"How do you not know about Devarshies?", Rudy was quite impressed by my ignorance, and also seemed a bit skeptical.
"I just don't know.", I replied honestly.
According to Rudy, Devarshies were humans who were born with the 'protection' of the divine. They always had remarkable control over Prana and almost always became powerful Sages.
"There are many divine races like Asuras, Devas, and Yakshas.", Rudy said after his short explanation of the Devarshies.
"So you are a Devarshi?", I asked.
"Uhmm!", he neither accepted nor declined.
"... But I heard Yakshas were a brother race of the Rakshasas? How can they be called divine races?"
~What the heck! We are nothing like those Rakshasas.~
One of the Yaksha named Klei revealed itself. He was sitting on Rudy's shoulder and was staring at the loaf of bread I had just heated for Savy. He genuinely seemed annoyed that I called his race a brother race of the Rakshasas.
~Look, boy...~ Klei used his magic to fly a loaf of bread from the bag.
(*katchak!*)
He yanked his palm open and revealed his long nails, and with only a slight flick of his finger, he divided the loaf of bread flying in mid-air into two parts.
~The world is mainly divided into two realms: The "Divine Realm" is where divine races reside like the Devas and the Asuras, whereas mortal races like Humans and Rakshasas live in the "Mortal Realm"~
I was carefully listening to Klei's explanation as if I was a toddler watching TV for the first time.
~Yakshas are special though, we are the spawn of Nature. Although we might not live in Divine Realm, we are of higher spiritual awareness than mortals and hence our Divine status~
"So you can make Devarshies?", my questions remained unanswered.
Was I a Devarshi? Did I have that 'protection'?
~Divine races can only form a 'contract' with a Devarshi not create one~
I was scratching my head like a monkey at this point.
~However, you are not a Devarshi, so you don't need to know anymore~
"What do you mean?"
~...(*yawn*)... means you are just a weak human, kaekaekae!~
Even though Klei was yawning profusely and seemed generally uninterested in talking further, I felt that he was still watching me carefully. It was as if he was figuring out how a new toy worked.
"Don't underestimate me Yaksha!", I said, trying to save some face for myself.
It was one matter for children to not know the extent of my powers, but I had nothing to fear from the Yaksha.
~Don't feel too proud of your sixth sense boy! Even a newborn Yaksha is better at using his or her sixth sense~
I was appalled. My third eye was the most powerful technique in the entirety of creation, yet Klei didn't even put it in his eyes.
"...", I had no response to Klei's provocation.
"Btw, Why are you scared of the Police?", I threw the question at Rudy to divert from the topic. It was still not clear whether I could trust the Yakshas or not, so it was better to not reveal too much information about myself or the third eye.
"That...", I could see fear rising on Savy's face. He looked at Rudy for answers.
"It is because of me.", Rudy replied.
"Why?"
"Because I'm a Devarshi, why else?"
"Shouldn't being a Devarshi be a good thing? You will become very powerful, no?"
"Not always"
I waited for him to explain further, but he went silent.
'WOULD YOU CARE TO ELABORATE!!', I was exploding with frustration inside. 'Why are children so difficult?', I facepalmed.
"So?", I said reluctantly.
"Devarshies are a double edge sword. On one hand, they are powerful because they get an early 'Diksha' meaning they are able to channel Prana, but on the other, there is a chance that they might become a crazy schizophrenic because of the Prana overload."
"You don't look crazy to me.", I joked.
"That's because I haven't been initiated yet.", he replied seriously.
"Ohh, does that mean there is a risk of you losing your mind.", I activated the third eye to see whether something was wrong with Rudy's body.
~Ughh!! Stop using your sixth sense already~, Klei said annoyingly.
'I thought no one could tell when I used my third eye, but Yakshas seemed to be different. I need to be more careful in the future
~It's for your own good that you don't use it ...~
Even though it sounded like a threat, I didn't feel like Klei was threatening me.
~ ...Did you forget you bled your eyeballs just an hour ago?~
"I bled because you attacked me", I said with protest.
