The Kingdom of Roses

29

The Shattering

Zhì Shēn and Pèi Zhōng made a move towards the portal as they were guardians of the Bride’s mountain, but the King stopped them with a shake of his head, ‘Let it be,’ he told them.

The portal began to slowly close, but the King and Bride continued to look at each other till the very last moment. Once her vision of the heavens faded, she wiped her tears dry and turned around to face the mortal realm into which she was descending with armies that were cast down from the heavens. She no longer tolerated the rope that Jiàn Shēng had used to pull her away from her beloved.

In rage she flew towards him, the ropes binding her burning swiftly away as if they were nothing at all. Jiàn Shēng, who was eagerly waiting to embrace her, saw her eyes light-up with pure, blue fury and was frightened for himself. He knew he was not her equal, but he could not resist her and was drawn to love her like a moth to the flame. She grabbed him by his neck and stared directly into his eyes.

‘Do not ever dare constrain me again!’ she said steadily but sternly. Then her voice softened as she released her grip, ‘If I must follow you, it will be of my own free will.’

Jiàn Shēng could not believe what he had just heard. It was sweeter than the sweetest music to his ears. She had chosen to enter the realm with him. She was now his to love and possess. He had the time and opportunity to win her heart and help her forget the King. She had promised him with an oath before all the witnesses in heaven to forget her beloved. He could not resist the urge to gloat in the moment.

He looked up into the heavens and yelled out, ‘Behold your Bride! She is mine now. She has chosen me for herself. She has chosen to follow me and share in ruling the realm granted to my rulership. I will make her love me. I will possess her and the kingdom with all its twenty-four realms! Watch from the heavens! She will love me as I love her, she will choose me and then become fully mine!’

It took all his power for the King to restrain himself. He heard and saw everything that was transpiring in the descent towards the mortal realm.

The Bride who had gone further than Jiàn Shēng, stopped and made her way back towards him. He saw her approaching him and there was no hint of fury in her eyes anymore. His smiled genuinely for the first time in a long while, betraying a hint of shyness in his spotless, beautiful face. Indeed, there was tenderness in her eyes when she stood with him face-to-face.

She set his heart aflutter when she gently planted a kiss on his forehead. It was like when a mother looks at her wayward child whom she has recently disciplined. To Jiàn Shēng, this was much more because of the feelings he harbored within his heart.

‘Jiàn Shēng,’ she said softly and tenderly, ‘Gather me from the dust of the earth if you can.’

Then she turned and faced the earth again in her descent. He stood for a moment suspended between heaven and earth as he looked at her and smiled to himself, gently touching the spot she had just kissed. Everything else seemed to stand still, nothing else mattered but this moment that he had worked so hard for.

Then he saw it. Something was not right. She was moving too fast in her descent. ‘She wants me to catch her?’ he thought as he picked up speed in his chase. Soon, both of them had passed by all the other Tiānshǐ and their soul beasts, leaving them far behind. He was still trailing behind her like the tail of a comet, when it happened.

There was a terrible explosion that emanated from her. It was so bad that the shock waves tore down some of the planets that were in orbit close to them, but yet a great distance away from the earth itself. It hit him and all his armies sending them momentarily into a free spin backwards.

When he got over the shock, Jiàn Shēng picked up speed and rushed towards her falling form. She had forcefully torn herself into the individual parts of her triune being. The outer fire mantle, middle wind and inner water bodies were now separate and fell like parallel layers in perfect synchronization. The excruciating pain travelled outwards as an icy coldness spread through her. No one had the power to take her life from her, except herself. She had done just that to erase every shred of memory of her beloved husband.

As Jiàn Shēng reached her, the fiery flame of her form turned around to face him, independent of the other two. Her hand reached out and almost touched his face before the flame was snuffed out and disappeared in bluish-gold embers from his sight. He tried to grasp some of the embers, but none remained. His mind did not comprehend what was happening. He was witnessing the first death in all the realms.

He rushed towards her other two forms. By this time, earth was in his sight. Her middle wind component that once held her outer fire mantle and inner water bodies in union, turned and gently made one last flight around him as a playful breeze. He thought he heard her soft laughter, but the wind form broke into four branches through the mantle of the earth, moving swiftly to the north, south, east and west.

