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chaozsilhouette · 2 years

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A Simple Act

On a peaceful mountain top, the wind gently blew. On the horizon, the sun was halfway through passing under the skyline as stars started to emerge from the growing darkness of the night.

It was a relaxing view, one in which you could almost forget the encroaching wave of ice and death in the opposite direction. But that didn’t stop one demon from laying back against an old tree and savoring the warmth of the fading sun.

Being her servant was like being drowned in the coldest, deepest patch of space in existence. The icy chains wrapping around one’s limbs until they threatened to break reinforced bone. The ghostly whispers slowly draining one of their strength and spirit to feed their mistress. The torturous agony of feeling all life and passion escaping your grasp with every breath.

Macaque was forced to live with that as he hunted down the kid and his idiot master, but he’d take that over being infused with her power every time.

That power…there was something terribly wrong with it. The instant it made contact with his spirit his entire body was wracked with pain. As every millimeter crawled across his body, he could feel his soul being dragged to an unknown location. It wasn’t death, that much he was certain about. He was quite familiar with the sensation of death.

No, this-this was far worse.

The Samadhi Fire was his only hope to purge his body of her chains, physical, mental, and spiritual. The knowledge his presence pushed the new pilgrims into speeding up their timetable to release the ancient power was the only thing that got him moving. The more power he used to reach his targets, including the energy needed to collapse the impressive distance, increased the rate the bone and ice-encased his form.

A sign of Lady Bone Demon’s impatience and desperation.

He hated how easy it was to pin down the royal pain and former celestial wild child. He could have fought them on his own, but this power… There was no honor to it. No pride is to be gained through this victory.

When he snapped the fake rings, Nezha’s face said it all. Once more the mischievous Monkey King was up to his old tricks. Keeping everyone in the dark unless it served his goals.

And Wukong wondered why he didn’t trust in his little plan. Not that there ever was one to begin with.

Like the others, he never imagined there was a fourth holy ring, much less than it was inside the girl. The looks of fear and betrayal etched onto their faces were all too relatable. They learned why the king wasn’t to be trusted in one of the worst ways.

But it was all worth it.

The release of the eternal flames washed over him like a wave. The glorious snap of dozens of chains once hooked into his bones as links faded into nothing. Freeing him from the frozen abyss to leave him gasping in a burning whirlwind fueled by a child’s sacrifice. For a brief moment, the flash of heat eclipsed that of the icy curse. The temperature shock paralyzed him for far too long, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about his moment of weakness.

He was free. Fully and truly free.

And he intended to keep it that way.

Two days.

Two glorious days since he had been freed from the bone bitch’s chains.

Just the mere thought of it brought a smile to the ancient shadow demon’s face. But Macaque wasn’t a fool. He knew Lady Bone Demon sensed the instant he had been freed. He knew she wouldn’t take his failure, much less his desire to rid himself of her so-called destiny, with the grace she liked to project.

So, his best option was to run. Hightail it out of China until the heat died down. With any luck, Wukong’s little band of misfits would pull off the impossible or the Celestial Realm would finally get off their asses and do something. Alas, he didn’t hold much faith in either one.

Which left him to continue expanding the distance between him and Megapolis. Once more alone with his thoughts, you’d think he’d get used to it. Everyone left you eventually, so there was no point in getting close after they fulfilled their purpose.

He made that mistake once and paid for it with his life.

It didn’t matter if the kid was too kind for his own good, Wukong meant too much to him for there ever to be a conflict of interest. The girl was entertaining, a true beacon of sass, but with the fire now raging inside her it was doubtful she would live long even with proper training. And Tang…

Oh Tang, that silver-tongued devil. In a moment of weakness, he could almost believe the human wanted him around. Didn’t hurt that he wasn’t too bad looking, for a human. Or that he stopped Wukong from nearly taking his other eye in a fit of rage.

In the end was just another human, one with an abnormally large amount of holy power, but a human fated to die all the same.

“Macaque!” A voice pierced the silence with a strange mixture of relief and exhaustion.

That voice…It couldn’t be.

