I looked down, unable to find the answer.
"The whole Creation is unstable, my children," she said again with a sigh. "I believe Indra had shown you the vision of the world."
Tepi and Vorac looked at me again. They obviously didn't know that part of the detail.
I faced the Earth Goddess.
"The Asuras have reincarnated as humans, aiding the dark power," I found myself reciting the prophecy. "Earth turns into a poor charred cinder floating in space."
The lady nodded.
"My realm on earth will be the first to suffer. I can feel them stirring. There is no doubt that a terrible destruction is near."
"My lady, I wish I could help you," I spoke at last. "But I still don't know how."
"You have a gentle heart, dear one. When you're ready, you will know it," the goddess said. "My condolence that you have to go through all these suffering."
She seemed to know what I had been through; but then again she was the Mother Earth, and I felt grateful for her empathy.
"If this is my destiny, then I am willing to fill the role, Holy Mother," I said and bowed to her.
The goddess smiled.
"Bless you, child,” she said. “As long as you believe it, the power of your faith shall seep through those around you."
~*~
Before we bade goodbye to the goddess and left her cave the next morning, Tepi was granted a conch with a promise that it would help ease our path at night. In order to find the beast, we must head westward as were told by the goddess.
All day, we traveled through the overgrown trees in search of clues and footprints of the lion king. Vorac had noticed the grim expression on my face. She thought I was missing the princess and began to distract me with the wonder of the wild.
"You know Nikita, the sutra said that this forest is rich with miraculous plants,” she said. “If you drink the juice of a fruit from the Kalamra tree, it will make you gain eternal youth."
"Is that so?" I said, trying to sound interested.
"Not just that, but there is a huge Jamvu tree that stands eternally and can fulfill all wishes. Its fruit juice also bestows peace of mind upon the drinker."
"There are also plenty of poison plants and berries that wring your guts just the same," Tepi added. “So be careful, ladies.”
I wished I could find those special plants so that I would drown myself in their juice to forget my grief. Either type of them would do.
I listened as my friends went on spiritedly about the forest. Strangely, though, we had found nothing, except flocks of wild birds and herds of frightened deer.
Then out of nowhere, a wailing sound pierced through the air. The ground shook from the footfalls of something huge running towards us. I didn't know which direction the thing came from, but a moment later, we saw a gigantic animal with a back full of thorns burst out of the trees.
"Stay back!" Tepi yelled and thrust her hands upward. Vines and roots sprouted out from the ground. The strange beast came right into them. Our friend began to make a tying hand-gesture, turning the roots and vines into knots around the wild thing. The animal struggled against the bonds and let out a shrilling noise. Taking the advantage of that delay, we fled the scene as soon as our feet could take us.
At last, we escaped the beast unscathed and continued our journey.
Daytime was short in this place, and soon the veil of night began to fall. We walked in silence through the winding halls of evergreen. After a while, Tepi decided to ask for Vorac's help.
"We can't keep it like this forever," she said. "I guess we could use you to charm the lion king from his hiding."
Vorac nodded in agreement and in a blink, her divine luminescence lit up from within her body. Even I was enchanted by the sight of the moon-like radiance. As we began our stride with the moon god's daughter moving like dawn light shining through the dark, the effect was immediate.
The jungle was soon studded with the jewel-eyes of stalking beasts. Vorac gripped her bow with an arrow ready. I held my hunting blade that Tepi had given me during the second quest, yes, the same one I used to stab myself. Such fond memory.
As the glowing eyes increased and closed in on us, Tepi pulled out the conch her mother had given her and blew a long echoing note. The four corners of the earth shuddered, and the preying glares quickly disappeared. We smiled at each other, knowing this conch was going to be the first thing to frighten enemies on our battlefield.
We kept moving forward for a while until suddenly, we heard the sound of crashing and snapping, as if a mountain rock rolling down in our direction. The plants swayed and collapsed on top of one another like panic waves. Then we heard a tremendous roar of a lion before we saw what was coming at us.
