Aspects

(Danava Sector, Asuraloka, Swarga Plane of Existence)

A mother is telling stories from old scriptures. A kid suddenly asks , "Mama, how were the Vanars so strong? Aren't they just monkeys?"

The mother smiles and says , "Sweetie , the Vanars were not just ordinary monkeys. They were aspects of Devas. Whenever injustice rises and the Devas are unable to deal with it themselves , they send their aspects to contribute for the cause."

The kid asks , "Aspects? What are they?"

The mother smiles.

(Gourmet Restaurant parking lot, City S)

Fuma and Hiranya attack Jiho who simultaneously blocks them. He effortlessly kicks Hiranya away and pins Fuma to the ground. Fuma struggles to free himself from Jiho's hold. Hiranya kicks Jiho away and frees Fuma. Jiho smacks Hiranya on his face and kicks Fuma. All the three warriors stare at each other. Fuma and Hiranya look at each other and nod. Both of them attack Jiho who easily tackles them and pushes both of them away. Fuma manages to punch Jiho in the gut, to which Jiho laughs and says, " By hitting me , you are just fuelling me."  He wraps his arm around Fuma's neck and starts kicking his gut. Hiranya lets out a horrible roar like scream, pushing Jiho back and away from Fuma. Hiranya pants and asks, " You of all people should know how evil these gangs are. Your own sister was their victim. How can you fucking save them? "

Jiho says, " Vigilantism is not justice, Hiranyakesha. I am saying this as your elder brother. I brought those culprits to the court, gave them a fair trial and brought justice. That's how stuff is done. Killing gangs like this is just cowardice."

Fuma laughs and says, " You say that's cowardice? Gangs like these use political power for protecting themselves from the law. And you haven't brought justice to your sister, not yet."

Jiho shouts, " What the **** are you saying? What do you mean by that?" Fuma smiles and closes his eyes. Heavy winds start blowing in the lot and pushes Jiho away. A sudden dark wisp of smoke appears before Fuma and Hiranya and both of them disappear. The wind stops and Jiho somehow regains stability. He shakes his head and stretches a bit. He walks out of the parking lot and into the evening sun. The small scratches on his skin heal on exposure to sunlight. He looks at the setting sun and mutters, " What the **** is happening around, Father?"

(Greenville mountains, City S)

Rudra sits on a cliff looking at the scenic beauty. Things Sae Hyun said still run around in his head. He thinks back on them. "They are monsters, animals; even urban legend demons are better than them," Sae Hyun said that day. Rudra remembered the hatred and fear he saw in her eyes. He remembered the negativity oozing from her.

He hears the nearby bushes rustling as a small pack of wolves sits at a distance away from him. Rudra makes a sound akin to a dog whistle, and the wolves walk up to him. Rudra ruffles the wolves, who whimper. He smiles and summons a piece of meat out of nowhere  and throws it towards the wolves. The wolves jump at the meat and the alpha takes a large piece of meat to the alpha female and her wolf pups. Rudra smiles and inhales deeply and then exhales. He walks towards the forest canopy and through it, revealing the dead bodies of seven miscreants hanging from the trees. He lifts an unconscious little girl and keeps her near another unconscious man. Then, he keeps his hand on the man's head and the man's injuries are healed. Rudra then teleports to Erika's home.

(Night , 10:00 pm, Jiho's apartment.)

Jiho looks through his stepfather's and stepsister's case files on his laptop. He gets frustrated and says, " What am I missing?"  Snow crawls towards him and hugs him from behind. She closes his laptop and says, " Chill down, relax. We will catch them again." Jiho says in a frustrated tone, " I don't know what the **** I am missing in this case. I cancelled the entire gang that did this, but .... "

Snow sighs and kisses Jiho on his cheek. She says, " You are one of the greatest detectives I have ever met and also one of the greatest fighters to ever live, but you have a very fatal weakness, like Achilles had in the IIliad."

Jiho asks, " What's that?" Snow replies, " You have too much emotion. You are hyperemotional, and this is why they used this tact to escape from your clutches." Jiho looks at her and asks, " Are you sure?" Snow nods and kisses him. Jiho turns and continues kissing her. Soon, their kiss turns into a romantic hanky-panky and Snow switches off the light.

