I did not know how horrible FFN formatting on a mobile device is until today. I wrote this in an hour using an iPod with sesame seed sized keys and dreadful autocorrect, so I'm sorry if it's not on par with the other chapters.
Disclaimer: There are many things in this world that do not belong to me. Kubera is one of them.
S-C-N-D
Courtship of a Phoenix
…
Two beings stood on a green plain on Willarv: a hooded pink man and a man with red-black hair. They both had horns, but the pink man's were small and grey whereas the Vritra Nastika's were large and sharp with a soft blue glow. Most of the pink man's facial features were hidden by the shadow of his hoodie, with the exception of a very disapproving frown. The Vritra Nastika had his hands folded crossly.
"What do you want from me, Shess?"
"You shouldn't be so aggressive, Utpala-nim." Although he used a polite tone, Utpala saw it as a personal attack and bit back a loud growl. "If you cause such a big commotion on human planets, Taksaka-nim will become angry at you again."
"But that is what I want, is it not?"
"There'll be a point where he won't forgive you anymore—if you keep impersonating him to terrorize human civilizations, that is. Is it worth it to turn both Taksaka-nim and the gods against you?"
"You really are ignorant, Shess," Utpala grumbled, putting a tired hand to his forehead. "Really? Do you think I am the one causing havoc on human planets? I've been in the Sura realm for the past fifty years. And the first thing I get after coming back is a Rakshasa preaching me… Honestly…"
This confused Shess, but he was still considerably dubious. "The magicians of Willarv say it was a giant red and black Nastika that they saw."
Utpala smiled condescendingly. "The magicians? Those small humans? A giant red creature, maybe, but far from black. They probably couldn't discern his colour from shadow." He tapped a finger on his chin. "Come to think of it, I'm sure I saw him a few months ago. He seemed rather irritated, but I would be too if I suddenly got hit by a Transcendency while flying, even if it was just a tiny one. For that particular Nastika, it wasn't just any kind of ire. He was especially aggravated. He even turned around and tried to blast the planet to pieces." Shess raised an eyebrow and Utpala shrugged. "Well, I have no interest in the politics of the Garuda Clan. My tribe is neutral, even though Taksaka seems to be a snake lover. You should feel fortunate to be living on Willarv, Shess. By now, there's probably nothing left of Carte."
…
Chapter Fourteen: And Fire Alights
N0 - approx. 60000 years
…
Before either Garuda or Indra could inch another toe forward, a force hit Carte so hard that the entire planet shook and rumbled. There was only one blow, but it took forever for the earthquake to pass. Although cushioned by Visnu's protection, the power of the Transcendency blew away enough atmosphere for humans to see the creature that delivered it. Shrill screams exploded from cities in every direction, only reaching Garuda faintly because most of the surrounding landscape had been flattened from his brawl with Indra.
Garuda's breath hitched.
Vinata, in his Sura form, was even more beautiful than he remembered. Glowing red eyes fixed intensely on a spot of the planet. He didn't know what'd caught Vinata's interest so unyieldingly because the irises were too large to tell. Did Vinata come to help him fend off Indra? Garuda's own grey eyes shone with hope.
He waited patiently for Vinata to notice him, to transform and land at his side. Would he smile fondly? Would he tease him about getting caught up in another fight against a five zen god—the king of Astikas, no less? If only he'd come down. Then they could fly back to the Garuda Clan territory together and leave Indra to his insignificant worshippers. It was a win-win situation for everyone.
Ideally, this would be the case.
In actuality, none of that happened.
The giant bird's eyes skimmed across his and Indra's figure for a total of one millisecond before drifting south. Vinata shifted his entire body in the direction of the sky city, inducing more wild screams from its inhabitants. He narrowed his eyes critically as if searching for a single entity in the cluster and chaos—and to no avail, from the looks of it.
Garuda waited a total of ten seconds.
BOOM.
As expected, it wasn't long until his lieutenant's inherent impatience kicked in and Vinata resorted to force. If a city refused to produce what Vinata wanted, Vinata would blast it apart until he found what he wanted. In that sense, he had even less regard for humans than Garuda had. As there was no Visnu to make him vow anything, he certainly did not hold back on the attacks either.
