Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 3 2018 | Page 181

have to follow his every order and wear this custom headband forged by the Gods themselves. If you want
to find out what the headband will do to you, well you will have to find out yourself when the time comes.
Do you still agree to these conditions?. Denial of this offer means that you will never come back to the
human world and remain in this seal trapped forever.”, the goddess told me with this strange tone that made
me feel uneasy.
What a shame. When I finally have the opportunity to escape from the seal that has put me down for 500
years, the only way that I can break the seal is to give away my freedom to this random person going on a
pretty boring adventure. But what other choice do I have? This is an ultimatum. If I accept this person’s
request, I will have to hand over my freedom and be forced to do whatever the person wants me to do. If I
don’t accept this person’s request, then I will have to remain sealed under this mountain for all eternity,
never to see the light again.
So after an unknown period of time in silence and reflection, I agreed. And with a loud crack, soon
followed the destruction of the walls that have trapped me for five hundred years. It was beautiful to see the
light again, I haven’t seen the light in what seemed like an eternity. I was surrounded by shattered rock
fragments from the mountain seal, the lush green trees of Mother Earth and the wind. I was reborn. I could
feel my body once more.
Then, in a quick flash of light with everything shaking and rumbling, the Goddess of Mercy Guanyin
appeared in front of me.
“This will be the man that you have to serve in your journey”, she told me. Then with her hands, she
created a hologram of this man on top of her right palm. “His name is Xuanzang, a person who studies
Buddhism from China who desires to travel the West in order to obtain some knowledge a few men seek
for themselves, the sutras of Buddhism, scrolls containing the secrets to his “enlightenment” or awakening.”
He wasn’t too tall, he looked as short as a Celestial Warrior back when I fought them in Heaven. He had
grey hair, which was strange considering most measly humans either had black or brown hair and he was
dressed in a grey robe. He also had lots of things behind his back, I don’t even know how he is able to carry
all those things despite his frailness. It seemed that this man was really eager to seek whatever those Buddhist
scriptures are that would lead to his “enlightenment”, even coming up to a god like me to help him with his
journey. I don’t even know if enlightenment is even a thing. But I will have to thank this Xuanzang person
for releasing me from this nasty “Demon Seal” that the Buddha has put on me, I can finally return to the
mortal realm and plot my revenge against the Gods and the Heavens.
Afterwards, the hologram of Xuanzang disappeared and a few more words came out from Guanyin again.
“This man will change you. I can feel it. Should you ever turn back into the demon that you once were, the
gods will strike you down again and this time you will not come back, imprisoned in an worse seal for all of
your days. Will you take the challenge to kill your devilish past in order to be reborn divine?”
Instead of stuttering like the first time inside the mountain, I was confident.
“Yes, I am confident to serve this man in order to have my freedom.”
Guanyin smiled, then she calmly spoke to me.
“Then if you do everything as I have stated, you will be free to do whatever you want and maybe even
possibly find your place amongst us in Heaven. Use your time wisely and don’t mess around. I will see you
soon.”