The last Asura Sovereign

The morning sun shone on Lunaris city, a dazzling gleam of purple, painting the emerald forest near the city in a darker shade of green. The already dense and frightening mountain looked even more terrifying but there was a sense of freshness lingering within the breeze blowing through the leaves. Clattering noises could be heard throughout the clan, it was sort of a usual morning ritual but today there was something different about the cacophony of noises.

Today every sound seemed rushed. The relaxed symphony that buzzed through the clan was a go-to signal for Punya to get up from the mediation and start doing his duties. He had gotten used to it after decades but today, the rushed sound made it feel like there was something wrong with the air. Even the pristine ray of purple sunlight seemed to be bleak. Punya thought it was just his imagination and after a moment it turned out to be so.

He stood up from his meditation and went to the supreme elder’s residence. Radha after returning yesterday went to the supreme elder’s residence and was sparring with Amrit on the training hall. It had been a while since she was away from her son so the mother-son duo was sparring and talking about the things happening lately. She had brought back an exotic beast whose meat was to die for.

Although the exotic beast named Fork-tongued Goat was a second grade spirit beast, they usually grew up to the initial stage of second grade. It would be rare to see any middle stage second grade Fork-tongued Goat. They were like mountain goats with two long horns and forked tongues, usually silver in color with black mixed within. Although their strength was average at the beast in comparison to other spirit beasts of the same realm, their agility was top notch, not many could catch up with them.

They were light on their feet so they could easily climb steep mountains and could jump from one branch to another as if jumping on the ground. This particular species was hunted for the meat so it had become almost extinct. Although few lucky ones could find heard of them, the number would be at most ten. Thus finding a lone Fork-tongued Goat on the Bareback mountain was a stroke of luck for Radha.

For decades, there had only been legends of their sightings and the taste of their meat. No one had tasted the meat for decades but the older generations usually revel in the taste they had tried once and regret not being fortunate enough to try it again. It was said that there used to be heard running rampant a century ago. As Radha and Amrit were practicing on the array, she casually revealed that she had brought him a gift from the mountains. Amrit was happy because his mother wouldn’t bring something mundane as a gift for him.

He was filled with expectation and when she said she brought him a Fork-tongued Goat, he was shocked and lost his focus momentarily and a wooden sword touched his nape lightly. He looked at his mother in astonishment and asked “Aren’t the Fork-tongued Goats rumored to be extinct on the outskirts of the Bareback mountains.” Amrit too had heard about the legendary taste of this exotic beast.

And from the inheritance he found out that although this meat is not the best one among the second grade spirit beasts, the inheritance was composed of the collection of countless worlds. So just the mention of the name was enough to rank it as a top-tier ingredient. Radha withdrew her sword and slashed at Amrit but Amrit was ready to defend this time. He was just shocked by the name.

As they started sparring again, Radha replied “When the Battle hall members were exploring the inner region of the Bareback mountains, they came across this injured beast. One of the members recognized it and brought it to the outpost.” Amrit was nodding vigorously with an excited look on his face like a kid looking at candy. Seeing his expression Radha just smiled and said “I have confined it with an array near the spirit fruit tree outside. You can cook it later.”

As Radha finished sharing its location, Amrit bolted towards the door and said in a fading voice “I will prepare the Goat as breakfast today, inform grandmother, grandfather, and father.” From the fading voice, it could be inferred that Amrit was running towards the spirit tree in full force. At this moment for Amrit, it wasn’t just about food, the war was incoming so having a meal with his family in peace for a day or two is a luxury.

He approached the goat and slapped the restraining talisman on its face and carefully disarmed the array restraining it. He checked for any injuries but it seemed like the goat had healed. After the restraining talisman had restrained the goat Amrit prepared a place to slaughter it. It took him half an hour to prepare the meat for different dishes. Although the breakfast usually consisted of a few dishes he had prepared a lot for today.

To cook around twelve dishes, it took Amrit more than an hour. After he finished preparing, he sent messages to the family members. They had already arrived at the waiting room but they chose not to disturb Amrit. The family of five sat around the table and the breakfast was served. It had been more than a month since the five of them ate together. The smell was tantalizing when Amrit was preparing it, and the family members couldn’t wait to dig in.

As they took the first bite they realized the legends about the taste were simply not true, the taste was even more exaggerated than what the rumors said. This may have been due to the long passage of time or the lack of second-grade chefs in Lunaris city. Although Keshab had tasted the goat a few times in his day, it wasn’t even remotely comparable to what Amrit had made. Amrit had chosen the best of the ingredients available on the house and had meticulously followed steps from the spirit chef's inheritance.

Along with his ability to prepare mid-stage second-grade spirit food, the taste of the breakfast was heavenly. Amrit looked at his parents and grandparents devouring the food with gusto. The four family members couldn’t help but eat everything on the table without a break. For any chef, this was the highest form of compliment. He just took a small portion of everything to taste and let the four members devour everything. After half an hour, everything was finished. This was the best meal anyone on the table had ever tasted.