"The Lotus That Bleeds."
In the timeless epochs of creation, before the world as humans knew it fully bloomed, Lord Brahma, the architect of the cosmos, sat in deep meditation. From his navel arose a magnificent lotus, its petals radiating a divine luminescence, each one imbued with the very essence of creation. This was no ordinary flower; it was the genesis point of reality, a conduit to the primordial energies that shaped existence. The air around it hummed with the power of potentiality, and a sweet, otherworldly fragrance emanated from its core.
One day, a shadow fell upon this sacred scene. A petty thief named Kesava, driven by avarice and a reckless disregard for the sacred, stumbled upon the ethereal lotus. Kesava was a creature of the night, his heart as dark as the alleys he frequented. He had heard whispers of a flower of immense power, a treasure beyond mortal comprehension, and his greedy soul yearned to possess it. He saw the radiant bloom, its petals shimmering with an inner light, and his eyes widened with covetous desire. He cared nothing for its divine origin; he only saw an object of immense, unknown value.
Hesitantly, his grimy hand reached out, drawn by an irresistible urge to possess this extraordinary bloom. As his fingers, calloused from years of pilfering, brushed against the delicate petals of Brahma's lotus, a tremor ran through the very fabric of existence. The air crackled with an unseen energy, and the sweet fragrance turned sharp, almost metallic. A single drop, crimson and viscous, welled up from the heart of the lotus and slowly dripped onto Kesava's hand. It wasn't water; it was blood, divine ichor, a sign of a profound disturbance.
Kesava recoiled, a flicker of unease finally piercing his avarice. The lotus, once a beacon of serene light, now seemed to pulse with a darker energy. The air grew heavy, and the humming intensified, taking on a more urgent, almost frantic quality.
From the depths of the lotus, a stirring began. It was subtle at first, a faint rustling within the petals, but it grew steadily, like a slumbering giant awakening from an age-long sleep. A presence began to coalesce within the flower's heart, a form taking shape from the very essence of creation, now tainted by the touch of greed and the bleeding wound of the lotus.
Kesava, his petty desires momentarily forgotten in the face of this unfolding mystery, watched with a mixture of fear and morbid fascination. He had sought to steal a treasure, but it seemed he had awakened something far more ancient and powerful.
The petals of the lotus began to unfurl with unnatural speed, revealing a figure emerging from its core. It was a deity, but not one of benevolent countenance. Its eyes glowed with a hungry light, its form radiating a raw, primal energy. Its skin was the colour of dried blood, and its limbs were lean and powerful, hinting at an insatiable hunger. The air around it thrummed with a palpable sense of menace.
"Who… who are you?" Kesava stammered, his voice barely a whisper in the face of this terrifying apparition.
The deity's gaze fixed upon Kesava, its eyes burning with an ancient hunger. A voice echoed in Kesava's mind, not spoken but felt, a primal craving that resonated with the very emptiness within his own greedy soul. "Flesh… I hunger for flesh… and you… you have awakened me…"
Terror, raw and visceral, finally gripped Kesava's heart. He had not just touched a flower; he had disturbed a cosmic balance, and his greed had awakened a deity with an insatiable appetite. The lotus, the source of creation, now bled, and the deity it had birthed was fixated on him, its hunger a terrifying reflection of his own insatiable desires. He had sought to steal a treasure, but he had instead unleashed a predator.
The deity took a step towards Kesava, its movements fluid and predatory. The air around it crackled with energy, and the scent of blood from the lotus intensified. Kesava knew, with a chilling certainty, that his petty thievery had awakened something ancient and terrible, and he was now the intended prey. The lotus, once a symbol of creation, had become a vessel of hunger, and its bleeding was a harbinger of his own impending doom.
Here is the significantly expanded Part Two of "The Lotus That Bleeds," continuing with simpler language, more dialogue, and rich descriptions:
Fear, sharp and paralyzing, coursed through Kesava's veins. The flesh-hungry deity, its eyes burning with an ancient craving, took another step, the very air around it seeming to vibrate with its primal hunger. Kesava, his avarice completely extinguished by terror, stumbled backward, his mind racing for any escape from this terrifying entity he had unwittingly awakened.
"Stay back!" Kesava choked out, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "I… I didn't know! I just wanted…" He couldn't even bring himself to utter the word 'treasure' in the presence of this terrifying being.
