MY GAME BEGINS Intermission / Interval Part 7: Resurrection

MY GAME BEGINS

Intermission / Interval Part 7: Resurrection

-------------------------------------------------------

Lord Yama Dharmaraja turned his gaze upon the twin guardians of Vaikuntam, Jaya and Vijaya, his eyes narrowing.

"Then battle is inevitable," Yama thundered.

His massive fingers tightened around the heavy haft of his golden mace, the Gada Danda, while his other hand gripped the glowing, serpentine coils of the Yama Pasham.

He stepped off the back of his sacred buffalo, his golden sandals striking the cobblestones with the weight of a falling mountain.

"You have witnessed my absolute restraint," Yama's voice reverberated, causing the very structure of reality to vibrate.

"Now, behold my wrath! Prepare yourselves, Gatekeepers of Vaikuntam!"

Lord Yama's seven-foot form began to expand.

He grew rapidly—nine feet, twelve feet, fifteen feet—his silhouette stretching toward the heavens.

Jaya and Vijaya planted their feet, their eyes locked upon lord Yama Dharmaraja.

High above, in the swirling vortex of clouds, Sage Narada gripped his veena in sheer disbelief.

Alongside Yama, Chitragupta cowered, clutching his divine scroll.

Floating between them, Srinivasulu’s ethereal soul—glowing like a pale, flickering golden flame—shook violently, completely paralyzed by raw terror.

The sky above Paradise City transformed into a cauldron of nightmarish shadows.

Pitch-black clouds churned violently, split apart by jagged veins of crimson lightning and deafening peals of thunder that rattled the earth.

The morning sky was swallowed whole.

A howling gale swept through the shrine grounds, ripping every last sakura blossom from the ancient trees and driving them through the air like a pink tempest.

Inside the shrine compound, the massive bronze bells swung wildly on their own.

Their frantic clanging echoed louder and louder until the heavy support beams buckled under the immense acoustic force.

With deafening cracks, the beams snapped, sending the massive bells crashing onto the stone floor and shattering the ancient tiles into powder.

Near the steps, Aira sat on the damp stone, cradling Srinivasulu’s cold, lifeless body in her lap.

Blood stained her sleeves as she wept silently.

Beside her, Rose knelt on the pavement, clutching Srinivasulu's limp hand to her forehead.

Jin, Kaito, and Chief Rai stood just a few feet away, their eyes wide as they scanned the darkening sky and the unnatural gale ripping through the sanctuary.

Jin pulled his collar up against the biting wind, shouting over the roar of the tempest.

"Chief! The weather's getting worse! What on earth is happening?"

Chief Rai gritted his teeth, shielding his eyes from the flying debris.

"This isn't a natural storm. Something supernatural is happening in this area. I can't identify it, but I'll find out what's causing it!"

Rai summoned his three cards.

They appeared before him, shining brightly as they floated through the air.

He tossed them upward, and they hovered in a triangular formation before him.

"By the power of my higher cards, reveal the truth behind this anomaly!" Chief Rai thrust his hands forward, channeling his energy into the cards.

Nothing happened.

The cards flickered weakly, their light smothered by an invisible, overwhelming density in the atmosphere.

Rai’s eyes widened in shock.

"What? My powers... they aren't working?!"

Refusing to back down, Rai snatched the center card out of the air—the image of a roaring guardian beast etched upon it.

"Legendary... Komainu!" he bellowed, surging his full aura into the card to force a transformation.

The card flared with a blinding burst of blue light for a fraction of a second—and then violently backfired.

A shockwave of pure force erupted from the card, striking Chief Rai squarely in the chest.

He let out a strangled gasp as the impact launched him backward through the air.

He hit the stone pathway hard, tumbling across the gravel.

"Chief!" Kaito yelled, sprinting across the courtyard alongside Jin.

They dropped to their knees beside Rai, helping their chief to his feet.

"Are you okay, Chief?" Kaito asked, his face pale.

Jin looked around at the swirling wind, his hands clenching into fists.

"What was that? Chief, are you okay? What are we dealing with?"

Chief Rai gently pushed them back, catching his breath as he stared at the empty space in front of the Torii gate.

"Don't... don't try anything," Rai rasped, his voice trembling with a rare, deep-seated dread.

"I couldn't even sense what it was. Whatever force is here... it's far beyond anything we can handle.

