"HAHAHAHA!"
Clink—
Gleeful laughter and the scent of metal permeated the assembly of demon heads as the demons exchanged a few cups amongst themselves, drunk and hungover on the intoxication of the great festival.
It was a bizarre concept for any human to fathom that the demons, who were always thirsty for blood, war, and chaos, would let themselves be vulnerable like this.
Yet, seeing was knowing, and thus, the brave human who ventured into the demonic realm could but only witness such carelessness with a stupefied expression as he asked one of the captured demons.
"Why do you demon celebrate? I do not believe that you celebrate anything apart from war, and beat the drums to signal the beginning of a war."
"Kekeke, you're quite narrow-sighted, human." Sneering a mock, the demon explained. "For us demons, of course, thirst for war, blood, and chaos is our defining nature; however, other than these three, there is also faith."
"Demons... have faith?" The human asked in bafflement as the demon nodded, stating, "We are all beautiful creations of that supreme enity. Of course, as our rightful creator, we would have faith in that supreme immortal."
"You mean the god Helia?" The human asked as the demon shook their head, "No, foolish human, say, our kind have travelled to stars billions of light-years away and invaded many fertile lands, and along the way we have encountered many faiths."
Glancing towards the human, the demon asked, "Do you believe that Helia is the only name of the god you consider the supreme immortal?"
"That's..." The human was unable to answer as they knew that Helia was a symbolic name used by them to refer to the existence of God.
"What we merely call by name is but a symbolic expression of that great entity that includes the expression which we — The Void Demon Tribe worship."
"What do you call that expression then?"
"The most adamant one."
"The one who takes and gives life to others as they please."
"A character who empowers the concepts of declination, like war, death, and carries the mandate of Impermanence. The one whose stories are written in blood, the Blood Character: The Blood God."
The moment the name of this Blood Character was intoned, the rally of demons below shouted in unison: "GLORY TO THE BLOOD GOD!"
"GLORY TO THE BLOOD GOD!"
"GLORY TO THE BLOOD GOD!"
Like a sacred mantra, the demons cried out to their lord, and in tandem, the captured demon also sang that praise in devotion, "Glory to the Blood God! Glory to the Blood God!"
"Glory—" Crack!
"—!!?"
Breaking free from the chains that held him, the demon luibged towards the human, grabbing its skull in its vice before squashing it on its palm before finishing, "to the Blood God!"
Then, picking up the body of the human, the demon brought the corpse's neck close to its mouth before juicing the human like an orange — glup — glup —
A harrowing sound of blood sliding down the throat echoed on the vantage point from where the demon tossed away the dried-up carcass as he continued chanting, "Glory to the Blood God!
"Glory to the Blood God!"
"Glory to the Blood God!"
"Glory to the Blood God!"
"Glory to the Heavenly Dao!"
"Glory to the Heavenly Dao!"
"Glory to the Heavenly Dao!"
At the centre of the all creation, a materialised manifestation of suffering held his arms high, singing praises of the Great Dao under the bombardment of seasons, whilst having himself impaled by the mericlessness of nature.
It was pennace to please the Heavenly Dao, calling to it for twenty-four million cycles, and today, after a timeless period, the skies above split open as winds from the unmanifested realm echoed before the worn and torn Blood God.
"Xuè Dào (Blood Character)."
"You have sung my praises for a total of twenty-four cycles now, and in those twenty-four cycles, not for one instance did you show any leniency on your duties as the holder of the Impermanence Mandate, nor as a devotee of mine. I am pleased with your actions."
"Ask for any wish, it shan't be overlooked."
"Oh, Supreme One, Grant this beggar an heir."
"An heir? Is that all?"
"Of course not, Oh great one, I am well aware that this heir would carry a great destiny, as they would be a boon from you." Xue Dao acknowledged the unrefutable aspect of the boon, but... he was prepared.
"However, I yearn for an heir who has a great sense of responsibility and is tempered by extreme suffering such that nothing is ever handed to them; they must earn it."
"That condition of yours is already fulfilled, Xue Dao." The aetheric voice responded in stillness before adding in a voice more vast and deeper than the cosmic ocean, "Your penance was a grotesque and an impossible act of materisised suffering of yourself."
"Meaning?" Xue Dao asked, and the Heavenly Dao responded, "Meaning your heir would possess a self-destructive aspect to them."
"This... I was unaware of it, no, rather I was helpless." Xue Dao explained, "I am the one who causes great decline, and my power revolves around such; the only penance I could offer was a declination in evil, however, it would thwart the balance of the Universe."
"That's why I set out on a penance where I took a material form which can be subjected to Impermanence, and took on the exact suffering which the Universe suffers when balances are not met."
"Indeed, it was something outside of your jurisdiction, and an outcome which was the most obvious; even still, it was a wise, unintentional action by you." The Heavenly Dao intoned as Xue Dao raised a brow, "You speak as if this was not your doing, despite being the well-wisher of the Universe."
