A Touching Reunion

Standing with wine in my left hand, I glanced at the charts. These charts show how many people have arrived in hel in the previous month. The numbers were, by no means small.

“I am noticing that too many people are coming to hel nowadays”, I turned to my accountant. He is a reliable worker. Highly skilled and never taking a day off. Due to this bull-headed fool, I have to work extra hard so that I don't look bad in the eyes of my retainer.

“Yes My Lord, because of humans greatly altering nature, there have been too many untimely death in recent times”, the one-horned minotaur spoke. I never really liked his face, always serious. I am sure he wouldn’t look much better even if he tries to smile, but it sure would make the atmosphere around him less depressing. In his same monotonous voice, he continued, “Due to so many of them dying much before their time, we are now nearing our full capacity. Soon we won’t have enough space for these souls to rest.”

“Don’t worry about that, I have already taken care of that problem.”

“If it isn’t too much for me to ask, please bestow upon me the knowledge about that, my lord. So that in future, I can prevent any similar situation from turning into a problem” he bowed himself so low that I had no choice but to tell him. I mean it's the responsibility of a great lord to always take care of his retainer.

“It wasn’t something as difficult as you make it seem to be”, I started telling him, “You just needed someone who has dealt with such problems before.”

“And who might that be, my lord? I don’t think there is anyone in hel older than me. Also, Hel has never faced any similar problems before. Humans have always died at a very constant rate, a few decades ago, they even started dying at a lower rate than they were born which gave us so much time. By the time one soul arrived in hel, four more would have left the hel to be born back on earth.”

“Your depressing face always makes me forget how much you talk?”

“I apologize for my rudeness, my lord” and he immediately went on his knees.

“Just get up. Your answer lies in what you just said”, I looked at him hoping that he would figure it out, but he stayed silently looking at me, so I continued, “these humans are also facing the same problem with too many people and too little living space. Do you know how did they solve it?”

He was still silent. I guess he was still lamenting on speaking too much earlier.

“Humans hired this person called an engineer. These engineers created these towering structures with stones that can accommodate a lot of humans.”

I looked at him again to see if he has figured out the answer now, but he still stayed silent. What a dumb bull. I think because of this idiot minotaur, people from a certain region on earth started associating a bull’s wisdom with someone who charges into problems without thinking first.

He is lucky that he has such a merciful and patient master. I sighed, “Many of these engineers have died recently in a vicious disease outbreak, go and ask them to build us those towering structures.”

Finally realizing the answer, his big black eyes shone like the moon itself. He hurriedly got up from where he was kneeling and ran outside. I stood there looking at his tail as he exited my chambers. Seeing that minotaur in such a clumsy state was a rare sight, so I took my time enjoying it.

***

I took another sip of my wine. The fine taste personified in front of my eyes in a beautiful feminine figure, not as beautiful as Gaia but still mesmerizing. It engulfed me and threw me into a state of trance.

Don't think of me as someone weak. Nothing can put me in such a vulnerable state. No amount of liquor can affect me at all, but this wine was gifted to me by Lady Gaia herself. Not getting drunk on it will be a massive disrespect to her, so I am letting her wine affect me as much as it can.

Also, just a single sip of wine is enough to take me back to the memories of my childhood. When Lady Gaia and My lord himself, lived with me. The memories shown by this wine seemed so surreal that I felt as if my lord himself was talking to me.

He was just about to take me with him to …

“My lord”, someone whispered into my ears, breaking my trance.

“A-Aaaaaaaa”, I got startled and slapped the person who had just whispered into my ears. The slap hit real hard and he got slammed into the wall on left.

When he got back up, I could see it was another one of my retainers. He was a half-snake half-man creature. Because of his snake-like spine, he wasn’t hurt by the wall slam earlier.

“Why can’t you ever come to me normally? Why do you always have to act in such a disgraceful manner?” I wasn't feeling guilty for hitting him at all. It was all his fault. Ever since I let him see these human movies about some guy named Bond, he has been acting strangely. Always hiding and talking in a whisper.

“I apologize for my behavior my lord but the walls have ears”, He said that so nonchalantly as if what he did was extremely normal.

“Which walls and what ears”, I was getting angry at his behavior, If those megalomaniac gods saw this, they would get another thing about me to laugh at.

Due to my anger, my voice grew a little louder, “I am the king of all hel, this place is named after me, everyone present here is created by me and has pledged their loyalty to me. Even if all of you rise and mutiny against me together, I can still crush all of you with just a flick of my finger, who is this wall you are worried about!!! Act as a graceful retainer or I will …”

Before I could finish my sentence, he got down on his knees and spoke, “I am sorry my lord, but I have such great news that I couldn’t contain my excitement. And I am sure you will be overjoyed after this.”

I looked at that glass of wine, which was lying on the floor shattered and the wine was spilled all over my carpet. I could only drink this wine once every hundred years. And now it was all drunk by my carpet. I don't think at all this snake could tell me anything that can make me happy anymore, But I am a merciful lord I decided to listen to what he has to say. Also, it would not be elegant of me to worry over spilled milk.

