“Father... no...” Dheer was shocked as he saw his father on the ground bleeding and the spear wedged into his right shoulder.

Neal tried bearing the pain and looked up at the man.

“My son is just a kid, if any mistakes were done by him, I apologize in his stead” said Neal. “Please show mercy.”

The man stopped after hearing the apology. “That is more fitting to a MORTAL.”

Neal did not miss the way the attacker stressed the word ‘mortal’.

“May I know who your highness is and why you are trying to kill my son?” asked Neal.

“You are going to die anyway, why not fulfil your last wish, so listen carefully...” the man said arrogantly, as though he was giving them a boon. “I don’t like repeating myself, your son committed a sin by touching the star locket of the gods.”

“The star locket?”

“I am Ranva, a god. A few years back some of the children and grandchildren of gods went for apprenticeship under god Tvastr, the weapon craftsman of gods. They passed the tests set by him and joined under him. As the lord did not had time to teach personally, he stored all the knowledge and access to his weapons in the locket, as a final test he said that the one who will catch that star locket will become his main apprentice and he threw it on the earth.”

“So the gods have been searching for it, however your son stole the locket and hid it” he explained.

“Hid it? You have mistaken my lord, he found it under a tree and took it out of curiosity” replied Neal. Then he laughed suddenly.

“Why are you laughing?” asked Ranva puzzled.

“When my wife was suffering with illness, no god came to help, when I lost my father in my teenage years no god came to the rescue, when we were poor and suffering there was no god. Now when my son accomplished something the gods have come to kill. There is no justice in the world, which is why I am laughing” replied Neal.

“A fool” snorted Ranva and extended his hand the spear pierced more into the shoulder. “Now hand over the locket of lord Tvastr.”

Neal screamed in pain as the spear lodged more deeply into his shoulder.

“If lord Tvastr has threw the locket as a test, then doesn’t that mean my son has passed it by finding it?” questioned Neal. “Also I do not know if it is fate or a coincidence, my son’s full name is Dheer Tvastr Rathore. That is what I had named him” revealed Neal smiling though he was suffering from the wound.

“A mere mortal trying to compete with gods...” Ranva was angered and he closed his fist, the spear ripped the right hand of Neal completely.

Neal shouted and in pain, blood seeped through the wound.

Dheer went mad, as he saw his father‘s wound, he lost all the common sense and only anger filled him. Suddenly energy rose from him, a portal opened behind him.

Ranva was shocked by seeing the portal. “You...” he was not able to complete the sentence because of shock. Multiple spears and swords flew through the portal attacking Ranva.

Within seconds the spears pierced through him and he fell on his knees.

“There are others, who will come for you. You will not survive” Ranva warned as he coughed blood.

“Let them come, I will be waiting” replied Dheer without fear. He waved the sword in his hand which chopped Ranva’s head off.

He quickly ran towards his father. Neal was uncounscious and he already lost lot of blood. Deer carried him up and hurried towards his village with speed, energy rose up inside him as he ran giving him more strength and speed.