There had been a talk amongst the gods about going down to the mortal world for some time. Bishamonten was no stranger to it, often pretending to be a soldier or a monk depending on the situation. He kept his divine might hidden amongst the mortals, lest they gave him uncomfortable praise. His old self would’ve scoffed at the idea that benefited the mortals. As he was now, he was fairly curious that some gods were coming down to the world out of sheer boredom. What brought this change about and who started it, he hadn’t a clue. While the gods among them bickered about what were the rules to coming down to the world, he was in his chair, thinking. This would surely shock the mortals if they came with all their might, but after the shock, what would happen? Would they revolt? Revere them? Study them? He didn’t know. He stifled a yawn as everyone around him continued to talk amongst themselves. “Bishamonten, you’ve been down to the mortal realm before. What should we do once we arrive?” He jolted out of his thoughts as he was being addressed. “I, er, ahem.” He cleared his throat. “From my experience, it was best to seal my divinity and pretend I was not a god. But surely you all would want some sort of recognition, correct?” There was a murmur among the crowd as they either nodded, looked away, or glared at him. “As for what to do when down on earth… Learn from them. Study their ways and blend in.” There were outraged protests as he calmly met them with slightly narrowed eyes. “If anyone has anything better than what I just said, speak now or forever hold your peace.” One of the Japanese gods stepped forward. “Learn from the mortals? What is there to learn? How to bow down to other gods?” There was laughter among some of the other gods. His eyes narrowed further as he regarded the god. “Mortals are not stupid. They’re not animals, they can think for themselves. And they have invented many things each time I went down below. There is plenty to learn from them.” His pantheon murmured other words as the god before him shot a glare. Both knew this was no time for a fight. Just then, a messenger hawk came flying into the room, carrying a scrap of paper in its talents. Izanagi held out his arm for the hawk to land on before taking the message written on it. His brows furrowed as he read what was on it. “It seems the other gods have come to a consensus, we will guide the mortals and offer them power-“ He was interrupted by loud protests. “Everyone, quiet! What else does it say, Izanagi?” He cleared his throat. “As I was saying, we will grant man the power to fight against beasts. The other gods also said they will create something called a familia where we can guide man on the right path.” “But what if we don’t want to make a familia?” “Then you don’t, simple as that. It is not mandatory to create a familia.” The goddess that asked the question sighed in relief. “That’s good, I don’t really want to help the mortals…” One god jumped to his feet, fire in his eyes. “And how are we to grant power to them? Became their slaves? I would rather die than be a slave to ignorant mortals!” Izanagi frowned. “They didn’t say.” Cries of outrage echoed in the room. Raijin had enough and threw a thunderbolt on the ground. “Silence, you fools! Can’t you see this bickering has gone nowhere?!” Another god stood up. “Raijjin is right, this is getting nowhere. I do believe I have an idea to solve this problem.” The murmuring died down as they waited for his answer. “If one were to create a familia, then they will settle disputes through them. We’ll let the mortals compete against each other while we can just watch.” More murmurs and, this time, nods of approval. “All in favor?” Many raised their hands, including Bishamonten. Things were getting interesting with the idea of familias. “Right, I will send a message to the other gods, then. Now, about our powers…” It took several days, but all the gods agreed to seal their power while giving a tiny bit to the people below. As many gods prepared their descent, Bishamonten couldn’t help but wonder what would become of the world once they were all down there. Only time will tell.