“Say what you came here to say and leave?”

“My lord, The great ruler of all hel, the caretaker of all humanity…”

“Ah, just skip it all, tell me the news”

“Yes my lord, I came here to tell you that the revival of Maha Dev has begun.”

(Maha Dev is a Hindi word for the “Great Lord”)

I haven’t heard that word in several millennia.

“Repeat what you've just said and don’t you dare say his name with your venomous mouth.”

“Yes my lord, The revival of his holiness has begun. It sounds unbelievable but it is currently happening. He is materializing into a mortal body.”

“Why a mortal body?”

“That I don’t know, my lord, but I can show you”

“What are you waiting for then? Show me immediately.”

The snake immediately brought his tail forward which had a device released thin fog into the room, and in that fog, a picture could be seen. It showed a girl running while pulling another girl with her while being chased by a dog.

The girl turned into a closed street and moments later she threw something over the dog into a house nearby. Whatever that thing was, it fell on a small but ancient wooden temple. The statue of the god inside the temple was also not recognizable by modern men. It must be some old god. I zoomed in on the temple and was shocked to see the face of the statue.

Seeing my eyes grow wider and wider, the snake grew a little tense but didn’t say anything. It was a statue of the Maha Dev. I never imagined that any of his temples remained after that great massacre fifty thousand years ago. Maybe this one survived because of being so small.

My thoughts were interrupted by the girls screaming, “ Gods save us, please save us.”

My retainer snake, couldn’t keep it inside him so he spoke, “My lord If we count the candy that the girl threw on the temple as an offering and her pleading for help as a prayer, then this fulfills the requirements for the revival.”

“You made me excited for no reason, this is just a coincidence. The little girl doesn’t even know of him, Her prayers will only reach the god she is imagining right now.”

“But my lord, this girl doesn’t even understand the concept of god, for all we know she might be praying to a character in an orange jumpsuit wearing a headband with spiral insignia yelling dattebayo. If she is imagining a God who doesn’t exist, her prayer will reach the god she had offered her candy to.”

“You might be right, but if you aren’t I will…”

“I am sure I am right my lord”, He interrupted my warning again. “As you can see here, a mortal body is materializing.” He zoomed in on the shrine again and there I could see. Smoke was coming out of the candy as the candy vaporized and that smoke slowly and steadily took shape of a human boy.

I could feel the boy’s aura. There was no mistake. It was My lord, My creator the Maha Dev.

“Quickly let’s teleport him here, I can’t wait to bask in his presence”, I grew impatient and cast the summoning spell.

No sooner was the revival of my lord complete than I started pulling him out of the mortal realm. But I could have only pulled him a few hundred meters when I lost control and he started falling to the ground.

“What happened, How did I lose him?”

Seeing my impatience, the snake jumped in front of me and said, “Please be calm my lord, He materialized to save the girl from the dog, I am sure his holiness, would want to fulfill the girl’s prayer first and then only come to you.”

“Yes, Obviously, the humans better be grateful that the greatest lord has always prioritized these impure creatures”

And then while falling he landed on the dog that was terrorizing that little girl, knocking down the animal immediately.

“Okay, He has answered the girl’s prayer. Let’s bring him here without any further delay.”

Impatiently, I cast the spell again. The Maha Dev along with the dog immediately vanished from the ground. The girls were probably wondering where their savior vanished to.

But then they soon ran towards their prior engagement. I also couldn’t care less about some puny human wondering about the greatest existence in this universe.

I waited a moment but then he didn’t appear in front of me.

“What happened? Why is it taking so much time? Was the spell not cast properly?”

“No my lord, The spell was as perfect as you are.”

“Then why is he still in the mortal realm?”

“I am sorry for realizing this so late my lord, But his holiness has materialized himself into a mortal body.”

“So…”

“A mortal body is bound to the mortal realm.”

“But he is divine, he cannot be bound to anything.”

“I do not wish to anger you my lord, but since his holiness was gone for so long, there isn’t a single soul who remembers him as the god he was, and thus he doesn’t have any divinity left in him.”

“But I have absolute faith in him, I am his most faithful believer”, My words grew louder, and My expressions grew darker. Flames started appearing on my body. Soon I was burning with anger.

“My lord, in the stories you’ve told me so many times, you always said that his holiness himself granted the power of faith to humans” Seeing my eyes which were now flaming, the snake grew hesitant to speak further but hissing slowly he continued, “The-Therefore, my lord, only by restoring humanity’s faith in him can we restore his divinity and then we can bring him out of the mortal realm.”

I grew even angrier at that. “Are you saying that my creator the Maha Dev is currently at the mercy of humanity? I will end all of humankind, I will empty the entire earth of life, such creatures have bound my lord to the mortal realm.”

