MY GAME BEGINS Episode 4 / Chapter 4: The Truth, Atonement, and Redemption (Part 8: Narada Gita to Srinivasulu — Part 1)

MY GAME BEGINS

Episode 4 / Chapter 4: The Truth, Atonement, and Redemption

(Part 8: Narada Gita to Srinivasulu — Part 1)

Night in Ren’s Room

Even in his sleep, the same horrifying words and haunting events played on an endless loop inside Srinivasulu’s mind, twisting his subconscious into a realm of torment.

Wrenching himself awake with a violent gasp, he sat bolt upright, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath.

True peace had become a distant memory.

Even sleep offered him no sanctuary.

Everything he had attempted had collapsed into absolute chaos.

His divine powers had abruptly stopped working.

When he proposed to Aira’s parents, hoping they would reject the marriage proposal and keep her safely away from his cursed fate, they had agreed instead.

“None of this was supposed to happen,” Srinivasulu thought bitterly, sweat pouring down his trembling face.

“I just wanted to live happily like those isekai heroes in stories!

But every attempt I make to fix this feels like a noose tightening around my own neck.

Why won’t my powers work?

Did I really commit a sin?

Can I ever escape this nightmare, or will things ever return to normal?

There is only one entity who holds the answers to all of this…”

With a sudden, frantic motion, Srinivasulu ripped the IV needle out of his left arm.

Dark red blood immediately began to trickle down his skin and pool onto the bedsheet.

Paying no heed to the pain, he swung his weak legs over the edge of the bed and forced himself to his feet.

“Devarshi Narada! Where are you?!”

Srinivasulu screamed into the quiet room, his voice raspy and broken.

“I need your help!

Please, appear before me, Devarshi Narada!”

Before his echo could fade, a blinding celestial aura burst forth, filling every corner of the room with divine radiance.

Srinivasulu instantly threw both hands over his eyes to shield them from the overwhelming splendor.

When the light softened into a warm, golden effulgence, Srinivasulu slowly uncovered his eyes.

Standing before him in vibrant saffron robes, holding his sacred Mahathi Veena and glowing with transcendent light, was the divine sage himself.

“Did you call for me, Srinivasulu?” Devarshi Narada asked softly.

Tears welled up in Srinivasulu’s eyes as he fell forward, trembling.

“You came, Devarshi!

I am in deep trouble… so many questions are eating me alive from the inside!

Please, save me from this agony!”

Devarshi Narada looked down at him with an expression of profound pity blended with solemn gravity.

“Did I not warn you, Srinivasulu?

I told you that your situation would grow more chaotic.

Many of these entanglements were brought upon you by your own choices—like this marriage dilemma.

But go ahead.

Speak whatever lies heavy upon your heart.

Ask your questions, for the time for your transformation has finally arrived.”

Srinivasulu looked up at the sage, his chest tight.

“Why aren’t my powers working anymore, Devarshi?

Why am I unable to live peacefully as either Srinivasulu or Ren?

Without these powers, how am I supposed to fight the demonic forces lurking in the shadows?”

Srinivasulu clasped his trembling hands together.

“And then Kali Purusha appeared right before me!

A day ago, he insulted my Lord, Venkateswara, and demanded that I abandon my Lord and Dharma and join his empire of darkness!”

Srinivasulu took a shuddering breath, the memories causing his blood to run cold.

“But by the mercy of Lord Venkateswara, I stood my ground, confronted him with questions he could not answer, and forced him to flee!

But now… now this marriage issue has caught me in a vise.

Ren’s parents are arriving in ten days!

They will inevitably discover that I am an impostor!

Everything I ever wished for has been reduced to ashes!”

He raised his bleeding left hand toward Narada in desperate supplication.

“What wrong did I do, Devarshi?

I only wished for what every isekai hero gets!

Why do they get to live fulfilling, happy lives, while I am buried beneath endless suffering and heartbreak?

Tell me, Devarshi… please, answer me!”

The Narada Gita: The Divine Wisdom

Devarshi Narada offered a gentle, subtle smile—one laden with deep spiritual truth.

“Your powers, Srinivasulu?”

Narada’s voice resonated like a temple bell.

“When did they ever become *your* powers?

They were never yours to possess.

Those divine transformations were *Daiva Anugraham*—a blessing of divine grace granted by Lord Venkateswara Himself.

Divine grace does not manifest at the whim of mortal desire or ego; it operates according to the eternal law of Dharma.”

Narada stepped closer, his eyes piercing through Srinivasulu’s illusions.

“Did you treat those sacred powers like some dowry given at a wedding—something you could squander and abuse however you pleased?

Without the supreme grace of the Lord behind them, how did you expect them to function?”