Don't interfere. Let it pass on its own!"

Jin, Kaito, Aira, and Rose froze.

They looked around at the howling wind and the cracking earth, completely helpless, unable to perceive the divine clash occurring mere feet away from them.

In the spiritual realm, Lord Yama Dharmaraja continued his terrifying ascension.

His form expanded until he stood twenty feet tall, his majestic skin darkening to the deep shade of a storm cloud.

His eyes shifted into twin crimson moons.

Behind his towering back, multiple arms materialized from divine energy, each hand clutching a legendary weapon of destruction.

He stood like Divine Mount Meru brought to life—an absolute, terrifying embodiment of cosmic judgment.

Srinivasulu’s soul shrieked in absolute terror, scrambling backward on all fours to hide behind Jaya and Vijaya.

"Save me! Please! I beg you, save me!" he screamed, his voice cracking with panic.

Chitragupta trembled, raising his stylus with a shaking hand.

"M-My Lord! Why unleash your cosmic Ugra Roopam for a mere mortal soul? It is like wielding the ultimate Brahmastra against a mere sparrow!"

Yama’s towering form looked down, his voice crashing through the air like thunder.

"This form is not for Srinivasulu, Chitragupta! It is for these gatekeepers who dare obstruct cosmic law out of pure arrogance!

I shall crush their pride beneath my heel.

And once they are subdued, I shall take this sinner—Srinivasulu and deliver him to judgment!"

“With my Yama Pasham, I shall drag him through the dreadful Vaitarani River upon my Mahisha Vahanam!”

Lord Yama Dharmaraja brought his foot down upon the stone path with absolute force, his golden sandal striking the ground.

BOOM!

The impact triggered a colossal seismic shockwave.

The ground split open across the spiritual plane, and the physical reality of Paradise City buckled beneath the force.

Across the entire metropolis, high-rise skyscrapers swayed violently.

Glass windows shattered into millions of sparkling shards, raining down onto empty streets below.

Power lines snapped, blue sparks dancing in the dark air as streetlights collapsed onto the cracking asphalt.

People across the city stumbled, grabbing onto railings and screaming in terror as the ground beneath them shook violently.

At the shrine, the seismic tremor knocked Jin, Kaito, and Chief Rai to their knees.

Aira clung tightly to Srinivasulu’s limp body, shielding him with her own frame, while Rose dug her fingernails into the stone pathway to stay anchored.

Back in the divine plane, Sage Narada hovered in frozen shock.

Vijaya stepped forward, pointing his golden spear directly at the giant form of Yama.

"Do you take us for mere powerless beings, Lord Yama Dharmaraja? Have you forgotten who we are?"

Jaya’s eyes blazed with intense celestial light as he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his brother.

"We are the twins who conquered the three worlds!

Have you forgotten that we were Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu, who brought terror to the heavens?

That we were Ravana and Kumbhakarna, who marched into your very capital of Yamapuram and defeated you?"

Jaya took a deep breath, his armor radiating immense warmth.

"And above all else, we are the eternal devotees and guardians who stand at the threshold of Narayana!

We are ready for battle!"

Together, Jaya and Vijaya bellowed with absolute devotion:

"GOVINDA! GOOOVINDA!"

A blinding column of golden fire erupted around the twin guardians.

Their forms expanded instantly, matching Lord Yama Dharmaraja’s massive twenty-foot stature.

Divine armor formed around their shoulders, and four brilliant arms sprouted from their torsos, each hand wielding celestial weaponry bathed in golden-hot flames.

Yama Dharmaraja narrowed his burning eyes, lifting his heavy golden mace.

"Then let us settle the accounts of the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, and the present age all at once! Come!"

The two towering forces braced themselves to collide, the aura of their power threatening to tear the fabric of the mortal realm apart.

Behind Yama, Chitragupta fell to his knees, chanting frantically.

"Om Yamāya Dharmarājāya Namaḥ!

Om Dharmarājāya Namaḥ!

Om Vaivasvatāya Namaḥ!

Please, my Lord! Restrain your anger!"

Chitragupta cried out.

Before the weapons could strike, a blinding streak of white light tore down from the black clouds above.

Sage Narada descended at impossible speed, landing directly between the towering giants with his arms outstretched.

"Narayana! Narayana!" Narada’s voice echoed across the heavens.