The water form was all that remained as they drew closer to earth. It sparkled like millions of diamonds as it slowly broke apart and shattered irreversibly like glass. Her water form turned and looked at him one final time. There was immense sadness and perhaps a hint of rage mixed with the tears streaming down her face.

Her water form, which was the last to dissipate, hit the forbidden tree in the middle of the garden in which Zhì Rén and Yīn-er dwelt like immortals. As it shattered, countless glowing droplets of water bathed the entire tree causing it to glimmer and shine with the same blue glow that once animated the Bride.

Of these, one droplet was the primordial seed of the Bride, and it glistened softly on one of the fruit that the tree bore.

Zhì Rén and Yīn-er were fast asleep in the outermost region of the garden the night this tragedy unfolded. The shock waves that shook the earth and the horrible sound caused both of them to jump up in fear.

‘What was that?’ Yīn-er asked, still shaking from the sheer force of the power that had hit them and their surroundings.

Both of them noticed the glow emanating from the center of the garden. ‘It appears it is from there,’ Zhì Rén replied, ‘You know, that place where the forbidden tree rests at the center of the garden! I think we should go check what happened for we are guardians of this place.’

Yīn-er nodded in agreement. They set off in the direction of the glow. It would take them many days to get there.

In the heavens, at the very moment the Bride tore herself into her component parts, the King felt her pain within himself for they were one. He felt the severe ache spreading through him and the icy coldness with it. He grasped his heart as it felt ready to explode within him and quite literally, a part of him died that day, the one he loved most dearly.

He gasped, stumbled and fell, as the four remaining brothers rushed to help him. He had barely regained his breath when Jiàn Shēng’s voice was heard outside the entrance to the portal between the mortal and heavenly realms. He sounded desperate, confused and angry.

‘Let me in! Let me in!’ he shouted.

The King collected himself from his own devastating grief and went to the portal along with the four brothers. They did not open the portal.

‘What just happened? Why is she not there anymore? Where did she go?’ Jiàn Shēng’s questions came as fast as a torrent.

When he had finished, the King looked at him with a deep tiredness and answered, ‘This is what you agreed to when we told you that she will do whatever it takes to forget me.’

‘What do you mean?’ Jiàn Shēng asked seriously.

‘Do you think she would forget me if she lived?’ the King replied with irritation. ‘Were you not pleased at the prospect of her forgetting me? How can any part of her love you when she loves me with all parts of herself?’

‘Do you mean she just… died? Jiàn Shēng said hesitatingly. He did not understand what death was earlier and he still did not understand it fully. Now, he had witnessed it, and struggled to describe it in its entirety.

The four brothers also gasped in shock. They had not realized what had unfolded was the death of their beloved mother and the Guardian of the realms.

‘Yes, she died. Are you happy? Are… you… happy now?’ the King thundered with anger. ‘Get out! Return to your realm!’

Jiàn Shēng did not dare linger. He returned at once.

The brothers were quiet for a loss of words. The King saw them and comforted them. ‘This is death. It is separation from the ones you love. Take heart, it is also a chariot. At the appointed time, it will be the herald of sweet reunions.’

There was no one to comfort the King in his grief. He comforted all, but none could fully understand the depth of grief and pain that had torn through every fiber of his being.

‘I have lost my dwelling place though the heavens are my home,’ he thought to himself. ‘I must bear this pain for ages till I can find her and be one with her again.’

He was right. They were each other’s safe haven. She was his shelter and in her arms he never failed to find rest. Truly, which is the greater pain? Is it the pain of the dead when they are dying or the pain of those left behind? Before any mortal could experience such suffering and separation, the King experienced its full force, unbridled and raw, hideous and stark.

The King returned to Méiguī shān with the brothers. They hesitated as he crossed the threshold. Seeing them stop he called out to them, ‘Why do you remain at the threshold? Come with me into the garden. Linger there with me for a while, for my heart is heavy this night with deep grief and death.’

As they moved into the gardens they were struck by the change that had come over this once, lively place. It now wore the veil of death in coldness and ice. The very instant the Bride died; a cold wind had passed through the entire mountain that belonged to her. Everything in the garden froze. A thick layer of frost and ice lay over every leaf, branch, tree, flower, fruit, rock, stream, waterfall and lake.

