Chapter 161: Chapter 159: Revealing The Connection... Sage Naradha Enter’s...
(A/N):
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The discussion continued for quite some time.
One god proposed strengthening the ancient seals.
Another suggested evacuating entire regions.
Some wanted to prepare celestial armies.
Others argued that the source behind the awakening should be investigated first.
Suggestion after suggestion filled the assembly hall.
Indra listened. Patiently.
Silently.
"...."
For a while.
Then after hearing enough proposals, a strange thought entered his mind.
The king slowly looked around the gathered gods.
Then at
Then back at the gods.
A small twitch appeared near his eye.
’Am I truly the reckless one here?’
The thought refused to leave.
One wanted to destroy the entire region.
Another wanted to move thousands of mortals.
A third was preparing for war before confirming anything.
Yet somehow throughout history...
Indra was always the one blamed.
The king folded his arms.
"...."
His expression became increasingly suspicious.
The more he thought about it, the less fair it seemed.
For a brief moment he seriously considered pointing this out.
Then wisely decided against it.
The last thing he needed was another debate.
Instead, he focused on the actual problem.
The mortal.
The one Deva Guru Brihaspati had seen.
The detail he had deliberately hidden until now.
Unfortunately, there was no avoiding it any longer.
God Indra rose from his throne.
The movement immediately drew everyone’s attention.
The conversations died down.
The assembly became silent.
The king cleared his throat.
"There is another matter."
Several gods straightened.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Even Deva Guru Brihaspati knew what was coming.
Indra exhaled slowly.
"The stars did not merely reveal Pushpasura’s awakening."
The hall became attentive.
"They also revealed the mortal connected to his downfall."
Immediately the atmosphere changed.
Every deity focused on him.
Even Shani opened his eyes fully as he looked at the floor.
The king continued.
"The mortal in question has already appeared within the threads of destiny."
Now curiosity spread through the assembly.
Several names immediately appeared in the minds of the gods.
Ancient sages.
Chosen heroes.
Blessed kings.
Perhaps some hidden ascetic.
Indra paused to let his words sink.
Then finally spoke.
"Devaratha."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Several gods froze.
Others stared.
A few blinked repeatedly.
The name itself carried weight.
Then suddenly whispers erupted throughout the hall.
"Devaratha?"
"The king of Trivenivrata?"
"Ganga’s son?"
"Bhudevi’s son?"
"The same Devaratha?"
"The son of the Trimurti?"
The assembly immediately became restless.
Because unlike many mortals...
Everyone knew who Devaratha was.
At this point, not knowing him would actually be stranger.
After all, this was the same mortal who had calmly spoken with Sage Durvasa.
The same mortal who had somehow convinced the famously short-tempered sage to curse Indra instead of a group of terrified apsaras.
A memory that several gods still found amusing.
Unfortunately for Indra...
Many of them remembered it very clearly.
At one side of the hall, Vayu immediately coughed.
-Cough!
Agni looked away.
Varuna suddenly found the ceiling fascinating.
The memory was still funny.
Indra pretended not to notice.
Then came the second reason.
The revelation.
The truth regarding Devaratha’s origin.
The son of the Trimurti.
That alone had shaken the heavens.
And now...
The same mortal was somehow connected to Pushpasura.
The assembly grew increasingly serious.
Meanwhile, Goddess Ganga slowly sat upright.
The gentle smile she normally carried vanished.
"...."
"...."
Beside her, Bhudevi’s expression also hardened.
The two goddesses exchanged a glance.
Neither spoke. Neither needed to.
Both were thinking exactly the same thing.
’Indra.’
The king immediately recognized the look.
Unfortunately, he had seen that look before.
Many times.
It was the look people gave him when they suspected he had done something.
Which, admittedly, had happened often enough to become a pattern.
Goddess Ganga folded her arms.
Goddess Bhudevi narrowed her eyes slightly.
The atmosphere around both goddesses changed.
"...."
"...."
Not hostile. Not yet.
But suspicious. Very suspicious.
Indra instantly understood.
The king pointed at them.
"I know that look."
Neither goddess responded.
Which only confirmed his suspicion.
Indra sighed heavily.
Then pointed toward Brihaspati.
Immediately.
Without hesitation.
"The information came from him."
