| She dreamed, A Past Forgotten |
Hundreds of years ago, the Devils, the Demons and all other monsters were held at bay in all the land where the Dao had influence. Using the belief of the people, deities may descend to the Mortal Realm and influence the lives of mortal(s).
Since for many years, the mortals held on to their beliefs on gods that may or may not exist, the Almighty Dao bestowed upon them guardians in the form of Divine Beasts or local gods. These entities may remain depending on how much faith the land they governed on them.
But if perchance they neglected their job or suddenly disappeared, the land they used to govern would be vulnerable to crimes, desolation and evil. This was due to the natural essences of the divine beings that unconsciously spread across the places they remained for long. The light attracts the darkness, and so would the other; vice versa.
Hence, it was very crucial that the divine guardians must never be absent.
In the ancient land of China, the Dao allowed for five Divine Beasts to govern in harmony. These beasts were Qinglong, Zhuque, Baihu, Xuanwu and Huanglong.
All Divine Beasts had no predetermined gender so they were all in the appearance of men. And although they had different personalities, they were all able to get along very well.
They each specialized in certain elements that they could easily access, and through this, they could view all parts of the land where their element existed. When they combine, even the weather could change drastically, or a storm may come about.
Qinglong was a highly energetic dragon. He was especially happy exploring the lands, visiting his other divine beast friends, and learn everything there was in existence. Though unfortunately, he was not very wise.
On the other hand, Zhuque was wiser, and he would accompany Qinglong with his adventures for most of the time. They were a pair, like fraternal twins, which was a contrast to the elements they specialized in. Qinglong was wood, while Zhuque was fire.
Baihu was the most behave, like a melancholic maiden. He could be staring at things for too long without a problem.
While Xuanwu was another quiet divine beast who preferred to be alone and improve his skills instead.
Amongst the four, there was also Huanglong who was the most easy to get along and the most excellent of all. He was considered the leader of the bunch, and also their sage in times of trouble, which happened pretty often.
As they hanged out like usual somewhere in Celestial Heaven, Qinglong begun his bout of sighing as if the fate of the world rested upon his young shoulders. "Haaa~~~"
"What did you eat now, Qing?" Zhuque who was relaxing beside Qinglong noticed right away.
Qinglong looked rather forlorn when he glanced at Zhuque, not wanting to say but also cannot restrain from sharing. "There is this young lady who comes to visit my shrine every Sunday..."
"How do you even know which day is Sunday when everyday is like a Sunday to you?" Zhuque curiously asked, no longer looking up at the deities roaming the heavenly sky above and turned to stare at his friend, incredulous.
"Exactly ah." Replied the other, his mood not improving.
Zhuque rolled his eyes. "And what is she asking you to make you this troubled?"
"She hopes to transmigrate to other worlds once she dies..." He sounded like he was at the end of his wits. So Zhuque very kindly suggested a likely solution without a change of tone, "Then forget about it!"
"But I want to ascend to godhood already!!"
"And why is that, dear Qing?"
"So that.. I can finally meet the beautiful Siming ah~"
Zhuque rolled his eyes once again, his friend was truly senseless. "A Divine Beast such as us cannot possibly get together with a deity as divine as lady Siming ah."
"But once I become--"
It was at this point of their argument did Xuanwu suddenly intervened in his most placid tone, "I have heard of artifacts in the Mortal Realm that can make the impossible possible..."
He was a weird one, quiet and almost never talked to the rest of his Divine Beast kin. However, when he would speak, it was concerning the strangest things.
So when he uttered such information, the others just knew he was not there to help but to satisfy his curiosity. Nevertheless, Qinglong fell into the trap and eagerly queried. "Artifacts? Where can we find one? I've heard there are only few and rarely found..."
Xuanwu's expression looked eerie indifferent, his eyes twinkled with interest. "Ah, but one of the materials used for such artifacts has been found..."
"Found? By whom? And how? When was this? Why hasn't anyone made a fuss about this?" Zhuque critically asked one after another. He had a bad feeling of where this was going.
Xuanwu drooped his eyelids, casting a shadow from his long lashes upon his skin. He looked thoughtful, though the voice that came from his lips was deep and mysterious. "The Heavenly Emperor's artifacts are a must see, for they are genuine and precious. One can only look at them from afar, yet I borrowed one-- extracted and studied the artifact rigorously and found the most common material fr--"
"Wait, wait!! You STOLE it, didn't you?!" Zhuque was quick and knew his friends very well. The Heavenly Emperor wouldn't just let his precious treasures be borrowed nor reconstructed for personal study! Even more, not to them who were a lower class divine beings.
Xuanwu did not answer, but instead mysteriously said, "The stone is found in Mogabi Desert Canyons... deep in caves rarely visited, for monsters abound the field and traps lay in wait."
Zhuque shook his head, unable to proceed with getting answers out of the weird Xuanwu. He looked at Qinglong worriedly and sure enough, the latter was smiling brilliantly with eyes that only spoke of determination for adventure.
Afraid his ominous feelings might bear fruit, Zhuque tried to intelligently argue with Xuanwu's scheme. "Even if we know where one of the components of the artifacts is found, what use of it if we have no knowledge of crafting one ourselves? It's useless, dangerous and foolish to simply assume that venturing to Mogabi Desert where our influence has never reached can solve a wish by a mere lady in passing." He then turned to Qinglong to snap him out of his daze and barked, "You stupid dragon! Just grant another human their wish. One miss is fine, trust me."
