23 The redemption of the Heavenly Demon.
Sat beneath a plum blossom tree, gazing into the abstract nihility that washes the shores. The ripple of a butterfly, skips the peaceful lake, and the rings of Heaven are unlocked. Gazing back is your truest self, masked within the decay of the holy, nature.
Hands roll out, and the dew that falls fastest from the highest hung leaf quivers, and it's slips down the fingers, and through his arms, coiling behind his shoulder, and falling down onto the suffering flower.
Hands clasped together, gathering the world, and severing the realms of the mind.
Slowly he opens his eyes, and flowering a thousand realms, and within the abyss, the sparkling fervor of human nature escapes.
His lips part, "I am ready. Great Dragon God, allow this being to incarnate you, and to then ascend."
A drop of blood fell, it's slid down his head, and drew a line across his forehead, breaking into twin rivers pouring down his eyes.
Slowly ribbons of crimson peeled apart from his skin, his smooth skin cracking in places as red fled outwards.
"What shall be, will inevitably be. Whether you can absorb the bloodline, or whether you cannot, is all up to fate."
The red soon spread across his skin, covering every single bit.
He stood up slowly, his feet sweeping forth.
His right hand slowly rose, and the mist that coiled around him split. His left fist pushed forward, and the wind spread. He spun, and kicked out, jumping and twisting.
The howls of the sky echoed, and the Earth tore with every step.
Mountains rose with every breath, and seas spilled with every tear that spilled from his eyes.
A state of ultimate absolute.
His hair broke from his hairpiece, hanging from his shoulders, spread out and dancing. Like ten thousand flying dragons, roaring with a fierce Heavenly might.
His fists called thunder, and his speed brought forth lightning.
His kicks broke space, and his fists time.
The Dao encircled him, and sheets of celestial energy covered him.
'You might suffer, but it is not what makes you. It is whether you can choose to continue.
'The world is cruel, but kindness must still be shown, for we are humans. We are better than mere beasts of pleasure!
'The Dao is nuturing, towards any kind and hopeful being.
'Whether to be a hero, or a villain. No such thing presents itself, only the will to improve oneself or to succumb others to the same tragedy.'
He bent his back, and sent a kick up. A drop of rain fell, upon his head. Then a thousand more, converged upon him.
He slipped, but his right hand poked down, his fingers gliding as he rose up into the air.
Flying like a feather in the wind.
'The fist falls, and a tear never fails to appear. The realm of martial arts, is to serve the fate of a cruel man.'
He ran out of breath, and collapsed down.
Darkness swept forth, like a hundred festering parasites.
They dug into his body, and screams of pain exploded out.
The seas of blood, that had spread forth from his hands, the cruelties he had spoken. The ten thousand truths, crushed under the vindictive and uncaring gaze of a Heavenly demon.
His sword that sundered the skies, and brought forth calamity. His madness, that incurred chaos and corruption.
'A heavy thought, can sink a thousand lives. A cruel wish, can sever the very notion you once carried.
'The cruelest of acts, notably had the greatest of intentions. War sought from peace, death from effort, and pain from love. Our only suffering, is that we are human.'
His fingers dug into the ground, and black chains spilled forth from the void, and wrapped around his libs. The ten thousand mountains collapsed, the ten thousand flower gardens withered, and the chill of winter spread.
'I simply hope, that you can one day be a good man. I hope you are happy, and that you have a loving family.
'You are not a failure, you are my student and so much more!
'The way of nature is there in everything, just as the creeper wraps around the tree using it to absorb light, so do humans. So do humans fight for benefits. Yet so do humans bring color to this foolish pugilistic world. So do humans bring forth kindness, and generosity, towards all beings, acting as a shield from the harsh rain and heavy winds, so does a human. So does, a tree pass of breath to what may otherwise die. Humans may be flawed, we all are. Yet so do we possess the capability to beauty.
'Wu Long, you are a child of hope. You have inspired this old fool a countless times since he had long since forgotten his heart. You bring hope to your father, and your grandfather. I'm sure somewhere a hurt soul, will find hope from you. Remember hope may be shrunk, and hurt, but never defeated. Kindness, love, and hope. Wu Long, do not let anyone rid you of your beauty.'
His lips tore open, and a scream echoed forth, sung across the nine Heavens.
His right hand pulled forward, his feet dug deeply into the ground.
Every step weighed as if dragging the bodies of a ten thousand titans.
Every breath was hard, and dissipated with the thinnest forgery of intent.
His steps cracked the ground, but still the earth seemed to grab ahold of him.
He pulled forth, more and more, and more!
His lips parted, and with sorrowful tears he cried, "I, Wu Long have failed my master too many times to count, but should I fail now I would have no excuse! For before was the journey, and this is the end, the leap into the darkness! I may suffer a thousand times worse, but I shall become the person my master deserves to call his Student!
"Do not think you can stop me!"
He screamed loudly, his voice cracking as his vocal cords trembled like the string of a guitar.
His strength exploding out, and each tiny step, turning into a leap, and then into a mad dash. Every fist, turning into a punch, into a desperate escape!
The chains cried, as they tried their best.
Yet his heavy will pulled forth, even as his muscles tore apart.
With the clang of thunder, steel shattered into dust.
The chains that stole him away, unmasked the power behind him.
His fists formed oceans, his kicks a bridge that stretched across that could be seen.
His breath caused even the Heavens to tremble.
He spun, faster and faster. Than ever before, than ever in this life or the other.
Light spilled forth, crimson beams breaking past his eyes, and then his skin.
His kicks flashed past, and his fists danced.
Over the surface of the sea, he spun like a tornado, kicks and punches exploding out.
And as the last flicker of light, finally turned into a null, a single drop of dew fell down.
His hand grabbed it, allowing it to slip down his palms, and over his shoulders.
Across to his other arm.
And finally it swam down onto a budding flower.
His hands twisting above him, and then his palms met at his chest. Finally a single relaxed breath escaped, and with it the dancing wind swept his hair, and robe.
He looked. Beautiful.
And when his eyes opened, seven colors danced and ten thousand worlds bloomed.
