Back at the bungalow, the heavy silence of the funeral still hung in the living room. Kael, Renjiro, Sara, and Sarina sank onto the comfortable sofa, exhausted from the long, emotional day.
Renjiro let out a long sigh, leaning his head back. "Should we take a bath?"
Kael nodded quietly. "Yeah. My uncle always said that whenever you come back from a funeral, you have to wash up properly."
Sarina tilted her head, her long pink hair swaying slightly. "Why? What happens if you don't?"
Renjiro shrugged his shoulders casually. "Don't ask me. I don't know much about earthly religions."
"I do," Kael said, his tone turning serious. Everyone turned to look at him as he continued, "If you don't cleanse yourself after a funeral, negative entities and lingering spirits will try to cling to you."
Sara blinked in surprise. "Wait... we were in a human world with human traditions."
Kael frowned, looking at her. "Don't you know about human religions?"
"In the Divine Realm, we don't fight over religious beliefs," Sara explained calmly. "And we don't really concern ourselves with human concepts of heaven."
Kael stood up abruptly, slapping his palm against the back of the sofa. "What?! Does that mean humans are worshipping gods that exist even above the Divine Realm?"
Sara nodded gently. "Yes. Supreme beings like Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi, Jesus, Allah, and others exist far beyond our realm."
Kael took a step back, stunned. "Then who actually takes care of the Earth?"
"Both," Sara answered smoothly. "The supreme gods step in if there is a massive cosmic threat. But for daily existence, the Goddess of Destiny and the God of Creation manage things in harmony with them."
Kael's eyes widened in disbelief. "No way... so ancient scriptures like the Ramayana and Mahabharata are actually real history?"
Sara stood up quickly, raising a hand. "I'm sorry, Kael, but we really shouldn't continue this conversation."
Kael grabbed her shoulder firmly, his golden eyes intense. "I need to know, Sara."
Sara sighed, leaning in close to whisper a secret truth directly into his ear. "Don't tell a soul," she murmured softly before stepping back.
Kael stood frozen, his mouth slightly open in utter shock. "No way... I never would have guessed that. That is completely opposite to what I thought!"
Sara offered a small, gentle smile, turning to Renjiro. "Alright, let's order some dinner."
"Shouldn't we all take a bath first?" Renjiro asked, standing up.
"Yeah," Kael snapped out of his shock, heading toward the hallway. "I'm calling first dibs on the bathroom!"
Instantly, a chaotic scramble broke out. Everyone bolted toward the main hallway at once. In the rush, Renjiro accidentally shoved Kael back onto the sofa.
Kael tumbled onto the cushions, but a dark smirk played on his lips. I never thought I'd use my spatial powers for something like this.
With a subtle flare of magic, Kael vanished from the living room and reappeared directly inside the bathroom. He slammed the heavy door shut and turned the lock with a loud click.
Outside, Renjiro pounded on the door, laughing. "Hey! That's cheating!" He turned to Sarina with a mischievous grin. "Sarina, go raid Kael's room and hide his clothes! We'll lock him inside!"
Sarina nodded cheerfully and hurried down the hall into Kael's bedroom. But as she opened his wardrobe, she found Kael already standing there, casually picking out a fresh set of clothes.
Before she could yell for Renjiro, Kael stepped forward, gently covering her mouth with his hand. "Hold on," Kael whispered, his eyes glinting playfully. "How about you and I make a deal after I wash up?"
Sarina raised an eyebrow, looking at him curiously.
"A business deal," Kael added with a smirk.
Sarina thought for a second, then gave him a clear thumbs-up. Satisfied, Kael grabbed his clothes and vanished in a flash of light, teleporting straight back into the locked bathroom.
Meanwhile, Sara set her phone on the dining table. "Alright, food is ordered."
She walked toward Kael's room and found Sarina standing in front of the open wardrobe, staring blankly at the hangers. "Sarina? What are you doing in here?"
Inside the bathroom, Kael dipped his hand into the tub, testing the water. "Moderate temperature... perfect." He paused, leaning against the tile wall. I should probably give Sarina a fair trade for keeping quiet earlier.
After a long, relaxing soak, Kael dried off, pulled on his fresh clothes, and grabbed the door handle. He gave it a pull, but the door wouldn't budge. Renjiro had locked it from the outside!
Kael knocked on the heavy wood. "Hey! Open the door!"
Renjiro leaned against the outside wall, smirking. "Too bad, Kael! You rushed in without a towel or clothes, didn't you?"
"If you don't open the door, how are we going to eat when the food gets here?" Kael called out.
"Same goes for you!" Renjiro chuckled.
"Alright, I'm unlocking it now," Kael warned.
"Go ahead and try," Renjiro boasted. "I made up my mind not to let you out!"
Kael let out a soft sigh inside the bathroom. "Suit yourself."
SWOOSH!
In a flicker of spatial magic, Kael materialized directly in the hallway, standing right behind Renjiro.
Renjiro's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he turned around and saw Kael fully dressed. "How the hell did you get clothes?!"
Kael shrugged nonchalantly. "I grabbed them from my room before I locked the door."
Renjiro stared at him, his mischievous mood deflating instantly. "Then... how am I supposed to get inside?"
Kael casually reached past Renjiro, unlocked the door from the outside, and pushed it open.
Renjiro blinked, totally confused. "Wait... you unlocked it from the outside?"
Kael raised an eyebrow. "I was inside, so I unlocked it, came outside, and now it's open. What's so hard to understand?"
Shaking his head in utter disbelief, Renjiro grabbed his own towel and stepped into the bathroom. He turned on the faucet, waiting for the tub to fill with warm water. Standing against the tiled wall, his playful expression faded into a quiet, somber look.
Kael... are you just hiding your sadness behind all these jokes? Acting like you don't care...
Renjiro let out a quiet sigh, stepping into the warm bathtub. He took ten minutes to wash away the dirt and exhaustion of the day before wrapping a towel around his waist and stepping out.
Sara went next, taking her turn in the shower, followed by Sarina.
While Sarina was in the bathroom, Kael sat comfortably on the living room sofa, taking a long sip from a glass of ice-cold fruit juice. "Ah... that is refreshing."
Renjiro walked over, sitting down across from him. He looked at Kael with a soft, serious expression. "Kael... you know you can cry if you need to. You don't have to hide your pain from us."
Kael set his juice glass on the glass table. Hearing Renjiro's words, he froze, staring down at his hands in silence.
Renjiro's heart sank, thinking he had crossed a line. He offered a nervous, apologetic smile. "Ah... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
Kael looked up at him, tilting his head in genuine confusion. "Why are you apologizing?"
Renjiro sighed heavily. "I was asking about Vrinda and Ashu. I thought..."
"Oh!" Kael blinked, realization dawning on him. "No, I'm not hiding anything. I'm really not sad right now."
Renjiro raised both eyebrows, thoroughly puzzled. "Why? They were your friends, weren't they?"
Kael looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Do you just enjoy seeing me miserable?"
"No! Of course not!" Renjiro insisted quickly. "It's just... they were important to you."
Kael offered a soft, genuine smile. "They were. But I met their souls at the funeral pyre before they departed. I saw how deeply they loved each other, and I know they are truly happy together in the next life. So... I'm happy for them too."
Renjiro stared at Kael for a moment, the tension leaving his shoulders. A warm, relieved smile spread across his face. "I'm really glad I'm your best friend, Kael."
Kael looked away awkwardly, a faint blush of embarrassment touching his cheeks as he picked up his juice again. "Alright, alright, stop buttering me up."