Standing before them was a being dressed in red garments surrounded by a garland of flames. His skin was dark green in color and he had four arms which were bulging with explosive strength. He glared at the three with a wrathful expression on his face as he spoke, “Who among you is trying to mess with my realm?”

His voice was full of authority that would have made lesser people want to comply with his orders.

His voice, however, fell onto deaf ears as Nian and Vihaan were slack-jawed as they gawped the being in disbelief.

This…

This is King Yama?

Even Sarius was astonished by the Hindu god of death for a split second before regaining his calm right away.

Yama's appearance normally would've been pretty intimidating…

… Had it not been for his height.

The god was a midget! He was just half as tall as Vihaan who was still a child!

One has to keep in mind that gods would usually present themselves in the best manner possible to either instill fear, awe or loyalty to mortals. They have an image to maintain so imagine their surprise with a well-known god in the Hindu Pantheon showing himself in such a way.

“Is noble perhaps the respectable king Yama?”

Although Vihaan was nonplussed, he didn't forget his respectfulness which had somewhat become his second nature thanks to his years of experience of dealing with pompous nobles.

The god turned his gaze to the boy and was surprised.

“So I see.”

Understanding dawned on his face as he glanced briefly at Sarius and then to the mound.

“I was wondering why a child like you has caught the attention of a few divine beings. Child, it turns out you are someone blessed by Shiva!”

“M-Me?!” Vihaan pointed a finger at himself in shock.

The god was about to respond when they heard a loud laugh from a certain creature.

“Hahaha! Fuck! This midget is Yama?! Hahaha, this is so funny! The so-called Hindu god of death is a midget! Hahaha!”

Sarius’ eyebrows twitched violently since he felt Nian’s action was making him lose face in front of his fellow god. Yama’s eyebrows were similarly twitching even more so than Sarius’ since he was the target of ridicule of the beast.

“Haha, don’t you think he looks funny?” Nian nudged Sarius and didn’t notice that the youth was just a few moments away from lashing out at him. “He has some grand title yet he’s just a—BWEHH!”

Yama finally had enough as he moved in front of the beast and slapped the fuck out of him, sending him flying for several miles before a loud sound, akin to that of an explosion, was heard in the distance.

Vihaan and the two dogs who had become unusually quiet since Yama’s arrival went pale: Vihaan, since he didn’t expect such power coming from someone so small and; the dogs because they’ve experienced the same from Yama long ago.

Sarius had seen the power behind that slap and while it was strong, it wasn't enough to kill Nian so the youth wasn't worried and instead, directed his full attention to Yama.

With a still twitching brow, the god of death squinted at Sarius.

“You sure have an unruly beast.”

“I apologize on his behalf. I didn't have much opportunity to educate him.” Sarius was ashamed.

He had been too lenient on Nian and looked at what it got him? 

An embarrassment to his fellow god.

Yama snorted.

“Beasts like that won't listen to words. You make them listen through fear.”

One of his four arms pointed to the two dogs.

“See them? They weren't always like that. Now? They don't even dare let out a bark in my presence.

Sarius and Vihaan sweatdropped as said dogs had their heads down, whimpering like two abused domesticated pets.

“But I digress. It's you who was going to revive the woman right? The boy and the beast certainly don't have the ability to do so.”

Sarius smiled. 

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“And I assume you're here to stop me?”

Yama growled in annoyance. “First, Shiva. Now, you? Seriously, do people take me for a fool?”

He nearly raged at the thought of Markandeya and Shiva.

Markandeya was the son of the great sage, Mrikandu rishi and his wife, Marudmati. The two didn't have any sons and so, the sage prayed to Shiva. Shiva gave him a choice. He could either have a wise and virtuous son that will only live for 16 years or a dull-witted and unfilial one that will live for many years. Mrikandu rishi chose the first option and a son named Markandeya was born.

Markandeya grew up to be a great devotee of Shiva and on the day of his destined death, he continued his worship in front of a Shiva Linga. Yama sent his servants to take Markandeya’s life away but they all returned in failure because of the boy’s great devotion and continual worship of Shiva.

Yama had no choice but to go in person. He took out his noose and threw it around Markandeya. Somehow, the noose mistakenly landed on the Shiva Linga and from the Shiva Linga, Shiva emerged in all his fury and furiously kicked Yama to death, saving Markandeya.

With the god of death gone, everyone else became immortal. People started doing as they wished since they can no longer die and they do not fear the repercussions of their actions anymore. Moreover, the entire Hindu Pantheon became overpopulated since more and more people are born yet no one dies.

In the end, Shiva revived Yama and with his revival, the concept of death returned. 

