"Heavenly Emperor Indra!"

"You have offended the Three Aspects Deity, and I curse you and all the Devas!"

"Wealth, honor, luxury, Divine Power, everything you pride yourself on will leave you, and you shall lose your dominion over the Three Realms!"

The earth-shattering roar shook the Heavenly Realm.

Boom!

Dark clouds churned, thunder rumbled, like a great serpent turning in a flood, foretelling the terror of the curse's power.

Whoosh!

Indra opened his eyes, startled awake from his sleep, revealing a face of exhaustion.

"To have another nightmare again!"

He surveyed the dim, abandoned temple. The temple was in ruins, the golden pillars no longer shining, turned into rotting wooden columns; the brilliant lamps had turned to mottled bronze, and even his own once-resplendent Divine Armor had become tattered rags.

All of this originated from the curse of the Raggedy Immortal!

"Why am I so unlucky!"

"To be transported into Indian mythology, of all the figures to become, why did I have to end up as Heavenly Emperor Indra."

"Indra...even a dog could urinate on his head twice!!"

Indra, supporting his chin with one hand, sat on the throne that had become nothing more than a pile of straw, his heart filled with gloom.

In Indian mythology,

Brahma created the world, Vishnu sustained the world, Shiva destroyed the world; these three formed a cycle, eternal and unending, known as the Three Aspects Deity.

Indra and other gods are all descendants of Brahma.

This Raggedy Immortal was an incarnation of the destroyer god, Shiva, endowed with immense cursing power.

The incident began when Shiva gifted the Raggedy Immortal a flower garland.

This garland symbolized auspiciousness.

Shiva told the Raggedy Immortal that he could give the garland to the bravest deity, and the Raggedy Immortal felt Indra was deserving of this title, so he came to the Heavenly Realm, intending to present the garland to Indra.

Who would have known that the Heavenly Realm would be in such a desolate state, with all deities indulging in pleasures, which immediately incensed the Raggedy Immortal.

The Raggedy Immortal, furious, sought out Indra.

Indra let his mount, the White Elephant Airavata, catch the garland.

But the White Elephant failed to catch the garland, which instead fell to the ground, and then the elephant carelessly stepped on it twice after slipping.

The Raggedy Immortal was enraged and immediately pronounced a curse.

He cursed the gods to lose their wealth and power!

As Indra's Divine Power gradually faded, he was transported here, merging with the other.

"The Raggedy Immortal's curse is too strong; now all the gods have greatly diminished Divine Powers."

"The Asuras might well attack the Heavenly Realm!"

"I must think of something!"

Indra furrowed his brow in thought.

Finally, he pushed himself to his feet from the throne that had become straw and walked slowly out of the palace.

Ooh~

The low trumpet of an elephant resonated.

The three-headed, six-tusked White Elephant Airavata approached with heavy steps. It lay prostrate on the ground, lowered its head, stretched out its trunk to Indra's feet, signaling him to mount.

"My poor little elephant!"

"You have forgotten you too were cursed by the Raggedy Immortal and can no longer fly. From now on, I will fly you to the mortal world, and then I will ride you!"

Indra patted Airavata's trunk and said with a sigh.

A mount that can't fly is of no use.

He was afraid of falling from the Heavenly Realm!

The six-tusked White Elephant Airavata, trunk swaying, eyes brimming with tears, nodded tearfully.

Indra nodded and then looked far into the distance with eyes that pierced the endless space toward the far reaches of the Heavenly Realm and leapt toward the Sun God Temple.

He decided to seek out Sun God Surya!

His good brother!

In the beginning, when Brahma created the world, he first birthed six great Immortals from his heart, then created Daksha and Virini who bore fifty daughters.

Daksha's eldest daughter Diti, the second daughter, and the third daughter Aditi, were all wed to the same man.

That was Kashyapa, one of the six great Immortals.

The eldest and the second daughters gave birth to many Asuras; the third daughter gave birth to numerous Devas.

Indra and Surya were sons of Kashyapa and Aditi.

Zoom!