A few heartbeats later, a huge mass of white fur burst out from the shadow. What I saw first was four strong paws stood like white pillars in front of our faces. I had to look all the way up to realize what the thing was.
The fellow wilding was a strange breed of lion and elephant. The creature's head was covered in white mane like a lion, but his muzzle had a short elephantine trunk with the scaly upper body like a dragon. There were black spiral patterns spreading all over his white coat, much like the stripes of a tiger.
I gawked at those sharp canines that grew past his lower jaw like a pair of tusks. We realized that no other creature was more majestic than the beast king.
"Gajasimha," Vorac breathed.
"Everyone, don't move," Tepi whispered.
The beast gazed coldly at us, flashing those jagged white teeth. I stared at his massive body, which was rippled with muscles and hidden speed. The lord of fauna strode forward. I held my breath as my gaze was locked with those bright yellow eyes. He would make Malis look like a newborn kitten.
But then we heard a loud crack of twig. I realized I had broken it under my foot. The beast jerked his ears sharply to me. As if the noise had upset the animal, his jaw snapped wide open with an ear-splitting roar.
We all stepped away quickly. Gajasimha flashed out his cat-like claws and raised his front paws in the air like a horse ready to gallop. The claws were sharp like butcher knives. The elephantine king of lions charged forward. Vorac raised her golden bow and shot an arrow at the beast, but her arrow bounced harmlessly off his scaled body.
"Run!" Tepi cried to us.
No more talk was needed, and we did so for our dear lives. The wood was damp with night dew, and numerous ivy plants tried to trip us. I almost fell as we dashed through the trees. Vorac caught my arm and steadied me back.
Tepi turned briefly around and swung her fist. A chunk of earth rose into the air and flew right at the animal's head. The beast smashed it to pieces, and it only enraged the lion king even more. Gajasimha growled and charged faster after us.
We tried to keep ahead of the wild king, but Gajasimha was sprinting like a rolling boulder, knocking saplings and bushes in his path. Tepi tried tying the king's paws into vines, but the majestic beast snapped them easily like a cobweb. The lord of the wild was unstoppable. We could not outrun him. Then a frightening idea came to my mind.
"We must split!" I cried.
"What? No!" Tepi yelled back. "We stay together! A predator always goes after a lone prey."
"That's what I'm counting on!" I said and with no further words, I shoved my avatar friends away and ran in separate direction.
"Nikita, no!"
I was already racing ahead with the fierce animal hot on my heels. Obviously, the beast had singled me out of the group. I heard Tepi and Vorac calling my name from behind, but their voices soon faded away as the jungle thickened on them. The rush of blood pumped through my body, deafening my ears.
"Hey, beastly thing!" I cried over my shoulder. "I thought you were small!"
"ROAAAAAR!!!"
Gajasimha snapped his deadly jaws at my head, but I dodged his vicious bite and kept running with all my speed and strength. The sole of my feet slammed again and again against the rough terrain. My thighs ached and the kni
fing heaves of my lungs burned, but the crashing sounds of puny plants hadn't ceased from behind. I looked over my shoulder and found those yellow eyes still glowed in fury. I knew the giant beast wouldn't give up such an easy prey.
I zigzagged through the moss-covered trunks and jumped over a fallen tree. The giant animal mashed it in half.
Then I found myself running into a meadow full of tall grass and flowers. There were no more trees to hide me from the predator’s eyes. The tall prairie even slowed me down. Soon, Gajasimha bounced right over the top of my head. I could see those powerful paws paddle in mid-air. His long white stomach stretched like a strip of cloud above me.
The world narrowed to the pounding of my heart. My feet came to a skidding halt. Gajasimha was a smart creature, and for a moment I was trapped in my own shock. The beast had caught up and blocked my escape. I turned around and started to flee again, but the king of lions slapped me with his powerful paw. The blow sent me flying across the meadow like a tossed rock. I collapsed to the ground rolling over grass. Then I tried to get up but my body crumpled back in pain. My sleeve was ripped into strips just from the tips of those sharp claws.
