Chapter 221: Chapter 219: Sage Who Sleeps... Pushpasura Angry Move...
(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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Meanwhile...
Far from Malikavana Village...
Pushpasura stood amidst the ever-growing ranks of his Rakshasa legion.
The dimensional rift hanging high above the land continued to widen.
Every few moments another company of Rakshasas emerged from the ancient prison, kneeling before their king before joining the countless warriors already assembled.
The army continued to grow.
Yet...
Pushpasura himself remained dissatisfied.
"I am still far from my peak..."
He slowly knelt upon the earth.
Stretching out one clawed hand, he pressed his palm firmly against the ground.
The instant his hand touched the soil...
Dark crimson energy spread beneath the surface like countless veins.
The fertile land surrounding the forest began responding.
Life force.
The nutrients stored within the sacred earth.
The vitality nourished by centuries of untouched forests.
Everything started flowing toward Pushpasura.
The grass slowly withered.
Flowers drooped.
Leaves lost their vibrant color.
Streams of emerald-green energy rose from the earth before being absorbed into his body.
Pushpasura closed his eyes.
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"Yes..."
"This land is overflowing with life."
"I shall reclaim every fragment of the strength I once possessed."
The flow continued.
His aura gradually became heavier.
The surrounding Rakshasas lowered their heads respectfully as their king’s presence steadily increased.
Then...
Something changed.
The stream of life energy weakened.
Pushpasura frowned.
-Frown!
"...."
The flow became slower.
Then slower still.
Within moments...
The torrent that had been pouring into his body was reduced to little more than scattered droplets.
His smile disappeared from his smile.
"...What?"
He increased the pull.
Dark energy surged from his arm once again.
Normally...
No living land could resist his authority.
Everything would surrender its vitality to him.
Yet this time...
The earth answered with silence.
The nutrients beneath the soil simply refused to move.
It was as though the land itself had rejected him.
Pushpasura slowly opened his crimson eyes.
A trace of disbelief appeared upon his face.
"This..."
"This has never happened before."
He pressed harder.
Nothing.
The sacred earth remained unmoved.
Almost...
As though another will had already claimed it.
Then...
A sound reached him.
Soft. Gentle.
Yet somehow carrying across the entire forest.
"Om..."
The single sacred syllable resonated through the air.
It was neither loud nor forceful.
Yet every vibration seemed to calm the very land around it.
The trembling trees became still.
The withered flowers nearest the sound slowly lifted their heads once more.
Even the frightened animals hidden throughout the forest ceased their panic.
Pushpasura narrowed his eyes.
"...."
Again...
The sound echoed.
"Om..."
Each repetition seemed to strengthen the earth’s resistance against him.
His claws dug into the soil.
"...Someone."
"There is someone in meditation."
His gaze slowly shifted toward the distant forest where the sound originated.
The sacred chant continued without interruption.
Steady. Unwavering.
Ancient. Resonated with the nature as one.
Pushpasura rose to his full height.
His expression had become noticeably colder.
"Interesting..."
He began walking toward the source of the chant.
With every step, dozens of Rakshasas instinctively followed behind their king.
The deeper he ventured into the forest...
The louder the sacred vibration became.
"Om..."
"Om..."
"Om..."
The chant neither hastened nor slowed.
It simply continued.
As eternal as the mountains themselves.
For the first time since his awakening...
Pushpasura felt something he had not expected.
Resistance.
Someone...
Somewhere within the sacred forest...
Was calmly sitting in meditation.
And merely by existing...
They were denying the Rakshasa King the life force of the land itself.
Pushpasura’s crimson eyes gleamed with murderous curiosity.
"...Let me see... who dares interfere with my feast."
Pushpasura took another step forward.
Behind him, thousands of Rakshasas immediately prepared to follow their king into the forest.
The heavy sound of marching feet echoed across the land.
Without even turning around...
Pushpasura casually raised one hand.
The entire legion halted instantly.
He made a single dismissive gesture.
Do not follow.
The commanders immediately bowed.
"As you command, my Lord."
Pushpasura snorted as he turned.
"Do you truly believe I require an army... to deal with a lone sage?"
His voice carried obvious disdain.
"I am Pushpasura."
"The one before whom the armies of heaven once trembled."
His crimson eyes narrowed proudly.
"I have fought Indra himself."
"I made the King of the Devas retreat from the battlefield."
"And you would have me approach a meditating ascetic with an escort?"
A cold laugh escaped him.
"-Hahaha!!!"
"...Have you all become cowards while trapped inside that dimensional prison?"
None of the Rakshasas dared answer.
Pushpasura waved them away once more.
"Remain here."
"If I do not return..."
His smile widened arrogantly.
"...then you may begin worrying."
With that, he walked alone into the sacred forest.
The deeper he ventured...
The quieter everything became.
Even the sounds of his own legion gradually disappeared behind him.
Only one sound remained.
"Om..."
"Om..."
"Om..."
The sacred vibration continued without interruption.
Each repetition caused the surrounding forest to become increasingly tranquil.
Pushpasura frowned.
The oppressive aura he normally carried should have driven every living creature into panic.
Instead...
Birds continued singing.
A gentle breeze drifted through the trees.
The flowers stood proudly beneath the sunlight.
The very forest seemed strangely unconcerned by his presence.
"...How irritating."
He followed the sound until the dense vegetation gradually opened into a small clearing.
At its center stood an enormous ancient tree.
Its countless branches stretched outward like a vast green canopy, shielding the earth beneath from the harsh sunlight.
