Chapter 217

The man with silver hair, a friend of Shiva and benefactor of Sati, blessed their love.

The setting sun cast a rosy glow on the Forest where laughter and chatter filled the air, illuminating the world with its gentle light.

The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of endless flowers, and beyond the Forest, the joy of countless wild beasts Pashupati.

"Congratulations on your marriage, Shiva."

Kavia smiled.

Shiva has Sati, Brahma has Saraswati, Vishnu will later have Lakshmi in the Ocean of Milk, thus the Three Aspects will each have their own beloved.

"When you get married, Kavia, remember to invite me!"

"... That's too far away."

Kavia turned to look at Shiva, "However, if it really exists, I certainly will."

"It's a deal then, it's a promise."

"It's a deal... But leaving so soon after the wedding, didn't Sati say much?"

Upon hearing this, Shiva recalled Sati's earlier words—

'This is entirely your fault, Lord Shiva. You must go and deal with it immediately, right now, with Lord Kavia. Don't worry, I'll take good care of things at home, Lord Shiva.'

Then he said calmly.

"Absolutely not."

Chapter 287 Indra, the Heavenly Emperor? Where are you?

At this moment, in Mount Meru, the Devas and Asura, who had barely reached an agreement, were bustling about, accompanied by cheerful music.

Vishnu, seated at the top, kept his eyes closed, as if he couldn't hear anything around him.

In reality, Vishnu was not Meditation, but rather a strangely shaped object appeared in his mind.

It's not a balance scale with just two plates hanging on it, but a more complex object with various weights suspended from it, trying to maintain balance as much as possible. However, at this moment, a crucial weight is missing, causing it to be unbalanced.

"Has Kasyapa not yet convinced Shiva...?"

Vishnu opened his eyes and looked at the Ocean of Milk, as if he saw a whirlpool.

Within what is considered the origin of all matter lies a white ocean, where enormous whirlpools and surging waves form. At the seemingly infinite conflict's end, something tiny appears to be born.

According to Vishnu, Shiva should have been persuaded by Kavia immediately by now, so why has it taken so long...? This is really strange. Could it be that Shiva doesn't even care about Kavia's request? That shouldn't be the case. Although he is proud, he wouldn't do that to Kavia...

However, the delay was actually due to Kavia's involvement in Shiva and Sati's wedding Ritual.

Soon, Vishnu's eyes narrowed slightly. He seemed to hear the impossible sound of the ocean waves, sometimes faint, sometimes distant, the distance unclear. It was as if the ocean was at a balance point, mutually attracting each other between the Universe and destruction.

He then realized that the last factor in his mind was missing, and thus he maintained his balance to the extreme. In other words, Kavia had convinced Shiva that he was on his way, so they could act immediately.

"It's done!"

He stood up and pointed with his pale finger to the Ocean of Milk he had been gazing at.

"Devas Asura, follow me and churn the Ocean of Milk!"

In an instant, the two tribes, who had been arguing, surrounded the Ocean of Milk like thick clouds covering the sky, throwing herbs they had cultivated for many years from Mount Meru and themselves into the Ocean of Milk as part of the preparations.

After seeing that both races had completed their preparations as instructed, Vishnu transformed into his second incarnation—

Kurma, the giant tortoise.

This is because the Ocean of Milk has been churned, and Mount Mandara, also known as Mount Suni, was used as the churning rod. How big is Mount Suni?

It has 84,000 kilometres, which is approximately 1,082,000 kilometers.

Such a terrifying size and weight could only be carried by Kurma, the giant tortoise that was an incarnation of the Aspected God.

In addition, there is also Vasuki, the great leader of the India Naga dragon Naga, who acts as a hindrance.

In simple terms, Vishnu himself transformed into the giant tortoise Kurma and sank to the bottom of the sea to serve as the fulcrum supporting the churning pestle, while the dragon Vasuki's body served as the churning rope wrapped around the pestle on Mount Mandara. Ninety-two Asura held snake heads and eighty-eight Deva held snake tails, churning the Ocean of Milk together for a thousand years by taking turns stirring the giant snake's body.

During this time, astonishing vortexes of light, resembling flying dragons, swept across what appeared to be an infinite Ocean of Milk.

The astonishing energy was enough to make people after the Age of Gods mistakenly believe that the Sun had appeared here. The violent and brilliant, miraculous radiance, the ever-accelerating Od, transformed into destructive particles on the Dragon Vasuki, constantly churning the Ocean of Milk.

If it weren't for the difficulty for humans to reach this place, this intense light would probably have filled the human world with heat and brilliance for thousands of years, making it a completely unreasonable and purely natural disaster.