Ears flicking, Macaque turned to the side where a single human trigged up the walkway. Behind thick lenses, dark eyes widen with unmistakable joy as his lips formed a smile. “There you are. Are you alright? Have you been able to eat?” Tang asked all these questions, absentmindedly putting down a pack he had brought as he further closed the distance between the two.

Before Tang’s fingers could so much as graze the monkie’s clothes, Macaque stepped away, more than a little cautious. “Okay, last I checked you lot were pissed I threatened your little dragon for you to unleash the Samadhi Fire, so what’s with all the concern?” Underneath his constant glamor, his infamous ears were fully splayed to detect the slightest hint of this being a trap.

Tang closed his eyes and nodded in understanding. “I was angry. We were angry. Okay, Pigsy is still pretty angry, but with everything happening we don’t have time for blind rage. Besides I’m sure most of the blame fell to Monkey King after the truth came out.” He couldn’t deny it hurt. They placed so much faith in the King’s plan, to learn there never was one, that they were essentially flying blind…He doubted any of them would look at the legendary figure the same way.

For Macaque, this just confirmed what he suspected. And he loved being right. “Really? Now I almost wish I stuck around. But none of that explains why you’re wasting time with me.”

“Macaque, you are many things. Manipulative. Arrogant. Dangerous.” Tang listed.

“Flatterer,” Macaque mockingly batted his eyes.

Rolling his eyes, Tang ignored the obvious baiting. “But despite everything I’ve experienced, everything MK told us about you, when there is a serious threat, when it comes to being honest, we can trust you more than Sun Wukong.”

Till the end of existence Macaque would deny would that simple sentence made his heart beat a touch faster and his tail wag with joy. “Nice speech, but pardon me if I don’t jump on the redemption bandwagon.”

“Heh. Don’t worry the kids are currently focused on Red Son.” Tang stated, quite proud of his children’s hero work. Turns out it had the added benefit of helping Mei focus on anything but how she ended up in this predicament.

That earned a raised eyebrow. Macaque suspected the kids were drawn to Red Son due to shared experience on the battlefield and relatively similar mental ages, but this? He almost pitied his nephew.

“Right…Anyway, just because you’ve actually decided to listen to my hard-earned experience dealing with that peach obsessed idiot, doesn’t mean I’m throwing everything into a plan that could just as easily leave me in an even worse situation.” He just found his freedom; he wasn’t about to toss it to the winds for some kind words and a pretty face.

Tang took a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to offer. Even if he knew it was the best, if not the only option, it didn’t stop the fear. “Then use me…”

“Huh?” Six ears and still Macaque wasn’t sure he heard that right. No one would be so crazy as to place their life in his hands. No one was that trusting. Or maybe it wasn’t trust. Maybe it was simply…

“If you can’t bring yourself to trust us, use me.” Tang stated clearly and without stutter. If one was truthful, it resembled a surgeon telling his patient he had to remove a major organ if they were to live. “You said it yourself, I don’t have much to contribute to the group, but I have their trust and MK’s ear. If you know something, I can relay that information word for word while you remain out of sight. You can ensure the plan will work while staying one step ahead of the one who chained you down. And if Sun Wukong discovers you, you can simply threaten my life in exchange for your safety.”

…Desperation.

“Hmm, tempting. Very tempting.” Macaque had to smile at the little mortal, once again he proved far more courageous than his appearance would ever let on. The plan itself wasn’t too shabby either, needed some fine tuning obviously, but it did offer him a prime situation to cover his ass while watching her’s go up in unquenchable flames.

“But let me ask you this,” Vanishing into the shadows, Macaque suddenly appeared mere inches from Tang’s face. “are you truly willing to put your life on the line for the likes of me?” Eyes glowing solid purple as his unglamored fangs were in full view, so close to weak flesh. Claws unsheathed, just grazing cloth, barely touching skin yet one wrong twitch could sever bone.

It would be a lie to say Tang wasn’t scared. He could feel his heartbeat blocking out everything but the sight of those razor-sharp teeth and his spiraling thoughts of what this demon could do to him with no one ever being the wiser. But he couldn’t afford to be scared. Everyone was doing their part to ensure a better tomorrow and he refused to be the weak link any longer.

