In this chapter, we learn the truth behind the relationship between Agni and Gandharva as machinations from the distant past come to light. Characters are forced to make crucial choices that will determine their path for the future.
Episode 3-53[]
Season 3 Episode 53: Crossroads (1)
Shess tells Agni about Maruna, and the god decides to talk to the Garuda rakshasa peacefully.
The Kinnara rakshasa is concerned about the fact that long exposure to the Taraka eyes will seal transcendentals permanently... if the Taraka is not killed. He warns Agni that he should keep Gandharva in check when he brings him over to confirm that the Taraka sura is based off Shakuntala.
Meanwhile, Maruna is spectating from afar, wondering what is going on since now Shess takes sura form.
Laila also saw Agni's Paradisial Flare transcendental and asks Chandra about it, who reveals that Agni can actually enter and exit Paradise/Afterlife at will.
Agni arrives to fetch Gandharva, who is wondering why Agni can use transcendentals while he can't. The god cuts to the case (=Shakuntala) when Gandha urges him to get info about his daughter from Leez. The nastika refuses to acknowledge the fact taht his daughter is dead, though. Even Agni telling him that he checked Paradise and saw Shakuntala there falls on deaf ears. He concludes that Gandharva is only believing what he wants to believe and is a liability that can't be trusted.
In the Chaos temple, Teo is wondering what is going on all of a sudden - there is no way that she and Airi can participate in that fight with their magic blocked.
Gandharva and Agni arrive at the scene, and the nastika flees into denial again, especially when the Taraka shifts forms to resemble Shakuntala and addresses him with "Dad".
Shess reminds the fire god to not let Gandharva interfere with the killing of the Taraka.
Episode 3-54[]
Season 3 Episode 54: Crossroads (2)
When Shess continues stomping the Taraka, it begins wailing and calling out to Gandharva for help. Agni casts his Paradisial Flare again to keep Gandha from getting any closer while he prepares to attack it too.
The Shakuntala-Taraka keeps talking to the nastika, saying how he was deceived and looked down on by everyone, and that he could only be consoled by his daughter. In the end, Gandharva begins to cry and his skill Frozen Tear envelopes the area.
In the Earth temple, Chandra reacts alarmed, since all transcendentals should have been blocked by the Taraka eyes. Only Kali should be able to exclude selected people from the range of her eyes - her fighting style included that strategy. Laila wonders why the god suddenly brings up Kali who vanished a long time ago. Chandra keeps silent.
Agni is surprised that Shess, now returned to human form, was severly affected by Frozen Tear, he had assumed the rakshasa to have a strong mind.
Gandharva is now standing next to the Taraka, listening to it and attacking Agni and Shess at its behest.
Still outside the city, Maruna is confused about even Gandharva firing transcendentals. He is wondering if it has to do with the favor he asked from Shess. Not sure if he should hang onto the Eye of Perishment because of Sagara's words, he remembers that Akasha did speak about Samphati's mission. So he concludes that Sagara lied to him, and decides not to trust the snake and continue to persue the item.
Meanwhile, Brilith decides to go get Kasak for support, since she herself is useless without her magic. When she knocks at his door, a disheveled Leez opens it, with a bleeding scratch on her jaw. She was apparently just done getting Kasak to his room when she noticed the commotion and tried to wake him up...unsuccessfully. Leez decides to head out on her own and provide support with the sword transcendentals. Brilith is concerned since she doesn't have the bracelet anymore, but Leez insists.
Episode 3-55[]
Season 3 Episode 55: Crossroads (3)
Agni returns to Chandra's and Laila's side with a visibly distressed Shess. A confused Laila asks the two gods regarding Gandharva's current allegiance due to his unexpected usage of a transcendental skill against them. Chandra sheds light on Gandharva's way of ruling and describes the sura as an immature, self-centered tyrant since the beginning of the universe. He explains most of Gandharva's subjects —nastikas— had turned their backs on him for his constant fits of temper, and truthfully, was the worst king for his clan. Indirectly, due to his personality, he may have went insane as he could not accept the current unfortunate situation.
