Chapter 3 – The Cosmic Mother, Goddess Shakti
In the endless void, the laws of the universe trembled and took shape, converging toward the blossoming lotus. From this, the unconscious Brahma was born.
Five heads, four arms, holding the Divine Vase of Life, the Mystic Prayer Beads, the Blessed Lotus, and the Vedas.
This unconscious Brahma radiated immense creative energy, a profound aura of origin and creation. At this moment, he seemed to embody Brahman itself.
Seeing this, Fanan understood why the conscious Cosmic Architect, Deva, had to perish.
Deva also embodied law and order; without his demise, Brahma could not be born.
"Five heads and four arms… This seems different from the four-faced, four-armed Brahma described in the Vedas and the Puranas."
"In the last kalpa, Brahma was also four-faced and four-armed. Could this kalpa have an anomaly?"
Fanan observed Brahma, eyes closed within the lotus, with a look of surprise but did not dwell on it. He did not approach too closely.
In the state of infinite unconsciousness, Brahma's aura contained Brahman's karma. A mid-tier god like Fanan could not approach without being obliterated.
At this early stage of Brahman, Fanan was weak. Even a fraction of the aura from these unconscious gods could destroy him.
But witnessing Brahma's birth, Fanan knew that the Primordial Brahman Era would herald a turning point.
Brahma would create the universe, and finite, conscious gods would be born.
As the vast forces of creation and the laws of order converged toward Brahma, it seemed that in less than a Mahayuga, the world would be formed.
Alongside the gathering of creative laws, another force began to coalesce at Brahma's feet.
"The sacred law and order—this must be Brahma's mount, Hamsa."
"In later ages, the lazy peacock Hamsa, as a divine mount, originates from the early Primordial Brahman Era."
Seeing Hamsa's birth, Fanan's gaze shifted to the thousand-headed serpent that served as Vishnu's bed.
This was Vishnu's mount, the Primordial Dragon King Adi-Ananta-Shesha.
The Primordial Dragon King Shesha is good amidst evil, light within darkness, embodying multiple laws and orders.
After consciousness awakens, these laws descend into authority, then become divine powers.
In later ages, Shesha is far stronger than Hamsa, possessing multiple powers and divine abilities approaching great divine power. He is also among the few gods capable of bestowing blessings.
Fanan returned to the surface of the void. Brahma's creation would take time, and he intended to use this interval to meditate on a way to help Goddess Shakti awaken consciousness.
Even without his aid, Shakti would eventually gain consciousness, but Fanan urgently needed power for self-preservation.
His essence was the primordial universe, the source of all supreme spiritual forces. Even if he perished, he would merely return to the chaotic sleep.
But his goal was to break the cycle of unconscious slumber, not to dream in conscious or unconscious states.
During the Primordial Brahman Era, there was only desolate void and a few infinite unconscious gods; time passed swiftly.
In the blink of three million years—
ॐ~~
The primal sound of the universe rang out nine times, shaking all of Brahman, sending titanic waves across the void.
At that moment, Fanan awoke from his meditation of three million years. He had found a way to help Shakti awaken consciousness.
This required using the opportunity of Brahma's creation.
Brahma had already begun creating the universe. This time, the primal sound of the cosmos emanated from his mouth.
Boom~
The void trembled. Invisible matter began to form—wisdom, consciousness, sensation.
At that instant, Fanan wielded his moderate divine power and descended to the bottom of the void. He gazed at the colossal yoni, unable to hide his disbelief.
"It's too big… impossible to satisfy!"
Shaking his head, he cleared distracting thoughts from his mind and sincerely prayed to Goddess Shakti.
Though the five elements had yet to be born, Fanan's prayers, though silent, carried his conscious authority.
This caused the newly-formed wisdom, consciousness, and sensation within Brahman to separate and flow into the massive yoni.
"Sain~"
A pure, ethereal voice resonated from within the yoni—the third sound of the universe was born.
Under Fanan's gaze, the gigantic yoni gradually shrank, eventually reaching the size of a normal woman.
"Pink~"
Fanan muttered instinctively, then quickly closed his mouth, fearing to offend the soon-to-be materialized Goddess Shakti.
When the yoni became invisible, golden light erupted. Radiant beams illuminated the void as an exquisite woman emerged from the light.
Her upper body was bare, adorned with nine skulls that modestly covered her chest. Her lower body wore a golden triangular cloth decorated with crystals, agates, and tiny gold and silver bells.
Four arms, pale as snow, formed intricate mystical gestures.
(In the Primordial Brahman Era, Goddess Shakti had four arms; upon her second awakening, she would develop eight.)
Her eyes slowly opened, gleaming with divine light, locking onto Fanan's position.
"Are you praying to me? My God of Awareness," she said gently.
No sound—this was communication between divinities. Fanan understood her immediately.
Before he could respond, Shakti's gaze shifted toward the boundless void and finally rested on Brahma, still creating the universe.
"Being able to witness the Primordial Brahman Era and observe Brahma's creation… I am deeply grateful, revered God of Awareness."
"I shall explore a little."
With a step, Shakti manifested golden lotuses beneath her and vanished into the far reaches of the void.
"Uh?"
Fanan froze. She was gone already.
But just now, he had sensed the immense divine power radiating from her—a force beyond great divine power.
It belonged to a creator-level god.
In other words, after Shakti awakened consciousness, her law and order had not completely diminished.
She was now an infinite-consciousness innate deity.
Truly worthy of being the mother of feminine energy, the source of all cosmic power.
Turning away from Shakti, Fanan felt his authority power elevate, just as he had anticipated.
His moderate divine power had undergone a massive elevation, reaching the threshold of high divine power.
"After Brahma's creation, the three principal gods will awaken consciousness. Then my authority will surge again, and my power may reach high, or even great divine power."
Even if not great divine power, achieving high divine power was enough to protect himself against conflicts among the second- and third-generation gods after creation.
ॐ~
The primal cosmic sound rang once more.
The universe's three invisible substances—wisdom, consciousness, sensation—were fully born. The infinite unconscious gods began to awaken consciousness.
Under Brahma's resonating Brahmanic sound, the elements of the world began to take form, and the embryonic universe started to emerge