Extra Chapter 6: Golden Eyes Cage
Before becoming the Indra who repented under the throne and lingered in the abyss, he was just an untitled prince in the city of Shanjian in the Thirty-three Heavens, an imprisoned person who was regarded as a "defective product".
His birth was not an auspicious omen, but rather a scandal the royal family wished not to mention. His mother was a common human of humble origin, possessing a beauty that astonished even the celestial nobles. A drunken trait of the Trayastrimsa Heaven King had made a mistake. Indra's birth was living proof of that mistake.
His mother had "accidentally" fallen into a lotus pond and drowned while he was still a baby. The official story was that it was an accident, but no one in the inner palace believed it. He had been allowed to live, not out of mercy, but because of his rare, pure golden eyes—a symbol of the purest bloodline of the supreme Trayastrimsa deity, an indelible mark.
Those eyes brought him no glory, only deeper fear. He was kept in a remote palace, nominally a prince, but in reality a prisoner. The servants who served him had cold eyes and spoke with disdain. The other princes and princesses who held the right to inherit the throne viewed him as a stain and often took pleasure in teasing and humiliating him.
"Look, it's that lowly human bastard!" "Humph, he has a pair of divine eyes but his spiritual power is pitifully weak. What a waste!" "Stay away from him, he's unlucky!"
Fists, shoving, and malicious mockery were his daily routine. He learned to be silent, to curl up to protect his softest part, and to use his long bangs to hide his golden eyes that only brought trouble.
His only solace was the abandoned lotus pond behind the palace. It was where his mother had once toiled. The water was murky, the lotus flowers withered, but he could always sense a faint, lingering warmth there. He often sneaked in to talk to the withered lotus pods, or simply sit quietly.
The turning point occurred in late autumn.
At that time, the powerful and powerful Deva came to visit the Trayastrimsa Heaven King to discuss important matters. He left the table midway and mistakenly entered this deserted courtyard.
He saw the child hiding under a huge withered lotus leaf. So small, so thin, wearing washed-out clothes, sitting with his knees hugged, his face buried in his arms, only his soft, sandy-blonde curly hair showing, looking lonely and pitiful.
Shanfatian's heart stirred. He had long heard of this prince's existence and was aware of his plight. A plan quietly took shape in his mind—perhaps this abandoned child, possessing the purest divine eyes but with no one to rely on, could become a useful chess piece.
He walked forward, his face showing just the right amount of gentleness and compassion: "Child, why are you here alone?"
Indra was startled and looked up suddenly, his golden eyes filled with the alertness and panic of a small animal. He saw an adult with luxurious clothes and extraordinary demeanor, and subconsciously wanted to hide.
"Don't be afraid." Shanfatian squatted down and said in a softer voice, "I am Shanfatian. What's your name?" He asked even though he knew the answer.
"...They didn't give me a name," the child whispered, his voice hoarse from not speaking to anyone for a long time. The palace servants only called him "Hey" or "that child."
A gleam of light flashed in Shanfatian's eyes, but his tone became more compassionate: "No name? Then do you know that your eyes are a gift from God and a symbol of the highest nobility."
He reached out and gently brushed away the strands of hair from Emperor Shitian's forehead, revealing his bright yet uneasy golden eyes. "You shouldn't be buried here. Do you want to... leave here? Do you want to gain power?"
Longing, like a tiny flame, ignited within the still lake of Indra's heart. Leave? Power? These words seemed as distant to him as the stars. He stared blankly at Shanfatian and nodded subconsciously.
Shanfatian smiled deeply, "Good boy. From today on, you will be called 'Indra'. This is the name that will govern the laws in the future. I will teach you how to use your power, and I will protect you."
At that moment, Indra seemed to have truly seen the light of salvation. He grasped the hand extended by Sudhana, like a drowning man grasping a piece of driftwood.
However, behind this "redemption" is a deeper exploitation.
Shan Fatian began to teach him secretly, but it was not true love, but instilling hatred and power - "Look, they bully you so much, just because your bloodline is 'impure', but they forgot that your divine pupil is the orthodox!", "Power is supreme, only by controlling power can you trample those who bully you under your feet!", "Trust me, I will help you."
At the same time, Shanfatian also regarded him as a perfect tool. At a carefully planned court banquet, Shanfatian deliberately let the son of a hostile noble "discover" Indra who was hiding in the corner, and induced the other party to bully him again.
When the child pushed Indra and called him a "bastard", Samantabhadra appeared "at the right time" and severely reprimanded the other party and his family in the name of maintaining the dignity of the royal family. He even took the opportunity to weaken the other party's power in the parliament.
Afterwards, Shandharma stroked Indra's bruised arm, his tone filled with both regret and anger: "You see, without power, you will always be bullied. Even I can't always protect you. You must become stronger on your own."
Indra remained silent. He wasn't stupid; he vaguely sensed he was being used as a weapon. But the false warmth and the desire to escape his current situation made him obey. He began to study even harder everything Shanfatian taught him, including concealing his emotions and calculating people's hearts.
The pure land in his heart never existed, only a cold wasteland. The so-called "compassion" was originally just a mask for the weak to survive; and "ambition" was the poisonous fruit bred by environment and lies.
Those pure golden eyes had long since seen too much darkness and betrayal. He had learned to practice the most perfect, holy, and flawless smile in the privacy of his own eyes, facing his own reflection in the lotus pond.
Unbeknownst to everyone, beneath that docile and delicate exterior, a soul, fueled by royal secrets and nurtured by political schemes, was quietly taking shape. He yearned for power, for an end to this distorted order, for a truly pure and flawless world—even if it meant dirtying his own hands, even if it meant exploiting everyone he could, including Shan Fa Tian, the one who seemed to offer him hope.
From the very beginning, his desire to save the world grew in the most filthy quagmire.
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