There was no way to survive this ancient creature. My muscles surrendered and my feet were wobbly and weak. I lifted my face to the sky, and the stars kept spinning in my blurry vision. Then I heard the sound of the animal scampering towards me. I turned my head and saw the sharp-fanged mouth opening, ready to devour my flesh and bones.
Like a rabbit beneath the hawk's shadow, I could feel my pulse striking in my ears. But the lion didn't seem to hurry. All I felt was his elephantine muzzle sniffing around my body as if to gather my scent. Then his perked ears dropped back, and to my astonishment, the beast then backed away.
The strangeness began as a prickling of my skin. The grass and flowers stilled and the winds died. There was a quality to the silence like a held breath.
Towering over me out of nowhere was a silhouette of a man. His dress was made of leopard skins down to his knees. He stood still while the winds brushed through the meadow with a whistling sound.
"Who are you?" I asked despite my heavy panting.
No one could appear with such effervescent presence in the middle of the forest like that. The man smiled down at me.
"I am Shiva."
Once the gentle words left his mouth, my mind slowly sank like an anchor dropping into the sea of darkness.
CHAPTER 52
When I awoke again, I saw the lion king sitting on his hind legs. His sharp teeth bared in a wolf-like grin. Terrors shot through me, and I gathered my strength to get up, but the same deep golden voice spoke to me.
"Don't be afraid. He is a friend."
My head turned to the source of that voice. The same man, sitting in a lotus position on a flat gray rock, looked at me. His face was serene, aglow from a cozy campfire crackling in a ring of stones. The flames seemed to burn more richly than any ordinary fire.
My eyes studied him in awe. His wavy black hair was long and unruly. Wrapped around his neck was a king cobra. Yet the most striking feature of all was the third eye in the middle of his forehead.
I then remembered who the man was. I had heard numerous tales about the God of Destruction. His neck was blue because he swallowed the poison from the serpent Vasuki to save the world ocean. He had a third eye for his first wife, Parvati, playfully covered two of his eyes. It caused the universe to fall into darkness. The lord created the third one to restore the light. He gained his name the Destroyer for he destroyed the cities of Asuras. Once he waited for a thousand years until the demon cities, which rotated in the air, were aligned, and he pierced all three with a single arrow.
No one but Shiva.
Now he was right before my eyes!
"Lord Shiva," I breathed and decided it was wise to bow to him. The god sat still and silent. He was as blue as moonlight shining on the meadow.
"Blessed be, O fated one," he said. "The encounter with the wild king must have rattled you badly."
Gajasimha moved towards me. I recoiled but his long tongue rolled out and reached over to lick the claw wounds on my arm. The skin closed and slowly healed again. I was still in shock, but now it seemed as if the beast posted no harms.
"Does he belong to you?" I said, looking at Gajasimha warily.
"No, my mount is Nandi, the sacred bull," Shiva said. "I sent this friend to bring you to me."
I still found the face of the beast king terrifying, but I gathered the courage to pat the animal's short elephant trunk. He breathed into my hand, and I assumed we had made peace for now. Gajasimha retreated back and began licking his paws before the fire.
I turned to the god in leopard skins.
"May I know why you sent for me?"
"I wanted to see you alone," said the blue-skinned god. "Don't be frightened of me. I know you have so many questions to ask."
"Well...er...yes, I do, my lord," I said with a nod. "What is the meaning of all this?"
"I believe Lord Vishnu himself has told you already," he said.
"When?" I said, blinking. "I don't remember anything."
"You had glimpsed the truth of existence that extends beyond the worldly pleasure and sorrow, but you must have forgotten. He is the original cause of all causes," Shiva said and smiled.
“I don’t understand.” I looked at him blankly.
To my surprise, the god laughed. His voice was like music.
"Never mind then. You impressed the gods with your deeds. Yet you also angered some. I must not delay the wheel of events. You must be ready as you shall have the hearts of men to clasp and far-hidden mystery to solve."
