After Alex scolded Hermes for his poor financial decisions, they went to the guest estate and slept.

*Stomp* *Stomp*

What woke Alex up wasn't the sound of birds chirping, or the radiant sun, but an unbearable stomping sound.

'What's this deal about....?' Alex groggily woke up.

He washed himself up and dressed and then flew in the direction of the sound.

It seemed to come from outside the estate, and Alex could only look on stunned when he saw the scene.

On the extremely wide streets of Patliputra that were usually, quite empty, a stampede of people all moved synergistically in one direction.

The crowd stretched from one end of the city to another, and Alex was truly curious as to the cause of this 'rioting.'

He speedily flew past the crowd and found himself above a very large square.

There was a tall statue of Ashoka in the center of the square and the crowd gathered around it.

'Isn't that...Ashoka?' Alex discerned a balcony upon the statue, and Ashoka was standing there, surrounded by armed guards.

Suddenly, the emperor saw him and he waved.

Alex approached the balcony and under the gazes of the entire city's population, he entered the balcony.

"Good morning, Alex," Ashoka smiled.

Alex rubbed his head and asked, "Good morning, hmm, what's this about?" He pointed to the crowd.

"I'm announcing my abdication today." Ashoka declared with determined eyebrows.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you planning to do after the abdication, Ashoka?"

Ashoka contemplated and then jabbed his finger in the air.

He replied, "Truthfully, I just wish to travel the world."

Out of the blue, Ashoka asked Alex, "I've got an inquiry of my own, would your people welcome me? I'd love to see the western lands."

Alex was a bit alarmed at the sudden question.

He didn't usually like making big decisions on behalf of Olympus, but he had to be spontaneous about it.

'What would Hermes do in this situation?' Alex swiftly fell into thought.

He nodded and replied, "Olympus would welcome you with open arms."

'Hermes always takes the chance to make alliances.'

Ashoka laughed and nodded, but then, one of his guards tugged at his clothing.

The emperor's face turned serious, and he asked the guard, "Is it time?"

The guard nodded.

Ashoka bit his lips and stood up, facing the crowd below.

Perhaps as one of his attributes as a god and ruler, his voice was unnaturally loud and clear, and even the people at the furthest stretches of the human stampede could hear him.

"My people, I have overseen the Maurya land for a century and a half, are my calculations right?"

The crowd unanimously made a humming approval sound.

"Over this time, I feel that I have done the right decisions for my land, but, I now realize that the position of an emperor is no longer suitable for me."

Chaos instantly sprouted among the stunned crowd.

Ashoka coughed and continued, "On this glorious day, I declare myself, no longer the emperor of the Maurya."

Suddenly, the sound of drums reverberated and a group of musicians sang an anthem.

The anthem was powerful, and spoke of a long history, shaking even Alex up into a patriotic mood.

However, the music stopped when an earth-shattering sound of stomping got closer and closer to the square.

Alex and Ashoka turned in the direction of the noise, and the former shouted...

"A...colossal elephant!?"

There was an enormous white elephant, heading in their direction.

When it reached the crowd of people, instead of stomping them to death, it hovered into the air and wings unfolded from its sides.

There were two small dots, each representing a person, over the elephant.

When the elephant reached the square, it halted its flight.

A strong feminine voice resounded, "Father, I have come to take my rightful throne!"

Out of a sudden, thunderbolts gathered around the square, and lightning went in all directions, with the owner of the voice being at the center.

A male voice praised the woman, "Ranya, you are doing an excellent job with the Vajra, I have trained you well."

"Master Indra, it is not the time for praise."

Ranya was a girl with dark skin, brown eyes, and medium-length hair.

She had a mole on the side of her left eye, and most strikingly, a thunderbolt tattoo went down the entire length of her arms.

Ashoka exclaimed, "Ranya, what is the meaning of this?!"

"Father, do not bother, Ranya seeks to only sprout violence." Another voice spoke.

A red chariot driven by three, winged horses approached the elephant.

Over the chariot, Aarush glared at Ranya.

Alex, meanwhile, stared at the two other gods.

Chandra, who was on the chariot, and Indra, who was on the elephant, were identical in appearance.

The latter, however, had a crown in the shape of a rising sun instead of a crescent moon.

Just as Ranya and Aarush had a sense of rivalry between them, the two gods stared at each other.

However, an extremely intimidating voice broke all of the tension and rivalry in the air.

"I have ordered you two to stop fighting," Ashoka spoke simply.

His voice seemed to be augmented with a power of his, as it made Aarush and Ranya halt every one of their movements.

'Ranya seems more straightforward than Aarush.' Alex remarked when he observed the two.

Ashoka's voice brought him out of his contemplation, however.

"One week from now, all that claim descendance from me can come to this square and prove, through the art of war and scholarship, that they are fit to inherit the name of the Maurya!"