READ WEBNOVEL India: the cradle of spirituality!
*Vol.1: Tales of a God.
Chapter 47 - India: the cradle of spirituality!
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Pov. Thor.
Well... This one I didn't expect.
Meeting Ganga and discovering that the woman I was seeing in front of me was part of a river was one of the few moments I was surprised.
It also didn't help that I didn't understand much of what she was talking about.
"…So…Are you asking me to bathe 'in you' so I can be cleansed?" I asked.
Just to make sure...
After all, this was a strange request for me.
"Kind of! Just take off your clothes and dive into me and then I will cleanse you!" said Ganga.
Well... my mind might be a little... degenerate.
But then again... Will she be able to help me with the mark?
I know that Puti Zushi informed me to look for Shiva, but I didn't know exactly where the god of destruction lived...
And honestly, the more time passed, the more I was afraid of this mark. Because I don't know how to 'release' this seal and, mainly, I don't know what will happen if I release it.
"... Alright, where... are you?" I asked.
It's kind of tricky to refer to someone who's technically not here... not completely in the case.
Ganga then looked to the west.
"I'm a little far away in that direction... I'm the first river you'll find, so let's go! As we walk, I can introduce you to some stories from my land; like, did you know that there is a goddess of the dawn who has the most beautiful breasts that make the sky shine?" asked Ganga excitedly as she started walking to the west.
I, like Igris, started following the goddess.
"... Yeah... Must be incredible… Tell me, do you happen to know Shiva?" I asked, wanting to change the subject.
I don't think, if I know of the existence of a goddess who bares her breasts to light up the sky, is something important.
"Oh?... Why don't you ask him yourself?" asked a voice, with a childish tone.
Pov. Third-person.
Thor broke into a cold sweat, as he didn't notice the being's presence until the voice appeared, but he maintained his composure not to despair, but...
Igris, however, soon unsheathed his sword and made a decapitation movement aiming at the source of the voice, which seemed to be a hand's breadth away.
*CLANG*
Although Igris' sword hit the neck... The sword failed to tear the skin...
The sword hit a child, which confused Igris for a few seconds. But not Thor, because the Norse god knew that in front of him was a powerful being.
Ganga, at that moment, had approached the apparent 'child', with palms together and then knelt bowing to the child... The goddess, who was the personification of a river, then lightly touched the child's feet, still with her head bowed.
The child looked at Ganga and smiled softly.
"Ganga... I know your goal is to wash the world of negativity so that it can thrive, but in this situation, I'm afraid I have to interfere for your safety" said the child, with black and blue hair.
Igris soon get away from the boy; because he soon notices that the boy was not just any child to behave that carelessly, even with a sword at his neck.
The child soon looked at Thor, who was standing nearby.
"... Shall we talk in a quieter place?" asked the child with a smile.
It was then that the child disappeared and reappeared alongside Thor.
The child then placed his hand on Thor and created a portal that looked like a puddle of water just below him, and so the Norse god and the child 'sunk' into the ground.
Igris, seeing that Thor was being 'kidnapped' soon bolted towards the puddle, only for him to arrive too late.
Igris then looked at Ganga and raised his sword.
"... Where?!" shouted Igris, asking about Thor's whereabouts.
Ganga, however, remained unperturbed and responded with a big smile.
"Oh? Don't worry... The great 'auspicious' said he just wanted to talk!" said Ganga innocently.
Although Igris wanted to question more about what she meant, he didn't know that Ganga could help him at the moment.
Furthermore, a feeling of helplessness haunted Igris' subconscious… After all, he had just met someone who was on a completely different level, and that made Igris more determined than ever.
"... I need more power," said Igris.
- Location: one of the particular dimensions of Vishnu / Kṣīra Sāgara (Ocean of Milk) / Thirupaarkadal (Sacred Sea of Milk).
Pov. Third-person.
In a dimension where a vast ocean of calm blue waters was the only thing existing, a small boat, which looked more like a resting bed, which was shaped like a large serpent, floated peacefully.
Near the boat, a portal formed in the water, and then Thor along with the child appeared.
The child then released Thor and then smiled at the Norse god.
"Well... Now that we're here, let's start our little dialogue, shall we?" I ask the child.
Thor was silent for just a few seconds before he acted...
The Norse god jumped to get away from the child, although the 'dimension' was made up of water, it looked like it was possible to walk on the surface as if it were something solid, although waves could still be made.
