Devil’s Music

Suddenly appearing in America, Shiva walked among three demons. Gamagin, who was about to rise and leave, saw Shiva and extended a hand to invite him to sit.

“Sit down.”

Shiva took a seat opposite Pyemon and Amdusias, to the right of Gamagin. Amdusias, who was not used to seeing a god instead of a demon or an angel, fidgeted nervously until Shiva chuckled and said,

“I’ve come to help, so don’t look so grim.”

Gamagin, taking off his sunglasses and tucking them into his shirt pocket, replied,

“I was indeed planning to seek you out.”

Shiva, putting a finger to his lips, whistled sharply and long.

Squeeeee~~~

Startled by his sudden action, Amdusias wore a dazed expression as a huge shadow cast over him, and he looked up, murmuring,

As the massive bird blocked the sun, a shadow as if clouds had covered the sun swept across the entire United States instantly.

The garuda, with its red feathers and black beak, larger than the eyes of most humans, rolled its eyes, and Shiva spoke softly,

“Go, protect the child.”

Caaaaaaaw~~~~~~!

As the garuda, emitting a sound like thousands of crows cawing, vanished instantly, Shiva tapped the table with his finger and remarked,

“The hospitality here leaves much to be desired. How about some tea?”

Quick to notice, Pyemon promptly stood up and asked,

“Shall I get it for you, what would you like?”

Shiva glanced at the menu and smirked,

“Human menus are always so cryptic. Just bring anything.”

“Please wait a moment,” Pyemon said and left to place the order. As Amdusias awkwardly got up to leave as well, Gamagin finally spoke up,

“Did you know?”

Looking at the beautiful view of the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance, Shiva slowly nodded.

“I’ve been watching ever since the child visited the Himalayas.”

“Why?”

Shiva smirked lightly,

“There’s no reason for liking something good, whereas there can be a thousand reasons for disliking something. Good things are just good.”

Gamagin also smiled,

“That's true. Thanks for lending Garuda. I was about to ask you for a favor myself.”

“Heh, don’t worry about the demons’ familiars anymore; Garuda will take care of it all.”

“Thank you.”

As they conversed, Pyemon returned with the tea on a tray.

“I’ve prepared something you can’t get in Nepal—a caffè latte. I left out the syrup as you seem to dislike sweet things.”

After taking a sip of the caffè latte from the takeaway cup, Shiva looked surprised at the coffee and asked,

“What is this… caffè what?”

Pyemon, barely suppressing a laugh, replied,

“Caffè latte.”

“Ha, this is quite the delicacy. I should have this occasionally.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Pyemon said.

As Amdusias hesitated and then approached, placing a few cookies on a plate, Pyemon patted him on the back, smiling,

“Well then, let’s go and serve Lord Gamagin. Enjoy your conversation.”

As Pyemon was about to leave with Amdusias, Shiva called out,

“Pyemon.”

Pyemon stopped and turned back, and Shiva smiled,

“This is our second meeting, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Shiva.”

“I like you, why not visit the Himalayas sometime?”

“Thank you, I might.”

“Go ahead then.”

After Pyemon and Amdusias left, Shiva closed his eyes, savoring the caffè latte, while Gamagin chuckled,

“That isn’t even expensive.”

Shiva, with his eyes still closed, shook his head,

“Only humans would measure value in terms of money, Gamagin.”

“Heh, my mistake.”

“What will you do now?”

“Well… the demons have Pyemon to deal with it.”

“Is Pyemon enough?”

“Pyemon is a high earl, ranking ninth among the demons. Most would run just feeling his power. He smiles often, but his nature is to oversee grinding, raging, and destruction. If Pyemon gets angry, demons below rank forty might just die.”

Shiva looked surprised in the direction where Pyemon had disappeared,

“I thought he was just a prankster. Was he always so fierce?”

Gamagin, lifting his cold coffee, said,

“Even Baal steps down when he’s angry. You could say he’s tough.”

“Tough?”

“Yeah, once he snaps, he doesn’t even fear annihilation when fighting. A few who fooled around because of his smiling face have perished.”

“Ha, I see. What about the angels?”

“I’ve

secured a promise through Caliel, Michael’s right-hand.”

“They won’t touch the child?”

“No, they promised to protect.”

Shiva arched an eyebrow,

“To protect?”

Gamagin nodded, looking up at the sky,

“Yeah, they promised to protect. I don’t know what they’re thinking.”

Shiva, gazing seriously at Gamagin and then at the sky, smiled softly,

“They must be waiting then.”

Gamagin turned towards Shiva,

“What do you mean?”