Laila then questions her summoned god regarding the supposed alliance, only for Chandra to reply that the alliance with the sura, Gandharva, was Agni's idea. The god of darkness explains he could not veto Agni's idea without the other gods' support. When Agni is questioned concerning his idea, he answers, "For the future. If we kill him, the best possible future disappears."
However, Chandra furiously rebukes his answer and asks if Agni wishes they should deal with the immature king, and states Gandharva's only hope, was dead. The god of darkness clarifies to his summoner that the gods had given up on the best possible future a long time ago, and all but Agni had come to an agreement to search for a second best option. He also adds the primeval god who had made the prophecy seemed to have given up on it.
Agni chastises the god of darkness regarding the casual explanation. Chandra replies nonchalantly that his summoner will not be able to tell anyone else about the information as she will not be able to talk, and in her death, she will forget everything. The god of fire reveals he was not talking about Laila, but something else— and they will talk once the current situation is resolved.
Chandra suggests their next most reasonable option to rise from his sleep, and tells Agni to be more careful because he is a far more important asset to them when compared to Kasak as the god of fire departs.
Back in Kasak's room, Brilith Ruin muses about her current dilemma before hearing her name being called. After a pause, she remarks her summoned god's lateness and asks to awake the half-sura and take the half-sura with him. However, Agni states Kasak's awakening to be kept in reserve because the half-sura gave up too much, and should not lose the little time he has left. Brilith comments on his stance before questions if they can solve the current situation without involving Kasak. The god of fire gives a positive answer, but before he continues with his plan, he wants to check something with Brilith.
Agni asks Brilith if her statement —'I'm getting even farther away from him'— refers to himself. Brilith denies his theory, and says she will not regret drifting away from him. He reveals his reason for the question and apologizes for taking up her time. Soon after his apology, he leaves her alone.
Brilith then wonders why Agni asked that question when they have other pressing issues such as the results of a botched experimentation[1]. Since Agni has another solution in mind, she leaves the room.
Maruna observes the dire situation from a nearby cliff and notes the main threat is from the Taraka clan, which had gathered in a swarm— instead of a battle of disagreements over the Garuda sura himself. Since he has made his decision to use the Eye of Perishment, his next move is to show the gods he is no longer a threat. Before he could do anything, Agni appears behind him, praising his bravery for appearing in his human form. The god of fire muses even if Maruna did appear in his sura form, it will make no difference as one blow is enough to send the sura flying.
The sura is stunned to silence by the god's unexpected appearance.
Agni requests the sura to be less nervous, and says he knows about the Garuda clan's current situation from the Kinnara sura. The god of fire states he could consider Maruna's request if the latter can prove there is no ulterior motive to his action.
Maruna knows he has no other choice, but to allow the god's transcendental skill, insight, to be used on him. The moment Maruna meets the god's eyes, the transcendental skill is triggered.
After a while, Agni asks if Maruna has met with Sagara earlier, which the latter fumbles with his explanations from panic. Fortunately for the Garuda sura, he is not required to explain. It is revealed the red sky incidents were done under orders. Unfortunately, Agni also states Maruna is not entirely blameless from those incidents, and considering the latter's current situation, it is enough for Agni to make a decision. Agni chooses to reserve his judgement on Maruna's sins as the extinction of the Garuda clan would be unfortunate.
However, Agni warns Maruna that others will demand the Garuda sura to pay for his crimes, and advises the sura to think on his answers to them.
Maruna asks Agni if he could assists the group against the current situation against the Taraka clan— only to have his assistance rejected. Agni declares he could handle the situation alone and orders Maruna to leave the area for the time being. Agni asks him to be careful as there will be no help from him, even if the Garuda sura is in danger, before leaving for the inevitable battle.
The Garuda sura takes his warning in consideration, and wonders if he could take Agni's warning as a sign of goodwill. He thinks he may not have to worry about his crimes based on Agni's reaction.