The child soon raised an eyebrow at Thor's actions.
"Oh?~ Am I that scary?" asked the child, with an amused tone, while still smiling.
Thor, however, didn't smile at all...
He knew who it was due to the description given by Puti Zushi...
Shiva.
In fact, for the first time, the Norse god was nervous, as using senjutsu, Thor caught a brief glimpse of Shiva's power...
What Thor saw was something terrifying.
Thor has already witnessed some of Ra's power.
But at this moment... If I were to compare Ra against Shiva...
It was like comparing a lake against a vast ocean.
The difference was absurd between rankings 4 and 2 in the top 10.
In fact, each position had its own gap between the other positions in the top 10.
"...Considering that 'technically' I've just been kidnapped, I think my reaction to you is justified," said Thor, as he removed Mjolnir from his belt and held it in his right hand.
Shiva looked at the action with an amused look, but then made gestures with his hands as if to dismiss the action.
"I'm not interested in fighting right now... In fact, I want to try to help" said Shiva.
Now it was Thor's turn to raise his eyebrow, but you could see the confusion in his eyes.
"...How do you—" said Thor, before quickly breaking off.
"'– know I need help?' Well, I know Ra, and he told me some things about you at the last meeting between the leaders, so he asked me to help you; 'A tree will not deny shade even to the woodcutter', an interesting saying, right? I'm sure you understand the meaning," said Shiva, with a smile.
Thor paused for a moment and then put the Mjolnir away again.
Shiva nodded in satisfaction and then gestured towards the 'serpent boat'.
"...Are you ready to talk?" asked Shiva.
Thor was silent and then nodded.
The Norse god then followed Shiva towards the boat. A short time later, the two were facing each other in the lotus position, Shiva still holding a calm smile, while Thor looked around curiously.
"... Where are we?" asked Thor.
"This is one of the personal dimensions of the Trimurti, here specifically is Vishnu's resting place, which I borrowed for a while," said Shiva.
Thor looked at Shiva.
"…Does he know I'm here?" asked Thor.
Shiva didn't lose his smile but looked on with amusement as he thought about the question.
"The real question would be 'Who doesn't know?', we are very intertwined with the spirituality of the world. From the moment you took the first step into these lands, most of, if not all, the gods and goddess felted your presence…or rather, the negative presence emanating from your back" said Shiva.
"*sigh*… So what do you want to talk about?" asked Thor.
"Oh? But wasn't it you who wanted to talk to me? This is what I heard while you were talking to the young Ganga," said Shiva.
Thor sweated, but the Norse god then proceeded to remove the robes from his upper body and turned his back on Shiva.
"…any advice on how to handle this?" asked Thor, showing his back.
Shiva only gave one look, before replying.
"...I won't help," said Shiva.
The Hindu god had even lost his smile.
Thor froze to ponder the answer.
"You... 'You won't'... Not 'I can't' or 'I couldn't', won't you help me because you just 'don't want to'?" asked Thor, turning to Shiva.
Shiva just gave an apologetic look.
"It's not that simple. You are definitely an anomaly, your aura is 'divided', but there is still a strange connection... If I do something I may end up hurting you more than helping you" said Shiva.
Thor only frowned, and then softened his gaze as he faced Shiva.
"...Since you won't help me... Could you please teach me?" asked Thor, as he looked at Shiva expectantly.
The Hindu god stared at Thor and then stood up with a smile on his face again.
"Before I made up my mind, I need to test something," Shiva said.
Shiva then began to glow with an amethyst aura that blinded Thor for just a few seconds. When the glow ceased, Shiva was no longer looking like a pre-teen child.
Now Shiva was a full-grown male of Thor's height, with blue skin and long black hair, wearing armor and a tunic around his waist, in addition to now having four arms, with one wielding a sort of trident.
An albino viper snaked around Shiva's torso, its eyes glowing red.
"Come on Asgardian… How about a friendly little spar? No magic or tricks, just fists" Shiva said, with a smile, the trident then disappeared and the albino snake wrapped itself around his neck.
Thor seemed to consider.
"... Why?" asked Thor, confused.
Thor was confused as he didn't know the reason for the spar.
Shiva still had a smile on his face when he replied.
"First lesson, everything I ask for, has a purpose," said Shiva, getting out of the small boat and jumping on the surface of the sea.
