Guardian

Just a few thousand years left. For what, you might ask? For the inevitable.

Ever since I embraced the Celestial part of my heritage, I was gaining new skills almost every year. I could travel through Universes, travel through Time, visit other Dimensions, all of this whenever I wished it. I could also now peek through time, into the past, and into the future, whenever I wished. I was finally becoming what I was born as, an actual Celestial Being.

I didn't know why my visions had failed before, but now, they were back. Important dangers still came to me as dreams, but I could also do it willingly now. And I had seen.. a lot.

The Birth of this Universe, the birth of Time itself, it was an amazing sight to see. And I will visit the time whenever I want to, once again. But more than that, I had seen how the Universe will evolve, with my presence being a very influential one in the vast Universe.

I knew now, that the Time Period that I had seen once, in something called movies, or read in something called comics and articles, was now just 5000 years away. I am excited, to finally see the people that I once admired be born, to see them become the heroes they were meant to be.

But I won't interfere too much. They need to go through their demons, to come out victorious. Until then, there are things I need to set up.

I was almost 500,000 years old now, and so were my children, and my lover. Lila and Atharva were just 5000 years younger than me, but they were still kids to me. 

Lila was still a young adult, but had taken on a wife for herself, finally settling down. A druid descendant of Vali turned Goddess of Death, Yamini was an amazing person, fit to be my daughter in law. They lived in another part of Andalok now, with my blessings, having turned the area into the Realm of Death.

They don't claim souls there, but Yamini does help the mortals pass on. 

Which is really ironic, because she was once a Necromancer, and had an army of the dead under her command. That is, before Lila tamed her, and brought her back into the Light. She was still a Necromancer, but she didn't use Necromancy as a weapon against my Andals.

Other than her, my Pantheon had also welcomed four new Gods and Goddesses. Siddhi, the Goddess of War, and the Wife of Jormungandr was the oldest. She used to be a Druid, like Yamini, only she was also a warrior at heart. They had one daughter together, Gauri, the Goddess of Love, who had married my son, Atharva, and brought him away from the literal Harems he had on Induk.

Narfi had married Bali, a gender fluid God of Beauty. Bali did not have a single face, or body, and would change it depending on either their mood, or the orientation of the one watching them.

They were also the only one in my Pantheon, that had not originated on Induk. Bali had escaped from a distant planet, which had been attacked by Gorr and his Black Berserkers, and was the only one to escape alive.

Narfi and Jormungandr had found them 15,000 years ago, being attacked by an entire army of Berserkers, and saved them, bringing them here.

I had visited the planet later, but Gorr was long gone, and the Pantheon's Dimension abandoned. I haven't seen him in my visions again, but I have seen that he will visit Earth soon. And by soon, I mean in a few thousand years.

Lastly, Vali had never found it in his heart to marry, but he did have a child with Manasi, much to Kali's disapproval. Loptr Valison, the God of Magic, was however loved by his grandmother, no matter her initial feelings.

We still lived in Andalok, having expanded the area to accommodate all of us. That was possible only because of the frequent use of Andalok's magic, by the Andals. As a Realm of Gods, the more Magic mortals used, the stronger the Realm became.

And now, almost everyone on Induk was a Magic user. My investment had born fruit, and I had gotten a planet full of Magic Users.

There was a classification, however, which I did not see coming. There were the Nature Druids, which now call themselves Elves. These were the ones that took care of the forests, and farming. They could control the weather, with long drawn out rituals, or use Elemental spells of a lower quality, along with doing the same for Nature itself.

Then came the Warlocks, who were responsible for the protection of the Elves. They were also Druids, but their powers were more based around the combat aspect, than the farming aspect.

Lastly, came the Warriors, who had very low talent in using Magic spells, but at the same time, they could use Magic to enhance their Physique.

Induk was divided into 7 Kingdoms, with each major continent being known as a single Kingdom. The Ruling family came from us Gods, with Atharva, Vali, Narfi and Lila being the ancestors to all the 7 current Kings and Queens.

These Rulers always came from the Warlock class, and their partners always came from the Elf or Wizard class. Either one was okay, because these two Classes were generally less.. brutish. Along with that, the King had equal number of advisors from each of the three classes, which meant that the discrimination was minimal.

These partners made sure that the Rulers didn't take too many stupid decisions, and wage too many pointless wars. And there were wars, in the past, and some more recent. But, most of the times, the people would rather leave each other alone. They really hated conflict, but they would fight if needed.

And fight they have, both amongst each other, and with each other.