The chapter ends with Leez staring at Maruna who has not noticed her appearance, with the Sword of Re sparking with power for an attack.
Episode 3-56[]
Season 3 Episode 56: Crossroads (4)
Leez charges up one of the Sword of Return's transcendentals while muttering about a red and white bird. Maruna barely dodges the first attack, but his arm is nicked by the second attack. He wonders if she was one of the fighters who saw him seven years ago, but decides not to fight back since he still needs the trust of the gods. He then notices that his wound is not regenerating.
When "Shakuntala" tries to convince Gandharva to attack the city, Agni responds by tearing her head off. As she reforms, she begs her "dad" to kill Agni. Instead, he again recalls his daughter's request to not fight Agni.[2] Agni tries to convince him that the monster is not his daughter, as the monster begs him not to abandon her. He again remembers her telling him that he needs to give her up.[3] Regardless, he attacks Agni with a transcendental. As Agni reforms, he tells him that he lost his final chance, summons his sword, fires up his "Dark Agni" transcendental, and states that his penalty for using his transcendentals is to give up Paradise. He regrets not killing Gandharva the very day he learned how.
In another flashback, Agni argues with the other gods—Marut, Chandra, Varuna, and blindfold-wearing Indra—that a genocidal maniac such as Gandharva should die, even if keeping him alive would bring the best possible future. The others do not show any concern over the plight of humans since it has no effect on the universe, and that it would be a nuisance to fight him.
Episode 3-57[]
Season 3 Episode 57: Crossroads (5)
The episode begins as a flashback to a time in the third dimension (human realm) on a distant planet. Gandharva, in his Sura form, is surrounding the planet, about to destroy it. Just as the planet's gods begin to lose hope, Agni appears, using his powers to weaken Gandharva. The planet's gods are happy that Agni has managed to subdue him; however, Gandharva immediately revives. Agni states that it can't be helped, and asks the planet's gods to accompany him to the God realm for now, but the gods refuse. They then express their gratitude to Agni for coming to their aid—just as the planet is destroyed.
The scene changes to somewhere in the seventh dimension, the Underworld, some time after the planet's destruction. Yama notes that Agni (who has just appeared there after dying) must have been on the planet that was just destroyed—but has a neutral reaction to this event as he has "let go," which upsets Agni.
The scene switches again to the sixth dimension, the god realm. Agni approaches Brahma, asking if the primeval gods truly have Gandharva's back, as Paradisial Flare does not work on him. Brahma reveals that Gandharva cannot be killed with it since he has someone else to pay the price for his sins instead, and killing this person would purge all of Gandharva's sins. Transcendentals do not work on him, so Brahma says the only way to defeat him is by pure force. Agni, finding this unfair, begins to criticize the primevals for creating such a flawed universe. Brahma simply tells him to use the enlightenment system that is readily available to him, but after Agni continues to criticize the primevals, Brahma gives him a weapon designed to kill Gandharva.
The scene switches a third time to somewhere in the first dimension, hell. Agni is keeping the weapon Brahma gave him sealed here, and has dubbed it 'The Sword of Hellfire' able to come at his beck and call. The power in the sword, Yama, who is frequenting hell at the moment with Indra observes, is one that is unheard of; if the wielder is hit by a fire attribute transcendental and survives, they learn the transcendental, which means that the wielder of the sword could even learn the unique fire transcendentals of powerful nastikas, so long as they survive. This decision made by Brahma to help Agni kill Gandharva baffles the two gods. Indra promptly decides to ask Brahma for a weapon as well, leaving Yama to do his work without help.
Five hundred million years later, a blazing Agni wakes up the colossal Vritra from his nap, demanding a fight. As it turns out, this isn't the first fight they've had- Agni has been attacking Vritra to get his transcendentals, spending tens of thousands of years finding his hiding spots to do so. Vritra is annoyed, and as Agni continues to egg him on, Vritra is pushed past his limit and uses his most powerful transcendental, 'Fathomless Fire,' which he can defeat any Nastika with. Agni is sent to the 0th dimension, which is nothingness. This is where souls are torn apart, and the unenlightened are annihilated. Agni has at last discovered the power that will defeat Gandharva.