Gathering all his mental strength, Tang looked past the terrifying visage to the hurt demon who was in far more pain than he could ever imagine. “Everyone deserves the chance to better themselves, to live free, to be happy. Sun Wukong deserves it. Sandy deserves it.” Placing gentle hands over tan cheeks, less than an inch from deadly fangs, Tang brought their foreheads together. “And so do you.”

Just like that, the stuff of nightmares was replaced by an expression of pure disbelief. As though no one had ever told him such a thing, no one believed he deserved such a thing.

“Take your time. I will be waiting for your answer.” Bowing, Tang took his leave and began his walk to rejoin the others.

Macaque watched until the human disappeared. Focusing, he could hear the sounds of the scholar being addressed by the chef about his whereabouts only to wave it off at the sound of several cats demanding attention and a burst of flame accompanied by authoritative shouting.

This was concerning. Based on the reverberation, they were little more than an hour’s hike away. He should have heard their approach. Either way it was time to start heading to the next mountain range.

Looking down, the demon noticed the pack Tang brought. Curious, Macaque loosened the drawstring to it filled with gauze, a canteen, and mangos. Giving the fruit a tentative sniff, the monkie was surprised, they were almost ripe and had no trace of being tampered with. Macaque could help but smirk at the human’s attempts.

He was trying to coax Macaque into working with them by manipulating his desire to control others along with his need for revenge. He was trying to manipulate a manipulator with an added touch of kindness. Naturally, Tang was far from the first to attempt such a play, but the demon had to admit his pitch was by far the most compelling. Offering his life as collateral was a nice touch.

Picking up the pack, he froze at a strange sound. Almost like the crinkling of paper. Opening the pack, Macaque saw something new. At the bottom, nestled among fruit and cloth was a small piece of paper with a series of numbers written across it with a message.

If you ever wish to talk

Macaque smiled at the horizon.

“Stubborn human.”

Carefully folding the small piece of paper, Macaque returned it to the pack and continued his journey.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

In a secluded corner of their campsite, Tang contemplated everything that had happened.

The combined efforts of Nehza and MK were enough to restrain the Monkey King (didn’t hurt that he really held back with MK present) long enough for the ancient trickster to face the grim truth and allow himself to return. The rest of them had managed to find Mei, strangely in the presence of Red Son.

Apparently, he sensed something was wrong when they stayed at the Bull King’s fortress. It made sense as the flames were apparently born from him that he could sense when they were near and what could happen if they were allowed to roam free. The knowledge he was willing to aid them in their quest did help, if nothing else it raised MK and Mei’s spirits.

Although Nedhza always looked at the young demon with suspicion, probably debating on if letting the Samadhi fire’s true master stay within close proximity was the wisest course. But even he caved to the wisdom that Red Son was their best option in getting Mei to the point where the slightest burst of emotion wouldn’t turn her and anything close to her to a smoldering pile of ash.

Looking at those he had grown close to, those he had nearly died with, Tang truly wished things were different.

They can’t face this threat on their own. Even with aid of ancient warriors and powerful demons, it was doubtful Mei could truly master the Samadhi Fire before the Lady Bone Demon showed herself. Even if she learned to guide it, she’d constantly be plagued by thoughts of accidentally killing them, thoughts the Lady would be all too happy to abuse.

They needed more power if they were to survive.

And since the Celestial Realm had been silent, aside from the presence of Nehdza (who did have a history of doing things his own way), they had to make do with what they had. Which meant seeking help anywhere they could.

Tang knew his actions would have mixed reactions.

He wasn’t lying when he said the others were enraged by the dark monkie’s actions, even if they sympathized with his plight. One can’t simply forget how he ruthlessly hunted them down across seas and deserts.

But the more Tang thought about it, the more it became clear Macaque was always rooting for them.

When they first met, he could have simply hid on the airship and stole MK when they went to sleep. His assault on the Eastern Sea Palace was so grand and bold it forced the Dragon King to allow them to leave. Mei’s rendition of their time split between two trucks proved Macaque could have kidnapped both Monkey King and MK and neither of them would be the wiser until it was far too late. Monkey King was suck in his meditation, MK had only unlocked the eyes of truth, hell he was sleeping. Instead, he prodded MK, threatened Sandy and Mei until he regained the powers necessary to fight back. The ancient simian could have killed them at any time, yet he purposely chose to play with them so the kid would be motivated to regain what he had lost.