Many times, at least once every 500 years or so, Induk would be attacked by someone or the other. The Brood were the most frequent attackers, as were other mortals from close by. Other than them, Induk was attacked by the Demons, since Earth was now out of their hands, temporarily, a race of extra dimensional Dragons, Gorr's army, as well as a race of highly dangerous sentient robots.

Most of the time, us Gods would let them defend themselves, or join them in the fight, hidden as mortals ourselves. This was so the mortals don't get too dependant on us, but also to prevent them from becoming extinct, and it worked.. sort of. They have stopped praying for every little thing at least.

But for Gorr's army, or the Demons, us Gods had to interfere openly. This also proved to them, that while us Gods were willing to let them live their lives as they wished, we would save them from a threat we deem too dangerous.

And now, I was going to make it so that Induk has another Defender, in the case of the Gods absence.

~

Harshad was a Warrior Andal, based in the Kingdom of Ka'ah. He had fought in the Demon invasion last year, and killed a few Demonic dragons with the help of a group of Elves.

He had personally seen his Gods fight for them, when a Demon far more evil than the others had shown up. Blackheart was his name, and just by looking at him, Harshad could tell that the Demon was Evil.

He had seen his Goddess Lila fight this Blackheart, seen her cut his armies with her Thunder axe, and then seen the same axe behead Blackheart himself. He sometimes wished, that his strength was just as high as his Gods, but he knew, that there was a reason they were Gods, and he a mortal.

And it's not like he was weak. Harshad was amongst the strongest Warriors in the Kingdom, and he could easily lift ten times more weight than an Elf, let alone an ordinary mortal. But, he also knew, that in the grand scheme of things, he was weak.

Which is why I'd chosen him.

Currently, Harshad was asleep, dreaming some nonsensical dream. Appearing in his room, in his house, I gently tap him on the head, and summon his Astral Form to my Throne World, where I go and wait.

Within a few seconds, Harshad shows up, in the normal Warrior size of 6 foot tall, and startles, finding himself conscious again. He looks around for a second, taking in the Dargonite that made up my Celestial Throne World.

And then, his eyes notice me, sitting on my Throne, all of 20 feet tall, wearing my Divine enchanted armour, looking like a giant to him.

He widens his eyes, and takes a few steps back, out of fear, and I chuckle. This does nothing to take away his fear, so I say, "You don't have to be afraid, young Harshad, I have not brought you here to harm you."

Harshad gulps, some of his Warrior courage returning, and asks, "How- why have you brought you here, my Lord?"

Just like his ancestors, Harshad recognises me as his creator, if only subconsciously. Right now, he just knows I'm a God, and that I'm an important figure, but since I did not take part in the most recent war against the Demons, he doesn't recognise my face.

I stand up from my Throne, and float down, shrinking down as I get closer. Once I'm near him, just a little bit taller than him, I stop, and softly land on the ground.

I smile softly, sending a wave of magic to calm him down, and say, "You took part in the war last year, didn't you? What did you think of the Demons?"

Harshad blinks, confusion defeating fear as the primary emotion, and says, "The demons? They're strong, each weak demon as strong as the Warrior Andals, with the Demonic monsters being even stronger. Why.. my lord?"

I chuckle, and say, "You can call me Lord Theos, if you want. That is my name. I am the father of Lila, the one you saw kill Darkheart."

Amusement plainly apparent on my face, I continue, and say, "You see, Harshad, I find myself conflicted. Gods usually leave you Andals to live your lives, but sometimes, we need to interfere, just like last year. There have been times like this in the past, when Gods had to save the Andals from a threat too hard for them to defeat alone."

"I know, Lord Theos. I have heard the tales of the Brood, and the Necros from my grandmother, who was alive both the times those two attacked. I know, even if I am strong, I would have a hard time fighting them." Harshad says, humbly accepting his weakness in this regard.

And this is why you're chosen, my dear child.

"How would you like to not be this weak anymore? How would you like if I make you stronger?" I ask, turning towards him with a smile.

Harshad blinks, and frowns. He says, "I don't understand, my Lord. How can I get stronger? I have already been through every Ritual Warriors are allowed to take, and any more Rituals will corrupt me. I don't want to turn Evil."

Chuckling, I say, "Those were the methods of mortals, child. I want to make you stronger with a Divine method, if you agree. This will make you as strong as my daughter, and allow you to defend the planet as a whole."

Harshad pauses for a minute, to think. He's not dumb, I know that. I only approached him once I was sure of his strength, and his character.