“Why… why did the Lord’s grace leave me?” Srinivasulu stammered.

“Why did the powers stop working?!”

Narada’s expression turned deeply solemn.

“Do you remember what I told you on the very day you crossed into this world?” Narada asked gently.

“On the day you defeated Ren and took his place?”

A sudden wave of memory washed over Srinivasulu’s mind, bringing back Narada’s stern warning from the past:

“Remember, Srinivasulu: as long as you live and walk the path of righteousness—Dharma—the powers granted by the Lord will serve you.

The moment you deviate into unrighteousness—Adharma—those divine gifts will degrade into ordinary, powerless cards.”

Srinivasulu blinked, sweating profusely.

“I… I remember what you told me, Devarshi!

But… am I really living in Adharma?

As far as I know, I haven’t done anything evil!

I have tried my absolute best to walk the path of Dharma!”

Devarshi Narada’s gaze turned sharp and unyielding.

“Tell the absolute truth, Srinivasulu!

Have you truly committed no sin?

Ask your own conscience.

Let the silent witness within your soul give you the answer!”

Narada shook his head in quiet sorrow.

“When you wept as a displaced soul, and later stood boldly and courageously proclaiming the truth of the Lord in the presence of Kali Purusha, I believed a true transformation had begun within you.

I genuinely trusted that you were changing.

But seeing you stand here today, still clinging to the delusion that you are blameless… proves that my trust was premature.”

Srinivasulu’s eyes widened in bewilderment.

“A soul?

Crying?

Me, weeping…?

What are you talking about, Devarshi?”

“Do you truly not remember what transpired at the shrine?” Narada asked softly.

Srinivasulu racked his brain, panic rising in his chest.

“The toxin spread through my body… I lost my sight… and when I woke up, I was in this Ren’s room.

They told me I almost died,” Srinivasulu answered, confused.

“They told you the absolute truth, Srinivasulu,” Narada replied gravely.

“It is you who failed to comprehend it.”

With those words, Devarshi Narada gently placed his index finger upon Srinivasulu’s forehead.

Instantly, the divine seal upon his mind shattered.

The suppressed memory flooded back in vivid, terrifying detail.

He saw himself collapsing at the shrine in Aira’s arms while Jin, Chief Rai, Kaito, and Rose came rushing toward him.

Aira and Rose held his hands as everyone wept for him while he became blind, his physical breath leaving his body as death took hold.

He saw his Atma—his soul—leaving his body.

He saw the terrifying, dark emissaries of Yamalokam—the Yamadutas—descending to claim his soul.

He saw the majestic divine guardians, Jaya and Vijaya, stepping forward to protect him.

He saw the towering, formidable presence of Lord Yama Dharmaraja and Chitragupta arriving to weigh his karma and lead his soul away.

The battle between Jaya and Vijaya and Lord Yama Dharmaraja was brought to a halt by Devarshi Narada.

He heard his own Atma weeping in agonizing sorrow as Devarshi Narada confronted it.

And finally, he saw a single tear of pure divine grace fall from Narada’s eye through the supreme compassion of Lord Venkateswara, striking his forehead and pulling his soul back into his body.

Srinivasulu gasped, collapsing back onto the edge of the bed, tears streaming unhindered down his face.

“All of that… was real?

I thought… I thought it was just a nightmare!”

“It was no dream, Srinivasulu,” Narada declared firmly.

“It was reality.”

“Then… that means I…” Srinivasulu trembled uncontrollably.

“You sinned, Srinivasulu,” Narada said, his voice filled with authoritative truth, resonating like a thunderclap.

“You committed a grave and terrible sin!

Despite my repeated warnings, you stumbled again and again, piling transgression upon transgression.

That is why the messengers of death and Lord Yama Dharmaraja Himself descended for your soul.

That is why the divine powers granted by the Lord ceased to function.

That is why the divine grace bestowed upon you by Swamy was withdrawn, rendering your powers useless.

Do you still fail to grasp the gravity of what you have done?!”

Srinivasulu clutched his head, weeping uncontrollably.

“What sin did I commit?!” Srinivasulu cried out brokenly.

The Root of Transgression and Kali Purusha’s Trap

“The sin you committed is among the most terrible of all, Srinivasulu,” Narada revealed.

“Desiring to usurp another living being’s life—that is your sin!

Coveting another man’s existence—that was your sin!

Stealing another person’s life, usurping his face, erasing his identity, and stepping into his place—that was your sin!

Craving another man’s identity, his face, his status, and his place in the world—that was your sin!”

Narada’s words struck Srinivasulu’s soul like thunderbolts.

“Craving the pleasures, luxuries, and affection meant for someone else—that was your sin!