It was these actions paired with their talk that proved to Tang this vital truth, Macaque was their ally.

It was obvious he held no love for his jailer. He too wished to see her fall. But he had to work smart and unlike Sun Wukong his actions made sense. Everything he did forced them to put more effort into finding the rings and completing the ceremony. His actions reminded them of what was at stake because his life was on the line too.

He hoped the monkie would take his offer. He hoped they could work together. He hoped Macaque would voluntarily join their group. No one deserved to face the world alone.

He prayed to be able to gaze at the skyline without constantly being reminded of their failure.

Looking down at his hands as a golden aura emerged, he prayed certain pieces of the past could just stay there.

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chaozsilhouette · 2 years

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A Reminder

With the world spared from another calamity, it was time to remember why we strived so hard to save it. What reason do we all have to live each day as we are faced with constant challenges?

For some it is friendship. For others, family. Some choose to craft new bonds. And others...

Sometimes we need to take a moment to return to what matters.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

Nearly a month had passed since Lady Bone Demon’s defeat and much had been done to undo the damage her actions had caused.

For the citizens of Megapolis, the ones who had been hit the hardest, they generally went about their days trying to forget the near end of the world and their encasement in bone crystal ever happened. They tried to return to their normal lives, pretending she never existed. Which was their typical response to any large-scale attack or takeover or just any disruption to their daily routine.

Some, however, used it as motivation to make better choices, to learn about what nearly brought about their destruction.

This led to Tang seeking out the Six-Eared Macaque to learn more about the spiritual simian. He wished to understand the past of this dangerous shadow wielder and how he was forced into her service.

The dark-furred monkey originally wanted nothing to do with recalling his past, but eventually, the scholar’s persistence and his unspoken need for companionship wore him down. They started with the basics, slowly working their way through his incredibly long life.

Macaque grew to regret his decisions almost immediately, but he knew backing out would only make Tang more curious.

The more Macaque spoke the more he realized how much he allowed himself to forget. He could no longer remember the elderly couple that took him in and acted as his first family. The name they gifted him was little more than ash. The troupe of performers were bare silhouettes against a bright background. The face of his demonic teacher in the art of medicine was a blur, all that remained was the scent of her blood staining the ground.

Every life remembered felt like an old wound being torn open, a ravaged bone that had never been properly mended.

So many lives, so many friends, so many families, all laid forgotten at his feet gathering dust in the face of one king. As if he placed a veil between Macaque’s life before they had met and everything after.

In the darkness, Macaque wondered what his life would have been like if he and Wukong had never crossed paths. If his heart was never stolen by the impulsive king, would he have had a chance to know true happiness? Would his heart not be weighed down with an eternity of hate, regret, and bitterness?

He didn’t know. He’d never know.

It didn't take long for Tang to recognize the expression on Macaque's face.

It was inadequacy.

After everything the monkey had accomplished, even with all his skill, he still felt inferior. Given who he looked like and was regularly compared to, one couldn't blame him.

“You don’t have to be Sun Wukong’s dark reflection. There is so much you could offer the world, so much you could do to show yourself as more.”

Those words should have been as empty as they were useful, yet Macaque couldn’t help but listen. He couldn’t help but feel them resonate with his very being.

He was willing to try a new approach.

Make no mistake, he wasn’t interested in becoming a “good guy”.

It wasn’t that he was interested in getting redeemed, merely he had finally accepted that there were other projects more deserving of his time and energy. After all, there were other things he could be doing instead of trying to kill an immortal, who long since proved he couldn’t be killed. Trying to find a shred of remorse from a being born from stone.

But he'd dedicated so much of his life to Wukong, either as his shadow or his enemy.

So, he continued meeting up with Tang, seeking to rediscover who he once was.

The scholar often invited him to join the others at the noodle shop, but Macaque declined every time. His friend group was alright and entertaining, but he wasn’t in the mood to risk crossing paths with Wukong; he couldn’t risk relapsing into his old mindset and jeopardizing his progress.

Besides, most of the time they were too loud.

