Garuda suppressed his anger, then opened and closed his eyes, bringing his hands together in prayer, his mouth praising the names of the gods.
"Praise to Sun God Surya!"
"Praise to the Fire God!"
"Praise to the Water God!"
...
"Praise to Thunder God Indra!"
As Garuda's voice rose in the Heavenly Realm.
At this time, in many places of the Heavenly Realm, pillars of light rose up, shooting straight to the sky, and then descending in front of Garuda, revealing the true forms of the divine spirits.
Sun God Surya, Fire God Agni, Water God Varuna, Wind God Vayu, Wine God Soma...
One deity after another arrived at the scene, coming to greet Garuda.
Only Indra was nowhere to be seen.
Garuda lowered his hands, his expression stern, his sharp eagle eyes scanning the gods, said, "I am here on the Supreme Lord's command, to invite all deities to meet with the Supreme Lord. Why is the Heavenly Emperor not present?"
The gods looked at each other, glancing to and fro.
Finally, Sun God Surya stepped forward and said, "Indra is in ascetic meditation!"
He himself was just about to enter meditation, but he had to go and pull the chariot, and he simply didn't have the leisure to meditate, so he had given up the idea.
Hearing this, Garuda's brow furrowed deeply.
He looked toward the Heavenly Emperor's Temple, huffed lightly, and began to walk forward: "This is the Supreme Lord's summons, and he disregards it entirely, showing no respect for the Supreme Lord. The Heavenly Realm has become like this because of him."
None of the gods spoke, falling into silence.
As brothers, they all knew each other's virtues very well; it was because Indra had been in a hurry to attend the assembly in the Heavenly Realm that he had slighted the Raggedy Immortal.
Given the situation at the time, they would have probably done the same.
Arrogance is a divine privilege, and shouldn't be too harshly criticized!
Besides, if they caused trouble next time, there was a give-and-take; they could talk and negotiate.
"Don't rush, we can wait a little longer!"
Sun God Surya said.
"That's right! Ascetic meditation is part of the Righteous Law of the universe, we should still respect that!" Wine God Soma also nodded and said.
Once these two spoke up, the other gods immediately joined in agreement.
"Indeed, I agree, let's wait a bit more!" Water God Varuna said.
"I feel the same way!"
the Fire God said, with a clenched fist.
Garuda watched the gods, frowning slightly.
If the gods all said so, he could hardly oppose them.
So he sat cross-legged on the ground and said, "Then let's wait a little longer, just a short while!"
...
Time flew by.
There is no day or night in the Heavenly Realm, and time flows like water.
Boom!
Suddenly, deafening thunderclaps echoed throughout the Heavenly Realm.
In an instant, Garuda opened his eyes, his original joyful expression darkening, fuelled by anger.
In his meditation, he dreamt of Lord Vishnu, and just as the Supreme Lord was about to speak, the thunder interrupted his meditation, waking him.
"Praise to Lord Vishnu!"
Garuda suppressed his anger, praising the Lord, and then stood up, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.
At this moment, turning his head to look at the surrounding deities, he saw gods lying or sprawling around him, with their clothes in even greater disrepair, their divine shimmer gone, and the scent that once clung to their bodies completely vanished.
The curse had worsened!
"Ah!"
"What time is it now!"
Garuda exclaimed in shock.
He immediately realized that he had meditated for too long and began to calculate the time with his fingers.
"Two hundred and fifty years!"
Garuda's eyes widened as he shouted aloud.
The surrounding gods also awoke from their meditation, immediately becoming aware of their own state.
The next moment, they looked up at the Heavenly Emperor's Temple, only to see the Power of Asceticism emanating, turning into lightning and Shooting in All Directions, causing thunder to roar in the Heavenly Realm.
The recent thunder had evidently originated here!
"Indra, you've really angered me now!"
"If it weren't for your asceticism, how could I have possibly neglected the Supreme Lord's command!"
Garuda cried out in anger.
In this moment, he paid no mind to anything else, flapping his wings furiously as he flew towards the Heavenly Emperor's Temple in unbridled rage.