Amidst the burst of light, Shiva, who had come with Kavia, raised his head, the fierce air currents seeming to scatter his horned hair.

"The Asura will likely face immense hardship before obtaining the 'Amrita'."

Shiva naturally saw the disadvantage of the Asura located at the heads of Vasuki. When Vasuki's body was constricted, it spewed out poisonous flames and hot air, which would suffocate the Asura. However, the Deva located at the tail were relaxed and happy because Vasuki's tail waved in the air, forming fragrant clouds and occasionally sprinkling sweet rain.

"Originally, the two races were reversed, but the suspicious Asura king, Pulita, felt that Indra had ill intentions, so it became like this."

Kavia, who was atop the mountain with Shiva, looked down at the Asura suffering at the head of the serpent Vasuki. The blonde woman leading them glared indignantly at the Devas behind her, feeling that if they weren't currently cooperating, they would probably have already started fighting.

Kavia immediately recognized him as Vritra, but he paid more attention to a smaller Deity from the Devas Vritra was seeing for the first time.

Perhaps noticing Kavia's gaze, Shiva slowly said:

"That's Kama, the Love God. What's wrong?"

Shiva had some recollection of Kama, the Love God, because of his wife Sati.

According to Sati, Kama was a diligent Love God who did not spend his days on Mount Meru fighting with the Asura, but instead came to a mountain in the world to fulfill his duties as a god of Love God. In addition, Kama was also her 'Brother-in-Law', because Rati was Sati's sister, and both of them were daughters of Daksha.

The two seemed to have fallen in love at first sight. Sati remembered that after her father forced her into marriage, Rati ran away and met Kama, the Love God. They fell in love at first sight and naturally got together, just like she and Shiva...

Unlike Rati, Sati has yet to tell her family that she has married Shiva. The main reason is that her father, Daksha, is not only Rishi but also a scholar of the Veda. In other words, he harbors deep resentment towards Shiva, who once cut off one of Brahma's heads. He does not believe that Shiva can be compared to Kavia, Brahma, Vishnu, but is merely a barbaric god with a skull.

From this perspective, Sati's willingness to let Shiva churn the Ocean of Milk stemmed not only from her belief that her beloved was indeed at fault, but also from the thought that this would encourage her father, Daksha, to accept Shiva's identity. After all, he was the father who raised her, and Sati felt that it would be best if everyone could live in harmony.

"No, it's nothing, I just glanced at it."

For Kama, taking another look at Kavia was not about the Love God himself, but about the Savior Shakyamuni, whom he confronted after transforming into Mara.

Historically, the ninth avatar of Vishnu, Shakyamuni, was merely a religious tool.

From a mystical perspective, the Savior is the ninth incarnation of Vishnu, a man who should have become the Ideal King of India, the 'Wheel-Turning King'. However, he ultimately gave up this Supreme Being glory, left the Royal Palace, and traveled the world, his footprints covering the Ganges basin. In a world ravaged by war, he encountered all kinds of people and witnessed countless births, aging, sickness, and death.

At the end of his life, Parinirvana amidst a sea of Sal Tree blossoms, having come to understand the true nature of humanity, becoming the first human to reach the 'end,' transcending his own origin, and even surpassing the Planet itself— Savior.

Such a figure was quite attractive to Kavia, so it was not surprising that he would glance at Kama, who was barely a match for him and had not yet become the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.

However, only Kavia, who knew this, was aware of it; the other Aspected God were unaware of it.

"Kavia... and Shiva, you've come too."

As Kavia and Shiva conversed, Brahma, who had been holed up in his house, inexplicably appeared against the backdrop of the blue sky atop the mountain.

"Brahma, you're here too? Are you here to help?"

While Kavia spoke enthusiastically and incessantly, Shiva merely nodded slightly to Brahma, seemingly unwilling to engage in conversation with him at all.

"... Ah, yes, I originally wanted to come, but something came up and I was held up, hahaha..."

Kavia was perfectly aware that Brahma was using laughter to cover up his embarrassment, but he didn't dwell on it and instead brought up another topic:

"Speaking of the Saraswati, isn't she your beloved? I haven't met her yet. Won't you bring her over so I can see her, Brahma?"

"Oh no, how should I put it? Because something came up, I didn't let Saraswati come along..."

Brahma lied.

In fact, when he learned that Kavia had arrived, he was overjoyed and prepared to bring the Saraswati to meet her. However, one sentence from the Saraswati immediately dispelled this idea—

"Brahma, aren't you worried that Kavia might become like Vishnu? Kavia is Ascetics like Shiva, and perhaps even more so..."