The scene does its final change to the third dimension, the human realm, once more. Agni has finished practicing Fathomless Fire, and is searching for Gandharva amongst all of the planets with lots of water, but has yet to find him. Instead, he is greeted by Menaka. Agni asks her where Gandharva is. Menaka at once realizes that Agni has found out a way to kill him. Agni says that he has, and Gandharva's slaughters would finally end and put Menaka at peace. Menaka seems unsure, and reveals to a shocked Agni that Gandharva's sins are now hers to bear.
Episode 3-58[]
Season 3 Episode 58: Crossroads (6)
In another flashback, about ten million years after the destruction of the original human race and the creation of the new one, Menaka is seen attempting to convince Visnu that Gandharva should be spared, but Visnu is undeterred, stating that this was a good thing, and now they only had to wait for Gandharva to finally pay the price of his sins. Visnu then continues to say that Gandharva's actions do not matter; what truly matters is Menaka's survival, and in the Universe's best possible future, she would have become the king of the Gandharva clan. Paradisial Flare would certainly kill Gandharva one day, so all Menaka would have to do is switch to her male form, therefore becoming the strongest and the king of the Gandharvas. According to Visnu, Gandharva 'stealing' Menaka's name was never supposed to have happened, but they would anyhow correct thing as they went, with Menaka becoming the king with her 'power of peace.' If Menaka continued in such a manner and became the first nastika to reach enlightenment, she would help the gods defeat Kali. Menaka questions Visnu's actions, but he does not relent, and Menaka is left alone to weep.
After much time passes, 'Visnu' approaches Menaka, and takes back his original plan. He offers her a new one; he would give Menaka the power to convince Gandharva, although it would take lots of time. Menaka quickly agrees to this. 'Visnu' points out that Gandharva could potentially be killed by Paradisial Flare before she has fully convinced him, which would be problematic since Menaka cared not only for the sacrificed humans but Gandharva himself. He then decides that until Gandharva is completely reformed, Menaka would bear the weight of Gandharva's sins. Menaka asks if such a thing is true, which 'Visnu' confirms, although it ruins the future he had envisioned. Menaka is completely willing to go with this new plan, but 'Visnu' still asks the determining question- if she was willing to give up her future as the price for this new deal.
Menaka informs the other gods about the confirmed change of plans, but to her surprise, the primeval gods knew nothing about this. They then tell her that it was not Visnu that she had met, but Kali, and reprimand her for not differentiating between the two. Brahma grudgingly admits that it couldn't be helped- Menaka and Kali had made an unbreakable deal. The original plan was no longer valid; now Menaka had to die instead of Gandharva. Since Kali had taken her remaining time, Menaka could only seek to reform Gandharva for a set amount of time until death. The task of changing Gandharva would fall onto Menaka's future child. Brahma then tells Menaka that this universe did not matter much to her and Shiva, since they could always create a new one. It was only Visnu who cared. Since Menaka had essentially turned her back on Visnu for Kali, she would have to repent for the rest of her life.
When Menaka finishes telling Agni what had happened, he is frustrated that Menaka was given this role, and is infuriated that she must take all the blame for Kali and Gandharva's actions. Menaka does not mind this, and simply tells Agni to remember what she said even after she died; that she trusted him, who had not abandoned his compassion. It is then shown that Menaka passes away in D675, her clan surrounding her in deep mourning.
After death, Menaka finds herself in an unknown area, unable to remember anything about who she was and why she was there. The only thing she could recollect was the name, "Gandharva," though she could not recollect why. Menaka is then approached by Kali, who informs her of the deal they had made which Menaka had forgotten, and tells her that she has a new job- becoming the parent of Kali's son. Menaka is then transformed into a new being, Taraka.
