Chapter 4 – The Supreme
Within the boundless void of Brahman, the five primordial elements that form the world began to emerge.
Space—the first element born in the endless desolation, representing the property of sound.
Wind—the second element, representing touch and sound.
Under the sacred sound emitted by the unconscious Creator God Brahma, the third element was born:
Fire, which is also light, carrying the attributes of touch, color, and sound.
At this moment, the infinite, desolate void stirred to life. The first sounds appeared in the world.
With the birth of the fourth element, Water, the boundless void underwent a cataclysmic transformation.
The pure energies rose to form the heavens, while the impure energies descended to form the earth.
Thus, the fifth element, Earth, was born, adding color and substance to the desolate chaos.
Ray watched it all unfold from the depths.
"Space, wind, fire, water, earth," he said, observing each element take shape. "The building blocks. Now we're getting somewhere."
The void descended beneath all things. Sky and earth separated, completing the framework of the world. With the evolution of laws and order, the newly-formed primordial elemental deities began to gestate within the fabric of creation.
"Newly born heavens and earth must have mountains and rivers, stars, the sun and moon. Supreme Spiritual Karma, grant me your power!"
In his infinite unconscious state, Brahma prayed—prayed to Ray, to Brahman itself, the primordial source.
Ray felt the prayer like a ripple across his consciousness.
"Alright, Brahma," Ray said quietly. "Let's see what you can do with it."
Power flowed naturally. Mountains and rivers appeared upon the earth. Plants and trees sprouted from the soil. Above, stars and galaxies hung in the newly-formed sky. The sun and moon began their journey across the heavens.
All things began to experience their first breath of existence.
And then, Brahma's eyes slowly opened.
Colors gradually appeared in his previously murky gaze. Consciousness was born.
"I am Brahma," the five-headed creator declared, his voice resonating throughout all of Brahman. "The first living being of the Primordial Brahman Era, the Creator God of the Three Thousand Realms. From this day, the Three Thousand Realms shall recognize me as their master."
Ray raised an eyebrow at that.
"First living being?" Ray muttered. "Bit presumptuous, but okay. Let's see how long that lasts."
The arrogance radiating from Brahma was palpable, dominating everything around him. Ray could sense Shakti somewhere in the distance, exploring the newly-formed cosmos. She would have heard that proclamation too.
"ईश्वर~" (God)
A voice pierced through the void, reaching Brahma's ears directly.
Ray's attention sharpened. "Oh, here we go. Vishnu's awake."
Sitting upon his lotus throne, Brahma trembled, nearly toppling into the endless void below.
"Who dares to desecrate the great Creator God, Brahma?" Brahma roared, his anger flaring.
He looked down toward the source of the voice and saw the lotus stem beneath him. Curious despite his rage, Brahma descended along it to find its root.
There, he discovered the massive thousand-headed serpent Shesha, coiled over the void, and a man reclining upon it with a serene smile.
Vishnu.
"You are born of me," Vishnu said with a light chuckle. "How can you claim the title of first living being of the Primordial Brahman Era?"
Ray watched the exchange with interest.
"Oh, this is good," Ray said. "Vishnu thinks he created Brahma. Brahma thinks he created Vishnu. Classic."
"You scoundrel!" Brahma's red skin darkened to crimson. "I am Brahma, the Creator God! I clearly created you, and yet you dare insult your father god?"
Despite his words, doubt crept into Brahma's heart. The situation did suggest he'd been birthed by Vishnu. But as the Creator God, how could he admit such a thing?
Vishnu, normally kind and patient, felt his own anger rising. From his perspective, he had clearly created Brahma. How dare this arrogant creator deny it?
For a time, the two gods quarreled in the newborn world, their voices echoing across heaven and earth, exchanging shouts and accusations.
Ray observed from the depths of chaos, amused but also slightly concerned.
"They're both infinite-consciousness gods," Ray noted. "Their power hasn't degraded into mere authority yet. If they actually fight..."
The newborn world continued to expand, sky and earth claiming territory from the infinite void. But it was fragile, newly formed. A battle between Brahma and Vishnu could shatter everything.
"Maybe I should—"
Suddenly, Ray felt it.
A presence was emerging. Deep within the void, at a point between heaven and earth, something was being born. Something powerful.
The laws of destruction, procreation, creation, and ruin began to coalesce.