~Yukk! Why would I want to see bleeding eyeballs? I only put some divine pressure on you and nothing else.~
Klei explained that because my body couldn't handle the powers of my Third Eye, there was a backlash and warned me from using it in future.
````````````````
"I just don't know", that was his response to Devarshies.
How can he not know about the traitors of human society?
I wanted to expose his bigotry, but looking at my brothers I could not bring myself to break their hearts. It was the first time I had seen Savy smile like that after a year.
Initially, I thought that he had an ulterior motive in sharing his food, but soon it got weirder. The way he talked to us and the way he asked the question, felt more like a genuine interest than an interrogation.
Both Savy and Parakram have taken a liking to him and are not even the slightest bit wary of his intentions, but I as their big brother can't get swayed by his act.
I asked Klei again and again, but every time I got a response from him that this person wasn't lying.
He hasn't lied a single time, but how can that be possible? How can he not lie when he is meeting us for the first time?
How can someone not hate and get disgusted by Devarshies?
'Was my whole life just a lie?', I wanted to scream out.
'Why are you so kind to some beggars you met for the first time?', I wanted to ask him but couldn't.
'Why are you smiling at us like that? Aren't we filthy and impure?', I wanted to hit the young master in front of me, who was unsuspectingly conversing with a Yaksha.
Yakshas were considered evil because they were known as the brother race of the Rakshasa - a demonic man-eating race, how is he talking to a Yaksha as if it is normal?
I thought that he was only acting, but then he surprised me again and again.
I felt happy when he said he might be a Devarshi, all my doubts had disappeared just like that, but then Klei burst my bubble. He said that he didn't have the 'protection'.
He isn't a Devarshi, but then why didn't he hand me over to the authorities?
"What is your name?", I asked him finally.
"It's Vihaan, but you can also can me brother, just like Savy", he said while patting Savy's head affectionately.
'Brother?', the last time I called someone elder brother I had to burn his body with my own hands.
"You aren't that older than me.", I replied.
"Hey! I'm still your elder. Unlike you, who is just a toddler."
"I will be 9 years old this summer. There isn't much of a difference."
"Ohh!", he chuckled slightly, which annoyed me for some reason.
"...So, you guys, do you have a home? where do you live?" He asked politely.
"None of your business!", I retorted with a snide remark.
It would be trouble if somebody found out that two orphans and a Devarshi were hiding in the city stealing people's food.
"Okay, I won't ask. If you want though, you are welcome to stay the night with me", he casually said.
"Can we?", Savy was the first one to reply to his invitation. It was the first time I had seen Savy so happy in a long while, normally, she is too shy to open up to anyone.
Frankly speaking, it wasn't a bad offer. I was also worried about letting Savy and Parakram sleep on the cold floor, their six-year-old bodies required more care than that. But how could I accept his gratitude so shamelessly? We had already eaten his food and despite us trying to steal his belongings, he had shown great kindness.
'Nothing in the world is free', I thought.
I convinced myself that accepting Vihaan's help was not the right thing to do. Also, I had Yakshas who could help elevate the cold in the basement to some degrees.
"Savy, we can't. Brother Vihaan must have his own circumstances.", I tried to discourage Savy with a heavy heart.
'I'm sorry that your brother is such a useless person.'
"Actually, I don't really mind.", he said thoughtlessly. It was as if he wasn't the least bit wary of us who had come to him with the intentions of robbing him.
"No, we don't want to trouble your family. Thank you for the offer though". I don't know why but I became embarrassed as I thanked him.
"I don't have a family. I live in an Inn down the road."
"Inn?", I spoke out without thinking.
'Isn't he a young master of some big family?'
"Yeah! Why? You can't go to Inns either?"
"No... It's not that, but...", I was speechless. This person wasn't some Novie Richie like I had thought, but an orphan just like us.
``````````````````
It took a lot of small talks to convince Rudy to come with me to the Inn to stay the night. I felt relieved that they would be sleeping comfortably for at least one night.
'but what should I do now? I wanted to go to Prayag and take admission in Sage's academy!'
I took out the ID card, thinking about my future actions.
[[[
Vihaan Puru
12 Years Old
Level 2 Sage
]]]