Chapter 6

The giant golden hammer fell from Garuda's hand, crashing down with a heavy thud.

Bang!

Garuda's body trembled violently, a pained expression on his face as he staggered back, clutching his left chest. His heart twisted in agony within the hot blood of his chest, a sharp, wrenching pain as if he had lost something precious, making tears stream down his face.

Pain!

It was too painful!

The image of Vishnu that had always resided in his heart suddenly dissolved into golden light and vanished without a trace. He could no longer hear the murmurs of the Lord, smell the Lord's fragrance, or see the Lord's radiant figure.

Even the faintly indulgent smile of the Lord in his mind began to fade.

"Lord! Lord!"

"Where are you, Lord?!"

Garuda panicked instantly, looking around frantically and shouting.

The gods were dumbfounded, their faces showing fear, all holding their breath in astonishment.

What a vicious curse!

What a powerful curse!

For a believer to lose their faith is akin to taking their life.

No!

It's more terrifying than taking their life!

Garuda was anxious and uneasy, his wings flapping chaotically, feathers falling as he clasped his hands together in prayer, eyes closed in worship.

"Praise the Lord Vishnu!"

"Praise the Lord!"

...

Prayers continued to pour from Garuda's mouth, but he felt no response.

Sigh~

At this moment, Agni, the fire god, shook his head and sighed, channeling the last remnants of his divine power. Flames suddenly ignited in his hands, and he held a cluster of red fire.

Within this flame, countless brilliant colors appeared.

In the splendor, the world, the gods, and all beings seemed to be included.

The next moment, the flame flickered, flowing like the wind, and Garuda's praying figure, hands clasped, appeared within the flames, his urgent prayers echoing, lingering endlessly.

Sacrificial fire!

The power of prayer from worshippers must be transmitted to the gods through sacrificial fire.

The sacrificial fire burns, connecting heaven and earth, traversing all races, transmitting faith to the gods.

As the god of fire and the deity of sacrifice, Agni controlled this sacrificial fire.

"Garuda, your prayers echo within this sacrificial fire but do not reach the Lord. It seems the curse has taken effect. The Lord will no longer see you!"

Agni said in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Garuda's face filled with sorrow, his clasped hands slowly falling. Anger brewed in his heart, a complex mix of sorrow and rage showing on his face as his sharp eagle eyes fixed on Indra.

At that moment, a fierce wind blew, lifting Garuda's hair, and a terrifying pressure emanated from him.

"Indra, you are too cruel, hindering a believer's devotion to the Lord. You are unworthy of being the Emperor of Heaven!"

Garuda gritted his teeth.

"Now you know cruelty? Was it not cruel when you disturbed my ascetic practice? In the past, Shiva, in his wrathful form Bhairava, decapitated Brahma's arrogant fifth head. Despite the sin of killing Brahma, Shiva exiled his incarnation, Bhairava, into isolation, away from the world."

"Brahma's son, Daksha, turned against Shiva due to this and vowed never to worship him, leading to the events involving Sati later on."

"All of this is Shiva's divine play, warning the world against arrogance, serving as a lesson to future generations!"

"Now you not only disturb my ascetic practice, brother killing brother, forgetting the Lord's invitation to us, but you also seek to kill me with a weapon!"

"You have already committed the unforgivable sin of arrogance!"

"You are the cruel one!"

Indra's eyes widened, staring at Garuda, lightning and fire flashing in his eyes as he raised his arm.

Boom!

In the heavens, lightning surged like dancing dragons and serpents, illuminating Indra's face, accompanied by the deafening roar of thunder, bolstering his momentum.

He might not win a fight now without divine power.

But he could certainly occupy the moral high ground.

"You, you, you..."

"I did not intend to kill you!"

Garuda's chest heaved, his face red as he pointed at Indra, momentarily speechless.

In the past, Brahma had five heads, but the fifth head was excessively arrogant, constantly spouting insults at the Vedas, representing universal wisdom.

Shiva, unable to tolerate it, decapitated Brahma's fifth head in his Bhairava form.

This act enraged Brahma's son, Daksha, who, as the progenitor, commanded that all beings never worship Shiva.

Sati, the incarnation of Shiva's feminine energy, was Daksha's daughter.

Due to the conflict between her husband Shiva and her father Daksha, Sati ultimately immolated herself.

Garuda knew this story well.

"Damn Indra, using this to talk about me, are you comparing me to Daksha?"

Garuda was furious.

Daksha, in the end, was decapitated for his arrogance, replaced with a goat's head.

The outcome was quite grim!

Garuda panted heavily, feeling both aggrieved and angry.

He wanted to retort but didn't know how!

"You infuriate me, despicable Indra, you're framing me!"

Garuda's face turned red as he rebutted.

At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the heavens, letting out a long sigh.

"Sigh!"

"Seems I am late!"

The Sage of Sacrifice stepped forward, sighing.

He had black hair draping over his shoulders, a wheat-golden complexion, wearing a golden robe with a white undergarment, exuding elegance and refinement.

The Sage of Sacrifice, Brihaspati!

The third son of Brahma and father of Angiras, proficient in all sorts of spells, hymns, and sacrificial rituals, he was the preceptor of the gods and a friend and advisor to Indra.

"Praise the Sage of Sacrifice, preceptor of the gods!"

"Praise the Sage of Sacrifice, preceptor of the gods!"

"Praise Brihaspati!"

The gods greeted him in unison.

Brihaspati clasped his hands and bowed slightly, speaking softly, "Praise to the gods!"

Then he looked at Indra and Garuda, seeing their intense auras, as if they were water and fire.

He frowned slightly, showing a troubled expression.

He had received Brahma's orders to mediate the conflict between Indra and Garuda. Now that the gods had lost their divine power and everything was in chaos, internal strife was not an option.

"Indra!"

"Can you lift the curse on Garuda?"

Brihaspati thought for a moment and first asked his friend Indra.

This side might be more reasonable!

Indra's expression was calm as he chuckled.

"Everyone knows that once a curse is cast, it cannot be undone."

Indra said.

"But conditions can be added to the original curse..."

Brihaspati replied honestly.

Once a curse cast with ascetic power is pronounced, it cannot be changed, but conditions can be added to it, like coding, before the original curse.

However, this also requires consuming the ascetic power of the one who cast the curse!

"This would consume my ascetic power!"

At this point, Indra's tone paused, then he continued with a smile, "But it's not impossible, if he apologizes to me immediately!"

"And one more thing, to curb his arrogance and follow the righteous path, he must see me as the Lord and praise me three times whenever he sees me!"