Flashback.
Water dripped from Dhira's hands as he stood beside a stone basin in the palace corridor, rubbing his palms with the sharp smelling liquid Vijay had given him. He sniffed his hand and frowned. "Are you sure this cleans things? Not the other way around!"
Vijay leaned against the wall with his arms folded. "Yes."
Dhira rubbed harder his expression a one with slight disgust."It smells like something died in it."
"That means it's working."
"What if I get infected?"
Vijay sighed loudly. "Brother. There isn't a disease on this planet strong enough to harm you." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "The bottle I gave you is what I use to clean my forge pots after making extremely dangerous poisons."
Dhira stopped rubbing. Turned his head slowly. "You gave me poison cleaner?"
"It cleans everything."
Dhira stared at his hands for a moment. "Great." He rinsed them again anyway, shook the water off and started walking. Vijay followed.
They reached the king's chamber doors. Dhira pushed them open and walked in.
The king was speaking quietly with a minister. Both turned. The king's face lit up immediately. The minister glanced at Dhira once then looked away as though he had more important things occupying his attention. Dhira noticed and ignored it. He walked to the drinks table, picked up a cup and took a sip. The minister passed him on the way out. Neither acknowledged the other. The door closed.
The king came forward quickly and pulled Dhira into a tight embrace. "My pride!" Dhira nearly lost his grip on the cup.
"Thanks?" The king stepped back but kept both hands on his shoulders, smiling the way people smile when they've been holding something exciting all day. "Where were you? I looked everywhere."
"Training."
"Today is a special day." The king grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the long wooden table at the center of the room. Something rested on it. A golden envelope, not the ordinary kind, the metal holding a faint glow as though light had been pressed into it from the inside. Dhira stopped. "What's that?"
"A letter." He said hiding his excitement.
" I can see that, but form where?"
And the king reply with a big smile .
" From Mount Olympus."
Dhira froze for a second and than stepped closer. The air around the envelope felt different. Heavy and old in a way that had nothing to do with the room. He picked it up with both hands and looked at the seal.
The king paced behind him, barely containing himself. "Do you understand what this means? This is not just an honor for you, it is an honor for all of Daansara. You will be remembered as a legend." He leaned closer. "Just like Ramna."
Dhira smiled faintly, and that name only heard in lengend make him feel something.
"Can you imagine? Your name beside hers in history." The king's voice softened. "This is your destiny. An opportunity. With them behind you, your title as the strongest warrior of humanity becomes undeniable."
Dhira chuckled. "I already am."
The king laughed then shook his head and walked toward the large window. "You are strong. Stronger than most. But this earth is not ours alone." He turned back and began counting on his fingers. "Maanvar. Vaanar. Asura. Amazons. Atlantians. Mayakar. Garudas. Naagvans. And many more we don't even know of. They are born strong, Dhira. They grow faster than humans. They carry Soma naturally, something we humans only hear about in legends." He looked at him directly. "Look at Rajraj."
Dhira smirked. "He's loud."
"He has trained two years. Two years, and he is already the second strongest man in this kingdom. People like you are rare. And since the end of Mahabharat, people like you have become even rarer. People are saying human's are in decline. But you , you have us all hope." and the king looked at him kindly.
" Very few humans reach the level where those races take notice. And even fewer have had what you had, someone like Hanuman as a teacher." He stepped closer, his voice becoming serious. "This invitation is more than pride. More than glory. The Olympians are not known for kindness but they respect strength and talent. This is not only an opportunity for you. This could change the fate of humanity."
Dhira, who had been holding the easy calm he always carried, stopped smiling. For the first time in the conversation his face turned entirely serious.
The corridor outside was quiet. Vijay stood against the wall with his arms crossed, eyes on the floor, the posture of someone who had been waiting longer than he looked. The door opened and Dhira stepped out. Vijay looked up immediately, read his face in one glance and straightened. "What happened?"
Dhira held up the golden letter.
Vijay's eyes narrowed. "Where did you—"
"Olympus."
Vijay said nothing. He stared at the letter for a moment then pushed off the wall.
"Come." They walked without speaking to a small side room. Vijay shut the door behind them. A wooden table, two chairs. Dhira sat. Vijay didn't. He started pacing, hands clasped behind his back.
Dhira watched him for a moment and than said when he saw no signs of him stopping. "You're making the floor nervous."
Vijay stopped and looked straight at him.
"Is it over?"
"What?"
"That." He gestured toward the letter.
"Not yet."
Vijay started pacing again, the tension on his face no longer something he was working to hide. Dhira frowned slightly.
"Why are you so worried?"
"Don't you know why?" His voice rose slightly. "It's the gods we're talking about. Gods, Dhira. The kind that see everything."
"Not everything you said don't you remember?"
Vijay let out a short dry laugh a humarless laugh. "I said that because I never believed the gods would actually call you personally." Dhira tapped the golden envelope against the table. "Well. They did." Vijay dragged a hand down his face. Dhira leaned back slightly. "Relax. Isn't this good? Gods calling us. It'll make your stories even better."
Vijay looked at him the way people look when they've heard something both expected and disappointing. "Stories," he said slowly. "That's the problem, brother." He started counting on his fingers. "Lord Hanuman being your teacher. Thor being your friend. Angels falling for you."
Dhira raised a finger. "An angel did fall on me once, you were there ."
Vijay stared.
"And I do know Thor."
Vijay closed his eyes briefly. "That's not the point. The point is we built those stories. We presented you like someone favored by the gods. Like the second Ramna."
Dhira's expression tightened. "Don't compare me to her. I'm not some freak of nature. I'm the strongest human warrior."
"That's what we spread," Vijay said quietly. "Are you starting to believe our own lies?"
"That isn't a lie." No hesitation. His eyes were steady and he meant it.
Vijay studied his face. Dhira pushed his chair back and stood. "One hundred and seven battles, Vijay. One hundred and seven. Half of them full scale wars against every kind of enemy this nature has to offer."
" I have never lost. Not once. I fought. I learned. On my own." He stepped closer to his brother. "No one even looked at us in the beginning. Remember those days? Wandering from kingdom to kingdom just trying to survive."
Vijay's eyes dropped for a moment.
"What does it matter if we said I learned mace fighting from Hanuman? We did see him once."
Vijay raised an eyebrow. "You mean the time he swung his mace at a mountain?"
"Exactly."
"And you learned mace fighting from one swing?"
Dhira smiled slightly and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "That might be a lie to you. But not to me." He let that sit for a moment then continued. "And those rumors? They weren't even ours. The kingdom spread them. You only repeated them. I'm not too weak to fill the gaps." He raised a hand before Vijay could speak. "Think about it. Why do you think they called me? Because I said I knew someone? Or because I became strong enough to stand before them?"
Silence filled the small room.
"You're thinking too much," Dhira said, his voice quieter now. "Do you really think I reached this point on the back of fake rumors? Maybe in the beginning they helped. But not anymore. People see me as the hero of this kingdom because I have the strength to prove it every time." He added, almost casually, "And who in this world hasn't exaggerated something once or twice?"
Vijay didn't answer. He just looked at him. His face still heavy. Still worried.