(3:30 AM, B-Gang hideout, Greenville Valley Region, City S)

A horrible gang mentally tortures Sumin. They hit her and molest her. She begs, " Please, let me go." The gang leader replies, " Pay our debt, bitch. We will let you go." He then laughs. Sumin says," I already paid you back your money. How much else do you want?" The leader replies, " Your loan had an interest, bitch. This isn't even half of the loan. So, either give our money or sleep with us." One of the member tears Sumin's top. Sumin screams and pushes him away. She trips and falls . The man pins her down, but before he could do anything, a huge axe comes flying and cuts his head clean off his shoulders. The blood splatters over Sumin's face, who falls unconscious due to trauma.

The remaining gang members look towards the dark entrance. A faint, raspy and demonic voice says, " You can run, you can flee but you can't survive. Coz when the Wolf comes, there will be no place to hide."

A masked man appears from the gateway and opens his palm. The axe flies back to his hand. The leader asks, " Who the **** are you?" The masked man laughs cynically and says, " I am a Demon. To be precise, the wind demon." He then attacks the gang.

(4:00 AM, Jiho's apartment, City S)

Jiho and Snow lay in bed, cuddling each other. Snow asks, " Feeling relaxed now?" Jiho smiles and pats her head. Snow kisses him and says, " You must take stress off your shoulders. You have a habit of being a lone wolf."

Jiho says, " Yeah. We should spend time with each other, more often." He kisses her forehead. His phone rings. Jiho receives the call and says, " Inspector Taeyang Jiho, Crime Branch, how may I help y.... Sumin? What the **** are you doing there? What happened?........ Shit!!!! Ring emergency sequence now. We will be there soon."

Snow asks, " What happened, honey?" Jiho replies, " B Gang is brutally slaughtered by an unknown masked man. Sumin reported this to me. She is currently at the crime scene, and she seems to be scared of something."  Snow gets up from the bed and says, " Let's get dressed and leave." Jiho nods.

Both get dressed, grab their guns and get in the car. Jiho and Snow leave for Gang B hideout.

Jiho asks , "What do you think Sumin would be doing at this time in B Gang's stronghold?" Snow replies angrily , "Whatever she walked herself into. Why do you even care , huh? You told me that you hate her, and now you suddenly worry about her safety."

Jiho says , "Woah, calm down. Why are you getting angry? It's just that B Gang's stronghold is the most dangerous place for a woman. You know what happened to officer....."

Snow says , "Sorry Jiho , I was just mad because you still care about her after we had a wonderful night . You have to move on. We are in relationship, aren't we?"

Ruffling his angry girlfriend-***-colleague's hair with one hand , Jiho replies , "So you are jealous, huh? I care because it's my job to protect everyone . I would have worried about any other girl too. And I worry about you the most. Just because I care about her , that doesn't mean that I love her. I will never forget what she did to me. "

They reach the stronghold . Jiho and Snow get out of the car . They see the police teams already working. And as they get into the main building , Snow almost screams . Jiho looks in horror as he sees gang members' heads hanging from the ceiling and bodies piled up on the floor.

Jiho exclaims , "What in the name of the Holy Sun God is this?!" Snow exclaims in a quivering voice  , "What kind of monster could do such a thing?"

And crouched in the corner of the room , with torn clothes , Sumin screams , "JIHO!!!" She runs towards Jiho and hugs him. Sumin breaks down and starts crying, while shivering in fear. Jiho sighs and says, " It's okay, calm down. We are  here to protect you. It's fine."

Another car arrives with Gil-yong and another detective from the  southern prefectures. The detective has a brownish golden hair and is tall and fair-skinned. Jiho looks at that detective and smiles. He asks, " Should I call you Dae-man or Agneya?"

The detective smiles.

(10:00 AM, Uzumaki residence, City S)

Rudra rings the doorbell and Ryu answers the door. Ryu immediately bows down and says, " Your..." Rudra interrupts him and says, "Not here." Ryu nods and invites him inside. Ryu closes the door and says, "Please have a seat, Rudra-sama. What brings you here, sire?"

Rudra replies, " Sae Hyun asked me to pick Miyuki on the way. She wanted to talk about something. Something about Minsu. " Ryu nods and shouts, " Miyu!! Rudra-sama is here. Come down quick." Kanaya comes down the stairs and says, " Greetings, Your Majesty. She will be down soon." Rudra says, " Please drop the 'Majesty' stuff"

Kanaya nods and says, " Okay, Rudra-sama. So, are you practicing meditation to calm yourself ? The ones I taught you?"