Thor, still confused, chose to follow Shiva out of the boat shortly thereafter.
"This little spar will give me a brief idea of what level you are at," said Shiva.
Thor looked at Shiva.
"I… heard you could read minds, so you'd know my goals and what I could do," said Thor.
As they walked away from the place they had just talked about, the boat began to sink into the sea.
It was then that Shiva turned to Thor.
"I can... But it seems that this seal is also getting in my way" said Shiva.
Thor blinked.
"... Wait, what?" asked Thor.
Shiva's smile seemed to have gotten bigger.
"Yes... Even though it looks like something of malevolent and negative origin, it seems that the seal is protecting you mentally, which intrigues me" said Shiva.
There was also another thing that intrigued Shiva...
Trimurti also could 'see' the future to some extent, but when Shiva used this ability to 'see' Thor's future it was always confusing, as sometimes Shiva saw Thor releasing the seal...
It wasn't a good thing.
It was worse than the time when Kali went mad.
Much worse...
Shiva asked for a small spar to push Thor to the breaking point and use the skill to see in which situation Thor would release the seal. Obviously, the Hindu god would stop when he saw that Thor was getting closer and closer to releasing the seal.
Thor still looked at Shiva confused, but decided to fight.
The Norse god thought it unlikely that Shiva would ask for such a pointless thing, so at this point, he could only trust the Hindu god.
"So... Shall we start?" asked Shiva, extending all four arms invitingly.
Thor looked at Shiva and then smiled, taking the Mjolnir out of his belt and placing it inside the necklace's 'storage space', and then he made a decision...
The strongest Norse god, for the first time...
Removed the Jarngreiprs.
The gauntlets were specifically created to absorb most of the impact of his heavy blows, and one of the things that were created to prevent Thor from ending up breaking Mjölnir in combat.
When Thor removed the gauntlets, he stored them inside the 'storage space' along with Mjölnir.
It was then that Thor assumed a fighting stance, hands raised; while Shiva remained standing, unperturbed.
Both were smiling at each other.
It was then that Thor and Shiva disappeared and reappeared just an arm's length away with fists raised.
*BOOM*
When Thor's fist collided with Shiva's fist, the dimension shook violently on impact. The sea, once calm, had become a raging sea that was only seen in storms.
This was just a spar between Thor and Shiva, but if it had happened on the mortal plane... At least one country would have already exploded in the collision.
- Location: Midgard (future Norway) / House of Thor.
Pov. Third-person.
At Thor's house, at the dinner table, Sif, Nanna, and Freyja were in the middle of breakfast after the amused, in Hel's words, night.
Hel had left, as she wanted to walk Fenrir around the estate, as Thor denied that Fenrir was a completely lazy resident.
"So... It was an interesting night, don't you think?" asked Nanna, with a smile.
Sif just shrugged, while Freyja...
"Oh! It was, dare I say it was a fun night…until we started playing that damn game," Freyja said, her tone grim.
Sif sweated when she heard Freyja's tone.
"Freyja... It's just a game," Sif said uncertainly.
*BAM*
Freyja had knocked on the table.
"No! It's. NOT. Just. A. Game! It was created to sever bonds of friendship and love!" said Freyja, with tears in her eyes.
Nanna looked to the side.
"... You say that because you were the first to run out of gold," said Nanna.
Sif, however, was irritated.
"Don't hit the table! It's not your house, if something breaks you'll have to fix it!" said Sif, frowning.
Freyja soon realized the actions and quickly withdrew her hand from the table, and had the decency to be embarrassed.
"...Sorry," said Freyja.
It was then that someone knocked on the door of the house, which confused the women inside the house, as Hel had left with one of the spare 'keys'.
Which meant it was probably a stranger knocking on the door.
Sif was the first to get up from the table to answer the door.
"I'll take care of it," Sif said, as she headed for the door.
As soon as Sif opened the door, she raised an eyebrow in curiosity at the guest.
"...Prince Frey? Wha—" Sif said, before being interrupted.
Frey soon spoke quickly.
"Hello, Sif!... Is Fenrir in?" asked Frey, looking into the house with a worried face.
Sif stopped talking but answered shortly afterward.
"No, he -" said Sif, before being interrupted again by Frey.
"Great!" said Frey, with a smile.
Prince Vanir soon entered the house in search of someone.
"Freyja! My beloved sister! I need you!" said Frey.