"Hold your weapons! Jaya! Vijaya! Lord Yama Dharmaraja! Stop this at once!"

Yama Dharmaraja, Jaya, and Vijaya halted their strike simultaneously, their divine weapons hovering inches from each other.

"Devarshi Narada?" Yama Dharmaraja growled, his deep voice shaking the air.

Chitragupta wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Divine Sage Narada... what are you doing here?"

Narada adjusted his veena, turning to Chitragupta.

"Where else should I be Chitragupta? Lord Venkateswara Himself entrusted me with the duty of watching over Srinivasulu—to guide him back onto the path of righteousness!"

From behind Jaya, Srinivasulu’s glowing soul crawled out, tears streaming down his ethereal face.

"Great Sage! O holy Muni! Pāhi Mām! Save me!

I thought I would be dragged to Yamapuram without ever seeing you again!

Please, I beg for your mercy!"

Narada looked down at the soul, his expression heavy with disappointment.

"Look at what your actions have brought upon yourself and the cosmos, Srinivasulu.

You have reaped exactly what you sowed."

Narada turned back toward the towering Lord of Justice and Death.

"O Yama Dharmaraja... O Mṛtyu... O Vaivasvata... O Antaka... O Kāla... O Sarvabhūtakṣaya... O Audumbara... O Dadhna... O Parameṣṭhi... O Vakodara... O Son of Lord Sūrya!"

"Calamity approaches!"

Narada pleaded, his voice trembling with urgency.

"Restrain your wrath!

Do you not see what will happen if you battle with the guardians of Vaikuntam here?

The force unleashed will not merely destroy this shrine or this city—it will shatter the delicate balance of the entire earthly plane!

Please, Lord of Justice... stop this!"

Lord Yama stared down at the Divine Sage for a long, heavy moment.

The absolute sincerity in Narada’s plea slowly quenched the fiery rage in the God of Justice's eyes.

With a deep sigh that sounded like rolling thunder, Yama lowered his weapons.

His massive twenty-foot form began to shrink, shedding its extra arms and dark aura until he returned to his dignified, seven-foot divine form.

Seeing Yama stand down, Jaya and Vijaya lowered their weapons as well, their forms contracting back to their standard appearance as the golden flames faded away.

Yama Dharmaraja crossed his arms, staring sternly at the sage.

"I have granted your request out of respect for your divine wisdom, Narada.

But what of this sinner's soul? Justice cannot be ignored."

"Grant me a few moments to speak with him, Yama Dharmaraja," Narada requested softly.

Yama Dharmaraja, Chitragupta, Jaya, and Vijaya remained silent, watching attentively.

Sage Narada walked slowly toward Srinivasulu’s soul, stopping right at the boundary between the spiritual plane and the physical body resting in Aira’s lap.

"Now tell me, Srinivasulu," Narada spoke quietly.

"Do you see what your foolishness has wrought?

I warned you again and again about the pure joy of living a righteous, honest life in the real world, rather than chasing the hollow illusions of this one.

Have you listened to a single word?"

Srinivasulu dropped his head, unable to meet the sage's gaze.

"Why did you abandon your true world?" Narada continued, his voice heavy.

"Why did you abandon your parents, your family, and your sacred duties just to escape into a fantasy?

Remember your boasting at the high school when I came to warn you?

You raised your head high and said, 'I have divine powers! The one who can defeat me hasn't even been born yet!'"

Narada shook his head.

"You were blinded by absolute arrogance.

Do you see the consequences of that arrogance now?

What did you gain by trying to play the protagonist of another world in another man's life?

An Akala mrtyuvu (untimely death) in a cold, foreign game realm?

Is your desire fulfilled now?

Are you happy?"

Srinivasulu's soul fell to his knees, bitter tears dropping from his glowing eyes as he wept in absolute shame.

Narada turned toward Srinivasulu’s physical body resting on aira's lap.

He looked at the deep, blackened poison wound on his shoulder and closed his eyes.

"O Almighty Lord..." Narada whispered, bowing his head in deep prayer.

"O Jagannāṭaka Sūtradhāri... (Master of the Cosmic Play) O Venkateswara... What kind of test is this?

What have You placed upon us?"

As Sage Narada prayed with total devotion, a single tear escaped his closed eyes.