The snake was now in presence of my wicked form, the form known to mankind as Satan. Like all the ones before him, he was too terrified to speak.

But the snake was brave. Gathering all his courage, he spoke he yelled, “My lord, His holiness is now a mortal boy and currently he is falling from an altitude of 5000 feet straight to the surface of the earth. He won’t die from the impact, because of the little divinity inside him but it will be a lot painful.”

Those words immediately killed my anger and filled me with fear, “What do I do now?” I was thinking this but the snake was quick to read my mind.

“My lord, I have prepared a mortal body for you, with this you can touch his holiness. You should immediately go to the mortal realm and catch him mid-air to prevent him from falling.”

Hardly had those words fallen on my ear before I descended into the mortal body and departed for the earth.

***

Luckily my lord was still 5 seconds away from the surface. I grabbed his body, It was the most heavenly feeling ever. But my lord was holding the dog along with him, so I had to prevent the dog from falling as well, that was so not a heavenly feeling. But the Maha Dev has always loved all the creatures equally so I tried to forget my hatred towards them for a while.

I gently let him on the ground. I am sure the ground must have been delighted at the touch of Maha Dev if it could feel his divinity. Tears filled my eyes at the sight of his heavenly self. He looked so pure. No wonder Lady Gaia fell in love with him.

He didn’t speak anything, didn’t move at all, maybe his mortal body was still feeling the adrenaline rush from falling.

“You are looking as lovely as ever, Maha Dev, Your face is glowing with your divine charm, I am so honored to be in your presence”, I couldn’t stop myself from greeting him. He was looking so radiant in his little child-like body, or maybe a tad bit older.

“Who are you?” my legs grew weak and I fell to the ground. Those words crushed my heart, Maha Dev didn’t recognize me. Was I wrong? Is he an imposter? Dark thoughts started filling up my mind.

“Hey! Are you okay?” Maha Dev asked. All the thoughts vanished from my mind immediately, He had recognized me. I looked up to him only to find that he was checking whether the dog was okay. My heart couldn’t bear the pain, my head fell in disappointment again.

The dog was scared at first but seeing his divine smile, it slowly grew affectionate towards him and started licking his face. That filthy dog licking Maha Dev’s face, that sight made me so angry that I started casting the spell to burn the dog to ashes. But the next moment, Maha Dev smiled at the dog. He petted that undeserving creature while laughing.

That wholesome scene, made all my anger go away.

I stood up from my place. Seeing me standing up, the dog ran away. My lord looked at me. I decided to formally introduce myself.

“Maha Dev, Please allow me to introduce myself. I am @#$%^&.”

“Excuse me, Who? I couldn’t hear your name.”

“@#$%^&”

“I can see your mouth moving but I can’t understand what you are saying.”

Then it just dawned on me, I spoke, “Maha Dev, You have reincarnated into a mortal body. Unfortunately, you can neither hear nor speak any divine words.”

I was saddened by this development but I wouldn’t lose heart at something so small. I continued, “Let me introduce myself like this. I am the one who has the honor of being the first life ever created by you.”

This time his eyes grew wide. He stood up and ran towards me. I couldn’t understand why he ran toward me but I stood still from nervousness. When he reached me, he came to a halt. The next moment he hugged me.

My thoughts, my divine existence, my kingdom of hel nothing mattered in that short moment. Everything had vanished into oblivion. This was ecstasy.

He let go of me despite me not wanting to. I lowered myself to my knees so that my eyes can level up to his in his child-like short body.

He looked deep into my eyes. His dark brown eyes looked bright reddish in that morning sunlight. His smile was so rejuvenating. He caressed my face gently.

"How have you been @#$%^&?", he asked me. His voice was music to ears. He may not have spoken my name but I could hear it.

Up until now, I have been holding myself emotionally, but the moment he asked that question, the dam broke. Tears came out flowing unstoppably. I was reminded of how my last fifty thousand years were without him. How beautiful life was when he was here with me. How painful it was when he obliviated. How much I missed him all this time. How much I wanted to tell him that I needed him.

There I was bawling in the middle of the road, with a young boy trying to calm me down.

The people passing by had weird reactions. Some were genuinely concerned, and some laughed at the sight of a grown man weeping so loudly.

“There there! I can see that the universe hasn’t been kind to you.”

With a pause, he said, “But I can also see that you have grown so much stronger than before. I can proudly say that you have become stronger than I ever could be. I am so happy that you didn’t give up”, those words were somewhat successful at consoling me. I calmed down a little, still weeping though.

So he continued to speak, “When I was on the verge of oblivion, my greatest worry was if you would be able to survive. Now I can see I was needlessly worrying. I am so proud of you.”

Maha Dev was proud of me, and what was i doing. Crying in the middle of the road. Pathetic, so pathetic. Was this my goal? Was this why I came here? No definitely no.

I immediately got up, wiped my eyes, and with a smile I said, “We have to get people to worship you.”

***