Location: Shanti Nagar, Temple.
Time:6:20 PM
The temple was beautiful. Its structure, its architecture, its paintings, and its idols felt like they were made by an advanced civilization. However, one idol was not suitable for the temple. The main idol inside the Garbhagriha.
The idol had five horns. Two horns of a goat, two horns of a deer, and one horn of a rhino. Its left eye was that of an eagle, and its right eye was that of a snake; its face looked like a human's. The idol's right hand had eight tentacles of an octopus, while its left hand resembled a giraffe; instead of a palm, it had the head of a tiger. It had large breasts; looking at it, even the woman with the biggest breasts in the world would get jealous. Its upper abdomen was human. It had a big booty; looking at it, even the woman with the biggest booty in the world would get jealous. Its right leg was that of a cat, and its left leg was that of a snake. The idol's color was black.
The temple was decorated with different leaves. In one place, there were people cooking food for others to eat. Hariprasad was watching and observing if anything was left or not.
Tap… tap… tap…
There were some people walking towards him. They were wearing military knight uniforms. The main badge showed that they were from the Ashoka Empire. There were five people.
"Sir Lucas, what are you doing here today?" Hariprasad said with a Namaste.
Lucas, with a warm expression, said, "I came here to watch the Puja of Shanti Nagar, nothing else. Tell me, what is the gender of your God?"
"It's male!"
"Male!" Lucas was taken aback for a second. "But looking at the idol, it looks like a woman. What is this weird God you are worshipping?"
"He is our God; he doesn't have a fixed form. He exists in different forms. This idol is one of his avatars."
"Avatar?" Lucas was completely dumbstruck.
"Yes! This avatar is called Atyāścaryamūrti. You have to wait for the puja; before the puja, the story will be explained."
"That's okay, but what about Shanti Nagar becoming a part of the Ashoka Empire? Did you think about the offer?"
"Sir, let's talk about this after puja."
"Okay."
Time:7:00 AM
"All of you hear me you have to behave properly. Don't crack jokes during puja," Gayatri was angrily instructing her children. She didn't want to anger the God.
She saw a man with a girl walking towards her. The girl was hugging the man as they walked. The man had long hair; the left side was pink and the right side was brown. His right eye was brown and his left eye was pink. They were none other than Someshwar and Shravani.
They reached the temple. Gayatri's eyes were bloodshot with rage when she saw Shravani wearing the family heirloom.
"Shravu" Gayatri gave a cold smile to her daughter.
Shravani goes to the back side of her brother, still holding onto him.
"Sigh, I told you not to wear the family heirloom, but you are not ready to listen to me, hmm?"
Someshwar pointed towards the temple. Gayatri turned and looked at the temple, then turned back and noticed Shravani's eyes darting wildly towards it.
"Don't be scared, Shravu. Maa and I are with you; nothing will happen to you," said Someshwar to his sister.
"She is always scared to go inside; there is nothing bad going on inside the temple," said Gayatri.
Gayatri look again at the temple.
Gayatri POV
From the temple, yellow, blue, black, red, green, violet, and white threads were coming out from people. Some were going inside the walls, while others were getting connected to other people.
'As always, there is nothing weird, so why is she scared?'
Someshwar POV
From the temple, yellow, blue, black, red, green, violet, and white threads were coming out; some were going inside the walls, and some were getting connected to other people. From the people, mists of different colors were coming, and dense mists of various colors were emanating from the temple. Different colored fields were emerging from the temple, vibrating strangely.
'This temple is something else; even in my previous life, I didn't see a temple like this, and I don't understand Shravani's point of view, which is why she is so scared.'
Shravani POV
From the temple, yellow, blue, black, red, green, violet, and white threads were coming out; some were going inside the walls, and some were getting connected to other people. From the people, mists of different colors were coming, and different colored dense mists were emanating from the temple. Various colored fields were emerging from the temple, vibrating strangely.
There was blue, red, and black dense mist, with blue, red, and black particles rotating in different places, creating the appearance of the temple being inside a big sphere. There was a feeling emanating from the temple that was unexplainable in words.
Readers POV
Sharvani started to cry.
"Hhhhhhh... hhhhhh... hhhhhhh... hhhhhh... hhhhhhh... I don't want to go inside; it's scary!"
"Sigh, how many times should I tell you, Shravu?"
Gayatri took Sharvani's hand.
"Come with Mom. Mom is with you; there is nothing to be scared of; it's just a temple."
Sharvani shook her hand, on which her mother had held her hand. Gayatri let go of Sharvani's hand.
"No! You will take me to the mental hospital if I stay with you right now."
Gayatri was taken aback for a second.
"Hhhhhhh... hhhhhh... hhhhhhh... hhhhhh... hhhhhhh... I heard you talking to Dad yesterday. Sniff... ah—hahhh... I just want to stay with my brother, and don't call me Shravu; I don't like it."
Gayatri, in shock, looked at Someshwar.
"Sigh, Maa, you have lost the trust of Sharvani. Look at her now; she is scared to trust you."
Gayatri, with a smile, said, "Trust me now, Shravu; I won't send you to mental hospital."
"No! No!" Sharvani screamed while tears, in the form of pearls, came out of her eyes.
"From childhood, you, Dad, and the other elder family members just used to lie to me, using my innocence. I thought that it was for my good, but now I don't feel that way anymore. I am sure you liar; you are not my mom. Hhhhhhh... hhhhhh... hhhhhhh... hhhhhh... hhhhhhh..."
Gayatri's jaw dropped; she was unable to bear what she had heard from her daughter. It was like an arrow that had struck her heart.
Someshwar gave Gayatri a stern look. He placed his right hand on Sharvani's head and started giving her light strokes.
"Let's go inside. Don't be scared; I am with you."
They went inside the temple. Someshwar saw his father talking to some people. With Sharvani, he went near his father.
Hariprasad POV
Hariprasad saw Lucas and his companions with dark red strings coming from their bodies and getting connected to his body, along with one deep blue string attaching to him. He turned and looked in the direction from where the deep blue string was coming.
He saw Sharvani hugging Someshwar and walking with him. There was no string coming from Someshwar's body. One charcoal gray string from Sharvani was getting mixed in the temple walls.
'Gayatri, what have you done to our daughter? Now she is showing sorrow towards me, and as usual, she is scared of the temple. The main attention grabbing thing is that there is no string coming from my son. Really, the two year journey has made him more powerful.'
Readers POV
"Pitaji, who are you talking to? These people don't belong to our village," Someshwar said, looking at Lucas and his companions.
With a smile, Hariprasad said, "These people are from the Ashoka Empire."
'People from the Ashoka Empire? Great!'