You coveted another man’s comfort, his joy, and his relationships.

To protect that stolen life, you wrapped yourself in a mask of falsehood.

You did not merely put on a mask of falsehood—you wove a web of countless lies to protect that stolen identity!

You deceived those who genuinely cared for Ren!

Is this not Adharma?

You stacked lie upon lie, sin upon sin!

By building a life upon continuous deceit, what have you truly gained?

Your peace is shattered.

Your joy is extinguished.

Your inner tranquility is destroyed.

And you have alienated yourself from the divine grace of the Almighty.

In pursuit of a foolish fantasy, you lost the very life you once possessed!

Has it brought you joy?

Has it granted you peace?

No!”

Srinivasulu collapsed onto his knees, silent tears raining down onto the white marble floor, unable to utter a single word of defense as the absolute truth crushed his spirit.

“What did you truly gain, Srinivasulu?” Narada continued.

“You believe you defeated Kali Purusha when he manifested before you?

You forget that Kali Purusha defeated you long before that moment!

You did not truly reject his influence, Srinivasulu—you walked willingly into his snare.”

Srinivasulu raised his eyes in absolute horror.

“W-What… what are you saying, Devarshi?”

“It is the truth,” Narada stated.

“The evil desire that sprouted within your heart—the urge to abandon your real world, to cross over into this reality, to live as Ren, and to consume the fruits of another man’s existence—who do you think planted that sinister desire in your mind?

It was Kali Purusha himself!

You succumbed to his whisperings.”

“How… how could that be?” Srinivasulu whispered, shattered.

“He manipulated your deepest vulnerabilities, and you walked right into his trap, precisely as he orchestrated.

Look back into your past,” Narada instructed gently.

“In your original real world, you were a deeply devoted soul.

You possessed everything essential.

You were devout, pious, and spiritually inclined.

Every day, after returning from college to your apartment, you finished your chores and immersed yourself in holy scriptures—the Puranas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita—seeking solace and strength.

Those sacred texts gave you strength and inner tranquility.

Yet hidden deep within your heart was a single, unhealed vulnerability:

Loneliness.”

Narada leaned closer, exposing the hidden workings of his fate.

“You isolated yourself from the world, refusing to open up to others, allowing that dark seed of isolation to consume you.

Kali Purusha identified that exact weakness and exploited it!”

Narada took another step closer, laying bare the divine truth.

“It was Kali Purusha who subtly guided your gaze toward that game, 'The Chosen One'.

After you acquired it, he slowly sidetracked your mind, nudging you to abandon your sacred texts and daily prayers.

Gradually, he lured your attention away from divine scriptures and sacred prayers, entangling your mind within the fictional fantasy world.

He inflamed your desire until you no longer cared for spiritual liberation, but became obsessed with living the glamorous, heroic life of the game’s protagonist, Ren.”

“You believed you were merely playing a game, completely oblivious to how your soul was being corrupted,” Narada continued sorrowfully.

“Yet you became so blinded that you forgot your real world, your duties, and your true self.

Kali Purusha then manipulated and orchestrated events so that you would utter that very wish before Lord Venkateswara Himself—begging to be sent into this world as Ren, to live as Ren.

Because the Lord is 'Bhakta Vatsala'—the compassionate Lord who fulfills the sincere longings of His devotees—He granted your wish.

Kali Purusha knew this!

By leveraging Swamy’s boundless grace against you, Kali Purusha brought you into this world, engineered your descent into Adharma, and sought to condemn your soul to eternal damnation.

His goal was to drag you into identity theft, deceit, and Adharma, thereby damning your soul eternally!”

Srinivasulu buried his face in his hands, weeping uncontrollably as the dark reality of his choices stood fully exposed.

“Kali Purusha manipulated you so deeply that even when I appeared before you multiple times to offer you righteous counsel, your stubborn pride refused even to listen or understand,” Narada concluded.

“You did not conquer Kali Purusha—you were ensnared by him long ago.

You were defeated by Kali Purusha from the very beginning!”

Tears poured down Srinivasulu’s face like a torrential downpour, washing away the last remnants of his denial.

Devarshi Narada’s expression softened.

“The only reason he appeared before you recently was to extinguish the last remaining ember of devotion still alive within your heart.

In that single goal, he failed.

Because despite all your stumbles, despite all your foolish mistakes, your devotion for Lord Venkateswara remains untainted.”

Devarshi Narada looked upon the weeping youth with divine compassion.

“Now that the truth stands unveiled before you… do you understand, Srinivasulu?

Ask whatever else lingers within your soul.

Hold nothing back.”

(Episode 4 / Chapter 4: Part 8 — Part 1)