And then…..A sudden burst of light descended from the heavens. It was not the golden blaze of the sun, nor the cold glimmer of moonlight. It was purer, blindingly white, like the first light of creation, a radiance untainted by worldly dust.
Instinctively, Akin shut his eyes.
His mortal gaze, it seemed, was unworthy of beholding such sacred brilliance.
Within that blinding realm of white,
A voice spoke.
Soft, but resolute. Gentle, yet boundless in wisdom. It resonated not in his ears, but in his soul.
"All journeys… are a return. Every living being flows within the river of karma. Why do you grieve, child of dust? Why do you cling to what must be released?"
As the voice fell silent, the light began to fade, petal by petal, like a lotus blooming backward into the void.
And from within the gentle mist of dissolution, a woman emerged.
She wore robes of pristine white that shimmered like moonlight on still water. Her features were serene, untouched by sorrow or time. A crown of lotus flowers rested atop her coiffed hair, as if the heavens themselves had crowned her with purity.
She stood upon a lotus pond whose waters reflected Akin's blood-stained image. And yet, her gaze did not falter. Her eyes, deep with compassion, looked straight into his, as if seeing through not just his wounds, but through every life he had ever lived.
"You suffer still," she said,
"Because you cling to impermanence. You bleed still, because your hands hold too tightly to the past. Let go... and the emptiness shall lead you toward the path of Dharma."
Akin lifted his eyes. Tears welled in them, though he did not know why.
Was it sorrow? Relief? Or simply the weight of truth?
His voice cracked, soft as a child's.
"Are you…?"
But before he could ask, the woman raised her hand. A single gesture.
And from thin air, a lotus flower bloomed its petals soft and translucent, spinning gently in the space between them. They fell, one by one, vanishing before they touched the ground.
"You are Ling San," the voice declared, not with accusation, but with remembrance.
"Once, a warrior who walked the path of blood. One who struck down even the sacred in his blindness. But the seed of remorse… has bloomed within your soul. The Buddha sees this. And so, the wheel has turned again, and the cycle has opened a new path."
Akin trembled.
Ling San?
Was that who he truly was?
Or had he become something more or less?
"You are not only Akin. Nor are you solely Ling San. You are a soul seeking the Bodhi path. If you wish to redeem the weight of your past, return to the root from which you strayed. Choose again when fate offers its mercy. Do not let your blade fall where it should not, for many lives now fall from your past misdeeds."
The celestial light now transformed, its rays shifting into thousands of lotus petals. They began to whirl around him in spiraling patterns of grace, softly brushing his skin, warming his bones, lightening the weight that had long rested upon his heart.
Her voice returned, softer now, like wind across bamboo:
"Remember this: He who understands suffering… shall walk beyond it. Live with wisdom…..Live with compassion."
Akin's mind tried to grasp it.
He who understands suffering…
Shall walk beyond it? And just as the final syllable of that thought echoed within him, the world shattered into stillness.
Everything before his eyes dissolved, the pond, the stars, the voice, even the light.
He found himself alone, adrift in a vast, white void. No ground beneath him. No sky above. No time. Only stillness.
And then...…..
A snap.
A single, divine snap of fingers...…..
And he was gone.
As though he had never existed at all.