The entire hall turned toward the guru.
The transition happened so quickly that it almost looked rehearsed.
Deva Guru Brihaspati raised an eyebrow.
Indra continued.
"Deva Guru Brihaspati himself read the stars."
"He discovered the connection."
"He informed me."
The king quickly folded his arms.
"I merely called the assembly."
Several gods immediately hid smiles.
The speed at which Indra redirected attention was impressive.
Almost inspiring.
Even Brihaspati looked mildly amused.
Ganga shifted her gaze toward the guru.
Unlike Indra, Brihaspati had no reputation for exaggeration.
Or schemes.
Or panic.
Or questionable decision-making.
If he said the stars showed something...
Then it deserved consideration.
Goddess Bhudevi spoke first.
Her voice remained calm.
"Guruji."
Brihaspati nodded.
"You truly saw this?"
The old sage folded his hands.
"I did."
The hall became silent once more.
Ganga then asked the question everyone wanted answered.
"How certain?"
Brihaspati closed his eyes briefly.
Then answered honestly.
"The stars rarely speak in absolutes."
A fair answer.
Then he continued.
"But this connection is among the strongest I have ever seen."
That statement immediately changed the atmosphere.
Several gods became serious.
Very serious.
Because Brihaspati was not a man given to exaggeration.
If he described something as one of the strongest connections he had ever witnessed...
Then it meant exactly that.
Ganga slowly lowered her gaze.
A mother’s concern appeared despite her calm exterior.
She knew Pushpasura’s history.
She knew his strength.
She knew the devastation he once caused.
Bhudevi looked equally troubled.
Not because she doubted Devaratha.
But because she understood the danger.
Meanwhile, Indra quietly observed.
At least nobody was blaming him anymore.
For the moment.
Then suddenly Narada’s laughter echoed from one side of the hall.
"Narayana! Narayana!.."
The divine sage had arrived sometime during the discussion.
As usual, nobody had noticed.
Sage Narada smiled broadly.
"How fascinating."
Several gods groaned immediately.
Whenever Narada called something fascinating, chaos usually followed.
The sage looked toward Indra.
Then toward Ganga.
Then toward Bhudevi.
Then finally toward Brihaspati.
His smile widened.
"It seems destiny has once again decided to place Devaratha in the center of a problem."
The hall became quiet.
Because everyone knew Narada was right.
The strange thing was...
Nobody looked surprised anymore.
At this point, Devaratha attracting world-changing events was becoming almost expected.
Far below the heavens...
In the flower village of Mallikavana...
Devaratha was currently helping an elderly woman carry baskets of flowers while arguing with Shakuni about the correct way to stack pottery.
Completely unaware that the entire celestial assembly had just spent the last hour discussing him.
And somewhere in the heavens, Indra found himself praying that if they eventually needed Devaratha’s help...
The king would somehow forget about Mahendragiri.
Unfortunately for Indra...
Everyone knew that was unlikely.
The moment Narada finished speaking about Devaratha being at the center of yet another destiny-changing event, the divine sage slowly turned his attention toward Indra.
A smile immediately appeared on his face.
Not a malicious smile.
Not even a mischievous one.
The smile of someone who had just noticed a very interesting problem.
And unfortunately for Indra...
The problem happened to be Indra himself.
Sage Narada adjusted his veena.
Then casually asked,
"Indra."
The king immediately felt uncomfortable.
That alone was enough warning.
Whenever Narada used that tone, trouble usually followed.
The celestial sage tilted his head.
"How exactly are you planning to ask Devaratha for help?"
Silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Several gods immediately looked toward Indra.
The king blinked.
Once. Twice.
Sage Narada continued.
"After all..."
The sage began counting on his fingers.
"You demanded His’s bow."
One finger.
"You offended him."
Second finger.
"You offended his guru."
Third finger.
"You managed to involve yourself in matters that had absolutely nothing to do with you."
Fourth finger.
Several gods immediately looked away.
Because unfortunately... That was accurate.
Sage Narada smiled brightly.
Then delivered the final blow.
"And now you need his help."
Silence.
Complete silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Several gods lowered their heads.
Others suddenly became interested in the architecture of the assembly hall.
Even Agni looked away.
Nobody wanted to make eye contact with Indra.