With great vigor, Vinata forced a talon into what thin remnants of Carte's atmosphere there was left to scratch at the barrier. It barely touched the dome before he drew it back, hissing. Garuda almost slapped a hand on his face in disappointment; how could he forget that barriers stung? There was a reason why Nastikas did not try to break into a city with force alone.
Vinata drew the smoking talon back and roared. Although the sky city remained unaffected due to the god's protection, the hot wind from his breath flattened all vegetation surrounding it.
"Asvins…" The name was uttered loudly enough for people halfway across the planet to hear.
Garuda was as puzzled as Indra was alarmed.
The latter kissed his teeth once before teleporting inside his summoner's barrier, arms crossed but with no electricity. "I assume that Asvins is the god currently minding the barrier of my city?"
Professor Rahiro nodded. "There weren't any five zen gods available at the time of the summoning. We were lucky to get one of four zen. The council didn't think that there was a need for a double barrier with Asvins here. We never anticipated your city to become the target of a Nastika."
Indra's face remained grim. "A four zen god won't help you here… Not against the second of the Garuda Clan."
"S-second?" Rina stuttered, momentarily lifting her head eyes to steal a glance of Garuda. "But you said that one was king."
"Yes, so if Garuda ever dies, the bird you see up there would ascend the throne."
"You mean to say," she squeaked, pointing in the direction of the white haired man, "that he is even stronger?" Indra nodded and Rina gulped. "H-how do people ever have children with… with those things?"
Even as she spoke, the sky flashed red again and Indra's city was subjected to another one of Vinata's Transcendency blasts. Asvins's barrier shook, unstable for a split second, before retaining its shape. Somewhere inside the city, the four zen god was suffering immensely.
"What's wrong?" Garuda muttered, though it was too quiet for Vinata to hear. For Vinata to attack a human city twice in such rapid succession, something had to be gravely amiss.
Garuda looked to Indra, who appeared ready to strike down Vinata at any given moment. He couldn't that happen so he prepared a Transcendency first. It was a hindrance, being in human form. He had no attack big enough to isolate Vinata. However, he couldn't spontaneously transform either because half of Carte would be instantly demolished.
My goodness. Somewhere out there, that fifth stage Mara must be laughing at me… He narrowed his eyes critically at the phoenix. I can't fly either because Vinata's Transcendencies usually fill up the entire sky. Visnu… I want to know what happened in the past universe to make you give a Nastika an attack to shoot down his own clan members.
Sighing, Garuda raised his sword in an attempt to get his lieutenant's attention. Once he made Vinata aware of his disapproval, hopefully the phoenix's hot head will cool down enough for a civil talk.
Except that particular plan was horrible from the start, and Garuda knew it was horrible because it backfired on him horribly.
Thankfully, he did stay grounded, because Vinata gave little warning of the thousands of fireballs he sent raining down on the sky city. It was a large scale attack that used up a lot of vigor and Vinata refused to resort to it unless he was fighting a much stronger opponent or absolutely furious. Furious Vinata, Garuda knew from experience, was averse to negotiations. He realized that a little too late, just as he finished firing a large ball of a white, light element Transcendency at the bird.
It hit Vinata on the left collarbone with barely enough force to destroy his outer feather coat. The bird snapped his head over promptly, angrily. He quickly spotted Garuda. For a second, both of them were silent, communicating solely with their stares. Then, everything went awry. The phoenix leaned his head back, and instead of greeting his king, Vinata shot a twisting fireball at him.
Garuda barely avoided it; in the end, Vinata did force him airborne after all. In the air, the attack appeared to be harmless. When it hit, however, it exploded into a coat of thick lava that travelled a thousand times faster than the actual substance. Garuda was thankful he could at least take refuge in the air. Land creatures had no chance to begin with. The blow left Carte's crust red and bubbling.
That Vinata would actually attack him… The king didn't know whether to feel angry or disappointed.
I waited a hundred thousand years for this? Maybe I should be angry at Visnu instead for playing me for a fool.
