Arya leaned forward, his sunglasses reflecting the ocean. "When I defeated and sealed him, the sword couldn't hold its form anymore. It shattered, and the 9 Sovereigns took their original shapes and scattered around Xeria."
"And that's your mission too," Arya said, pointing a finger at me. "You have to find these things and merge them to rebuild the sword, or use them as they are, it's all your choice. But if Leonis collects them first, then you are dead."
I rubbed my temples. A literal scavenger hunt for nine weapons of mass destruction. Great.
"How am I supposed to find them?" I asked, already dreading the logistics of searching an entire planet.
"Don't worry, I have one of them," Arya said brightly. "Here you go."
He casually raised his hand. The air around us violently shifted. He summoned a bow that emitted such an enormous aura of power that it actually made my Draconic core tremble.
"This is the legendary bow used by the God of Destruction himself," Arya announced, his voice dropping into a reverent tone, "but broken by one of the incarnations of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu. This is..."
My eyes gleamed with pure, unfiltered excitement. "This is?" I breathed, my inner Indian mythology nerd absolutely geeking out.
"The legendary bow of destruction, Pinaka of Lord Shiva," Arya declared.
My CEO-brain immediately fact-checked the lore. "But it was broken by Lord Rama, wasn't it?" I asked. You can't just hand me a broken piece of wood... or bones and call it a divine weapon.
"Yeah," Arya nodded nonchalantly. "But we have an amazing weaponsmith cum welder, Vishwakarma. God of Architecture and weapon-craft. He is the one who makes weapons and structures for gods."
(Divine duct tape and a godly welder. Perfect. Nothing like refurbished mythological artillery to save the world).
"Alright, I'll take it," I said, reaching out and gripping the ancient wood... or whatever it was made of.
The moment my fingers closed around the grip, a huge amount of energy rushed through my body. It was a torrential flood of pure, destructive mana. My white hair floated into the air, defying gravity, and my eyes glowed blindingly bright.
"This power..." I gasped, marveling at the sheer density of it. "It is so huge, I can feel the power surging through my body."
The euphoria lasted exactly five seconds before my pragmatic mind latched onto a glaring loophole in this entire setup. I narrowed my eyes, giving the First King a highly suspicious face.
"Hey!" I barked, pointing the Pinaka right at his Hawaiian shirt. "You have defeated him once, then why don't you do that again, huh?"
Arya didn't even flinch. He just laid back down on his beach mat, adjusting his sunglasses.
"Because now it's your turn, my turn is over," Arya yawned lazily. "And I need a rest now, man. I deserve it after living there for more than a thousand years."
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Wait," I frowned, the timeline suddenly clicking in my head. "More than a 1000? What place is this exactly, and who are you now?"
"Take it easy, bruh," Arya laughed, holding his hands up defensively. "You are asking so fast. Yes, more than a thousand. I had to reach the Saint level to defeat him. And this place? This is my planet that I made, and I'm a god now."
My brain completely stalled.
"God?" I choked out, my eyes going wide. "What God? How God?"
Arya leaned back on his mat, looking nostalgic. "After I defeated the Demon King, I united all the kingdoms that had human civilizations living in them. I made a federation where kings of all kingdoms will help each other, implementing many policies. Today, there are five empires in the world, including Razia."
(Inner monologue: A global merger, monopolizing the geopolitical landscape, and establishing a unified board of directors. I respect the hustle.)
"I became the Emperor, reached the absolute pinnacle of cultivation, and eventually reached the gods' realm, where I won the tournament of gods," Arya explained casually.
(So heaven is literally just another tournament arc. Classic).
"They asked me what boon I want," Arya continued, a massive grin spreading across his face. "I asked for eternal fun and enjoyment. So they made me the God of..." He paused, miming a drumroll on his knees. "...Enjoyment! Ta-dah!"
I stared at him blankly. "So, what can you do or grant to your followers?"
An incredibly mischievous, borderline evil expression crossed Arya's face as he lowered his sunglasses. "Oh! I can grant my followers all the joy that he can not even imagine. Like a lot of fun, girls, etc. If you ever need something like these..."
I slowly lowered the divine bow, my expression completely deadpan.
"Now you seem to be like a jerk to me," I stated bluntly.(Ah... This confirms he was an engineer, a true NEET in that species, though not all are like that.)
"What do you mean?" Arya scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Whatever, let go of it. I have something else to tell you."
"What?" I asked, instantly on guard.
"It's that you can't use that bow," Arya pointed at the Pinaka. "And in your world, you will need a whole lot of practice to hold it."
"Why?" I frowned.
"Let me tell you something about it," Arya said, sitting up. "This bow was made by Vishwakarma using the bones of Maharishi Dadhichi. It weighs over 100 kg. And you can't use its full power as it can only be used with some special chants, chants to summon the astras. It can be summoned whenever you want it with a chant, and can disappear into thin air."
(Over a hundred kilos? I'm twelve. If I try to carry that thing manually, my spine will snap like a dry twig).
"How am I supposed to find those chants?" I asked, rubbing my temples.
"Don't worry," Arya smiled. "Luckily you're in the right kingdom. Razia's palace consists of some, and others are in other palaces and shrines. Find them, as I don't remember where they are."
I sighed. A massive, kingdom-spanning fetch quest. Still, a piece of a god-killing weapon was a massive W for the inventory.
"You know what," I said, offering him a genuine nod. "I thought you could have helped me less, but you helped a great deal. Thanks!"
"Yeah, welcome," Arya replied, his voice completely distracted.
I looked up. He wasn't even looking at me. He was staring past my shoulder at a beautiful girl walking down the beach in the distance.
(Seriously? The world is ending, and the First King is busy being a beach bum).
He suddenly shook his head, coming back to his senses. "Now you should go."
He casually raised his hand, pointing it at me. Instantly, my body began to turn translucent. I was fading away.
"And also remember," Arya called out, his voice dropping its playful tone for a fleeting second. "That the world that you have to save is very close to god, and you will find out the reason soon. All the best."
Before I could ask what the hell that ominous riddle meant, the tropical sun, the crashing waves, and the Hawaiian-shirt-wearing deity all dissolved into a blinding light.
I gasped, my eyes snapping open.
The warmth of the sun was gone, replaced by the freezing night air. I pushed myself up from the cold, hard sand. I was back in the Colosseum, sitting right next to the glowing Shivalinga.
I looked down at my hands. The physical bow wasn't there, but deep within my spiritual space, I could feel a dormant, unimaginably dense weight resting quietly.
"Right," I muttered, brushing the sand off my Azure Frost jacket. "It wasn't a dream."
I did butcher a good pop song. And I did meet the most useless gods of all mythologies and fictions I have ever heard or read about. Don't worry girls, I'll keep checking on that creep so he doesn't appear under your bed.
God of Enjoyment, more like God of Indecency and Creeps.
Whatever I must get back before anyone realises I am missing. Gotta go back to sleep before I butcher any other songs. Any suggestions which should be next?