Narada continued speaking.
His voice remained cheerful.
Which somehow made it worse.
"Suppose you appear before him."
The sage walked slowly around the hall.
Acting out the scene.
"You arrive."
He pointed dramatically.
"’Devaratha, noble king, savior of worlds, protector of dharma, defender of the innocent...’"
Several gods were already struggling not to laugh.
Sage Narada continued.
"’Please help us save heaven.’"
The sage paused.
Then looked directly at God Indra.
"What exactly do you expect him to say?"
The king remained silent.
Narada answered his own question.
"’No.’"
The word echoed through the hall.
Several gods immediately coughed.
Others covered their mouths.
The younger celestials looked confused.
The older gods looked as though they were witnessing an execution.
Because Narada wasn’t entirely wrong.
The sage continued.
"Actually..."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Knowing Devaratha..."
The smile widened.
"He would probably be very polite about it."
That somehow sounded even worse.
Sage Narada imitated a calm voice.
"’Greetings, Lord Indra.’"
"’I hope heaven is doing well.’"
"’Unfortunately, I am currently busy helping villagers grow flowers.’"
"’Please solve your own problems.’"
A few gods finally lost control.
Laughter escaped. Very small laughter.
But enough.
Indra’s face darkened visibly.
"...."
Then darker. Then darker again.
The king of the gods looked as though he wanted the floor to open and swallow him.
Unfortunately, Sage Narada was not finished.
The sage slowly walked around Indra.
Speaking thoughtfully.
"You know..."
"Trust is important."
Several gods nodded.
"Relationships are important."
More nodding.
"So is first impression."
At this point even Brihaspati was pretending not to hear.
Narada stopped beside Indra.
Then smiled.
"The problem is..."
He paused dramatically.
"...your first impression was terrible."
The assembly erupted.
Not loudly.
But enough.
Even Varuna nearly laughed.
Vayu looked like he was suffering.
Agni had completely given up trying to appear serious.
Meanwhile, Ganga placed a hand over her mouth.
Not because she found it funny.
Because Narada was speaking the truth.
Goddess Bhudevi sighed. A very long sigh.
The kind of sigh mothers make when observing avoidable stupidity.
Indra immediately noticed.
"Not you too."
Goddess Bhudevi calmly looked at him.
"What?"
The king pointed accusingly.
"You’re sighing."
The earth goddess raised an eyebrow.
"You want me to praise your decision-making?"
Indra immediately stopped speaking.
That seemed safer.
Sage Narada meanwhile continued.
"The true question isn’t whether Devaratha can defeat Pushpasura."
The assembly gradually became serious again.
Because that part actually mattered.
The sage’s smile softened.
"The true question is whether Devaratha will agree to become involved."
That statement immediately changed the mood.
Because everyone understood.
Power wasn’t the issue.
Capability wasn’t the issue.
The problem was choice.
Nobody could order Devaratha. Nobody could command him.
Especially not heaven. Especially not Indra.
The king slowly sank back into his throne.
His expression looked increasingly miserable.
The situation had become painfully clear.
If Brihaspati’s reading was correct... If Pushpasura truly awakened...
If Devaratha was indeed connected to his downfall...
Then sooner or later they would need to approach him.
And that meant... God Indra would need to approach him.
The realization visibly hurt.
Sage Narada looked upward thoughtfully.
Then suddenly added,
"Perhaps you should apologize."
The hall froze.
Indra looked horrified.
Actually horrified.
The king stared at Narada as though he had suggested jumping into the sun.
"Apologize?"
Narada nodded.
"Yes."
The word sounded simple.
Terrifying. But simple.
Indra looked toward Brihaspati.
Seeking support.
The guru remained silent.
Indra looked toward Ganga.
She remained silent.
Then toward Bhudevi.
Also silent.
Then toward Lord Surya.
Silent.
Toward Lord Varuna.
Silent.
Toward Lord Agni.
Silent.
Every god deliberately avoided helping him.
Because deep down...
They all agreed with Narada.
The king slowly covered his face with both hands.
The entire celestial assembly watched.
For perhaps the first time in history...
The mighty king of heaven looked less afraid of an ancient world-conquering asura...
And more afraid of apologizing to one mortal king.
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(Author note:)
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