The gods exchanged glances, realizing something was wrong, and hurriedly followed.
At this time, in front of the Heavenly Emperor's Temple.
Garuda beat his massive wings, his giant feathers darkening the sky, instantly casting the heavens in shadow, as fierce winds roared towards what had now turned into a thatched roof in front of the temple.
The Gandharvas around them were terrified, scrambling to flee and tumbling over each other as they sought refuge behind the other gods.
Boom!
The pitch-black storm that blotted out the sun came to an abrupt halt in front of the thatched hut.
Invisible bolts of indescribable lightning were bursting forth, shooting up into the heavens, and amid the thunderous roars, transformed into countless dragon-snakes hissing, instantly shattering the black winds.
"I come on the command of Lord Vishnu, Indra, come out at once, I know you're inside!"
"Do you dare to provoke the Raggedy Immortal, do you dare to come out!"
Garuda's wings furiously flapped.
As one of Vishnu's most devout followers, his divine power was also immensely strong, and the storm he brought caused the entire Heavenly Realm to shake.
"Stop! Just stop!"
Wind God Vayu, with a pained expression, quickly shouted.
Several brothers clung to each other, propping up the last of their divine power, forming a divine shield that struggled to withstand Garuda's fierce winds.
"We can talk it over slowly; we're about to give out!"
Sun God Surya wobbled, waving his hands repeatedly.
The divine shield was on the verge of collapse.
The turbulence in the Heavenly Realm immediately caught the attention of countless onlookers.
In Brahmaloka, Brahma and Goddess Saraswati sat on lotuses, looking down upon the Heavenly Realm below.
Above the Milk Sea, Vishnu, holding the Mysterious Wheel of Sight, looked up.
Within Kailash, Shiva slowly opened his eyes.
Boom!
The storm raged wildly, entering every gap, and the entire thatched shelter was torn open by the storm, revealing Indra meditating in a reclined position inside.
"Indra!"
Garuda bellowed again as the howling wind surged toward him.
Whoosh!
However, filtered by the power of asceticism, the force of the storm turned into a gentle breeze that, carrying a hint of coolness, lightly brushed against his chest.
Yawn~
Indra slowly yawned, scratching his chest as he fumbled about, trying to sit up with his body swaying and his eyes groggily opening.
Suddenly, the rolling black hurricanes in the sky caught his eyes.
"Hmm?"
Indra tilted his head and rubbed his eyes until the world around him finally came into focus.
Winds, fierce winds, and hurricanes!
There was wind everywhere, and there was a bird-man staring intently at him!
"Garuda!"
Indra came to his senses, muttering this name.
"Indra, Lord Vishnu has summoned you, and you've ignored him completely, you've disrespected the Supreme Lord," Garuda said as he landed forcefully and approached with an intimidating aura.
The gods immediately stepped forward to intervene.
Trumpet!
Indra's White Elephant Airavata charged forward with large strides, its trunk twisted up to spray a jet of water into the sky before it headed toward Garuda.
Garuda didn't step back but continued to advance, raising his hand as if to shove Airavata.
But his hand hadn't even touched Airavata.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, Airavata's massive form disappeared.
Indra paused, looking around, bewildered.
The elephant? What about my elephant?
As the gods stood dumbfounded, the Wine God Soma, who had been standing next to Garuda, suddenly cried out in surprise, his skin instantly becoming transparent, and then he disappeared from the Heavenly Realm.
Whoosh!
"What?"
Garuda stared at his own hand in shock, then looked around, to see everyone else looking at him with horror.
"Garuda, you wouldn't have asked the Supreme Lord for a blessing that destroys anyone you touch, would you!" Sun God Surya took two steps back, eyeing Garuda warily.
The other gods looked on with suspicion.
"I didn't touch them!"
"It wasn't me, I swear!" Garuda hastily retracted his hand as he protested.
Indra blinked, finally catching on.
"Airavata is gone."
"Soma, as the god of wine and the Moon God, represents wealth, and with the disappearance of Goddess Lakshmi, the embodiment of wealth, they too vanished, all plummeting into the Milk Sea."