"Shiva," Ray said, recognition dawning. "The Destroyer is coming."
But the energy wasn't stable yet. It was building, gathering, responding to the discord between Brahma and Vishnu.
Ray made a decision.
He let a fraction of his power manifest—not as a physical form, but as pure presence. A colossal, terrifying aura that pierced through the void and swept across heaven and earth.
The temperature spiked. The very fabric of reality trembled.
Brahma and Vishnu froze mid-argument, their eyes widening with sudden fear.
"This is..." Brahma's thoughts shifted rapidly. "This is the judgment of the Supreme Spiritual Karma upon us."
Ray remained hidden, but his presence was unmistakable. Both gods could feel it—the source of all things, the primordial power from which they themselves had emerged, expressing its displeasure.
"I agree," Vishnu said quickly, reclining back on Shesha with considerably less smugness than before.
Brahma swallowed his pride. He descended from the lotus and pointed at a cluster of sacred law and order nearby. In an instant, it transformed into a pure white peacock.
Brahma mounted the peacock, settling onto its back with as much dignity as he could muster after being terrified moments before.
"Good," Ray said to himself, his presence receding back into the depths. "That's settled. Now let's see what happens next."
But he could still feel it—that gathering power, the fourth great presence preparing to manifest.
Three thousand years passed in what felt like an instant.
The aura Ray had released lingered, and both Brahma and Vishnu seemed determined to prove themselves worthy of his... judgment? Approval? Ray wasn't entirely sure what they thought was happening, but they'd both set off on a quest.
Vishnu descended into the void for three thousand years, searching for the bottom, for the root of all things. Regret filled his heart as he swam deeper and deeper without finding an end.
"I should not have competed with Brahma," Vishnu thought. "Surely he has already reached the source."
Meanwhile, Brahma ascended for three thousand years, flying higher and higher, trying to reach the ultimate peak. He too found no end.
But Brahma, with his five heads and considerable cunning, had an idea.
He plucked a Rudraksha flower that happened to be drifting in the heights and returned to the origin point.
Ray watched this with interest.
"Oh no," Ray said. "He's going to lie. The first lie in the universe. This is going to be interesting."
Vishnu returned moments later, finding Brahma already waiting with the flower in hand.
"Brahma, I believe you have reached it," Vishnu said apologetically. "Forgive my audacity and ignorance."
Brahma's cherubic red face smiled. "Yes, this Rudraksha flower is the proof."
"Scoundrel! Lying!"
The voice didn't come from Vishnu.
The newborn world trembled violently. Mountains collapsed. Rivers flowed backward. Stars wobbled in their courses.
Ray felt the surge of power—not from himself this time, but from the presence that had been building for three thousand years.
Shiva was awakening, and he was furious.
Brahma's face went pale. He stepped back, terrified. Vishnu was equally shocked—another consciousness had been born, and this one radiated absolute power.
"Was that the Supreme Spiritual Karma?" Vishnu wondered aloud, confused.
"Brahma, your actions have angered the Infinite Supreme!" Vishnu, taking on his role as Preserver, chastised the Creator. "Do you wish the universe to perish with you?"
He began trying to soothe the fury that radiated through reality, waves of destructive power threatening to unmake everything.
"You are infinite, supreme, and unsurpassable," Vishnu prayed. "Please forgive Brahma's childish ignorance."
Brahma, snapping back to his senses, immediately knelt.
"Please forgive me," he confessed, his five heads bowed low.
But even so, the world teetered on the brink of destruction. The anger—Shiva's anger—continued to build.
Ray observed carefully. He could intervene, could calm things with his own power. But something told him to wait, to see how this played out.
At that moment, sacred sounds echoed through the cosmos. A lotus appeared from nowhere, and upon it stepped the most exquisite woman in the universe.
Shakti.
Bare-chested, adorned with nine skulls, her beauty radiated an otherworldly charm that transcended mere physical form.
"Respected Supreme," Shakti walked forward gracefully, extending her jade-like hand toward the point where Shiva's power concentrated. "Please calm your anger."
Ray watched as the Cosmic Mother intervened, her presence a soothing counterbalance to Shiva's destructive fury.
"Interesting," Ray said quietly. "She knows what to do. She understands the balance needed here."
The question now was: would Shiva listen?