The living creatures had all left the place earlier due to the war. Only Bèi Yǎn lay there, motionless, as if dead. She was most affected as she was the Bride’s soul beast. The King gently picked her up and placed her in the palm of his hand. Slowly, the warmth of his fire helped her shake out of her frozen stupor. No one had to tell her what happened. She knew.

The King turned and faced the four brothers. ‘I will seal this place for it will not awaken till she awakens, nor will it flourish till she lives. I will enter past the threshold at an appointed time in regular intervals. No one else is permitted to enter this place anymore till this curse of death is lifted and removed off it,’ he told them. ‘Now, wait for me while I go up further into the grove.’

The brothers looked around at what was once a place of joy. They sat down and waited for the King who had gone into the most cherished place where he often lay with his beloved night after night. It was under the beautiful tree from which the swing hung.

There, he threw himself on the ground and wept bitterly with loud groans. ‘You have given me the most bitter cup of gall and wine!’ he said as if his beloved was before him, and he was admonishing her. She usually prepared the sweetest wines. ‘I wish this cup of suffering would not be, but what had to be done is now done!’ he continued. He repeated these same words over and over again.

After a long time had passed, he got up and left the frozen grove. Seeing him approach, the four brothers arose quickly. They slowly moved out of the region of Méiguī shān which had fallen into deathly sleep, all its falling cascades frozen in time against its darkened, cliff edges. The King sealed the entrance to the mountain with a veil-like, glassy shield of ice. No one dared to enter it as the cold behind it was overwhelming. It was not at all like the cold in the northern realms. This one was deadly in all its robes of darkness and gloom.

In the mortal realm, Jiàn Shēng was turning wildly insane with his own grief. In desperation, he kept trying to gather the remaining water droplets that clothed the forbidden tree. Every time he touched these droplets, they dried up or fell to the ground which seemed to drink them up like a relentlessly thirsty creature. Jiàn Shēng was so upset, he beat the ground and even tried to dig around to see if he could find the droplets, all to no avail.

‘How do I gather her back if the dust of the earth keeps drinking her remains?’ he thought. None of his followers dared to be around him in his grief. All of them stayed out of the garden at his command. Even Bái Láng was not allowed inside. Only Wěi Hóng was with him because they trusted each other. Wěi Hóng was his last connection with the Bride for the dragon had resonated with her deeply and she was called the Dragon Rider. Apart from Jiàn Shēng, the Bride was the only one who could tame and ride the Sān sè Lóng.

Jiàn Shēng noticed that just one drop of glowing water remained on a fruit that hung low on the forbidden tree. It did not appear to be any different from all the other drops, so he did not give it much thought except to find a way to rescue it before it too was lost. He did not dare to touch it, so he went and sat some distance away in the shrubbery. He intermittently sobbed between bouts of rage and sanity when he tried to think of some manner in which he could save the last drop of her water form.

At that time, Zhì Rén and Yīn-er were close to the tree but it was still out of their view. Perceiving their approach, Jiàn Shēng hid himself for he did not want them to see him in such a vulnerable moment in a state of disarray. Wěi Hóng followed his master’s example. He changed himself into his smaller, serpentine form and hid in the rich foliage of the tree.

‘Look!’ Yīn-er exclaimed, ‘It never glowed like this before!’ Indeed, the tree on the left bank had never exhibited any power or glow like the one on the right bank. This day it shimmered with blue light though almost all the water drops had long since disappeared.

Zhì Rén took a step towards the tree out of curiosity. Yīn-er stopped him as she was the one appointed to watch his back for danger. ‘No! It looks different today,’ she cautioned him. ‘Remember, it can bring us death!’

Hearing these words brought a moment of illumination to Jiàn Shēng as he remembered the Bride’s last words to him. ‘Gather me from the dust of the earth if you can?’ he pondered, ‘Are these Jiāngshī not mere dust of the earth? Could it be…?’ his thoughts trailed as he struggled within himself. Finally, he declared within himself, ‘Forget it! Nothing risked, nothing gained. I must make this gamble or there is no way to find out!’

He telepathically conveyed instructions to Wěi Hóng for he was loathe to come before the mortals in such a state. Wěi Hóng came out of hiding and appeared before the mortals, startling them.

Zhì Rén and Yīn-er quickly regained their composure when they recognized him. ‘Oh! It is just you!’ Yīn-er said with relief.