"No, no, Kavia isn't that kind of person. He stood up for me when Shiva cut off my head, so it shouldn't be..."

Brahma became increasingly unsure of himself, and when he finally left, he did indeed follow the instructions of the Saraswati and did not bring her along.

Let's go back to the present.

"Yeah?"

Kavia saw through Brahma's lie and understood the reason for his hesitation. "Actually, I think it's alright. Although the Saraswati was created by you, Brahma— "

"Daughter."

Shiva suddenly interjected, and judging from his calm demeanor, it seemed that if Kavia hadn't been there, he would have cut off another head of Brahma, who had married Saraswati.

Brahma pursed his lips and remained silent, listening with a somewhat gloomy expression. Ever since he got together with Saraswati, he had sensed that neither the gods nor the Aspected God liked him, which was why he spent all his time with Saraswati.

"That's alright. I actually support Brahma and Saraswati's love. After all, the so-called 'daughter' thing is just an outsider's perspective; only the two of them know the true nature of their relationship."

Even so, their status is still mismatched.

Looking at Kavia, who was standing up for Brahma, Shiva retorted.

"Shiva, what do you consider a good match?"

"Whether someone is a good match depends on their abilities."

"Really? What does love have to do with being a good match?"

Kavia did not turn around, but simply turned his face toward Shiva.

"You've set a boundary for love, Shiva."

The God of Destruction fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

"Alright, alright, bring Saraswati here after we've resolved the matter of the Ocean of Milk. I'll offer my blessings to her and you, Brahma. As for Shiva— "

Looking at the silent Shiva, Kavia smiled. "Don't mind him. He just got married and is missing his wife, so his temper is a bit short."

Shiva, you got married?!

Upon hearing Kavia's words, Brahma looked at Shiva with a surprised expression.

To Brahma, Shiva's temperament, harder than stone, actually getting married was even more unbelievable than Brahma creating the Saraswati and falling in love with it.

"Um."

Since Kavia had already said it, Shiva naturally wouldn't try to hide it, but he still gave Kavia a fierce look with the same eyes he had when they first met, to which Kavia simply smiled and let it go.

"That's really --"

"It really is something. Brahma, after you finish churning the Ocean of Milk, go see Sati and bestow her a blessing or something. After all, we Four-Aspected Gods are one; if one suffers, we all suffer; if one prospers, we all prosper."

Shiva originally wanted to say "no need," but after hearing Kavia say "the Four-Aspected Gods are one, one suffers and all suffer, one prospers and all prosper," he didn't say anything more... Well, although Brahma is a guy who loves to lie and enjoys himself all day long, he is still the god of creation, so it's not unreasonable for him to bless Sati.

"Okay, okay."

Brahma nodded quickly, then sat up straight. "I need to assist with stirring the sea now. We'll talk later."

Having said that, Brahma closed his eyes and poured his Divine Power into the bodies of the gods and Vasuki. With the help of the creator god, even the suffering Asura felt a little better, much better than being half-dead from the fumes. As for the gods, they enjoyed it even more.

"... You know I don't like Brahma, you don't need to use this to ease the tension between me and him."

"No matter what, we are all Four-Aspected Gods."

As Kavia spoke, she glanced at Brahma not far away, and saw that the creator god, whose expression had previously been gloomy, now had a much brighter look on his face.

"That's true, but this is the only time. I absolutely do not want to see Brahma appear before me."

"Speaking of which, God is clearly Order, and should therefore have no Wrath, no Sorrow, no gentleness, and no glory. He is merely born to maintain the Order of 'Brahman,' fulfilling his own duties. This body is immortal, so there shouldn't even be the concept of 'living'..."

Kavia did not answer Shiva's question, but sat on the cliff of the mountain, gazing at the world below with an emotionless expression.

Perhaps it had been a long time since he had seen him like this, Shiva found it incredible, so he sat down with him on the cliff edge.

It's unbelievable that you'd say something like that.

Shiva's impression of his friend was always like this: a silver-blue man, almost like the Universe itself.

"Perhaps, as Vishnu said, I am the Aspected God of our Four-Aspected Gods, not the Aspected God of all things in the world."

"What does this have to do with what you just said?"

"It was just a spontaneous remark, nothing to worry about, Shiva."

Even atop the mountain, the bursting light from the churning of the Ocean of Milk still lingers, its radiance even more dazzling and intense than the rising Sun.

Time flies.

The people on earth continued to multiply as usual, working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

One day, hundreds of years after the churning of the Ocean of Milk --

Something was born from the Ocean of Milk, where time seemed to stand still.