Hours pass. The cycling of celestial bodies in the sky has taken place, and now the sun is at its peak, beaming down on me. I can feel its rays of pure sunshine make my skin glisten with sweat. I left the temple. For the first time in days, I was outside and wandering once more.
Exploring.
With every step, I felt the leaves crumble under my soles, small branches crackle and pop under my weight. The spirit blossoms were blooming, their leaves elegantly plastering the path before me. I could hear birds chirp and sing in between the trees, a beautiful symphony made by the only constant in life.
Nature.
I felt calm, at peace with myself.
I looked up through the branches and set my eyes on the sun, staring at it, yet my eyes didn't burn. They didn't ache nor tear up. It felt solemn. I felt at ease with the pain. The sharp searing of my sclera truly brought me harmony. My eyelashes caught the moisture, and my eyelids were already wet from sweat.
I partook in a march once more, but this time I had no idea where I was going. It wasn't founded in conviction nor a destined path. I was walking wherever felt right. Whatever my body told me to do, I did. I walked so softly, so calmly, that a golden pheasant landed on my right shoulder and began chirping softly. I paid no mind to it, as if it were just another extension of myself.
On the path, there was an intersection. I either walk forward or walk to the right. Do I take the path before me, the one connected to the present, or do I break off and choose the defiant path?
I turn my feet, my body, to the right and begin walking on the meandering road. The golden pheasant leaves my shoulder and flaps its wings with newfound energy. I was alone once more, on the road I chose.
I walk eloquently once again, my heavy armor not a burden but a piece of me, as if it were my own skin. I peer up past the branches and stare at the sun, its rays shining and burning my irises. I didn't wince nor tear up, as sweat ran down my forehead and trickled onto my jaw. I keep making my way down the path, and as I exhale, I feel the soft landing of a wallcreeper on my shoulder, a beautiful red, black, and white bird. It made itself comfortable on my left shoulder.
I make my way to another intersection, and I am now met by three paths. One forward, one left, and one right. I once again choose right and make my way down the path. I feel the leaves explode under my shoes. I feel the branches shatter as I step on them. I look up past the branches and into the sun, searing its gleaming and gorgeous shine into my eyes as sweat coats my skin.
In my march, the golden pheasant makes its way back onto my right shoulder. It chirps once again, but with some anger in its tone, disdainful of the wallcreeper on my left.
I find the last intersection.
Left.
Right.
Forward.
I choose forward this time and walk with conviction again. I felt purpose in what I did this time. As if there was reason in what I did again. I wasn't endlessly and mindlessly wandering around like an aloof buffoon.
At the end of the road...
I felt...
Something greater...
As if there was a power I have never felt before.
Greater than Chiyou.
Leagues greater.
I keep walking forward, as the wallcreeper leaves my left shoulder and flutters away. In my continued march, the golden pheasant leaves my right shoulder hurriedly.
I am at the end of the road.
My eyes met with a cave. A giant, gaping, and looming cave entrance.
Darkness.
Void.
Emptiness.
Sadness was all I felt and saw.
But deep in it, deep in the black hole of nothing, I saw a bright light. A glimmering and flickering ray of pure sunshine.
I stepped in. I took a step into the darkness and felt...
Sadness.
I felt my shoulders slump, my spine slouch, and my posture limp. Just like the sleep I felt those nights ago. In the unending, unrelenting void, I see this usurping light drag me closer, pulling me in against my choice.
"Fengxian. Lu Bu. Flying General. A man with your status, a man with your credentials, is impossible to miss. I smell Chiyou on your soul. I see you have spoken with him. Thou art tainted with darkness. The Demon God has affected you in unseen ways."
I hear the ever-elegant voice of a woman echo in the cave and pierce into my eardrums. I felt as if my soul was being hugged just by listening to her. The vibrations of her tone soothed me like a mother cooing to her baby.
Even with her divine sensation, her euphoric soothing, the aura she had, the presence she exuded, was unavoidable—a sensation nothing could escape.
It was pure.
Just like the sun.
Just...
Like...
THE SUN.
I felt fear.
I felt shock.
I felt adrenaline fill my body and stiffen me.
I was unmoving again.
My body not budging.
"Amaterasu. The Celestial Sun Goddess. Where are Susanoo and Tsukuyomi? Not present as they usually are. You speak with conviction, as if I was broken by Chiyou. As if my soul was tainted by him. You might be his god... You might be the God of Gods. Yet all I feel is... boredom."
The sun...
Shone brighter.
The cave began reflecting the pure beams of sunshine that emanated from within. You could see strands of ever-flowing, dark, gorgeous hair in the beams...
A woman slowly emerged and stood up from the darkness.
Hi no Kami was before my very eyes.