At his side, the Sudarshan Chakra hovered in perfect stillness, its radiant edges gleaming with silent menace. Though it spun slowly, its voice whispered through the cosmic stillness, heard only by its master.
"Such restraint, my Lord," Sudarshan Chakra murmured, the edge of its voice laced with cold amusement. "You allowed the farce to unfold. One flick of me, and Vajranga would have been erased before he would ever set foot in Svarga."
Vishnu's gaze remained fixed upon the rippling expanse of Kshira Sagara, his expression unchanging, eternal.
"Premature action breeds imbalance," he replied, his tone as tranquil as the deep ocean. "Even a poisoned flower must be given its moment to bloom... so all may witness its true nature."
The Chakra spun faster, the hum of its edge deepening like a predator restless in its leash.
"Your mercy toward Asuras is... ever perplexing, my Lord. Let me sever the root now, before corruption festers beyond control."
Vishnu's golden eyes flickered, reflecting the endless wheel of time itself.
"No," he answered softly, the calm in his voice belying the weight of cosmic law. "The Asuras are the most vulnerable to the intoxication of power. To act now would deny them their right to choose to walk the path of Dharma... or fall from it."
"Justice cannot exist if I steal their choice. That would not be Dharma. That would be tyranny."
The Chakra's glow dimmed, a low hum vibrating with reluctant submission.
"And if Vajranga does what they always do? If he betrays Svarga?"
Vishnu's lips curved into the faintest smile, detached, patient, neither cruel nor kind.
"When that time comes... You will have your moment."
His gaze sharpened, reflecting the fathomless depths of the ocean and the cold inevitability of fate.
The Sudarshan spun in silence, as if conceding the point, though its edges still thirsted for the day it would be unleashed.
...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Like streaks of radiant light, Indra, Rishi Brihaspati, and Rishi Kashyapa shot toward the celestial realms, their forms tearing through the skies as they raced to Svarga.
But the sight that greeted them was dire.
The skies above Svarga boiled with angry clouds. Lightning crackled and flashed like the tongues of raging Naga kings, hissing and lashing across the heavens. The air trembled with deafening roars of thunder, shaking the very pillars of the Amravati.
Boom! Boom!
The army of Asuras stood assembled, wielding enchanted weapons, surrounding the grand Temple of the King of Svarga.
Countless eyes glinted with greed, locked onto the towering temple that loomed before them. Their breath came heavy, the air thick with a tense, predatory hunger.
Through the oppressive gloom of Svarga's storm-laden skies, a voice tore through the heavy silence, dripping with disdain.
"What are we waiting for?" It was Shumbha.
His crimson gaze blazed, the hunger within him flaring like wildfire beneath the crackling heavens. His voice, rough and venomous, slithered through the assembled Asura ranks, igniting the greed in their hearts.
"The Apsaras... the treasures of the Samudra Manthan... the divine weapons, the Kalpavriksha... all of it lies before us!"
He jabbed a clawed finger toward the towering palace of Svarga, its sanctified halls now eerily still under the suffocating clouds.
"All that they hoarded... all that they denied us... is within reach. And yet you hesitate?!"His sneer deepened, curling into something feral as his tongue flicked across his lips, savoring the scent of conquest. "These halls should have been ours from the beginning."
Shumbha's snarl echoed through the army, his words infecting the horde like a plague of greed.
"Everything the devas clung to after the churning of the Kshira Sagara—today, we take them all."
He raised his blood-stained trident high, its tip crackling under the storm's fury.
"Seize it. Burn it. Strip Svarga bare!"
Beside Shumbha, Viprachitti in his scaled form glistening a sickly green in the stormlight, let his forked tongue dart across his fanged maw, the fire of greed igniting in his reptilian eyes.
"Hmph, he's right," Viprachitti rasped, his voice low and venomous.
"And let's not forget... the Rishis are still in our grasp."
Puloman stepped forward, his massive frame dwarfing the lesser Asuras, his tusked mouth curling into a vicious grin.
"Even if the king falters," Puloman snarled, "we have their sages. The Devas will bow... or face curses even they fear."
A chorus of guttural chuckles erupted among the surrounding Asuras.
Another brute with obsidian skin, Balasura, growled, "No prayers will save them now. These Rishis will curse themselves for staying this long in Svarga."
"Let them curse," spat Ketuman. "They can curse while they beg at our feet."
Their cries fanned the flames of chaos, the mob trembling with barely contained frenzy.
Viprachitti surged forward, his steps deliberate, the horde parting before him. The storm cast eerie shadows upon the sacred steps of the palace, and under the flicker of lightning, he approached the threshold.
He paused, studying the temple's defiant silence.
Slowly, he raised his jagged trident, placing one clawed foot upon the first step.
Still... nothing.
Only the crackle of lightning above, mocking in its indifference.
A cruel smile split Viprachitti's face, his voice twisting into a hiss.
"Heh... cowards, the lot of them."
He turned, baring his fangs at the horde.
"Come, brothers! Everything here... is ours to plunder!"
His laughter echoed like a curse across the heavens as he waved his hand, unleashing the tide.
"Charge!"
The Asura legions roared as one, a black tide of bodies and steel crashing toward the temple grounds, their frenzy shaking the earth itself.
"Haha! Tear it all down!" snarled Ketuman, his spear gleaming with crackling enchantments as he pushed through the ranks.
"Forward! Forward!" shouted Mura, his hissing voice slicing through the storm like a dagger. "Strip Svarga bare! Let them watch as we turn their paradise to rubble!"
"Take their Svarga, their weapons, their treasures! Even the devas will kneel tonight!" barked Tarika, an Asura captain known for his cruelty more than his strength, his bloodshot eyes gleaming.
An Asura footsoldier jeered, "These Devas hid behind their storm clouds for too long! I say we show them how real storms rage!"
The horde surged forward like a starving flood, the clash of their weapons and war cries drowning the rumble of thunder.
But just as Shumbha moved to join the onslaught, a heavy hand clamped onto his shoulder.
"Hold."
Shumbha's crimson eyes narrowed dangerously, his voice dropping to a low snarl.
At that moment, the skies darkened further, the clouds churning into an abyss of fury. Lightning crackled like an enraged horde of Nagas, their roars of thunder ripping the sky apart.
...
After his childhood mischief (when he leapt to eat the sun and caused havoc among the gods), the Devas, at Brahmā's request, each granted him specific boons.
Brahmā gave him protection from all his weapons, freedom from curses, and the ability to change size at will.
Shiva: A portion of his own energy, making Hanumān a Rudra-avatāra, and the gift of immortality through the ages.
Indra: After striking him with the Vajra, Indra later blessed him so the thunderbolt could never harm him again and gave him a body as hard as diamond.
Vāyu (his father): Speed faster than Garuḍa, unmatched strength, and tireless breath and vitality.
Sūrya (his guru): Complete mastery of the Vedas, śāstras, and disciplines of yoga and dharma.
Agni: Immunity to fire.
Varuṇa: Immunity to water, never to be drowned.
Yama: Freedom from death and disease.
Viṣṇu: Assurance that no one would ever equal him in strength or valor.
Kāmadeva: Immunity to lust, desire, or temptation.
Enjoyed the chapter? You can read 40+ more chapters now on P*treon/Marioni and Ko*fi/Marioni.