Unusual darkness looms above the entirety of the night sky. A gloomy weather that has never been seen before. Evil lurks in the dark as thunder roars across the area, a sound that strikes fear among the common folks. Here, the mercy of the sun, the blue skies, and the white clouds are nowhere to be seen as far as the eyes can see, instead, pitch-black clouds run across the skies, consuming the grace of the sun’s rays.

A tremendous war is held above the skies, a heated battle between a skilled warrior and a noble priest. Both Heaven and Hell are shaken by the raw majestic power produced within this war, causing treacherous things to rain down upon earth itself. One of the most fearsome demons, Ashura, came down with his might, brutalizing the army of priests in front of him. Without mercy, he struck down every one of them. Blood spills onto the clouds below, tainting them with its crimson hue. Blood-curdling screams were heard all over the sky, yet mortal beings aren't able to hear them, for the screams are altered into the loud shouts of thunder, whilst the spilled blood is purified into clear rainwater. 

He unsheathes his mighty blade and swiftly strikes down the army in his line of sight. His fear-inducing rain arrows down from the sky in a curved path, penetrating the priest. With his last breath, the priest stood up to face his opponent, but his body couldn't resist the damage anymore. He falls from the heavens, plummeting into the ocean waves below, never to be seen again. He laughed uproariously to the point where the dead in heaven and hell could hear his diabolical laughter.

"Can't you see? You insolent priest, Nothing on earth can defeat me, Ashura! Nothing can ever break me apart! I'm an immortal Yokai, can't you see?! Give me some respect, will you?" His egotistical mind inflates as his words leave his mouth.

"Demons, Gods, let alone lower life forms such as you, not any one of you shall ever defeat me!"

Filled with self-esteem, he commands one of his minions to scorch the corpse of the priest with the intent that his soul may never feel the blessing of peace ever again. Satisfied with his victory, he flew back into the heavens above where he sits atop his throne

Ashura sat while smiling wickedly to himself, reflecting on his fight with the priest.

"Such weak creatures… I’ve never understood them… Why can’t they just get stronger to fend for themselves?! I loathe them above anything else in this world... stupid priest, you think you can defeat me? ME?! The most fearsome demon of all? No earthling shall EVER drag me down from my throne… Especially the likes of you, Priest!" He bawls in his self-centrist speech

He reaches out for a golden chalice beside him and as he chugs on the royal nectar, a stray prayer from the mortal world wanders into his ear.

“Ugh, just my luck… another weakling praying to their God to protect them… why can’t these people just learn to fight for themselves, huh?”

For every prayer that lingers around his ears, Ashura grows increasingly disturbed by the voices of those who pray.

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For all these years, He has always heard the mortals praying for love, children, prosperity, wealth, and protection. He grows more and more tired of these irritating prayers. He ponders, why would anyone ask for God’s blessing, yet they never actually put any effort into making their wish true?

Though, as a higher demon that lives above the sky and is well known by the mortals and other creatures, he sets aside his inflated ego and decides to not take all these prayers seriously. It was never meant for him, after all, it's for God that will grant them the kindness and prosperity they have been seeking.

He had always envisioned mortals as beings who ask God for things much too frequently and rely heavily on his blessing, although when God revokes their gift, they blame God for this misfortune, for they have no one else to pin the blame on.

In most cases, mortals do not understand the true meaning of gratitude until something of value to them is taken away from them, they also tend to not understand the real meaning of faith since they were born in the mortal world.

Ashura has always cursed those who speak inadequately of God, even if he finds himself an enemy of God once in a while. Ashura, despite his ego, has always honored God, for he would not exist if God were to not create him, though most of the time, his self-esteem consumes him, and forgets his respect for God, for his ego is much louder than a heart that always speaks the truth.

One faithful day, Ashura has had enough of these stray prayers entering his throne room and left to act upon this situation. He flew away from his throne to visit his favorite place in the sky, the Palace of Heaven, to discuss with his friend, the Great Demon Yasha. On arrival, he boasts his skills, putting on a show of blinding flames that shines stupendously. Guests and servants alike quickly noticed his presence and bowed down upon his entrance.

“Ashura arrives!” Announces one of the servants, causing more of the servants to notice his appearance, following the others to quickly bow under him.

His friend greets him with a smile, offers him a drink, and tells him to sit.

"What a pleasant surprise seeing you here, Great Demon Ashura! What have you come here for? Do you have any special requests for mortals or perhaps do you wish to destroy some village? Or even killing a part of that Royal Family those mortals are so fond of?" His friend welcomes him with warm laughter, wrapping his arms around Ashura’s shoulders.

"No, I’ve just decided to drop by and come for a little visit, dear Great Demon Yasha. I’ve just laid off one of my servants earlier this morning for not properly preparing my nectar. He’s quite the stupid one, after all!" Ashura answers with a chuckle.

He knew Ashura is a demon with a quiet temperament around the likes of himself. Yasha is never truly afraid of him even when he comes storming into his palace filled with blood thirst, ready to cut down anyone that dares stand in his way. Yet, in front of Yasha, Ashura is just simply a friend to talk with.

"Right then, what purpose do you serve coming here? I’m free to talk with you, I’m only listening to the prayers of the mortals below. They sound authentic whenever they pray." Yasha states though Ashura grunts at his words.

"Ugh, You already know my word when it comes to people who are always praying every darn day, they’re all so weak and stupid! Even if we're the guardians of Buddha and Demons alike, I never liked those who pray for protection. It's like they can’t even fend for themselves! Stupid mortals!” Ashura exclaims with great anger, though Yasha simply laughs upon hearing his response.

"Alright then, I'll leave you here to enjoy your time while I return to my throne, a servant of mine has informed me that I have other matters to attend to. Oh, and please do not kill my servants here, this is not your Palace, this is a Grand Palace of Heaven.. you should remember that" Yasha warns him as he leaves for his throne.

Ashura stares blankly at Yasha as if his words entered one of his ears and left through the other. He stumbles his way onto the palace’s balcony and stares down into the earth, where he peers into one of the celebrations that are held at a shrine to honor the Gods. Many prayers fly high above the clouds and he could discern each one of them. He sighs while covering his ears, wishing he could just spend the day without hearing these dreaded prayers, all asking for so many things yet all sounding so empty.

Through all the dreaded prayers devoid of passion, a stray wish passes by Ashura that caught his attention immediately. A prayer that stood out from the rest.

"Dear God... I know I'm a mere peasant, oh Lord who's praised by all the human beings on Earth… Please hear my prayer... I ask you to kindly bless me with happiness and joy, and give me prosperity and protection from any harm and danger... It is only You that can protect me from harm and danger, God.."

Ashura chuckled upon hearing the prayer from this poor girl, asking for God's grace.

"Imbecile! Why don't you try and defend yourself for a change?! Such a weak mindset! Fool! Idiot!" he yells atop his lungs in response to hearing such prayers. Fueled by his anger, he hurls his chalice onto the floor, shattering it into pieces. The sound of broken glass can be heard all over the place, echoing into the throne room where Yasha resides. Yasha quickly approaches him in worry and asks what had happened, though Ashura stood in silence unresponsive, eventually storming off the palace, and pushing the servants that were standing in his way.