Strongest Among the Heavens
Chapter 381: The Sleepers of the Underground

Chapter 381: The Sleepers of the Underground

"Months ago, Kumbhakarna the Sleeping Giant descended from the Dark Tower. I am sure you know who he is. He is the younger brother of Ravana from the Hindu epic Ramayana and his insatiable hunger, sleep, and strength is said to rival the King of the Gods, Indra. When he descended, the whole of the Underground shook. When he ate, no one could fight back. For those watching, it seemed like he was just devouring people at random. But it was far from it. No, it was as though he was on a crusade. He devoured our Whispers, those of us that were hidden in alleyways as peasants or disguised as chefs and bosses."

Xavier pushed himself off the door and pointed at several points, all distant and apart. From the East Gate to the Daggerwind Gate and the Dark Gate, south and close to the Dark Tower. "Here, here, and here. Many of our Whispers were far away yet in between his traversal, the Sleeping Giant consumed nothing. He specifically and solely consumed the Whispers. Nobody else. Not a single other casualty."

Dasha stared at the map. As if to be the complete antithesis to its sky counterpart, the Underground did not label and divide districts, naming only neighborhoods such as Old Blood and Guts. Dasha analyzed each point. As Xavier suggested, there was no correlation. He was telling the truth.

"Consort Lü Siniang and her murders; Kumbhakarna and his rampage," Xaiver continued. "They were all catalysts, a sign that something—or someone—has the power to expose us, to destroy us. And we cannot afford to let it continue."

"Your loyalty is commendable," Dasha said.

"Is it the way of the Whispers."

Military brainwashing. Patriotism. Belief in the cause. The ways in which people gathered under a banner were various as they were different. The Templar Order followed oaths and believed in God. The Alhambra Guardians protected and idealized the Caliph. The Whispers did not seem to align with religious or ideological indoctrination.

Grace and Xavier, for example, couldn’t be further from each other in terms of thoughts and ideals. So what connected them? What led them to obey Daughter, who they all described as an organizer rather than an outright leader?

What were the Whispers?

The process of joining the Whispers was unknown to Dasha. Their very existence was hush-hush. The common man living at the Nebulous Bazaar were vaguely aware of them as a fairy tail, while in the Underground, their name was spoken with reverence. With more than the casual cadence of a child’s story. A monster story, more like it.

"Daughter did not go into detail regarding our enemies," Dasha said. "So tell me, who is it? Who dares to attack the almighty Daughter and her birds?"

"In the stories, Kumbhakarna was said to have lost his head when Rama deployed the Indrastra. I venture to guess that his head was not properly put back when he arrived here. Thus, a vulnerability was created." Xavier looked the map over. "By process of elimination, the only entities capable of controlling Kumbhakarna are those with deep knowledge in the Hindu mystics. A Rishi or someone close to that."

"That eliminates most of the population then. Groups too."

"Kumbhakarna has gotten old. He no longer sleeps for six months. Now, it is six years. Six years of sleep for six days of activity. They would have to have access to Floor 95 of the Dark Tower where he sleeps. That leaves those that live on the nineties floors. However..."

"You have already thought of all this. Enlighten me, please. Why can it not be one of the Floor Masters?"

"Floor 96, directly above the Sleeping Giant, is owned by Shriram Kaurav. A modern-day Kaurava, he participated in the Second Heavenly War and was one of the few to possess an astra. In terms of raw power, there are less than a handful that can rival him in the entirety of the Heavenly World."

Dasha knew this already from the history books. Shriram Kaurav was a name that was mentioned as a pushing factor for the war.

"But," Xavier inhaled, "his injuries from the war have not recovered. He can fight but from what I hear, his life is in constant pain."

"The Final Astradhari. The Great Disaster. The day that ended the war. So it is true."

"Yes. A clash between astras erupted and nearly destroyed all of existence."

"And you Whispers do not know what happened."

"Who betrayed who or why it happened..." Xavier shook his head. "No, we do not. The Heath was—is the epicenter of the disaster. Life cannot grow there. It is the one part of the Underground that no one can live in. Simply breathing the air causes death to spread to the nerves"

From the books and the limited eyewitness testimonies, redness clouded the Hearth and the large mountain within. Parvatastra, the astra that summoned mountains, was likely set-off. And the fact that no life could grow meant someone shot the most destructive weapon in the Mahabharata. The four-headed weapon that became a flame capable of swallowing the universe and ending any being that lay within its sight, god or demon.

The weapon that caused stars to fall from the sky.

The almighty Brahmashirastra.

"The legends of the Brahmashirastra and the astras are known to be hell itself. But Shriram Kaurav survived that hell. For him to suddenly chase after the Whispers holds no logic."

"Indeed. Him manipulating and conducting an attack through a third-party would be psychologically inconsistent and unsound for his being," Xavier said. "He has no motive for taking out the Whispers. We do keep tabs on him, he is one of the few remaining that can call upon an astra after all. Daughter specifically gave us instructions not to watch him too much; that he is a waste of Whispers."

"Meaning, Daughter has already conducted her own investigation and come to the conclusion that it was not Shriram Kaurav," Dasha remarked. That meant it was up to him to solve the mystery. "Give me the date of the attack."

"August 12 through 18, 177 HE. The sleeping giant killed and walked for six days."

"Hand me the file of your personal investigation."

"You will see to it?"

"As you suggested, the Underground abides by its own rules. But rules, regardless of how twisted they are, can be overcome with strength. The Whispers in this case cannot offer me that strength. I must establish it myself."

Xavier stilled, then pulled a small notebook from his jacket. He ripped apart two pages and placed them in front of Dasha. "Do as you will."