He hesitantly asks, "Will there be any consequences, my Lord?"

Nodding, I say, "A few. You won't be a Warrior of your King anymore, but an independent Guardian of the planet. You may still live your life as the Warrior, but you won't be allowed to use the gifts I give you to fight other Andals. Also, your life will be extended by 100 years, making it so you live twice as long as you were meant to."

Harshad gulps, and asks, "Can I refuse?"

I nod, and say, "If you refuse, I will send you back to your dreams, and to your normal Warrior life. Take your time, child. Time passes differently here, and I don't need the answer immediately."

Harshad sits down, to think. For a few minutes he thinks, unknowing that his thoughts are loud and clear to me.

Then, he resolutely stands up, and says, "I have decided, my Lord. For 20 years, I've trained to gain this level of strength. And now, I realise that there are threats out there, who can kill me quite easily. I accept your Gifts with glad tidings, my Lord, and I accept the duties and responsibilities that come with it."

Smiling, I nod and say, "That is what I expected, Harshad. Congratulations, on becoming my Champion. From now on, you will be known as the Guardian of Induk!"

And with that, I send him back to his body, the gifts having already been given. I had transferred a Potion to his stomach as soon as he'd said yes. He'll be sick for a few hours, after which, once he wakes, he will become the strongest man on Induk.

The Potion that Loki gave me, I had waited to be able to use it for my champion, modified it for my own purposes. The original Potion allowed any mortal to take on the properties of any object they touch. It turned Carl Creel, a mortal boxer, into someone that could fight with Thor on equal grounds. It turned him into the Absorbing Man.

My Potion could do the same, along with an additional, hidden property. Whenever Harshad touches something, and focuses on the gifts, he will absorb the material, just like Carl Creel. But, whenever he looks up, and yells "Shazam", he will be struck by a bolt of lightning, which will transform his entire physical body into Dargonite, a metal not found anywhere else but Andalok, and in the hands of my Gods.

This way, a mortal can get as strong as my daughter, by just yelling a single word.

It won't make him immortal, but he will have all the gifts that Dargonite naturally has. Flight, durability, strength, a heavy weight, he will have all of it. The only ones that will be able to defeat him then, will be the higher tier Gods, and other beings of similar strength.

And once he dies, my gift will leave his body, and find someone else to inhabit, someone that will stay true to the mantle of Guardian.

Smiling, I teleport to Donna, to my house, and find Chhaya sitting on a couch, Lila's head in her lap. They were looking at a display monitor, which played a movie from my last life, called The Breakfast Club.

What? You think I could travel through Dimensions, Universes, Time, and I won't find a way to bring Movies, songs, TV series, and everything else from my time to here? The first thing I did was do just that!

I went forward in time, to the future of this Universe, and brought back the entirety of the Earth's Internet knowledge, from the year 2018. There were plays, movies, songs, skits, books, and everything that the Internet had, all for our entertainment.

Kissing Chhaya on the lips, I lay a kiss on my sleeping daughters head, and sit down on Chhaya's other side. Putting my leg on the table in front of me, I join her in watching the movie.

Donna was lonely, once again, with just me and Chhaya staying here permanently. Kali had a home here, and so did Manasi and Mother, but they mostly stayed on their own respective planets. As for the Demigods of Vali Lokison, they had all been moved to Induk.

Vali didn't want to send them to Earth, not after he found out the fate of the Gods, and so, he agreed to erase their memories of Asgard, of Yggdrasil, and slowly integrated them into the societies of Induk.

"How'd it go?" Chhaya asks, whispering to me.

I steal some of the popcorn from her bowl, and say, "As expected. He accepted, and now, I have a champion. When did Lila get here?"

Chhaya caresses the head of our daughter, and says, "Last night, soon after you left for Induk. She and Yami had a small fight, it seems."

I chuckle, knowing that they love each other too much to stay angry for long. I say, "Well, now they will have less things to worry about. My Champion will be there to take care of the alien invaders, whenever they come."

Resting her head on my shoulder, Chhaya says, "And if he fails, we will know, and be there to take over anyway. We don't want anyone messing with our happy lives."

Looking at Chhaya, I ask, "Our life has gotten happier, hasn't it? Huh, never noticed how happy I was."

"Don't jinx it. And shh. Lila is sleeping." Chhaya says.

I just shake my head. My life has gotten happier, true. I have a wonderful family, a good, peaceful home, away from the troubles of the Universe, and now, I have a champion, ready to defend the planet in our stead.

Life is good.