked.
"A talent?"
"Yes."
The guru nodded his head.
-Nod!
"You somehow find the worst possible person to offend."
The attendants immediately lowered their heads.
Several nearly laughed.
Indra looked personally attacked.
Which he was.
The king sighed deeply.
Because Brihaspati wasn’t wrong.
First sages.
Then ascetics.
Then divine beings.
And now...
Now the mortal connected to Pushpasura’s downfall happened to be Devaratha.
The very same Devaratha.
The son of the Trimurti.
The man whose mothers included Goddess Ganga and Goddess Bhudevi.
The man who already possessed enough divine support to make Indra nervous.
The king buried his face in his hands.
"If we need his help..."
His voice sounded miserable.
"...this is going to be awkward."
Deva Guru Brihaspati actually smiled.
"That is one word for it."
Before Indra could complain further...
The great bells of Amaravati began ringing.
The Deva Sabha was assembling.
One by one divine beings began arriving.
The celestial assembly hall slowly filled.
The atmosphere became increasingly grand.
Golden pillars stretched toward impossible heights.
Divine lamps illuminated the hall.
Celestial clouds drifted through the air.
Then came the gods.
First arrived Lord Surya.
Radiance accompanied him.
The hall brightened slightly the moment he entered.
Not long after came Chandra.
Then Lord Vayu.
Then Lord Agni.
Then Lord Varuna.
The seats of the guardians slowly filled.
Soon the goddesses began arriving as well.
Goddess Ganga entered with the grace of a flowing river.
Her presence immediately drew respectful greetings from many deities.
Not long after came Goddess Yamuna.
Then Goddess Sandhya.
Then Goddess Chaya.
Then Goddess Bhudevi herself.
The earth goddess entered calmly.
Yet her arrival immediately caught Indra’s attention.
The king suddenly remembered another uncomfortable detail.
Devaratha wasn’t merely connected to Bhudevi.
She considered him her son.
That realization did not improve his mood.
At all.
Then came Shani Dev.
The moment Shani entered, several gods instinctively became more careful about their words.
Old habits died hard.
One by one more divine beings arrived.
The hall slowly filled with heavenly power.
Yet something strange happened.
The moment each god entered...
The same reaction followed.
They looked at God Indra.
Then looked around the assembly.
Then looked back at Indra.
And immediately became suspicious.
Because everyone could see it.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Indra looked nervous.
Which was already alarming.
The atmosphere felt tense.
Which was even more alarming.
And most importantly...
A full emergency assembly had been called.
Which was usually disastrous.
Several gods exchanged glances.
The same thought slowly appeared throughout the hall.
A thought so common that it practically became a collective conclusion.
’What did Indra do this time?’
Lord Surya sat down.
Then quietly leaned toward Varuna.
"Any idea?"
Varuna shook his head.
"No."
A pause.
Then he added,
"But judging by his face..."
Surya nodded seriously.
"It must be bad."
Nearby, Vayu whispered,
"Did he offend another sage?"
Agni folded his arms.
"That would be the optimistic possibility."
Several gods immediately agreed.
Meanwhile Goddess Yamuna quietly sat beside Ganga.
Both observed the room.
Yamuna lowered her voice.
"Why do I feel everyone thinks this is Indra’s fault?"
Ganga looked toward the king.
Then toward the worried expressions around the hall.
Then back toward Indra.
Finally she answered.
"History repeats itself."
Goddess Yamuna could not argue with that.
Even Bhudevi looked thoughtful.
The earth goddess observed Indra carefully.
The king looked genuinely troubled.
That alone suggested the situation was serious.
Very serious.
At the center of the hall, Indra slowly stood.
The conversations gradually died down.
One by one. Silence spread.
Every deity looked toward the throne.
Waiting.
Expecting answers.
Expecting explanations.
Perhaps expecting another disaster caused by Indra.
The king Indra looked around the assembly.
Then immediately noticed the suspicious expressions.
His eye twitched.
"I know what you’re all thinking."
Nobody spoke.
Which confirmed everything.
Indra sighed.
"It wasn’t me this time."
Several gods visibly relaxed.
A few even smiled.
That statement alone was somehow reassuring.
Unfortunately...
Indra’s next words erased that comfort immediately.
"It is Pushpasura."
Silence. Absolute silence.
The hall froze hearing his words.
Smiles vanished.
Expressions hardened.
Even some of the older gods went pale.
The name carried weight.
Ancient weight.
The weight of old wars.
Old defeats.
Old nightmares.
At one corner of the assembly, a younger celestial quietly asked,
"Who is Pushpasura?"
The older gods immediately looked at him with horror.
The young celestial suddenly wished he had remained silent.
Meanwhile, Ganga and Bhudevi exchanged glances.
"...."
"...."
Both noticed something immediately.
The timing.
The prophecy.
The sudden assembly.
And the faint threads of destiny moving beneath everything.
Far away...
In a flower-filled village.
Their son was unknowingly standing near the center of it all.
And somehow...
Neither goddess found that surprising anymore.
The name Pushpasura continued to hang over the assembly hall like a dark cloud.
The earlier suspicion that Indra had somehow offended another sage had completely vanished.
Now the mood was far more serious.
Many of the younger celestial beings looked confused.
The older gods looked troubled.
And the few who had actually witnessed the ancient war against Pushpasura had become unusually silent.
Among them sat Goddess Yamuna.
She glanced around the hall.
The reactions alone told her everything she needed to know.
Whatever Pushpasura was...
He was not an ordinary asura.
Yet she had never heard his name before.
Which made sense.
The war had happened long before her birth.
Yamuna slowly leaned toward her mother.
Unlike the younger celestials who openly asked questions, she lowered her voice.
Not wanting to interrupt the assembly.
"Mother..."
Sandhya turned toward her daughter.
