A few days passed.
The village where Vivian and Charlotte were staying was called Bali.
It was small, quiet, almost forgettable at first glance, but its history was anything but small.
It was said that long ago, this village had been the heart of the Kingdom of Bali, ruled by King Bali himself.
He was a king of terrifying strength, so powerful that even the gods grew wary of him.
Yet for all his might, Bali was gentle, merciful, and unfailingly just.
The gods feared that such power remaining in the mortal world would tilt the balance of existence.
Unable to act directly, they turned to the Guardian, the strongest of all gods, the one said to both create and destroy.
King Bali was a devoted follower of the Guardian. Knowing this, the gods begged the Guardian to intervene.
So the Guardian descended into the world in the form of a small Brahmin child and approached the king, asking for alms.
Without hesitation, King Bali agreed.