Episode 3-59[]
Season 3 Episode 59: Crossroads (7)
After the death of Menaka in the flashback (shown in the previous Episode 3-58), Agni confronts Brahma in the seventh dimension, Hell. After first informing Brahma of Menaka's death (to which Brahma coldly admits knowledge of), Agni then continues to say that if Menaka had not made a deal with Kali and taken on the sins of Gandharva, she could have been the first nastika soul to survive the 0th dimension. Brahma is mildly surprised that Menaka had told Agni of this, revealing that the penalty of informing a creature lesser than Kali must have been severe, yet she still did so; not to her fellow nastikas, but to an outsider among the gods themselves, which Brahma says she finds 'entertaining.' When Agni questions this word choice, Brahma simply states that it is true: the current universe had become nothing more but 'entertainment' to her, the creator, for a long time. However, Brahma states that if Agni was truly serious, he could try his hardest, but also claims that it would be easier for Agni to reach enlightenment a hundred times than for Gandharva to realize the error of his ways. As Agni contemplates this, she continues to warn him that his patience would be tested time and again.
The truth of Brahma's words is shown through flashbacks from chapters from the webtoon's timeline. In each flashback, Agni is shown trying to reason and reach out to Gandharva, only to be ignored. The final example of Gandharva seeing the Taraka node and believing it to be his daughter, despite Agni's words, is shown as well. The episode then returns to the present, where Gandharva is still entranced by the supposed appearance of his daughter as Agni looks on.
After the sudden attack, an unsteady Teo is approached by a concerned Airi, who asks if she is alright. Teo responds that she had only been knocked over, relieving Airi. Airi notes that it was good that they had run away, for they would probably have died in the attack otherwise, and that no one else would have gotten hurt, seeing as after the previous attack, everyone in the Temple of Chaos had evacuated to the Temple of Earth. Teo corrects this assumption, saying that she had seen Siera going inside. As Airi listens, shocked, Teo explains that he must have had orders from a god, otherwise, he would not have entered the Temple of Chaos without informing her first. Airi then concludes that the gods must have kept him safe, to which Teo responds that she hopes that is true.Agni visits Brahma again and tells her that Menaka has died, being the first nastika whose soul was capable of overcoming the nonexistence of the 0th dimension. Brahma mentions that a lesser being talking about this situation will get a large penalty, so he must be especially determined.
The scene returns to Gandharva and Agni, wherein Gandharva is embracing 'Shakuntala'. Agni ponders whether or not to kill Gandharva, stating that although all the remaining possible futures would possibly be in Kali's clutches if he were to die, Gandharva was still not quite able to fight against Kali, and the teachings of Menaka had not reformed him completely. Even Shakuntala, who was supposed to carry on her mother's task of reforming him was apparently dead, and Gandharva could not even accept this death. Just as Agni is about to kill Gandharva once and for all, the Taraka that sprang from the node notices and approaches Agni. She stares in the eyes at a shocked Agni, right before Gandharva stabs her. Then, after claiming to be the Taraka that killed his daughter, and that she went to paradise, the Taraka disappears. As Agni approaches a fallen Siera, Gandharva asks why he paused before killing him, telling him that it didn't matter to him anymore whether or not he died, as he had killed something (the death of which would make Agni furious) over ten times without him knowing, and since Shakuntala was in paradise, he had no reason to live.
Agni furiously rebukes him, telling him to shut up and think of how to atone for his sins instead of escaping through death, as at this point, the ultimate sin for Gandharva was death. It is then revealed that at that moment where the 'Taraka' approached Agni, she divulged to him through his insight that she was truly Shakuntala. Shakuntala then 'tells' Agni to not speak aloud, for she wanted her father to believe that she truly went to paradise and that it was best if he thought she was just a Taraka pretending to be his daughter, so she could die at his hands and the two could finally be freed from one another. As Gandharva stabs her, she tells Agni that she was trying to say things so unlike her past self to trick her father into killing her but it hadn't worked. As Shakuntala outwardly lies to Gandharva about her whereabouts, she continues telling Agni to keep her summoner, Siera, safe, as she did not use transcendentals in case they depleted his vigor, so he would be fine. As she slowly disappears, Shakuntala apologizes to Agni for placing such a heavy burden on him, but still pleads him to not give up on her father and the best possible future.