He could tolerate them, but any thought of them often trailed off into how many escape routes he would need. He did not expect his past deeds, even though he was chained and forced to act against his wishes at risk of a fate worse than death, to be forgiven. Just because they fought together to save the world, didn’t automatically make them allies. Although he did watch them from the shadows every now and then, just to see if the poor girl who spent so long attached to the omnicidal bitch wasn’t suffering any long-term consequences.

So, he kept to the one he learned to find peace with, the one who was familiar with the shadows.

And they talked.

They talked about his past, his interests, historical figures he’d met and fought with. Slowly both sides opened up more and more. Their meetings became less about research and felt more like two friends learning to enjoy each other’s company.

Book genres, music styles, and even plays were discussed at length. Occasionally items were exchanged, turns out Macaque was quite the collector and his copies of ancient texts were not only entirely legible but with a useful spell had completely resisted the passage of time. Tang nearly reached glass-shattering volumes after realizing how the demon could revolutionize his work as a scholar and historian.

It seemed no matter what Macaque had to offer or what dark secrets he revealed, Tang was willing to listen to it all with nothing less than utter compassion. There were plenty of snarky comments and sass, but none of that got in the way of Macaque enjoying himself.

And that is how he found himself with his arms wrapped around the scholar’s body as the mortal gently ran his fingers through his fur. They had long since ended their discussion, but neither was interested in leaving. Time held no meaning as all they could focus on was the steady beat of their partner’s heart.

“Nezha’s acting weird,” MK said as he barged into Tang’s apartment, unknowingly interrupting what had been a tender moment.

The two parted from the other’s embrace as to erase the sense anything had happened. They weren’t quite ready with whatever they had become going public. They were still figuring things out and while Tang loved his family, they did tend to be a little over-enthusiastic.

“What do you mean? He’s still here?” Tang asked, straightening his scarf and glasses.

“Yeah, he never left,” MK said, wondering why Macaque was with Tang and if this was why Monkey King kept returning to Pigsy’s restaurant saying something felt off. A simple glance revealed the shadow-wielding monkey was wearing a purple hanfu decorated with silver clouds, a far cry from his usual robes.

“What has he been doing exactly?” Macaque asked, more than a little ticked off his peace was shattered so carelessly.

“He’s been helping out all over the city, with the repairs and supplies,” MK said fully aware this was not the best way to make a case.

“That hardly seems like a reason to be worried,” Tang said, covertly laying a hand on a clenched fist. In fact, it would do worlds of good to keep up the citizens' faith that the Celestial Realm, or at least Nezha, cared about them.

“Well, like I said he hasn’t returned to the Celestial Realm even though there’s nothing keeping him here. And as more tasks are completed, he’s becoming more and more frazzled as he finds himself with more spare time.” MK said as he recalled how the eternal twelve-year-old, now a young adult, seemed to grow more and more obsessed with perfection as he ran out of tasks each day.

“He’s embarrassed.” The scholar and student turned to face the ebony-furred monkey.

“For what?” Tang asked, utterly lost on what such a powerful and accomplished being like the Third Lotus Prince could feel shame for.

“His colossal failure,” Macaque said, grabbing one of the nearby books on astronomy before further elaborating. “He was charged with protecting the map and ensuring the True Fire of Samadhi was never reforged. Two monumental tasks he utterly failed at. And when the time came for him to stand against the Lady Bone Demon, a chance to redeem himself, he was one-shotted out of the battle by a possessed Wukong until the very end, where he scrambled to make himself useful.”

The two humans winced at the crass yet undeniably accurate reasoning.

“When you say it like that, I’m surprised he isn’t hiding under a rock.” MK rubbed the back of his head wondering how he could help his latest ally.

“In a way he is, recall the mortal realm is far from the top priority for many Celestials.” Tang was not ashamed to admit the painful truth. In many ways, the gods and various deities that ran this world were often far too willing to turn a blind eye or willing to allow thousands to die before taking action. That wasn’t to say there weren’t Celestial beings and gods who did their part to protect and improve the world, but that didn’t mean their interference always made things better. It was what made Lady Bone Demon’s actions so empathetic even if he didn’t agree with her choices. But this wasn’t about her. “But this can’t last forever.”

