Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Am Supreme
“……”
Though struck by Mara’s arrow, nothing happened to the Sage.
Outwardly, at least, no change had taken place.
Of course, within him—unseen—a meaningful shift had occurred, yet it was nothing he needed to concern himself with at the moment.
“……So in this wretched state, all it can do is amplify the emotion of lust?”
Even in his dying moments, Mara had called upon the power of his previous life, yet it had failed to fully activate.
Unable to designate a clear target, the effect amounted to little more than a permanent heightening of sexual desire.
And even that was something a being of the Sage’s divine rank could easily bring under control.
In truth, it had inflicted no damage at all.
“This…… will serve as a useful reference. More importantly, what did you mean by those words just now?”
The power of inevitable striking—neither blockable nor avoidable—was intriguing, yet what truly occupied the Sage’s mind was the claim Mara had just uttered.
That the Sage’s kingdom would fall, and his wife would be violated.
“It is a future that has yet to come to pass.”
“I see. Understood. So you possess a power that allows you to glimpse the future in part?”
The Sage’s eyes shone blue.
His “eyes” clearly pierced through the nature of Mara’s authority.
“You…… possess special eyes.”
Even as they spoke, more than half of Mara’s body had already vanished.
Even if a god of healing were to arrive, saving Mara would be nearly impossible.
The only other option would be to mix the remnants of his divinity and resurrect him in the manner of Vishnu—yet, as precedent had already shown, the result would be an entirely different being who merely possessed similar divinity.
“……Do not rejoice too soon. The price for straying from fate is always steep.”
“Fate?”
“By now I understand. You have made a grave mistake. No matter the sacrifice required, the ‘Will of Order’ will strive to return destiny to its proper course.”
“And what is this ‘Will of Order’?”
At Mara’s cryptic words, the Sage tilted his head.
He roughly grasped that this “Will of Order” would move to stop him, yet he could not tell whether the phrase was metaphorical, referred to some faction, or pointed to something else entirely.
“Wait, and you will know. So do not rejoice. The path you have walked…… the karma you have accumulated will ultimately plunge you into affliction……”
That was the end.
Mara vanished without a trace.
The slaves he had commanded likewise disappeared completely along with their master.
With an unsettled feeling, the Sage stood still, lost in thought, when from the far side Mara’s three daughters flew toward him.
“We foolish sisters offer our congratulations upon the birth of a great god.”
They knelt and paid their respects.
To these women who had always been gods yet crawled at the very bottom, it mattered not in the least whether their counterpart had once been human.
Moreover, the divine rank they sensed from the Sage clearly surpassed that of their father.
It was enough to rival even a Lokapala.
“……”
The Sage’s gaze suddenly drifted to Tana.
Having just finished bathing, she carried a pleasant fragrance.
Soft skin, full breasts, shapely legs, and……
“Hooo……”
The Sage drew a deep breath and cast away the impure desire.
He had no wish to be needlessly swayed.
“Congratulations are unnecessary. More importantly, how do I leave this place?”
“I can do it.”
The youngest, Raga, opened a dimensional gate.
Through it, the Sage returned to the forest where he had originally dwelled.
Not even a full day had passed since his departure, yet the scent of nature he breathed for the first time since becoming a god felt somehow different from before.
The sisters stood fidgeting as they watched him.
“You have worked hard.”
The Sage spoke suddenly.
“You as well—step out from your father’s shadow and find a path of your own.”
“Ah……”
At those words, the sisters shed tears.
They bowed deeply to the Sage in gratitude.
“You must be tired. Go and rest.”
“Um…… about that……”
Raga spoke with difficulty.
“Might we stay here for just a little while?”
“We have nowhere else to go, you see.”
“Girls.”
Arati nudged them from the side, while Tana quietly rebuked her younger sisters.
The Sage smiled and answered.
“No.”
Having completed his training, the Sage emerged from the forest.
He stood before the disciples who had followed him, and every one of them, overwhelmed by his presence, dropped to their knees.