Yama glared at Sarius as he took out his weapons which were a sword, a stick with a skull tip, a rope with a noose, and a mace.

“I can’t do anything against Shiva since he is far stronger than I. You on the other hand…”

“Very well.”

The smile on the youth’s face was replaced with a serious look as a blue ethereal flame enveloped his body.

“It’s been a while since I have last fought a god. This will serve as fine entertainment to me.”

“Hmph! You treat this as entertainment? You sure know how to boast!”

The aura of the two gods surged forth and clashed as they tried to dominate the other.

Sarius’ gaze hardened and was about to make a move when something crossed his mind. He quickly looked at Vihaan and saw that the boy was on the ground, out of breath from the unbearable pressure coming out of him and Yama.

Sighing, the blue flame on his body slowly faded out of existence. Yama noticed his concern and also put back his weapons.

They were only releasing a tiny bit of their power from their body yet the boy was already like this. If they had fought, his body would surely explode from the pressure.

“Let’s not fight after all. It’s tiresome and I wouldn’t gain anything from it.”

Although Yama was the god of death, he was someone with a good sense of justice. He wouldn't kill a boy who had not yet reached the end of his lifespan unless he had done some serious offense against the god. He wouldn’t touch the living unless it’s their time and would only punish those who are wicked while benevolent to those who are not. He can be considered a friend of humanity.

With the pressure gone, Vihaan greedily breathed air as he panted heavily.

“Aren’t you here to stop me?” Sarius raised a brow at the god.

Yama merely snorted, “Don’t be mistaken. If I can beat you then I certainly would. However, this body is only a clone of my original body containing only a portion of my power. Had we fought, I would lose without a doubt.” 

He was a very busy god. Thousands of people die each day and as the god of death, he had many responsibilities on hand. The god couldn’t afford to come personally and only sent a clone to oversee things here hence, the reason why he looked like a midget.

He then sighed, “I originally thought this would be enough to deal with you thinking you are only some minor god from another pantheon. Brat, it seems your origin is not so simple.”

Sarius smiled mysteriously.

“Even if your true body comes, you wouldn’t necessarily win.”

Yama ignored his statement as he eyed Sarius critically.

“Before, I would have said you’re boasting. However, after I got a good feel on your aura…” The god of death shook his head as he changed the topic. “Anyway, feel free to revive the woman. I wouldn’t do anything. Even if you revive her, it’s no use. She will die right away.” Sarius frowned while Vihaan who had just recovered was shocked when he heard those words from Yama.

“What do you mean?!” Vihaan’s emotions were in turmoil that he had completely forgotten to speak to the god with respect.

“Her soul is cursed and that curse is gradually eating her vitality away. She had already died and the curse had only gotten stronger in her death. Even if you construct a new body for her, the curse in her soul will still take her life away.”

“Mother is cursed?” Vihaan fell on his knees. He had always thought his mother had an illness but it turns out it was no other than a curse.

“How strong is her curse? Can we remove it?” Sarius asked the god.

“Her curse is both strong and weak. Strong, because it cannot be removed by external means. Weak, since the woman herself can remove the curse.”

“Then—” Before Vihaan’s hope was reignited, it was dampened by Yama right away.

“To get rid of the curse, she just has to be stronger than the one who gave her the curse and it just so happens that the person who cursed her is no other than an asura.”

In other words, to remove the curse, Vihaan’s mother just has to be stronger than an asura.

Sarius looked sadly at Vihaan who was devastated. Reviving his mother was a foregone conclusion.

A mortal against a being with power on par to that of a god?

It was impossible.

“Curses are very powerful. Not to mention your mother, even I am susceptible to one.” Yama removed the robe that was covering his leg and Sarius and Vihaan saw the terrible wounds in it. “I had once kicked one of my father’s maid and was cursed by her as a result. The curse was that my leg will be infested with maggots and the wounds can never be healed. Thankfully, my father gave me a cock which ate all the vermin away however, my leg has become like this ever since.” Yama covered his leg back with his robe as he sighed.

“Why? Why was my mother cursed?” The boy asked weakly.

“I might have an idea why, however, I might also be wrong. It would be much better if you go and ask the one who cursed your mother directly.”

Sarius gently patted the boy’s back in comfort as he asked Yama.

“Who is it?”

Yama showed the palm of his hand where an image floated above it. The image showed the figure of a short, hunchback old man with a repulsive face that looked more like a monster instead of that of a man.

Sarius narrowed his eyes while Vihaan let out a gasp.

It was the old man who ran the arena.

“This is the asura who cursed your mother. His name is Raktabija."