The only solace came in the fact that Indra was also having moderate difficulty protecting his precious humans. The two magicians were transported into the city a split second after the attack. Unlike Garuda, the sky god didn't know Vinata's Transcendencies like the back of his hand so he was at a disadvantage for the moment. At the very least, Indra wouldn't pose as an imminent threat.
"Vinata!" Garuda called.
The red Nastika turned a deaf ear his way. He redirected his attention to the sky city. Again, a heavy talon came down. Again, the barrier deflected it, except Asvins's power was now on par with a minor god's. Vinata noticed as well. He grinned ferally while bombarding the barrier with physical attacks and Transcendencies, all in rapid succession invisible to the human eye.
"Asvins," he boomed, "stop cowering behind Indra and fight, or are you afraid to face me? Just like you were afraid to face Kalavinka? Is that why you and Marut poisoned her before running away? At least Vayu had the courtesy to deliver her into Ananta Clan territory, though they proved to be very helpful indeed. You, too, deserve a painful death. You deserve a thousand painful deaths."
Vinata drew back. His entire body erupted into flames until the only parts that weren't burning were his eyes, crimson and glowing in rage. Garuda was reminded again why his clan called Vinata the Phoenix. He swallowed a hard lump in his throat, recalling the last time he'd seen this form—when it had been directed at him.
Asvins had no chance. Every human knew it. Indra knew it. Garuda, who once barely escaped the attack with an inch of his life, knew it better than anyone. They watched wordlessly as the barrier shattered into shiny, glass-like pieces that rained to the ground. They all knew what would happen after. Vinata's goal was fulfilled, but it was already too late to stop the follow-up of his attack. In a moment, the sky city would be nothing but a red and bubbling crater. No amount of Hoti Brahma spells could change that.
Luckily, Indra was fast on his feet. Before the entire city was eradicated, Vinata got obstructed by another thick barrier. The flames from the attack ran down the sides of the dome and boiled the earth for a second time. Half of Carte was now reduced to a burning wasteland that would take another hundred thousand years to cool.
When everything cleared out, the sky turned blue again. Inside Indra's city, a small figure suspended midair. Indra held Asvins's body in his arms for a transient moment before it vanished into wisps of green smoke. Angered, the sky god tilted his head up at a heaving Vinata.
Indra reached an arm out, an arm that was cackling with lightning.
Vinata feebly shifted his body to avoid the attack but his movements were now clumsy and unrefined. Knowing what would happen next, Garuda shot forward with a great burst of energy, morphing into his gigantic Sura form as he did. He hoped—he desperately hoped that he would make it in time, because otherwise…
Barely. He didn't even want to think about how close it'd been. Had Indra's lightning hit, Vinata would have been severely injured, if not dead.
With six wings folded into a shield, he took the entire impact of Indra's attack for the phoenix that was no longer flaming. He had to shed two wings that tore, but four were enough for him to stay afloat for the time being. Not for long, though. Not if Indra kept attacking.
As much as he hated it, he would have to use that.
Garuda extended long his neck forward, showering the barrier with streams of liquid light that flowed from his mouth. The attack wasn't strong at all—it would have a hard time killing a second stage Upani—but it was very bright. Any human looking directly at the sky would be blinded instantly. As Indra was blindfolded, it would not affect him, but the confusion of the humans around him would create a diversion and buy Garuda the time he needed.
He turned, grabbed Vinata and leaped off of Carte's atmosphere into space. Once in the void, the force increased twofold in the absence of air resistance and gravity. Still, no matter how exhausted Vinata was, he could easily slip away from the loose hold of Garuda's claws and talons. He just didn't try. He let the both of them fall onto a barren planet. He let Garuda pin him to the cold, solid rock. He let his body nestle limply in the gigantic crater that their crash landing created. He did it without saying a word, with only a hostile glare and a twisted sneer.
Two billion years of progress amounted to nothing. It was as if they'd been taken back to the Seven Thousand Year War all over again.
Honestly, it'd hurt a lot less if you kept running away.
S-C-N-D
Whew, that took all of my effort (and battery). I'm anxious to finish this. If I drag stories on for too long, I tend to abandon them.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review!
-SCND