The World of Myth Magazine

“Only idiots believe in make-believe gods,” fifteen-year-old Jake muttered, staring at the statue mostly obscured by trees. He'd wandered off while his family visited tourist sites.

Grabbing a branch, he began hitting the statue before pelting it with stones.

An Indian man walked toward the teen. “That represents Shiva,” he said.

“It's stupid.”

The man's body shimmered, rapidly growing larger. “I'm Shiva,” he boomed, eyes blazing. Snatching up vines, he whipped Jake again and again, ignoring his shrieks, then beat him with a tree limb.

Soon bloody flesh and bones lay everywhere.

“Only idiots ridicule gods,” Shiva said before vanishing.

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