Tang’s eyes wandered until they settled on a stack of boxes he had prepared by the door. A confident smirk worked its way onto his lips as the plan came together. “You said Nezha is looking to help, tell him to come here tomorrow at 10.”

“What are you-Oh.” MK’s eyes sparkled as he saw the date circled on a hanging calendar.

With a hopeful grin, MK dashed out as quickly as he arrived.

“What are you up to?” The demon knew that grin, he had seen it many times before a spectacular explosion rocked the landscape.

“Follow me and find out,” Tang challenged.

“I think I will,” Macaque said, using his tail to return the scholar to his lap.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

A knock resounded through the door precisely at the allotted time.

There stood Nezha dressed in civilian garb to avoid too much attention and for practicality’s sake as he was not in combat. “Greetings, scholar. MK informed me you needed some help.”

“Yes. I have a very important series of jobs today and I know they would greatly benefit from your presence.” Tang said, quite confident in his plan.

“Excellent. Where do we begin?” The Third Lotus Prince asked, eager to get started.

“First, we must take these boxes to a special building on the outskirts of the city.” Tang pointed to a collection of six large moving boxes that had been taped closed.

Nezha gleefully looked at the small mountain.

The young god dragged his feet in loading the boxes into his custom vehicle, the fire wheel. His strength could have allowed him to easily transport all of them in one trip, instead, he took them one at a time.

When the last box was loaded, the two set off. Tang’s instructions weren’t really needed as flight eliminated the need for street names. Truly there were few things as sweet as flying over gridlocked traffic, knowing you were able to bypass it all.

So, the scholar simply pointed in a direction and told the young god he’d tell him when to stop, assuming he didn’t do it first. Nezha flew through the air with the expert level of control one would not expect from one who had spent the last millennia stationed guarding a single treasure.

He could immediately sense the presence of nearly three dozen children of various ages with no direct family bonds. Getting closer he could make out a fairly large building that was showing its age. Closing the distance, it became clear the structure was well taken care of but had to be repaired regularly over the years. To the side, a home garden was being tended and to the back was a sprawling orchard without any sense of unity yet so pure.

“An orphanage?” He knew there were other answers, but it felt proper to ask first.

“There are so many turf wars and battles in the streets, authorities do what they can, but every day people die leaving children without families and for those without other relatives they have no choice but to stay here,” Tang explained, yet he couldn’t help but wish things were different. Even in a modern city, old grudges, traditions, and instincts were difficult to overcome leading to constant conflict and death. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do our part to make things better.”

In the entryway, Nezha saw murals and offerings dedicated to being of great power and kindness, the compassionate Boddhisattva Guanyin, the dedicated Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and the healer Bhaisajyaguru Buddha. Yet in the center of the shrine was a figure of a young boy with a vibrant ribbon twisted around his arms, fiery golden wheels attached o his feet, and spear in hand.

These people had been praying to him.

A wave of shame crashed over him yet he forced it down to follow the scholar deeper into the building, where several monks were waiting to receive them.

It was then Nezha got a proper look at the children. All of them were relatively healthy but carried a deep sadness. The youngest appeared no older than six while the oldest looked nearly thirteen years. At first glance, none of them seemed to suffer any visible disabilities, but far too many bore scars of claws and fangs.

The boxes contained quite an assortment of items, from books to games to clothes, everything was something the children could use.

But the main surprise was in the top two boxes which contained dozens of dried fruits and vegetables along with fresh produce flour and rice.

“You up for serving these kids a home-cooked meal?” Tang asked, unpacking all the ingredients for dumplings.

Confidently Nezha tossed up his own blade to make it spin, catching it deftly with a smile. “Try n’ stop me.”

The two began a contest of sorts, seeing who could fold the most dumpling first, although the spirit of competition quickly waned when a few of the more curious children asked what they were doing. Both Tang and Nezha found themselves teaching a few children the art of dumpling crimping, guiding them through the process while assuring them their folds were perfect.

It was messy and took up much more time, but the laughter and happiness could not be understated.

In time, the rest of the team arrived with their own contributions. Even Macaque showed up disguised in his human form holding the mystery girl’s hand as a small cat was perched on her head.