Yet, Qinglong's interest had already been perked by the world of artifacts. "Such magical things that can make an impossible possible... Then winning my Siming's heart would no longer be a dream!"
Zhuque face-palmed. How desperate could his friend be? "Don't you want to obtain her heart with your hard work and not from a cheat? That's not good, Qing."
He tried to dissuade his friend to stop his foolishness, but Qinglong was stupid and stubborn. If there was a way to make himself happy right away, he wouldn't think of taking the long but equally harder road. "Xuanwu! What else do you know about these artifacts? How can I get one? Is there someone who makes them in Mogabi Desert, is that why it has a dangerous fortress against incapable intruders?"
Upon catching the bait, the corners of Xuanwu's lips lifted ever so slightly that it was almost indiscernible, except Zhuque caught it. Xuanwu's indifferent voice then said, "Surely, someone there knows about artifacts... Shall we leave at once?"
"Qinglong, we still haven't completely explored the Ruins of Ancient Trion Civilization!" Zhuque reminded.
Qinglong shrugged, getting ready to leave for his new quest. "We can do that later! Lead me there Xuanwu ah." He didn't bring much, for he was a divine beast that was stronger than most monsters in the Mortal Realm.
Xuanwu calmly stood up from his seat and summoned his mount that was a huge serpent made of water; crystal blue and beautiful. As soon as it hovered close to the ground, Qinglong jumped on cue, followed after by Xuanwu.
Zhuque looked conflicted, but seeing his close friend the stupid dragon head to the unknown, he couldn't let him be. "Damn, damn, damn! If anything happens to you, you would have nobody to blame but yourself!"
Unlike Xuanwu, he and Qinglong bonded over the years so he cared very much for the dragon. Nobody else could look out for the foolish one aside from him.
It was at this time that Baihu snapped out of his daze. He slowly turned to the huge blue serpent hovering in mid-air and softly asked, "Leaving already?"
"We're going to find an artifact! Wanna come along, Baihu?" Qinglong excitedly asked, waving his hand simultaneously, gesturing Baihu to come closer. The latter absent-mindedly nodded his head, lifting himself up into the air and perfectly landing on top of the blue serpent. Then he was solemn once again, staring at the innocent clouds up above. His long silver hair was gently swayed by the breeze. He was truly one with tranquility.
And last but not the least, Huanglong went along as well, carrying with him the map of the Mogabi Desert that he had summoned from his spatial storage. He didn't say much, knowing he wouldn't be able to dissuade Qinglong once he had decided.
Henceforth, their nightmare begun.
Inside an underground cell, where it was dark, gloomy and cold, a malnourished child of 14 was barely conscious. He was burning from his fever, but nobody could take care of him.
In the silence, there was only his weak whispers from the nightmares in his deep consciousness, unlocking the last vestiges of his primordial memories. Memories of when he was made into a Divine Beast after reaching Rank 11 as a Demonic Beast, of when the Heavenly Emperor bestowed upon him a role he dared not deny.
"Qing... S-sorry..." Hot tears spilled from his trembling eyelids that were currently shut tight. A deep frown laced upon his brows, expressing his troubled heart and mind.
Lower down his body, he was only wearing a huge brown shirt that was filled with mud and dirt, while his ankles were encased by iron shackles so tight, they left bruises on his pale skin.
He clenched his hands tight as his whisper grew louder, "N-no... Devils... The devils... I shouldn't.... I shouldn't... have.."
He awakened from being out of breath, while his placid lips quivered. There was fear, despair and horror on his face. He reached out to grab his head, to grab hold of his hair and silently scream inside as he curved on his side. There were no more tears, but there was endless hollow of regret.
From blame, from a crime he could no longer undone.
As he confessed his sins to the silence, his voice was filled with repressed hatred to himself, but laced with whimpers for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry.... I'm so sorry... If I hadn't urged Qing to go... If I hadn't been overconfident..."
He advertently killed his friends that were as close to him like brothers. This must be the price he had to pay for breaking the law set by the Heavenly Emperor, and for lying to his kin.
"Is this why I must undergo hundreds of lifetime...?"
None could tell him the answer, merely the darkness and the stench of the cold cell assaulted his senses.
"...But for how long must I be tormented...?"
He weakly whispered once again, hot breath drying his cracked lips even more. He was hungry, thirsty and in pain.
Although he dreamed of his original memories, there were still events he hadn't seen. It was not all his fault, but what he had seen were his current reality.
He had experienced countless of lifetimes, remembered all of them slowly for every death. His heart could no longer feel, tomorrow could no longer be seen.
In some lifetimes, he could overpower fate and live life at peace. However, in some lifetimes, he would end up dead without being able to fight. Anything alive in the Mortal Realm, he had been it. And he could remember it all.
In this lifetime, as soon as he reached 3 years old, his family was massacred and he was sold to slave traders. With weak limbs as a babe, he couldn't fight against his fate, eventually locking him to a life worse than slaves.
He had lost his eyes, for they were precious as gold.
He had been locked underground, for being disobedient.
He didn't want to be used as a sex slave, thus he fought, hurt and even killed. Yet, they didn't kill him. And he couldn't kill himself.
Still, in his deepest despair, there was this name he could never forget. In the darkness where there was only his rough breathing, he chanted a name that always gave him the little strength he needed to be strong.
Maybe just another lifetime more, good things might happen.
Maybe another hope could make now a better present.
"....R...ui..."
And he fell into a deep sleep once again.
Unfortunately, it would not be his last for this lifetime, and tomorrow would still come.