As soon as Frey noticed Freyja at the table, he soon ran towards his sister and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"I need your help!" said Frey, with a worried look.
Freyja was scared, as much as she disliked some of Frey's shameless actions, she still worried about her brother.
"Frey, what happened to you being like this? Is anyone hurt or has someone threatened you?" asked Freyja, worried.
Frey soon looked at Freyja as if she had said something strange.
"What? No! It's all fine," Frey said simply.
Sif had returned and looked at Frey in confusion, exchanging a look with Nanna, who shrugged her shoulders at Prince Vanir's demeanor.
Freyja was soon confused by the answer.
"So… Why the cry for help?" asked Freyja.
It was then that Frey soon released Freyja, and then the Asgardian women noticed something different...
Frey was blushing.
"...I'm in love," Frey said, looking away, and looking out the window with a dreamy glow.
The room was silent at Prince Vanir's assertion.
"…You what, now?" asked Freyja, her tone empty, as if she didn't believe such a statement.
Frey then blushed even more.
"I asked permission from Odin and Balðr to sit on the Hliðskjálf, so I could see what was happening here - somewhere in particular, but I couldn't see through the wall..." said Frey, looking away at the last statement.
In fact, Frey tried to be smart, asking permission to sit on the Hliðskjálf so he could see what was going on inside Thor's house... without risking his life again.
The flaw in the plan was that Thor had already thought that Odin would do such a thing, particularly after the events at Útgard castle, so he forged runes to block Odin's vision centuries ago, after studying the corrupted ice from the winter castle.
Unfortunately for Frey, he was unaware that Thor had done this and now owes a favor in vain for using Odin's 'all-seeing throne'.
The Asgardian women present at Thor's house frowned as they thought of Frey's words.
"…Did you try to spy on us?" asked Freyja, frowning.
Frey soon denied it.
"No!... Initially yes, BUT!" screamed Frey at the last word as he saw Nanna summoning a rune, Sif drawing her sword and Freyja summoning her spear.
Frey soon continued quickly.
"Wait! Wait! When I saw that it didn't work, I soon gave up! I then got bored and started watching the other realms!" said Frey.
The women looked at each other and seemed to consider whether to attack or not... But it seems that Freyja gave up first, as she soon sighed in defeat.
"I've known you for over a millennium… I should have known you would try something like that, it's my fault too. Now, although I really want to stab you in the eyes for daring to spy on us... You said something about 'falling in love' right? Who is the unlucky one?" said Freyja.
Although Freyja put away the spear right after the question, Sif didn't sheath her sword and Nanna didn't cancel the rune... It looked like the two were still considering whether it was worth attacking Frey for insolence.
Frey, however, smiled at Freyja, though ignoring his sister's last question.
"You must see her, sister! She's the most beautiful I've ever seen!... Not beautiful as you… But I swear in Buri's name that I would do anything to be with her!" said Frey, in a determined tone.
Freyja looked at Frey apathetically.
"… Good, but why exactly I'm needed?" asked Freyja.
"Well... There might be a little problem," Frey said, with a nervous smile.
Freyja looked at Frey.
"Problem?... What kind of problem?" asked Freyja.
Frey backed away a bit and put his hands behind his back and then started walking around the kitchen, looking around and refusing to meet Freyja's eyes, who were staring suspiciously.
"Well… Remember Beli? The Jotun I accidentally killed while taming Gullinbursti?" asked Frey innocently.
Freyja raised a confused eyebrow.
"Yes... But what does that have to do with it?" asked Freyja.
Frey seemed to consider the next words.
"...well...he has a sister...a very pretty sister by the way," said Frey.
At that moment nothing was said in the house... Until Sif, who was looking in shock, dropped her sword on the floor.
Nanna, with her mouth open, canceled the rune and looked at Frey for any sign of joking.
But Freyja was the worst...
She soon got up and ran towards Frey and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Let me get this straight… Did you 'fall in love' with the sister of the Jotun you killed? And now you want my help to make her fall in love with you?" asked Freyja, looking Frey in the eye.
Frey had the decency to look embarrassed.
"...Yes," said Frey, looking away.
As soon as Frey answered, a vein popped on Freyja's forehead, which was starting to turn red with rage.
Well, that's it, folks!
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Forgive me in case of grammatical errors... I tried. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I still haven't figured out how to link the paragraph images... Someone, please help me!