The tear fell through the air, sparkling like a liquid diamond, and landed directly onto the forehead of Srinivasulu’s physical body.

BZZZZZZT!

The instant the tear touched his skin, a blinding wave of golden electrical energy surged through Srinivasulu’s physical frame.

Aira and Rose gasped, jolting back as a warm, brilliant light spread across his skin.

The deep, jagged wound on his shoulder began to stitch itself together at visible speed, the torn flesh closing seamlessly without a scar.

The black, necrotic poison surging through his veins dissolved into thin air, purged by pure celestial energy.

Suddenly, the ethereal golden thread connecting Srinivasulu’s soul to his physical body snapped back together like a taut rubber band.

An irresistible vacuum force erupted from the physical body, pulling Srinivasulu’s soul forward.

"AAAAHHH!" Srinivasulu shouted as his soul was violently drawn back into his chest.

On the damp stone pathway, Srinivasulu’s physical body jolted violently.

His chest heaved as his lungs drew in a massive, ragged gulp of air.

Aira’s eyes widened in absolute shock.

"He's... he's breathing! Ren is alive!" she screamed, her voice cracking with pure emotion as she wrapped her arms around his chest, holding him tightly.

Rose stared in disbelief, tears overflowing down her cheeks as she squeezed his hand.

"He's moving! Quick, come here!"

Jin, Kaito, and Chief Rai froze in their tracks before sprinting toward them at full speed.

"REN!" they shouted in unison, gathering around his body in utter disbelief and overwhelming joy.

In the spiritual plane, Lord Yama Dharmaraja, Chitragupta, Jaya, Vijaya, and Divine Sage Narada stood frozen, watching the miracle unfold.

Chitragupta’s jaw dropped, his stylus slipping from his fingers.

"M-My Lord... what is happening?"

Yama’s eyes filled with profound wonder.

"This... this transcends the laws of the cycle of birth and death.

This is Punarjīvanam—true resurrection!"

"How... how is this possible, my Lord?" Chitragupta stammered.

Yama Dharmaraja smiled faintly, his eyes fixed on the tear that had fallen from the sage.

"A single tear of pure devotion from Sage Narada... carrying the subtle grace of the Supreme Lord Venkateswara Himself.

What a magnificent Leela of the Lord is this?"

Sage Narada opened his eyes, staring at his own hands in awe before smiling brightly.

"Narayana! Narayana! A miracle of the Supreme Lord!

Truly, Your Leela (divine plays) are beyond human comprehension, O Hari!"

Jaya and Vijaya raised their spears high, bowing their heads in deep reverence.

"Govinda! Govinda!"

The golden energy vortex settled completely as Srinivasulu’s soul re-anchored into his heart.

His eyelids fluttered, and with a heavy gasp, he opened his eyes, staring up into the tear-streaked, joyful faces of Aira, Rose, Jin, Kaito, and Chief Rai.

They threw their arms around him, weeping and cheering his name.

Chief Rai slowly stood up.

He walked toward the ancient Torii gate, looking up at the serene shrine grounds.

The wind had completely died down, leaving a peaceful silence in the air.

Rai dropped to his knees on the stone pathway, pressing his hands together in solemn prayer, and bowed his head to the ground.

"Thank you... thank you for giving our Ren back to us."

Seeing all this, Lord Yama Dharmaraja said softly, "Punarjīvanam—resurrection of Srinivasulu.

Is this truly the Supreme Lord's will?"

High above, the pitch-black storm clouds suddenly parted.

A radiant beam of golden light broke through the darkness, illuminating the entire sanctuary.

Within the divine rays, the celestial imagery of the Divine Conch (Shankha), the Cosmic Disc (Chakra), and the sacred Tilak mark of Lord Venkateswara materialized against the sky, glowing with majestic brilliance.

Lord Yama Dharmaraja's eyes widened at the divine manifestation as he joined his hands together in supreme reverence.

"O Edukondalavada! Venkataramana! Govinda! Govinda!" Yama Dharmaraja proclaimed, his powerful voice filled with absolute devotion.

Beside him, Divine Sage Narada, Chitragupta, Jaya, and Vijaya all fell to their knees, bowing deeply toward the heavenly light as their voices joined together in harmony:

"Govinda! Govinda! Govinda! Govinda!"

-------------------------------------------------------

(End of Intermission / Interval Part 7)