‘Of course, who else could it be?’ the serpentine dragon replied. He neglected to tell them all that had transpired in the heavens or to the Bride.

‘Why did you just say that you could die?’ he asked them.

‘Our parents told us not to eat the fruit here or we will die,’ Yīn-er replied.

‘Oh? You mean of any tree or just this one?’ the dragon pressed on.

‘No, just this one. We can eat of the rest,’ Zhì Rén answered.

‘That is strange. I have eaten this fruit and never died. Look, I am alive. Touch the fruit and see for yourself, it will not kill you!’ the dragon insisted.

‘Er… no, it looks different today. It looks dangerous. We may die if we touch it,’ Yīn-er replied. Jiàn Shēng realized that the woman was being overly cautious. He had to change his tactics lest his scheming failed to win her over. Without her approval, the man would not eat it either.

‘Do not be silly! You lack the bravery and wisdom of your mother!’ he mocked her through Wěi Hóng. He knew how much she wanted to be as perfect as the Bride. ‘Look, I tell you the truth. You will not die. You both have lived for ages! Do you even know what death is? Death is the gateway of Wisdom. When you eat this fruit, you will become like her, your mother who is called Wisdom. Then you will truly know what is good and evil, what it is to live or die, for you will have the knowledge and wisdom of your parents themselves!’ he told them, mainly shaping his words to appeal to Yīn-er.

Then Yīn-er closely examined the fruit. It looked beautiful to the eyes. Further, it was good food to strengthen them after the many days of walking towards the center of the garden. However, the greatest appeal of the fruit was in its power to grant her wisdom so she could become like her mother. She touched the fruit, and nothing changed. The longer she looked at the glistening drop of water on it, the more she thought she saw the very form of her mother dancing within in. She was convinced.

She took a bite. Nothing changed. Zhì Rén did not stop her. He waited excitedly to taste the fruit she had just eaten, seeing that nothing dramatic happened to Yīn-er. When she offered it to him, he gladly ignored what he was expressly taught and commanded. He ate the fruit with glee. Yīn-er had tested it for him and it was safe to eat.

Neither of them knew that the primordial seed that rested on the fruit had already infused itself into the heart of the fruit, becoming seed within it. Now, that the man and woman had each eaten their fill, the primordial seed made its way into both their cores and rested in their hearts. From there, its power moved throughout their bodies.

The portion of the breath of the Bride within the mortals enlivened it, their blood carried it like a nourishing river, and it found its life and expression through the fiery pathways of their nerves and brain. Within these mortal vessels, the primordial seed found the three elements of the Bride it needed to take shape and grow – fire in the pathways of the brain, air in the pathways of human breath, and water which was in abundance in the streams of blood being pumped in steady rhythm by their hearts made of the Blood Stone.

They did not die that day. However, they would die one day. Zhì Rén and Yīn-er had consumed death. The Bride was filled with mixed emotions before she died. She had experienced a range of them from rage to deep sorrow, separation to grief and suffering, pain to desperate hopelessness and death. They had consumed her and the power of her unbridled chaos. How could they remain unchanged after ingesting the Flame of the heavens?

There was something else that happened that day. The eyes of the mortals were opened. Thus far, they were innocent and learnt what they were taught. They did not perceive much beyond that, similar to the other creatures that dwelt around them. Now, they experienced the first stirrings and awakening of higher consciousness.

Consciousness was never of human origins. It came from above, from another world or realm. It is the higher wisdom of the King and his Bride. It gave the humans the power to perceive and understand good from evil. Their parents never intended to keep it away from them. They had foreseen this day. They also knew that even such higher wisdom could easily be corrupted in the vessels of dust and clay. Wars would result and so would death, injustice and suffering. People would use their wisdom to gain greater power and harm countless others. Wisdom, like love, is easily corrupted. If one can go back in time and trade all the sorrows of this mortal world for a world returned to its pristine form, all the death for immortality, so that one never needs to part from those they love and cherish, what would they give in exchange for it?

Jiàn Shēng rejoiced for the risk he took paid off. In these vessels he could gather the shattered and scattered remains of his beloved woman.

In the heavens, the first seal on the letter of separation was broken. On earth, the history of humans entered the first great age with the awakening of consciousness in Zhì Rén and Yīn-er.