Chapter 81 - Saga (1/2)
”What type of story?” Hao Xuan asked curiously.
”What does it matter? It's not like there's much else we can do here,” he smiled back.
”I guess. Go ahead then,” Hao Xuan got comfortable and sat on the opposite side of the boat, facing Meng.
”Once upon a time, in a time not so far away, there was a place called Hell. It was a place made for the unrighteous and the unworthy. The most wicked of all creation were sent there. It was not for the living and was the abode of the demons and devils that were born to torture and punish its residents.”
Soon, Hao Xuan was thoroughly engrossed in the man's tale. It did not matter whether or not it was real. But something about it held his attention like nothing else ever had.
”These demons were born of fire and blood. They had no emotions, no sympathy, no pity for the poor souls that were burning day and night. They were emotionless beings that only enjoyed giving others pain.”
”Like the mortal world, they had the strong and weak as well. These devils could cultivate, corrupt the hearts of mortals and become stronger. Hell was not a 'world' or a planet. It was a plane of existence that existed everywhere, yet nowhere. It had Nine levels or circles.”
”These Nine circles of hell were ruled by twelve supreme beings that had existed since time immemorial. They were true immortals and oversaw and controlled everything. The four strongest were called the Four Kings and under them were the Eight princes of hell. These beings had many forms and were strong beyond imagination.”
”For trillions of years it all played out the same way. A world was born, its inhabitants became sentient and developed morals and virtues by their own standards, and whosoever went against them was sent to hell by the high heavens,” at this time Meng went quiet, with a look of nostalgia in his eyes.
”And then???” when he said nothing for a few moments, Hao Xuan inquired.
”And then it all changed. On a very young planet, there existed a race of humans that went a different path from the others. They choose to focus on their mortal tools and did not cultivate. Not long after, cultivation became a thing of legends and myths, and cultivators became figments of imagination.”
”This world destroyed itself. It depleted its resources and fought with one another until there was nothing left. Like many others before it, all its beings passed on to the next life. Most went to hell, and a chosen few to the heavens. One of those that went to hell was a man named Huan Shi.”
”Unlike the others, he didn't commit any evil deeds but was only week willed enough to have lost himself in the worldly pleasures. For countless years he burned in the fires of hell and boiled in its waters. But not once did he blame anyone but himself. He knew what was right and wrong but still continued his lifestyle so only he brought that pain upon himself. What a weak man he was...” the last sentence Meng muttered under his breath, almost talking to himself.
”But one fateful day, something happened. One random day, as he was screaming in the fires, a hand pulled him out. For the first time in millions of years, he got a single moment of tranquility. With tears streaming down his face he looked up and saw the face of his savior which left him dumbfounded.”
”It was the face of a heavenly beauty. She had a halo atop her head and white wings on her back that were slowly burning away. ”I finally found you,” she said to him with a relieved expression on her perfect face. She, was an Angel.”
”An angel?! Like from the heaven?!” Hao Xuan asked in surprise. At some point in the story, he forgot that it was supposed to be made-up and not an actual tale. Meng smiled back and continued.
”Of course. But although she was a being of light, an angel, she was not very powerful. She rescued him from the fires of hell and saved him from eternal damnation, but at a very stupendous cost to her on well-being. You see, normally Angels cannot step into hell, and Devils cannot step foot in the heavens. If they force their way in, they have to pay for it with their lives, as she did.”
”She burned her life essence and brought him outside, back to the realm of the living. They fell into a mortal world that focused heavily on cultivation. Here there were beings that could lift planets and enclose entire galaxies in their palms. She lost her divinity and turned into a mortal and started using the name Mao Hui. He, an inhabitant of hell also regained his life.”
”They both became cultivators and spent many years together. He always asked why she saved him but she never answered and would tilt her head and look at him with a smile, as if looking at a fool. They got married and had a very happy life, until one day an army passed by. This was an army of a nearby kingdom and its leader was the kingdom's crown prince.”