The deity tilted its head, its gaze unwavering. The voice echoed again in Kesava's mind, laced with a cold amusement. "You wanted. And now I want. A simple exchange, mortal. You touched the source, you broke the seal. Now, you will feed the hunger."
Kesava scrambled backward, his hands scrabbling on the ground for purchase. He had disturbed something sacred, and now he was facing a consequence far beyond his petty understanding of right and wrong. The bleeding lotus pulsed softly behind the deity, each crimson drop a testament to his transgression.
Suddenly, a voice, deep and resonant like the rumble of thunder, echoed through the primordial space. "What disturbance have you wrought, creature of avarice?"
Lord Brahma, his serene countenance now clouded with displeasure, materialized from the very fabric of creation. His eyes, like the vast expanse of the cosmos, fell upon Kesava and then upon the flesh-hungry deity that had emerged from his bleeding lotus.
"Lord Brahma!" Kesava cried out, his voice filled with desperate hope. "Help me! This… this thing… it wants to devour me!"
Brahma's gaze turned to the deity, his expression stern. "Who are you that emerges from my sacred lotus with such unholy hunger?"
The deity turned its attention to Brahma, its hungry eyes momentarily flickering with a hint of defiance. "I am the hunger that was dormant, the primal craving stirred by the touch of the impure. The lotus bled, and I awoke. Now, I must feed."
"You are a consequence, born of a defilement," Brahma declared, his voice resonating with divine authority. "Your hunger is an abomination in the nascent stages of creation."
Kesava, seeing a chance for salvation, pleaded with Brahma. "Lord, I am a fool! I was blinded by greed. Forgive me! I will never again trespass upon the sacred."
Brahma's gaze softened slightly as he looked at the trembling thief. "Your greed has unleashed a shadow upon the dawning world, mortal. The balance has been disturbed. This deity's hunger must be contained."
Turning back to the flesh-hungry being, Brahma's eyes glowed with divine power. "You will not devour this mortal. Your hunger will be bound."
The deity hissed, its form flickering as if resisting Brahma's command. "The lotus bled! The hunger demands satisfaction!"
A fierce battle of wills ensued, the very air crackling with divine energy. Brahma, the creator, sought to contain the primal hunger, while the deity, newly awakened and driven by an insatiable craving, fought for its right to consume.
Kesava watched in terrified awe as the two powerful beings clashed. The bleeding lotus pulsed erratically, its crimson drops falling like tears upon the unformed earth. He understood that his greed had set this terrifying chain of events in motion.
Finally, with a surge of divine power, Brahma subdued the flesh-hungry deity. Its form shimmered and contracted, its hungry eyes dimming.
"Your hunger will be bound to the shadows, deity," Brahma declared. "You will seek sustenance only in the darkness, preying upon the impure and the wicked. You will not touch the innocent."
With another wave of his hand, Brahma banished the subdued deity to the deepest recesses of the nascent universe, a place where its hunger could be contained without threatening the delicate balance of creation.
Turning his attention back to Kesava, Brahma's expression was grave. "Your greed has had grave consequences, mortal. The bleeding of the lotus was a warning, a sign of the disruption you caused. You have been spared this time, but remember this lesson. The sacred is not to be trifled with."
Kesava, humbled and terrified, prostrated himself before Brahma. "I understand, Lord. I will forever repent my greed."
Brahma sighed, his gaze returning to the still-bleeding lotus. "The wound remains. The balance has been tested. The consequences of your actions will ripple through the ages."
With a touch, Brahma began to heal the lotus. The bleeding slowed, then stopped, and the divine luminescence gradually returned to its petals. However, a faint crimson stain remained at its heart, a permanent reminder of the thief's touch and the flesh-hungry deity it had awakened.
Kesava, forever changed by his terrifying encounter, fled the primordial space, carrying the weight of his transgression. He lived the rest of his days in fear and repentance, forever haunted by the image of the bleeding lotus and the hungry deity he had briefly unleashed upon the dawning world. The tale of his greed and its terrifying consequences became a whispered warning, a reminder of the delicate balance of creation and the dangers of触犯 the sacred. The lotus, though healed, bore a scar, a testament to the day it bled because of a thief's touch, awakening a hunger that Brahma himself had to bind.