rogue_4

The Enlightened and the King of Sarkaz meet, centuries after the last obsessed in Lokadhatu, saw the light.

The sides of the sloped path of Katsidiya are still covered in green, but the curious tourists and devoted pilgrims are both long gone. The chanting and debates amidst the viharas have ceased, and the Fire Dharmapalas are nowhere to be seen. Even the thunderstorms in the distance have ceased, and there is only oasis as far as the eye can see.

At the end of the long slope of soil and stone is a tranquil lotus pond. Pearl-white lotuses bloom within, their numbers beyond the billions, gently filling the air with a sweet scent. Ashoka trees sway gently by the pond, golden rays shining through their verdant leaves. All is peace in Katsidiya, with only the heavy ringing of the bells emanating from the great white bell tower into the distance.

The Enlightened and the King of Sarkaz sit in the tranquility.

This is not the first time they have met. In the Lokadhatu beyond, it was always the King of Sarkaz who spoke first.

'Does the salvation of the land lie in emptiness?' she asks. The girl is wearing a black veil, her ragged white dress decidedly out of place with the surroundings.

'In purity, there is bliss.' Qui'lon the Enlightened does not answer the King of Sarkaz's question directly. His eyes are slightly closed, the cerulean flame behind him burning brightly.

'When all is empty, there is no longer sorrow...' The King of Sarkaz mutters beneath her veil, her words soft yet thunderous. 'But can there be bliss when all emotions are gone?'

A drop of dew forms upon the branch of an Ashoka tree, reflecting the two figures sitting opposite one another, the pond of lotus, and the sceneries of Katsidiya.

'Impermanent as the morning dew, fleeting as the blink of an eye.' The cerulean flame behind the Enlightened continues to burn bright. His brows are relaxed, seemingly unperturbed by the King of Sarkaz's question.

'This land, this city, are not morning dew, and the proof of people's existence is more than just the blink of an eye.' There is a ripple in the lotus pond, billions of white lotuses floating up and down with it.

'If bliss is to be fleeting, then I will mark this land by this fleeting moment I witness.'

The King of Sarkaz picks up a single white lotus, which blooms and emanates a sweet scent in her hand. The King of Sarkaz murmurs a sermon, and the billions of petals close back unto themselves, into a bud yet to blossom. She holds the bud before her chest, and a black fruit emerges from her palm, absorbing the lotus and its remaining scent.

'I must do this, Katsidiya's King of Sarkaz.'

'I see.' Even the Enlightened cannot help but sigh. His cerulean flame flickers, and the light begins to dim. 'So the myriad souls of Sarkaz have long arrived at an answer.'

The same black crown appears atop both of their heads.

'The karma this crown imposes upon me is simply to preach the path of enlightenment. I thought that nirvana could be achieved if people were no longer obsessed with their own existence. My obsession thereof has prevented the liberation of this land.

'But fate has brought you here, which means that the karma of the myriad souls is predetermined, and the realms born of their words infinite.

'And so, my obsession, too, is emptiness.'

The visage of the Enlightened relaxes again, and the cerulean flame behind him once again burns bright. The black crown floats quietly above his head.

'I have entrusted the path to someone else. If the myriad souls cannot find deliverance on their own, then the day of resolution will come nonetheless through their discourse.

'When that time comes, you will need no longer seek salvation in every story.

'But though both you and I can see our own karma vivid and clear, the cycle of cause and effect is exhausted. I can no longer deliver you.'

The Enlightened sounds almost apologetic as he bows slightly to the King of Sarkaz opposite him.

'There is no need to apologize. You've done all you could for this land. But the duty of salvation should not fall upon another's shoulders.

'Perhaps the day of resolution will come. Perhaps this path will deliver all the lands...

'But until that day comes, I will not give up on seeking salvation.

'Even if I have to walk this land a billion times, even if I must add yet more sorrow to my collection...

'I will find the ending I seek, one filled with kindness.'

The Enlightened sits upright, as he did in the Lokadhatu beyond. He closes his eyes, the cerulean flame behind him still burning bright.

'It is well.'

The eternal light illuminates Katsidiya. Only the King of Sarkaz, dressed in ragged white, remains by the lotus pond, beneath the Ashoka trees.

The heavy sound of bells once again rings from the great bell tower. This time, however, it does not reach into the distance.

Lokadhatu is empty.