Rudra smiles awkwardly. Kanaya sighs and says, " You gotta do them if you wanna manage your anger." Rudra nods, still smiling awkwardly. Soon, Miyuki arrives and both of them leave

(An hour later, Minsu's apartment.,City S)

Sae Hyun and Marcus wait for Rudra and Miyuki who arrive soon. Rudra asks, " What's the matter, Sae Hyun? Why have you called us?" Sae Hyun brushes her blonde hair aside and answers, " Minsu's sister, Da Hye called us. It's about Minsu's alcohol addiction." Rudra sighs and says, " Alcohol, eh?"

Sae Hyun nods and lifts her hand to ring the doorbell. But before she could do that, A red haired girl opened the door. She says, " I knew you were coming. I am Da Hye, Minsu's sister." Rudra nods and says, " I am Mayur Rudra, nice to meet you."  Da Hye motions them inside.   She shows them Minsu's room, in which he was drinking many bottles of booze. Rudra raises his eyebrow. He looks at the others and says, " Chill outside and leave this to me." Da Hye grabs Rudra's arm and says, " Oppa is really in stress after whatever events happened in the past. So, please..." Rudra smiles and says, " Don't worry kiddo, I assure your oppa will never touch alcohol again."

Rudra knocks on the door and enters the room. Minsu reeked of alcohol. He blabbers," Hello..Rudra.....I..gave..a holiday to the cafe." Rudra says, " Hello. I just wanted to pay you a visit." He grabs the booze bottles and keeps them aside. He says, " I am here to talk. Tell me what's bothering you." Minsu lets out a grieving laugh and blabbers, " This world is mean, Rudra. You give it compassion, it gives you pain. I loved Gina from the bottom of my heart. She was my sunshine in my stress filled dark life. I gave her everything I could. But she......she left a deep wound on my heart. She chose that playboy over me. My only hope gone. Not only did she cheated on me, but also she made it sure to destroy my confidence as it was building up. All this for the love I gave her. I have two siblings and an ill mother to care for. She didn't see that. Jiho, Ji A, Sumin, Gina, me and Sua were childhood friends."

Rudra nods and says, " So, you took to alcohol for your solace."  Minsu nods and starts sobbing. Rudra pats his back and says, " I do sympathize with you, Minsu but this isn't the way you overcome your grief. Alcohol will destroy your health, your life and your family." Minsu's blue eyes look at Rudra with anger, grief and all sorts of negative emotions. Rudra reads his mind, "Who the **** is this guy?! This bastard probably lives like a king, no like an emperor. It's easy for him to say. Why the **** should I listen to him'

Rudra lets out a silent laugh. Minsu reaches to grab the nearest booze bottle . As soon as he touches it, he sees horrid illusions of future. He removes his hand in fear. He tries again for the same thing to repeat. He looks at Rudra, who grins. He goes on to punch Rudra. Rudra blocks his attack and gently taps Minsu's chest. Minsu's soul leaves his body for a moment. Rudra pulls his arm back and Minsu's soul returns to his body. Completely shaken now, Minsu looks at Rudra with fear and confusion.

Rudra smiles and keeps his hand on Minsu's head . Minsu sees a Divine Light. Tears roll from his eyes. He falls down on his knees . Rudra holds Minsu's shoulders and lifts him up. He hugs Minsu and pats his back. Rudra says, " Self destruction is never the answer, Minsu. You must go on no matter what you face. Let me tell you a fact, Snakes shed their skins at regular intervals. Skin-sheeding is the most painful yet the most important moment of their life. During this phenomenon, a snake cannot eat, cannot see and cannot move. Many rats tempt and mock the snake by sitting right in front of it. But the snake endures . And soon, it succeeds shedding its skin. Once it does , it is reborn. What did you infer from this?"

Minsu replies, "Snake shedding its skin is removing the painful past. Gina's mocking remarks can be corressponded with rats and the stress I am undergoing is the pain during shedding. I just need to endure and move on. Alcohol will further destroy me."