Pigsy was quick to join them in the kitchen, taking note of how far behind they were due to their impromptu classes. Instead of getting angry, the chef simply smiled and got to work on the next dish. His gift of new clothes was already handed off to the caretakers, knowing the kids would need them soon enough.

Mei and MK went on to share the new toys and games they brought, playing with the younger kids with a timeless sense of wonder. The yard was soon filled with laughter as they chased each other around or tried to outwit the others.

Sandy was sure to bring all of his cats, who were quick to claim the territory as their own. Once they were situated, the little soldiers located the children who had taken to hiding themselves away in the presence of strangers. Sandy went on to start brewing multiple pots of tea as he showed the children the proper way to hold a cat and show off his strength by giving piggyback rides.

Macaque entertained the children with his shadow puppets, turning a wall into an elaborate theater. When a few of them wanted to join in the fun, he even offered to do their hair and makeup so they could better “resonate” with their character.

Nezha watched it all with a bitter smile.

This…this is what he had been craving for so long, this is what he had been striving to protect. Yet for generations, he distanced himself from those who needed him.

The afternoon meal was a sight of pure joy.

Time after was spent between playing with the children, aiding the monks in making the necessary repairs, and bandaging minor wounds from enthusiastic playing.

When the demon chef asked if the deity wished to aid in preparing for the evening meal he couldn’t agree fast enough.

He never wanted this day to end.

Yet his element was fire, not time.

The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon dyeing the sky in lovely shades of orange and purple. The children had been gathered to join the monks in Sandy’s yoga class as the others cleaned. Leaving Nezha alone with his thoughts on the porch staring into the open sky.

But he wasn’t alone for long.

“Mind if I join you?” Nezha didn’t bother facing the scholar but nodded all the same.

Tang settled down placing a tray between them, two cups steaming. “How do you feel?”

The question was both simple and complicated and as such the Third Lotus Prince could only provide a matching answer. “…Lighter.”

“We used to come here all the time. But with all the chaos and work, it has been difficult to find an opening in all our schedules.” Tang said. “Now that things have quieted down, it was only right for us to see what we could do to help.”

“And the orchard?” Because it felt like this crazy bunch had something to do with it

“We actually started it years ago when we took in MK. Pigsy and I noticed him after observing him stare at families near the restaurant. Whenever we tried to approach him, he would always back away. Eventually, we earned enough trust for him to admit he was an orphan. Yet even with so little, he would try his best to keep on smiling, and we just couldn’t continue without knowing he was going to be safe.” While their relationship was platonic in nature, it didn’t hurt to show multiple individuals would be watching over the little sky. “To celebrate our family, we all had a peach on these steps, but before we left MK wanted to leave something to keep up the spirits of the other children. With permission, we planted the pits and every time we stopped by, we’d plant another seed.”

The scholar started to laugh as he remembered something. “The kids came up with this game where the winner gets to choose which type of tree we plant. It’s adorable.”

Nezha couldn’t bring himself to laugh but he could smile. It explained why there was no proper design to the orchard despite it emanating pure joy. The trees were planted for love and happiness, going on to provide for those who adored them.

“I’ve missed this. I wasted generations guarding that wretched map. It was a major responsibility, but it got in the way of my other duties. I sensed so many of my followers praying to me for a sign that I had not abandoned them, a sign I could still hear them, but I couldn’t risk doing anything that would reveal my location. I always knew when I was needed or when something terrible was happening. But all I could manage was delegating a few tasks to my close servants through telepathic communication and even that held risks.”Nezha said, finally opening up to the agony that had haunted him for centuries.

He hated feeling this way. He hated knowing how little he contributed to the final battle. He hated dedicating so much time and effort to improving his power only to be repeatedly put down with minimal effort. “I’m a god, I’m supposed to handle this kind of pressure, so why do I keep failing when it matters the most?”

“You can’t change the past, but you can always strive to create a better future,” Tang said, more than a little flustered that he was being trusted with the pain of a god. But that didn't mean Nezha deserved anything less than his full attention.

"Doesn’t stop the pain." The young deity took the offered cup, staring into the liquid where he could just make out the appearance of the young child he once was.

"I know," Tang said, aware of how his shadow had grown darker in the fading sunlight.

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