Out of consideration, the Sage concealed the divinity radiating from his body.
“Master, what on earth has……”
One of the disciples asked in a trembling voice.
The Sage pointed to that disciple and explained kindly.
“Through my training I have been able to advance to a higher existence. Therefore I no longer intend to remain in this place.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I will depart for the divine realm. There I shall once more continue the endless struggle.”
“Ohh!!”
The disciples were moved.
It was a familiar sight to the Sage.
For some reason, whenever he spoke, his disciples’ eyes would sparkle and they would fall into admiration.
“Therefore, before I leave, I shall bestow upon you the teachings of all that I have learned until now.”
““Ah, O great Sage!!”“
“……”
The Sage truly hoped that even one among his disciples might set foot upon the same realm as himself.
Thus he strove to teach those who followed him as much of what he knew as possible.
Yet the single truth he realized while instructing them over the course of three months was this:
“Impossible.”
Regrettably, the disciples’ talent could not even reach the tip of the Sage’s toes.
Only someone on the level of the six Shramanas he had previously fought would be capable of comprehending the teachings he imparted.
That fact was deeply disappointing, yet conversely, had he not defeated them, the Sage would never have reached this point.
“……Still, there is a chance someone may yet arrive here.”
The Sage even went so far as to create books with his own hands, so that his disciples might spread his teachings.
Because of this, wars would one day break out across the world between those who had ascended from humanity to godhood and those who had been gods from birth—but that was a tale for the distant future.
“Is there anything greatly troubling you?”
The Sage visited his cousin, who had become king and was busy with each passing day.
“Elder Brother?”
His younger cousin sensed that something about the Sage had changed.
He could not put it into precise words, yet the man no longer seemed human in the least.
“There is no need to hide it.”
Before his cousin, the Sage revealed his divinity.
Faced with a presence that defied comprehension, the cousin felt fear and fell to his knees.
Only after the Sage concealed his divinity again could the cousin finally manage to speak.
“……Who are you?”
“I am your cousin Siddhartha. Of late I have been called, rather excessively, the Sage.”
“But a human cannot possess such an aura……”
“As you say, I have transcended humanity. Yet I have no intention of involving myself in worldly affairs one way or another, and so I plan to leave this place soon. I came to speak with you about that.”
At those words, his cousin’s mind snapped into sharp focus.
The practical problems surrounding him rose to the surface.
“But if Elder Brother leaves……”
“Do not worry. There are matters that concern me as well, so I will settle them before I go. More importantly, where is the crown princess? Or rather, she is no longer the crown princess. In any case, I wish to bid the princess farewell in advance……”
“Ah, about that. Lady Yasodhara is currently……”
His cousin trailed off.
Cold sweat even beaded on his brow; for some reason he looked thoroughly awkward.
There was surely something he felt guilty about.
Something like an “affair,” for instance.
Not that I particularly care.
Using his “eyes” would have allowed him to discern the other’s intentions with perfect clarity, yet the Sage deliberately refrained.
They had long since divorced; he had simply never announced it out of regard for the princess’s honor.
Whoever the princess met, the Sage had neither the right nor the face to interfere.
“I understand. There is still time remaining, after all. Then where is Devadatta? Someone of his caliber at least ought to be able to grasp my teachings, yet I have scarcely seen him.”
“That is…… Lord Devadatta is……”
“?”
Perhaps it was fortunate for his cousin.
At that very moment a servant came running with urgent news.
“Disaster! The Kosala Kingdom has once again led its soldiers in an invasion!!”
Hearing those words, the Sage smiled.
He had a problem that needed settling, and the very cause of that problem had walked in of its own accord—there was no reason for his mood not to improve.
“How convenient.”
In any case, the Kosala Kingdom was no match for him.
No matter how numerous their forces, they were still only a human army.
He did not take the potential of humanity itself lightly, yet an army composed solely of the human race could never hope to stop a god.
Thinking thus, the Sage flew straight to the battlefield where the Kosala Kingdom was advancing.