There...
Resting comfortably beneath the tree...
Was a lone man.
He wore simple saffron robes.
His long hair was tied neatly behind him.
One arm rested beneath his head, using it as a pillow.
The other lay peacefully across his chest.
He appeared utterly relaxed.
As though he were simply enjoying an afternoon nap beneath the shade.
Yet from his lips...
The same sacred chant continued to flow effortlessly.
"Om..."
"Om..."
"Om..."
His breathing was slow.
Steady. Peaceful.
Every repetition seemed to harmonize with the forest itself.
Pushpasura stopped several paces away.
His brows furrowed.
"...A sage?"
He looked around once more.
No disciples. No hermitage.
No divine barrier.
Nothing.
Just...
One sleeping ascetic beneath an ancient tree.
Pushpasura let out a contemptuous chuckle.
-Chuckle!
"So..."
"This is the great obstacle?"
He slowly approached.
His immense demonic aura spread across the clearing.
The grass nearest him withered.
The air became heavy.
Yet...
The sage remained asleep.
Not even a single muscle twitched.
The chant never faltered.
"Om..."
"Om..."
"Om..."
Pushpasura’s amusement slowly turned into irritation.
"I stand before you... and you still choose to sleep?"
His voice echoed through the clearing.
Still...
No response.
The sage continued resting beneath the tree with complete serenity, as though the Rakshasa King standing before him simply did not exist.
A vein bulged upon Pushpasura’s forehead.
"...Either you are a fool... or you possess confidence far greater than your strength."
He slowly raised one clawed hand.
Dark energy gathered around his fingertips.
"Very well."
"If you insist on sleeping... then you may sleep forever."
Yet even as death gathered in Pushpasura’s palm...
The mysterious sage did not open his eyes.
He simply remained beneath the ancient tree, supported by one arm, peacefully chanting the sacred syllable that had denied the Rakshasa King dominion over the very life force of the land.
"Om..."
The sound echoed gently through the silent forest.
For reasons Pushpasura could not explain...
That single syllable irritated him far more than the presence of an entire army.
Pushpasura’s words echoed through the clearing.
Yet...
The sage did not answer.
He did not open his eyes.
He did not even acknowledge that another being stood before him.
His breathing remained slow.
Peaceful.
The sacred chant continued to flow from his lips.
"Om..."
"Om..."
"Om..."
It was as though Pushpasura simply did not exist.
For the first time since awakening...
Pushpasura felt his emotions beginning to churn.
"...."
His brows twitched. His jaw tightened.
His fingers curled into fists.
The indifference which was being displayed before him...
Somehow...
It enraged him far more than open defiance.
He could tolerate hatred. He could tolerate fear.
He could even tolerate warriors standing against him with weapons in their hands.
But this...
This complete disregard for his very existence as if he was noting more than a air...
It was unbearable.
His mind unwillingly recalled another face.
Emerald eyes. A calm smile.
"If you wish to stand above this world... perhaps grow tall enough to cast a proper shadow first."
Devaratha’s mocking words echoed through his mind once again.
The vein upon Pushpasura’s forehead bulged just thinking about it.
"...Again..."
He growled.
"...Again, I am being looked down upon."
His crimson eyes blazed with fury.
"I am Pushpasura! The Rakshasa King!"
"The one who stood against Indra!"
"The one whom even the Devas feared!"
He took another furious step forward.
"You dare ignore me?"
"You dare sleep in my presence?"
His voice shook the surrounding forest.
"I stand above kings."
"I stand equal to the gods..."
His expression twisted with arrogance.
"No..."
"I stand above the gods!"
Still...
Nothing.
The sage remained exactly as he was.
Peacefully resting beneath the ancient tree.
Not even the chant had changed.
"Om..."
That single syllable finally shattered the last thread of Pushpasura’s patience.
"ENOUGH!"
With a furious roar that shook the forest, Pushpasura lifted one leg.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
Dark energy wrapped around his limb.
His intention was simple.
He would crush the insolent sage beneath a single kick.
The air screamed.
The ground cracked beneath the force gathering within his leg.
Then...
He struck.
His kick descended with enough power to shatter mountains.
Just before his foot connected...
The sage disappeared.
Not by moving. Not by teleporting.
Not by becoming invisible.
It was as though...
He had never been there at all.
Like a reflection vanishing from still water.
Pushpasura’s eyes widened seeing it.
"What...?"
There was no time to stop.
His kick completed its path.
BOOOOOOM!!
Instead of striking flesh...
His foot collided against something hidden beneath the tree.
A pitch-black stone pillar.
Its smooth surface had remained concealed beneath the sage’s resting place until that very instant.
The impact was earth-shattering.
The surrounding ground exploded.
Ancient trees bent violently.
The clearing trembled beneath the tremendous force.
Any ordinary rock would have been reduced to dust.
Any mountain would have cracked apart.
Yet...
The black pillar did not move.
It did not crack. It did not chip.
It simply stood there.
Perfectly unmoved.
The vibration from Pushpasura’s kick disappeared into the stone as though swallowed by an endless abyss.
Then...
Everything became silent.
Utterly silent.
The wind stopped.
The leaves ceased rustling.
Even the birds fell quiet.
The forest itself seemed to hold its breath.
Pushpasura slowly lowered his leg.
For the first time since his awakening...
A faint unease crept into his heart.
"...What..."
His eyes remained fixed upon the ancient black pillar.
"...is this?"
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(Author note:)
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