Rudra grins and says, " Exactly, Minsu. You are a fast learner. What else can I expect from the son of Varuna ." Minsu nods. Rudra asks, " Did you have a specific goal in mind?" Minsu replies, " I wanted to become a lawyer. Wait, I can still become one. I just need to enroll in an university." Rudra smiles and says, " Leave it to me. I will take care of it. You will become a lawyer."

Minsu smiles. Rudra says, " Alright then, freshen up and come outside." Minsu nods and Rudra leaves the room.  Minsu goes near the window. He extends his hand and a yellowish golden bird perches on his arm. The bird nuzzles Minsu gently and Minsu says, " Hiranyapaksha, tell my father that I apologize for my behaviour. I am ready for my duty as the protector of moral law." The bird nods and whispers in a robotic voice, " Your father loves you and will be glad to see you improving. "

It then flies away to the horizon. Minsu walks to the restroom and washes his face with water.  His pale colour improves and he happily walks out.

(Gil-yong's apartment, City S)

"Sumin , calm down . It's ok. We are here to protect you , " Snow says. Sumin says , "I....don't ....know ....anything....I...didn't...do..anything.." She sobs uncontrollably

Jiho says , "It's ok. It's alright. you are not in trouble . Just tell me , did the killer do this?"

Sumin says , "NO , the killer saved me . He protected me from those animals."

Snow says , "Elaborate all the details please. Like why were you there and all stuff...."

Sumin says , "Theodore took out a loan from these gangsters . He was unable to repay them . They tormented us every single day and we weren't even able to inform you guys . They beat up Theodore many times and put him in hospital . They told me that they would leave us alone if I paid the loan back  which I managed to collect using the Kendo Club. I went to their stronghold to pay the loan back but they were not happy . They said that they had increased the amount due to interest and tried to...tried to..." she breaks down .

Snow comforts her . Sumin continues , "They tried to throw themselves on me and almost succeeded . But then , I watched in horror as the man who tore my clothes was beheaded by a dark figure. The last thing I managed to see before losing my consciousness was a tall dark figure which vaguely introduced itself as the Wind Demon."

Sumin says, "After sometime, I regained my consciousness. I was able to see the main guy cowering back in fear and the killer asking him about the main guy's elder brother. The guy replied with a no and pleaded for mercy. The killer said and I quote, ' Tell that to the families you destroyed for your lust and greed. '. He then brought the axe down sliced his arm off his shoulder. He did the same with other limbs and then beheaded him. I pretended to be unconscious and the killer walked to me. He whispered in my ears, 'I know you are conscious. Just call Jiho once I leave. You cannot call now. Your phone doesn't have any signal here, and will not have until I leave.' I nodded. He tossed my phone towards me. And I called you. While leaving, he also told me to be careful."

Jiho and Dae-man look at each other.  Dae-man motions Jiho outside. Jiho nods. Dae-man says, " These people harm just the wrong doers, the wrong doers that have committed extreme crimes. Weird." Jiho nods and says," Probably a bunch of vigilantes." Dae-man shakes his head in disagreement and says, " No, not just a random bunch. My father, Agni is the presiding deity of holy offerings and  he is often in touch with the Divine Messenger. I had contacted my father a week ago who told me about an unknown project by the Asuras. He said he cannot tell much about that but told me to watch out for a girl named Eko."

Jiho asks, " Isn't it the same girl who was supposedly kidnapped by the Dark Demon? And did I mention that the Dark Demon is none other than Hiranyakesha ?" Dae-man replies, " I know. My father told me. He told me to not to engage in any type of conflict with Eko. He also told you can face Eko but it's advisable not to." Jiho asks, " Why? Is Eko a powerful force? Who is she? Why was she kidnapped?"

Dae-man replies, " That's the thing, she wasn't. She escaped the orphanage with the Dark Demon. And Eko is possibly related to one of the most dangerous and disciplined deities ever." Jiho asks, " Who?" Dae-man replies, " Shani dev, the God of *Karma ,* justice and retribution." Jiho's eyes widen. He says, " I need to learn about what happened that day in that orphanage."

Dae-man says, " We should talk to Aasaan."  Jiho nods and says, " Let's do that please."