The episode then cuts to somewhere in the sura realm, where Yuta is coughing up blood, to the concern of two other Vritra clan nastikas. He states that he needs to go to the human realm immediately, as his mother has noticed something, and he is the only one who can get there immediately.
Episode 3-60[]
Season 3 Episode 60: Crossroads (8)
Laila looks at Shess, as he lay in a bed. She asks Chandra if dream tracking could help the pained Rakshasa, but he deduces that a Nastika is probably the root of his dream's suffering, and she may get trapped in dream if she tries to help. He tells her Shess will be fine, as he must've been hit by countless psychological transcendentals in his lifetime.
Agni enters the room with an unconscious Siera alongside Gandharva. Chandra hopes Siera has information that could help them, and asks Agni what he found out. He informs Chandra that Siera was the host for a Taraka clan Sura that consumed Shakuntala, and Gandharva finished off the creature. He tells him that Gandharva will no longer care for his daughter's saftey, and has proved his worth. Chandra finds that hard to believe, and exclaims Agni didn't mention the most important part. Agni refuses to say it in front of Gandharva, but Chandra disagrees and proceeds to tell the God of Fire that everyone in the city was prevented from using magic and transcendentals, except for the weakened Nastika. He continues to say that the chances of summoning a Taraka clan Sura with the ability to choose who could use transcendentals, the test yielding an attack from a Sura connected to Gandharva, and the usage of Frozen Tears is too low to simply be a string of coincidences. This causes Agni to ask Gandharva why he cried when he saw Shakuntala, but didn't when the truth was revealed. Gandharva refuses to tell the Gods that the Taraka's words triggered Frozen Tears, and tells them the transcendental activated without his consent. Agni doubts Shakuntala would use mind control if she wanted to help her father, and Gandharva tells Chandra that the Taraka told him there would be stronger Tarakas in the other nodes. Chandra decides that it is too dangerous to continue with the experiments, however, if they cease them Kali is the main person who benefits. While Chandra is admiring his theory, Agni wonders about Shakuntala and her awareness after being consumed. Chandra asks the God about the black smoked transcendental he was able to use during the attack, when an explosion is heard outside.
The origin of the noise is Maruna blocking a blow from Leez, Chandra asks if he should help out the Rakshasa, but Agni discourages the idea, saying he will have to deal with the problem on his own, as he can't run from his problems forever. As he says that, the Hide of Bondage pulls down Maruna, allowing Leez to catch up to him. She brings down the Sword of Return on him, but stops before the blow connects when someone tells her not to do it. She pauses the attack to find the source of the voice, allowing Maruna to fly away. She prepares a second attack to catch the bird, but is stopped for a second time, by an eyeless Yuta who tells her that she shouldn't point her sword there.
Notes[]
- The title "Crossroads" could refer to:
- The many important decisions that characters make and which completely determine their future path, such as
- Menaka's choice to take Kali's deal and change Gandharva [4]
- Agni's choice to give up paradise and Brilith's choice to let him [5]
- Shakuntala's choice to break bonds with her father [6]
- Agni's choice to spare Gandharva[6]
- Maruna's choice to ally with the gods and use the Eye of Perishment [7]
- Gandharva's choice to give up on Shakuntala and defend Agni[6]
- The many important decisions that characters make and which completely determine their future path, such as
References[]
- ↑ Kubera, Season 3 Episode 51: Your Seven Years (6)
- ↑ Kubera, Season 1 Episode 20: The Sorrow of Loss (9)
- ↑ Kubera, Season 1 Episode 30: The Golden Knight (4)
- ↑ Kubera, Season 3 Episode 58: Crossroads (6)
- ↑ Kubera, Season 3 Episode 56: Crossroads (4)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Kubera, Season 3 Episode 59: Crossroads (7)
- ↑ Kubera, Season 3 Episode 54: Crossroads (2)