Pathway

Chapter 63: Twilight [1]

Ju Feng opened his eyes to the sight of endless light from the sky which appeared diffused and pinkish in colour. It was easy for him to determine the nature of the time he was in. Twilight. A time of day between the daylight and darkness. That time after sunset or before sunrise, when the sun was below the horizon. How come?

He held his head while trying to recall what happened to him. He remembered himself barging into a massive barrier. Then stepping on something? He wasn't sure, but knew his body should be in a bad condition. He looked around and realized the magnitude of the place. Vastness with no sign of the living nor the dead, only filled with the endless light from the sky. The eeriness of the place was stretching to him, yet he felt no form of discomfort.

Nonetheless, he knew the place was of no comfort for him to be. It was no normal twilight period. He had heard of something like that before. Something... If only he could remember. Yes! He finally remembered.

The threshold's twilight. The gates of death.

How? It was suppose to be an ancient myth. Although it was recorded in the ancient mythology, they had thought it was a form of fear instilled in the heart of cultivators. But now, he was witnessing it with his own eyes. Was he dead? As he was ruminating on the question, he heard a voice behind him.

"Welcome, mortal."

Ju Feng turned to the source of the voice in apprehension. He saw, floating in the mid-air in a lotus position, an old man in pure white robe with long flowing white hair. The sight was that of no mortal man, but of an ancient immortal. He appeared to be harmless, but Ju Feng knew he was staring at an existence which was above everything he had seen, combined. The eyes of the old man were closed but Jufeng could still feel their soul piercing gaze. The feeling of his soul being a transparent glass. A sense of extreme danger which could cause his soul to explode if he was to get too close.

Ju Feng instantly felt a primal fear. Could the old man be a god?

He quickly knelt down and bowed his head low.

"Greetings senior."

"Rise up, mortal. I don't indulge in your mortal ways."

The old man opened his eyes to look at Jufeng who was now standing before him.

"However, I've been waiting patiently for you to finally wake up."

A little fragment of the weight of the past dead souls hit Ju Feng like a titan's hammer. His legs became undone and he collapsed on the ground.

While on the ground, he raised his head towards the direction of the old man and could only see the ancient eyes. Oh, the terrible things he saw in those eyes. Things that shouldn't be seen by mortals like himself. He began to have the feeling his eyes were on fire. When he couldn't take it anymore, he started clawing his own eyes, screaming.

"Aaargh."

"Oh, childling."

"Senior, please help me. My eyes are burning."

With the sway of a strand of his hair, the old man relieved Jufeng's pain.

"Mortals."

Jufeng quickly stood up and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, senior. Thank you."

"It's the law of creation for a soul at the threshold to experience a strand of the burden of the past souls. It's a beacon of Karma on your soul. This beacon will be a witness that you have experienced the burden of souls. If you were to leave this place, any future karmic deeds of yours will be on your own head. The consequencies will be yours to face. Childling, you only experienced a strand of the burden of your level."

"Senior, how can I stand things so terrible."

The old man shook his head slightly.

"Mortals. Very fragile, yet what a burden they bring. It's alright, young mortal. This is the reason why I've always been using the Dark-Shadow scales. Without the shadow scales, how can you stand a strand of reflections of the threshold's truth?"

"What truth, senior."

"The simple truth that comes with the burden of inumerable number of souls, gods and mortals alike. If you hear the truth, your soul will explode. Even many gods can't withstand it."

"Even the gods?"

"Yes, even the gods."

"Senior, am I dead?"

"Are you dead? The ultimate question every soul ask me eventually. Well, you are at the threshold of death which I believe will be me. You are not dead, but you are dying."

The old man pointed to a ball of light hovering a distance away from them.

"Can you see that light? That's your life force. If it fizzles out, it means you, I prefer using 'you' by the way, since your soul is the true you. It means it ceases to exist, you can no longer go back into your body. The life force is the link between your soul and your body. So, once the life force is severed or broken, your soul must simply leave your body. And you'll enter reincarnation. I know it's hard for many people to take but that's the way it is."

The old man glanced at Ju Feng who was still standing nervously.

"I tell you, young mortal. Life can be cruel. But with me, you'll be at peace with yourself and the world. You'll have your solitary solitude to reflect on your deeds until your reincarnation if it comes to it. Come sit down with me, and let's continue talking while we wait."

Ju Feng slowly went to sit beside the old man. Solitary solitude again! He would forever be wary of the words and anyone saying them.

"Senior, what do we wait for?"

"We wait to see if your life force will fizzle out or get stronger."

Seeing the utter fear and apprehension in Jufeng's eyes, the old man let out a near silent breath.

"There's nothing I can do to help you, young mortal. Life is trying to hold on to your life force but there's little she can do. Maybe if you have woken up earlier before coming to my presence, it might have been different. But you are here now. If it fizzles out, you'll go into reincarnation. But if it gets stronger, then, I'll have to bide you farewell. We'll go our seperate ways."

Jufeng cautiously glanced at the old man. He cautiously observed the old man and found that there was no aura or light of any sort coming from the old man but Ju Feng knew this was an entity beyond imaginable existence. This was a terrifyingly powerful entity. Since they were still waiting after what seemed like forever, maybe he should ask who he was. But, was that not courting death? He was dying anyways.

"Senior, please forgive me for asking. Are you a divine?"

"A divine? No, young mortal. I'm no divine. Your immortal gods and divines are from this universe, I'm not. I'm a law of creation. Anywhere there is creation, I exist there. This universe, the chaos and the void. My existence is in all. Many call me, Death, with disdain. This I accepted because they don't know any better. Young mortal, if I tell you my name, your spirit will forsake you, and you'll cease to exist."

The old man looked at Ju Feng with closed eyes. How could this young mortal know the shadows that trailed his soul at a distance? Shadows that had gone through length and will go through longer length. He felt a bit of sympathy for Ju Feng which made the lids covering his eyes glowed fervently.

Ju Feng staring at the lidded eyes, realized that this was an existence beyond the universe. He couldn't control the chills that ran down his spine in qiuck succession.

"Let's talk about life, young mortal. Your life. Do you think it's truly beautiful?"

Was life truly beautiful?