5. reality check
He saw a figure with a muscular physique, a slight golden sheen to his body hair, kindness on his face, and adorned with a crown, earrings, necklaces, armlets, bracelets, anklets, and a dhoti. Hanuman was meditating there, chanting "Ram."
Rudra said, "Hmm, so you’re that monkey who scared my advisor to the point that he keeps saying, 'Don’t mess with him.'"
Rudra waited a few seconds but received no reply. He began walking toward Hanuman. "Wake up! What will it take to make you respond, Hanuman?" he said.
Hanuman remained unfazed, continuing to chant "Ram."
Annoyed, Rudra clenched his fist and shouted, "Just shut up with that disgusting Ra—"
Before he could finish, Hanuman’s tail stretched out and struck Rudra, sending him flying out of the cave, where he slammed into several snowy mountains. Humiliated, Rudra grew enraged. He lifted a mountain, leapt toward the cave, and threw it directly at Hanuman.
Lord Hanuman opened his eyes from meditation, calmly walking to the cave entrance as the mountain came crashing down toward him. Watching from the sky, Rudra sneered, "Now let’s see how you survive—"
Before Rudra could finish, Lord Hanuman leapt into the air, shouting the glory of Ram. He caught the mountain with his bare hands, looking magnificent, and hurled it back at Rudra. The impact was so powerful that Rudra nearly fainted as the mountain shattered into rubble and began drifting into space.
"No one has ever managed to touch me—not gods, asuras, nagas, garudas, demons, or humans," Rudra thought. "How did he do this?"
As Hanuman charged towards him, Rudra watched as Hanuman punched him in the gut, sending him hurtling out of the Earth, past the solar system, beyond the galaxy, and out of the universe—beyond the very outer layer. Escaping this outer layer would normally require unimaginable energy, yet Hanuman’s punch had forced him through it, stripping away much of his power in the process. But Rudra wasn’t worried about that, for he was seeing…