(Afternoon, Cafe Teanight, City S)

Dae-man and Jiho wait for Rudra. Rudra enters the cafe and sits on the chair opposite to them. Dae-man says, " Salutations, Aasaan." Rudra smiles and says, " Hello, Agneya. How are you?" Dae-man replies, " I am good , Aasaan." Rudra nods and asks, "So why have two of my best students contacted me?"

Jiho replies, "I have some questions." Rudra smiles and motions his hand . Jiho asks, " Who is Fuma?" Rudra replies, " Fuma is an aspect of Vayu  or the son of Vayu . He is the son of a female police officer. However, something very tragic happened and that officer was taken captive by antisocial elements. So, Fuma is searching for his mother. He is doing the same thing that Garuda did.  You know Fuma's case. It's related to your department."  Jiho asks, " Who is Eko?" Rudra laughs and replies, " Eko is a force to be reckoned with. She is a second generation aspect. You have deities as your father or mother. She has deity as a grandfather and thereby is more powerful than a first generation aspect. She has a great potential. Her backstory is tragic though. Her parents were in military and a terrible war resulted in the death of her mother. Her father and her grandmother took care of her until they got in trouble with the infamous mafia in Country J and Eko was orphanated. She was then raised in an orphanage until Dark Demon kidnapped her."

Jiho says, " You know that Hiranyakesha is Dark Demon , right?" Rudra keeps his palm on the mouth, acting shocked. Jiho gets irritated and says, " Don't bullshit me , Aasaan." Rudra scolds, " you should  have known that before. Hiranya is a demi-Daitya and he uses darkness as his illusionary images. Daitya is a class of meta demons. No shit, sherlock." Dae-man laughs and says, " Why do you always get scolded by Aasaan, Vaikartana?"

Jiho slaps his palm on his forehead. He says, " I fell right into it."  Rudra laughs and says, " Almost all the aspects have assembled here for a reason."  Dae-man asks, " What reason?" Rudra smiles and says, " That's what I want you to find out."

(A Dark Cave in an Unknown Location)

Few people participate in an intense discussion.  Among them are Hiranya and Fuma. A silver haired borderline teenager sits on a throne like chair , watching over their discussion. With him, sits a black haired borderline teenage girl . He signals the girl to bring a mask like gadget and the girl does the same. He puts on the mask. He gestures 'Thank You' in sign language. The girl smiles and says, " Anything for you, Vajra "

The boy smiles and nods. He speaks in a robotic voice, " Tell me the problem."  A tall guy points at Hiranya and Fuma and says, " These two directly engaged in combat with Vaikartana, even when you told them not to." Vajra sighs and says, " They didn't engage on purpose, Drauni-aasaan. They had to do that for self-defense. Stop scolding them, already."  Some people drag a scared in gangster in the cave. Vajra asks, " Who is this?"

One of them replies, " Lord Vajra, this guy is one of the survivors of the B gang massacre. As instructed by Lord Fuma, we brought him here to you."  Vajra faces that guy and asks him, " Where are J and Gator hiding?"

The gang member replies, " Who the **** is J? And Gator will be in a river or a lake." He laughs in his own sense of sick humour. Vajra laughs a bit and points at the guy. He says, " ha ha ha, see Gator lives in a river .....ha hahaha." Vajra's expression turns dark. He shoots a lightning bolt near the gang member who screams in fear. Vajra walks towards him and leans towards his face, with his stormy grey eyes staring right into the gangster's soul. The gangster sees horrid illusions and screams, " NO! STOP IT! PLEASE!" Vajra screams , " THEN ANSWER ME DAMNIT."

The gangster says, " J is with J Gang. I don't know where they are. I don't know about Gator though. Now please, let me go."  Vajra moves away from him and the guy tries to run away. Vajra points his finger towards the guy and a lightning bolt strikes him, vaporizing him.

Vajra sits on the throne and clenches his fists. Multiple sparks of electric current surround his fist and run towards his heart, revealing several line-like tattoos which light up on contact with the current spark. The girl pats Vajra's shoulder and he calms down. He looks towards the girl and pats her head , saying, " Don't worry, Eko. I am fine." Drauni says, " I also heard that Agneya has joined forces with Vaikartana." Vajra says, " Drauni-aasaan, Vaikartana-hyeong is not an enemy. I am sure he will understand."

He walks outside the cave and admires the scenic beauty outside. "The pack of wolves is ready," he says.

"The wait is only for the Alpha."

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