Now, with greatly diminished Divine Power, Indra, fortunate that all the gods were in the Heavenly Realm, finally reached the Sun God Temple before his Divine Power ran out.

The brilliance of the Sun God Temple in the Heavenly Realm was normally the most dazzling, glaringly bright like icy shards, but now it was dark as pitch, like a house crafted from coal.

The numerous Gandharvas who served as divinities sat like beggars under the eaves of the palace.

Indra swept a glance and stepped into the Sun God Temple.

"Indra, you've come!"

Indra looked up and saw a figure as black as coal seated on the stone throne, towering in stature, his dark face like the bottom of a pot, his features indistinct, gone was his usual handsome visage.

Sun God Surya!

Hmm!

This was the image of a solar eclipse.

Whenever the cosmos underwent an anomaly, the radiant body of Sun God Surya would turn black, becoming a little black dot.

Indra was unsurprised by this.

But...

Indra looked at Surya, seated firmly, and his brow slightly furrowed.

"Even if I'm not the Heavenly Emperor, I am still your brother. You should at least stand up to speak."

Indra asked.

Surya was silent for a while, then answered.

"I've forgotten how to walk."

At this, Indra was momentarily speechless. It seemed there was no issue; after all, this fellow rode the Sun God Chariot every day for his work, sprinkling light upon the Earth, flying everywhere in the Heavenly Realm.

Walking was impossible for him, he would never walk in this lifetime.

"I'm already like this and still need to drive the chariot. So tiring. What do you want?!"

Surya complained.

"Now the Devas are cursed, their divine power greatly diminished, weak and powerless. The Asuras might very well attack the Heavenly Realm!"

Indra said in a grave tone.

The Asuras and the Devas were both sons of Jiayebo Immortal.

But the Asuras lived in the barren Earth and were always dissatisfied that the Devas could dwell in the prosperous Heavenly Realm. Now that the Devas were weakened, the Asuras would certainly make their move, leading their armies in an assault on the Heavenly Realm.

The complexion of Surya shifted, and his pitch-black face instantly showed panic.

"What should we do?"

"We can't even muster the strength to lift weapons. If the Asuras attack, won't our entire army be wiped out!"

Surya said in a fluster.

Indra's eyebrows rose slightly.

He wasn't actually interested in the position of the Heavenly Emperor.

He primarily didn't want to become a prisoner, lest he be killed by the Asuras, which would be an unfortunate end!

In Indian mythology, the famous churning of the Milk Sea had not begun, and the immortal Amrita had not yet fallen into the hands of the gods. Those who had not consumed the Amrita did not possess undying bodies.

Death now meant true death!

"I have a way!"

Indra's face became stern, and raising his hand, he pointed at Surya, deep in thought. "Let us practice asceticism, let us mutually engage in asceticism!"

"Asceticism, this is indeed a method!"

Surya nodded.

In this world, suffering has its limits.

If a god or an Asura were to endure suffering far in excess of the predetermined amount, great merit would be earned, and potent Power of Asceticism would be created. This power could shake the world, making it produce flaws.

The divinity must Bestow Blessing upon the ascetic, imparting them with immense strength, to quell this Power of Asceticism and maintain the world's operation.

Such blessings come from the laws of the world and could even surpass the power of the bestowing divinity itself.

At that moment, Indra raised his hand, pointing towards Brahmaloka.

"From this moment on, I, Indra, will practice asceticism towards Sun God Surya. I, Indra, will not drink liquor, not sit on the royal throne, not wear gorgeous Divine Garments, not dwell in shining divine palaces, not squander wealth, not exhibit splendor and luxury, not mount any steeds!"

"Not coveting power, to anyone who seeks the position of the Heavenly Emperor, I shall relinquish it to them," Indra declared solemnly.

Surya sprang to his feet, eyes wide with shock, staring at Indra.

This was a serious gamble!

"You've gone mad, this is the position of the Heavenly Emperor, and yet you undertake such asceticism!"

Surya, reeling, managed to stand up, opening his mouth in astonishment.

Indra could not help but laugh.

Heavenly Emperor!

Not even a dog would want it!