Dastan woke up with a groggy sense of self after a day. He tried to sit upright only to fail. Sarah pinned all his limbs with hers and slept with her head on his chest to ensure she woke up when he does. And she won.
Sarah unpinned him and touched all over his body while examining his condition using electroreception. She breathed a sigh of relief at his normal health.
" I was scared when you suddenly collapsed, finally, I can relax now that you are fine, " " Where are we ? this place looks unfamiliar. where did you get these black robes ? "
" When the snake entered your body, the parallel space started to collapse and ejected us out. The instant we hit the floor, all the corpses vanished into dots of light and black robes for both of us appeared out of thin air. I swapped our clothes as they were torn and stinking. After that, exhausted, I pinned you and collapsed as well, falling asleep on your chest, " she answered in earnest.
" Then, this place would be..... " " MASTER, THIS IS THE REAL SHRINE OF GARUDA, THE PREVIOUS FOLDED SPACE WAS MY CREATION TO LURE AND EAT UNSUSPECTING PEOPLE. " spoke the snake head popping out of Dastan's back. " It was you!! "x2
" YES, MASTER, THE AIRAVATA DIVINE FLAMES AND THE BLACK LOTUS DEMONIC FLAMES ARE BOTH ME, TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN. SEVERAL DECADES AGO, I WAS TORN IN HALF BY MY FOES. THEY THOUGHT I DIED BUT I WAS TORN MENTALLY INTO DEMONIC AND DIVINE FLAMES INSTEAD. BY REUNITING MY HALVES, YOU PAVED WAY FOR MY RESURRECTION. " "OH... "x2
" So this is the real shrine, no wonder I sense such a large amount of divine aura, it feels wonderful, " " Where are our shoes ? " " Oh. they disappeared when we were thrown out, " " WE ARE IN A SHRINE, ITS NATURAL THAT YOU SHOULD ENTER WITHOUT FOOTWEAR. THIS TEMPLE IS PROTECTED BY DEITIES AND DIVINE ENERGIES ALL THE TIME. WE MUST RESPECT THEIR RULES. " the hydra popped out as well. " INDEED, IF NOT FOR THE PERMISSION OF LORD GARUDA, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CREATE THAT PARALLEL SPACE OR SURVIVE FOR THIS LONG. I MUST'VE SERVED AS A TRIAL TO ALLOW ONLY THOSE WHO DESERVE TO LAY EYES ON LORD GARUDA. " " Hmm,... "x2.
They entered the huge two leafed door that was opened by some invisible force. The scene in front of them was beautiful. Huge pillars dozens of meters high supported a vast ceiling engraved with pure silver depicting various scenes of ancient history. The pillars engraved with pure gold carvings depicted several ancient and mystical creatures, both flora and fauna, never seen prior. The temple was filled with reverberations of some ancient sounds that soothed their hearts. At the end of the massive hall was a statue that was as high as the roof.
It was a statue of a man sitting cross-legged over a grass mat joining his hands in a namaste position. His legs were like an eagle's with sharp talons, his nose was an eagle's beak. He was adorned with various ornaments and oddly, snakes. His eyes were half closed as if in penance.
The statue was so vivid and lifelike, it evoked devotion from the depths of the heart. It was painted in bright colors and the ornaments were made of real gold. The statue was the source of divine aura.
The duo knelt on the ground, joined their hands in prayer and closed their eyes while bowing their heads down. They made a sincere but simple prayer while maintaining silence. The duo felt refreshed and contented.
Just as they were about to leave the shrine, the statue shone in brilliant gold and two half open eagle eyes appeared in front of it. A voice that sounded like an ancient gong spoke to them " Children with pure and devoted hearts, I am Garuda, a humble servant of Almighty God, in response to your prayers, I shall bestow one true wish of thee within my power. "
The duo glanced at the golden eyes for a while before kneeling down and cupping their hands. The hydra and the sidewinder bowed their heads as well. " Lord Garuda, we are thankful for your magnanimity but, we don't require anything. Please bestow your blessings upon us instead. "
" Humble and well disciplined, I admire your parents and teachers, well, since you insist, I shall give my blessings in the form of two gifts. First, Sarah, step forward. "
" Yes, lord Garuda. " Sarah stepped forward and knelt. A ray of golden light entered her forehead. " That is a sliver of my origin energy, whenever in a situation that threatens you or your loved ones, use it to protect what's dear to you. Remember, follow your heart, not your mind. Dastan, step forward. "
Dastan stepped forward and knelt as well. A ray of sunshine entered his forehead. " This is a set of skills that I have personally forged to bestow upon a deserving one. Use them wisely. Both of you have been given a small strand of my bloodline. It shall give you the divine aura I possess and resistance to all the poisons that ever existed. I removed the dissonance between your bodies and spirits that arose from the body fortification and refined them so that the residual aura of the nine elemental body is erased. From now, you both possess divine protection of mine in the form of divine bodies. Your bodies shall be refined by my bloodline over and over till you attain pure divine bodies in the long run. " spoke the voice. The eyes then vanished, so did the voice.
Bowing their heads once again, the duo turned around and left the shrine. The arid desert now felt different from before. All the denizens of the desert assembled and bowed their heads to the duo while standing on either sides of the path. They remained as such until the duo left the desert and reached Zarina.