With that, they officially established ties between Olympus and the Devas, and Hermes was happier than ever, and he even forgot about the ordeal from earlier.

However, as they parted ways, Alex noticed Durga's eyes glued on him.

More precisely, she wasn't looking at him, but at the silver-like ball in his hands.

"Alex, can I see that ball?" Durga demanded him, while her eyes didn't move at all from his palm.

'Is this a warrior goddess' intuition?' Alex shrugged and passed her Prometheus.

Durga delicately held it in one of her numerous hands and examined it closely.

Suddenly, the ball liquified and changed in shape repeatedly.

Then, it solidified into a thick and sharp lance.

Amazement emanated from Durga as she threw all of her other weapons into the ground, and wielded the lance with all of her arms.

"This is incredible, I never knew I'd be so proficient with a lance...."

In hindsight, her proficiency with a lance made sense.

Durga used swords, bows, and spears, and the lance combined aspects from those three types of weapons.

Parvati sighed and told her, "Durga, let's go."

Durga nodded and followed the goddess.

"Where do you think you're going with that?" Alex chuckled when he saw the war goddess leaving.

Durga halted in a brusque manner, and her body shook.

"Hey, can you lend me your weap-

"No."

Ultimately, Durga gave him back Prometheus and left, all the while shedding crocodile tears.

Since the succession contest ended, and they finished all of their business with the Devas, life slowed down a bit.

'Tomorrow, the successor to Ashoka will be chosen and crowned....' Alex yawned and realized he was extremely tired.

It was already deep into the night anyway, and Hermes and Alex headed back to the guest house.

"What a day," Hermes remarked and laughed.

"What do you mean, day? When you came, the sun was already setting," Alex jokingly refuted Hermes.

The corridors were quite dim at night, but as they walked through, a dark silhouette still contrasted with the decorations.

Upon further inspection, it was Aadityapal.

His face was flushed, and two lines coming down from his eyes were visible.

It looked like he had been waiting for them.

"Aadit, have you been crying?"

Aadityapal rubbed his eyes and nodded, "I'm feeling quite sentimental tonight, Master."

"I see, are you nervous about tomorrow?" Alex inquired about his disciple's state of being.

"Yes."

"You shouldn't be, you performed excellently, and by the end of the competition, even Ashoka had very high regards for you."

Aadityapal's face brightened at that, and he spoke and stuttered, "F-Father did?!"

Alex placed a hand on his disciple's shoulder, and said, "When you're crowned, build a few temples for me, will you? I'm quite tired now, I'll go to sleep."

Then, Alex left and headed towards their room.

Hermes stayed back and whispered in the prince's ears, "He wants a million temples."

Aadityapal laughed and nodded fervently, "A million temples, it will be then."

With that, there were now two places where Alex would have a million temples for his worship.

___________________

-The next morning-

Everyone woke up early today, and even Hermes, who usually enjoyed more sleep than appropriate for a god, made the effort to wake up.

The occasion, today, was of course the coronation ceremony and selection.

In a short night, tens of thousands of sculptors and craftspeople from all over the Empire gathered in Patliputra to build a statue for the successor, and they placed it in the square where the statue of Ashoka previously stood.

Today, the fabric that covered the statue during the ceremony would be removed, and the new Emperor shall have his name spread far and wide.

A gargantuan crowd already gathered, and gossip was rampant about the conclusion of today's event.

"I think it's going to be Princess Ranya, her name was already established and respected before the competition, and she performed well in the martial contest."

"I don't agree, Prince Aadityapal had an excellent attitude and performance, and I'd imagine his results in the scholarly contest to be as outstanding!"

The craftspeople also erected a platform for the judges and Ashoka, and they swiftly cut through the audience and began the ceremony.

Ashoka cleared his throat and gave the opening line, "Yesterday, through an impartial assessment of martial skill, scholarship, and psyche, a successor to the glorious Maurya has been chosen!"

Then, a judge took the lead and announced the contenders, "Princess Prinya, the most outstanding academic of the imperial court!"

A scholarly-looking woman emerged from the crowd and indifferently stepped up into the platform.

A few judges commented, "It's unfortunate her results in the martial assessment weren't as good..."

"Prince Aadityapal, the black horse of the competition!"

A well-dressed man stood next to the princess.

"Princess Ranya, renowned disciple of Lord Indra and outstanding polymath!"

Ranya recovered from yesterday's dishevelment, and she stepped up to the platform as cheers rang out from behind her.

"Prince Ayush was a contender, but unfortunately, an accident seems to have occurred."

The crowd gossiped amongst each other, but the judge attracted their attention and continued, "Prince Aarush is under medical attention, but he is one of today's contenders."

"With that, the selection process is officially...adjourned."

Alex and Hermes joined in the crowd and spectated.

Suddenly, the sound of drums resounded in the square, and Ashoka built up enthusiasm within the audience, "Now, we shall reveal the next Emperor...."

As did the cheers, the drums got louder and louder.

And, when the volume reached a crescendo, Ashoka made his declaration.

"Aadityapal, congratulations on becoming our great land's next ruler."

In contrast to Ashoka's calm tone, the crowd was nothing but calm.

Aadityapal shook profusely and approached his father.

Ashoka whispered into the Emperor's ears, "Say a short speech to the people."

Then, Ashoka placed a heavy golden crown upon Aadityapal's head.

Aadityapal was extremely eager, and he quickly started his speech.

"I hope, that along with the people of our great land, I will rule as greatly as Father did."

"The only reason I am here is because of a person in the crowd."

Alex felt a headache coming and tugged at Hermes.

"I introduce the people of the Maurya to.....Master Alex?"

Alex and Hermes flew away from the square under the stunned gazes of Patliputra's inhabitants.