“You, I suppose.”

“Me?”

“Ha, Michael thinks of you as a friend. Isn’t he waiting for a friend’s return?”

At Shiva’s words, Gamagin looked troubled for a moment and then shook his head,

“Friend is a big word for it. It’s been over thirty thousand years since I saw his face.”

“A friend feels like someone you met just yesterday no matter how many years pass. Trust me on this.”

“Heh, you are that to me as well.”

“Ha, are we friends then?”

“Maybe we are.”

The god and the high demon looked at each other and smiled. After a moment of silence, Shiva, thoroughly enjoying his caffè latte, drank the rest and stood up,

“I should be going.”

“Thanks for coming.”

Leaning on the chair, Shiva looked down at Gamagin sitting,

“Through the children of Hindu, cover the Eyes of Gusion.”

“Will you do that?”

“I’ve seen the music the child wants to create.”

“Heh, so you have.”

“It will be a light to many who are suffering. You know what to do to keep it from going astray.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Alright, then I’m off.”

A whirlwind arose, and as Shiva’s form disappeared, the lingering wind fluttered Gamagin’s long hair. Putting on his sunglasses, Gamagin whispered softly,

“Thank you, my friend.”

*

In Nepal, at the Annapurna Base Camp, the recent decline in trekkers had quieted the village at dawn.

In a humble stone house, Tenzing groggily got up.

It took about 20 minutes for his eyes to fully regain focus as he seemed to wake up completely.

Suddenly alarmed, Tenzing kicked off his blankets and almost jumped out of bed, bursting through the door and shouting,

“Rahul!! Rahul!!!”

In the courtyard, he saw Rahul, the only Brahmin of the Sherpa village, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

“Rahul!! The, the oracle!!”

Half-opening his eyes and still in meditation, Rahul nodded,

“It has come to me as well.”

Stretching his legs from his seated position, Rahul stood up with a stern face and said,

“Gather all the Sherpas.”

“Yes!”

As the peaceful dawn at Annapurna Base Camp was disturbed, servants began to bang pots with spoons to wake the sleeping Sherpas, who started bustling about the village.

In Nepal’s Deurali, Timo, with a stern expression, struggled to get up from his bed. As a servant approached to assist him with his morning routines, Timo waved his hand dismissively and spoke in a grave voice,

“Inform the Brahmins of an emergency meeting.”

The servant, who had bowed his head to the floor, looked up in shock, and as Timo stood up and looked out the window, he said,

“The oracle has descended.”

Without daring to question further, the servant again bowed his head to the floor. Timo, with a stern face, said,

“Call the servants of the gods. We must find the demon.”

The servant, as quick as a bullet, dashed out. Alone, Timo sighed deeply and gazed at the distant Himalayas,

“O Brahma…”

In Nepal’s Bamboo, from the early morning, monks were sweeping the courtyard of the monastery while Pravin inhaled the fresh air. The unusual sound of the door of the room where Lama Haike rested made him turn his head.

Creeeak.

Unlike usual, Lama Haike appeared outside the door, performing a series of deep bows to the rising sun, and then bent deeply at the waist.

Pravin approached, puzzled, but the serious and mystical aura around Haike prevented him from speaking. After several bows, Haike took a deep breath and surveyed the monks gathered around, including Pravin.

“Get ready.”

Startled by the sudden command, Pravin hurriedly asked,

“Excuse me, Lama? What are we preparing for?”

Haike turned his head to look at the massive Himalayas visible behind the monastery.

“Seek out the demon. And stop him.”

Pravin, tilting his head in confusion, then looked at the Himalayas and suddenly widened his eyes,

“Is it an oracle?”

Slowly nodding, Haike watched as Pravin and the other monks began to bow deeply to the ground. As all the monks in the

courtyard started to prostrate themselves, Haike spoke firmly,

“Order all available monks to prepare for climbing by this afternoon.”

As the powers of Hindu and Tibetan Buddhism united, the effect was tremendous. A few tourists preparing for trekking were astounded to see thousands of people geared up for climbing heading towards the Himalayas.

That afternoon, an uncharted peak of the Himalayas saw about three thousand people, unchallenged by anyone before, staring up at its summit as they trudged through a snowstorm.

And in a cave halfway up the mountain, a pair of eyes looked down in confusion. Gusion, brushing snow off his purple clothes, glinted with dark eyes and said,

“Go down and find out what’s happening.”

Two bats sitting beside him spread their wings and soared up. Soon, hundreds of bats emerged from his cave and began to fly across the Himalayan skies.

>

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