"Are you the one who sent me to this world?" I said. "Why did you choose me and not one of the gods' children? Or Issarak, your grandson? He is powerful and deserves the leading role more than I do."
"You have more questions than I expected," Shiva said and chuckled again. He picked up a stick and started poking the fire with it. The flames crackled, sending bright sparks like fireflies into the air.
Gajasimha lay his head down on his front paws and began to snore. The breaths that blew from his trunk caused the fire to roar louder before dimming down again. It went on like this, and for a while, I stared distractedly at the campfire.
"Do you want to hear about your real origin?" the god said at last.
"Oh, I think I know who I am, Great Lord. I'm a girl who got thrown into this realm as a sacrifice to the gods, all because my mother asked them to save the world."
I was unable to keep my sarcasm hidden. I wanted to tell him that I accepted my fate as long as everyone I loved was safe, and I would bear it all, whatever be my state. But the gods still oppressed me, they tortured me with their plots, and they made my life full of pain.
"You don't know who you are very well then," Shiva said.
"So who am I?"
"You're us," he said. "You're our force, our essence, our creation and all the past lives you've lived."
His words caused my mind to shrink even more in confusion.
"What does it mean?" I said. "I thought I was here because of my link to my mother's bloodline."
"Not just that, but also your beloved one's."
"You mean Amarisa?"
"She is your life companion from the past if you must know," he said.
Quickly like a lightning strike, I remembered all the stories I was told. Now it all began to make sense. This world around me with its beauties and terrors seemed to hold me far too firmly in its grip.
"So Amarisa and I were both reincarnated lovers?" I breathed. "How could it be? I thought I was merely the future daughter of Queen Jayarajadevi."
"Indeed, child. Just as worn clothes you will cast off and wear new ones, you are in the Great Circle. That is the nature of Samsara." The lord beamed. "Everything happens for a reason. You being born a girl was also predestined. But I didn't come here to speak of the inner work of your destiny. The things you don't know could fill the Ocean of Mil
k to the brim!"
He poked the fire again, and we were silent for a time. The lion king yawned. His teeth made me gulp.
“So, my lord,” I started. “What should I do next?”
"Hear me, young child, your true danger is near,” Shiva said in a solemn tone. “Ravana, the King of Asuras, has reincarnated into the world again. His wicked plan is to reclaim the blade you shall possess. If he succeeds, his reign of terror shall begin once again."
"Ravana has returned?" I said in sheer surprise. Shiva inclined his head. The news of the demon’s reincarnation sent me a chill through my spine. I had heard many things about the demon lord. Ravana had conquered humans, celestial beings, and other demons in his past life.
He once ruled the Heavens, the Netherworld and the Earth. Proclaiming himself Emperor of the Three Worlds, Ravana terrorized the gods and gained command them and even the Naga race. His power dominated so much so that he could command the sun's setting and rising.
"That is true," Shiva said as if he was reading my mind. "The demon king is coming for you."
"But how am I supposed to stop him?" I said. "Can you not see? I am powerless and weak. How could I defeat such a powerful being!"
"Ravana obtained a boon from me long ago. The boon guaranteed him that no one, gods or demons, could defeat him. Yet he forgot about the humans. Lord Vishnu sent his avatar to earth, the fair prince Rama. Born a mortal, he could slay the vicious king. In this age, the demon lord has learned his mistake. He vowed that no one could defeat him not even men."
"So it's clear that we cannot win!" I said again, trying to make the god see my point.
"That is why your rebirth is necessary. You shall wield the sacred Chandrahas which I had once granted to Ravana. You shall slay him with his own weapon."
With my mind still trying to wrap itself around everything, I remembered the time Amarisa and I were flying over the city. She had told me the history of the holy sword. I had promised her not to touch the divine blade. Now Ravana wanted to reclaim it and use it to destroy the world.
"Where there is light, there is darkness," Shiva began again. "The battle of evil and good has no end. The seeds of this war have been sown for many lifetimes. You're only here to reap its fruition."
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