"That is the truth, however, Xue Dao, this humble one is but merely a servant of existence. Creation of species may have been my doing, but their history is not something the Universe burdens itself with. Instead, at the first dawn, that mandate was delegated to the Suns, Moons and the Stars.
"—!!?"
"You truly are mysterious and profound, Great One." Xue Dao bowed in surrender to the immense wisdom and vision of the Heavenly Dao.
Suns, Moons, and Stars, despite being worshipped as Heavenly bodies, were but material aspects of the Universe. To be the historian of the Universe, one may expect that an immortal being is the eternal gazer.
Yet now... before Xue Dao, a different, more profound truth stood in an immutable glory.
Suns, Moons, and Stars illuminated the earth, where species thrived, and all of their actions became clear under the luminescence of these three celestial bodies.
Yet the Moons could crumble, the Stars could burn out, and at the end of every cycle, this phenomenon occurred. When the new cycle began, a new history was bound to be written, unburdened by the bygone past.
An all-encompassing end, and a true beginning, this was the ultimate power of the Heavenly Dao as Sun, Moon, and Stars were merely objects of insignificance before the likes of the Xue Dao.
But with the blessings and the support of Heavenly Dao, they became the ink, brush, and paper that wrote his fate. It became an apparent truth — One can become great, but without the Dao, one cannot become the greatest.
"Go below to the realm of rivers and lakes, where the demon race has invaded mankind. There, a child shall be born as your rightful heir."
The Heavenly Dao bestowed a boon upon Xue Dao, who took on the form of a vast demon and descended upon Jianghu, where demons danced in devotion to him as he, too, danced alongside these devoted heathens.
Despite being unmanifested and unaffected in his original Dharma form. Xue Dao had willingly reduced himself to a demon; the supreme Mandate of Impermanence could now affect even him.
In this diminished state, taking on the name Mo Dao, he began referring to himself by the self-deprecating title, Mò Dào. He himself became perpetually drunk on the metallic intoxication of the mortal liquors.
Wobblingly, he ventured deep into an abandoned dungeon where human prisoners were held. Soon, he found himself inside the cell where the fair maiden was being held captive.
"Replusive Demon halt!"
The fair maiden snarled as Mo Dao, who was drunk, asked, "I am repulsive, you say?"
"All of you demons are repulsive!" The woman spat. Just then, Mo Dao's body transformed, transforming into a handsome man before asking, "Now?"
"—!!?"
The woman was shocked by this sudden change as she exclaimed, "What kind of scocerry is this?"
Snap—
With a snap of his finger, the woman's cuffs came loose as Mo Dao offered her a cup, "I am Mo Dao, an enjoyer of thriving festivals. Today, I share a cup with everyone who could hear the song of glory."
The woman had a hesitant expression; she knew that if she did not accept this cup, she would be killed, which she could not let happen, not until she fulfilled her mission.
Thus, the woman took the cup and introduced herself, "I am Gu Yin."
"Brilliant!" Mo Dao and Gu Yin exchanged several cups until the damsel became completely drunk when Mo Dao asked, "Someone whom the holy divinity favours, why are they held captive here?"
"It's to fulfil my mission as the current priestess of the XuanYuan empire." Gu Yin whispered through hiccups and blurry vision when Mo Dao asked, "A priestess, yet having the desire to bear children, have you not already forsaken all of your vanity?"
"It's but wishful thinking, being devoted to the holy god Helia, I cannot ask for progeny." Gu Yin whispered regretfully as Moo Dao added, "Someone who has come to my festival is forbidden from having such simple regrets.
"What do you—mmph"
The fabrics came loose that night as the drunkards lost themselves in the mortal pleasure. Yet when soberness struck, Mo Dao nearly lost all his reason. Standing under the grace of the heavens, he shouted, "Heavenly Dao, this is trickery! Why have you made me partake in such an act?"
Grr—
Above the skies, a Loong growled as the shout drew it, but Mo Dao merely gazed at the Loong before its head was severed from its body, slamming on the ground with a resounding — Thud!
Dust kicked up from the ground as Mo Dao felt the environment begin to shift.
From the lifted earth grains, he witnessed the severed head of the dragon move as it spoke, "Manifestation has no sound, yet it always requires a process. The first and foremost 'rightful' heir to any king's throne is the prince."
"Keh!" With a sweep of his arms, the illusion shattered, revealing a handful of humans standing before Mo Dao as they demanded, "Wait, you're a human. Tch, never mind that. Tell us — have you seen the priestess?"
Mo Dao subtly tightened the cloth which draped him, and the fabric drew closer around the unconscious fair maiden who still lay inside the chamber as he informed the humans, "She is inside that dungeon. The cuffs have already been undone."
"Thank you, benefactor." The humans bowed in gratitude while Mo Dao turned to leave, and one of them called after him, "Hey, you should come with us."
Mo Dao replied, "I have certain matters to attend to, and..." Glancing back at the group, he added, "Tell the priestess that she should not waste her time searching for me."
To be continued...