Yamuna spoke softly.
"Who exactly was Pushpasura?"
The question was simple.
Yet Sandhya’s expression immediately became serious.
For several moments she remained silent.
As though deciding where to begin.
Then she quietly answered.
"Imagine Ravana."
Yamuna nodded.
"Now imagine someone even the gods couldn’t defeat."
The river goddess blinked.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Sandhya continued.
"Pushpasura wasn’t the strongest being to ever exist."
"But he was among the most troublesome."
Nearby, Chaya overheard the conversation and joined in.
"His greatest weapon wasn’t merely strength."
"It was the boon."
Yamuna frowned.
"The boon?"
Sandhya nodded.
"Lord Brahma granted him protection from every divine race."
"No god."
"No celestial."
"No deva."
"No gandharva."
"No yaksha."
"No naga."
"Could end his life."
Yamuna’s eyes widened further.
"That sounds impossible."
"It almost was."
The answer came from Chaya.
The shadow goddess folded her arms.
"The more dangerous part came afterward."
Yamuna listened carefully.
"The only one capable of killing him had to be a mortal."
The river goddess immediately frowned.
That sounded strange.
Then Sandhya added the second condition.
"The mortal would need to fight him continuously for one hundred days."
Yamuna blinked.
Then blinked again.
Surely she had misheard.
"A hundred days?"
Sandhya nodded.
Without a trace of humor.
"A hundred days."
"And with each day Pushpasura survived..."
Chaya finished the explanation.
"...his strength doubled."
For several moments Yamuna simply stared.
Certain she had misunderstood.
Then slowly the implications sank in.
Day one.
Double.
Day two.
Double again.
Day ten.
Day twenty.
Day fifty.
The numbers became absurd.
By the hundredth day...
Yamuna didn’t even want to imagine it.
Her expression gradually turned pale.
"No wonder everyone looks terrified."
Sandhya nodded.
"You understand now."
The younger goddess slowly looked around the hall.
The older deities weren’t merely worried.
Many genuinely looked uncomfortable.
That alone told her how dangerous Pushpasura had once been.
At the center of the hall, Indra remained standing.
His gaze swept across the assembly.
One thing immediately became clear.
Nobody liked the situation.
Unfortunately, that didn’t solve anything.
The king finally spoke.
"You have all heard the situation."
His voice echoed through the hall.
"The possibility of Pushpasura awakening is no longer theoretical."
The assembly remained silent.
"The stars indicate movement."
"The seals are weakening."
"The danger is real."
Indra folded his arms.
Then looked toward the gathered gods.
"I want suggestions."
The king’s gaze moved across the hall.
"Every suggestion."
"We discuss everything."
For now...
He carefully avoided mentioning Devaratha.
That conversation could wait.
First he wanted to hear their opinions.
Only afterward would he reveal the part that would undoubtedly create an entirely different discussion.
The first to stand was Agni.
The god of fire looked thoughtful.
"Destroy the prison."
Several gods immediately looked toward him.
Agni continued.
"If the seal is weakening, reinforce it."
"If necessary, destroy the surrounding region."
The proposal caused murmurs.
Varuna immediately shook his head.
"Impossible."
Agni frowned.
"Why?"
"The prison exists beneath the mortal realm."
Varuna answered calmly.
"Destroying the region may damage the seal itself."
Several gods nodded.
That risk was too great.
The next to speak was Vayu.
"Then evacuate the region."
"Remove every mortal nearby."
This suggestion received more support.
Yet Brihaspati shook his head.
"The stars indicate the awakening is tied to destiny."
"Removing people may not prevent the event."
Vayu sat down with a frustrated expression.
Then Surya rose.
The hall immediately grew brighter.
"We should prepare the heavens."
The sun god spoke seriously.
"If Pushpasura awakens, we assume conflict is inevitable."
"Mobilize celestial armies."
"Prepare divine weapons."
"Strengthen defenses."
Several war gods immediately voiced support.
At least it was a practical suggestion.
Then Goddess Ganga spoke.
Unlike the others, her voice remained calm.
"What if awakening is not the true problem?"
The hall became quiet.
Ganga continued.
"The stars speak of awakening."
"They do not necessarily speak of immediate destruction."
Many gods looked thoughtful.
That was a fair point.
Bhudevi then added her own observation.
"What concerns me is timing."
The earth goddess slowly stood.
"Ancient seals do not weaken randomly."
Several heads turned toward her.
"The weakening itself may be the result of someone’s actions."
The hall grew quieter.
That possibility had not escaped Brihaspati either.
Someone.
Or something.
Could be interfering.
Then came Shani.
The hall immediately paid attention.
When Shani spoke, wise beings listened.
The dark deity slowly opened his eyes.
His voice remained calm.
"The first question is wrong."
The hall frowned.
Shani continued.
"We keep asking how to stop Pushpasura."
Silence followed.
Then he added.
"We should first determine who is trying to awaken him."
The hall became completely silent.
Even Indra’s eyes widened slightly.
"...."
Because Shani had identified the exact issue everyone had overlooked.
Pushpasura was sleeping.
Something was causing that situation to change.
Finding that cause might prove more important than preparing for the result.
Brihaspati slowly nodded.
"An excellent observation."
Several gods immediately agreed.
Indra rubbed his chin.
The discussion was finally becoming productive.
Yet throughout the entire assembly...
One thing remained hidden.
One detail.
One name.
A name Indra still had not revealed.
Because he already knew what would happen once he said it.
The moment the gods learned who the stars had connected to Pushpasura’s downfall...
Half the assembly would become hopeful.
The other half would become nervous.
And a few would probably start laughing at Indra’s terrible luck.
Unfortunately...
That conversation was rapidly approaching.
And Indra was not looking forward to it at all.
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(Author note:)
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