Candy Coated || Buddha

Faith

From the corner of the screen, an icon of a familiar woman pops up. You raise a curious brow and eagerly click on it.

Randgriz welcomes you with a smile but before you can greet her, she begins to speak.

"Welcome viewer. I am Randgriz, the fourth-oldest of the Valkyries. It is my pleasure to serve as your narrator during this portion of the first battle."

Oh neat. The Valkyries went all out in this tournament. You listen to Randgriz explain the narration option before she continues.

"Let us go over the history of Humanity's representative for the first round, Lü Bu."

A window pops up in her place and shows an open sky, then pans down to a small village on a grassy plateau. Sitting bareback on a muscular horse is a child with blood on his face.

You hum. This must be Lü Bu. Even though he is a child, he is intimidating.

"According to the records of the three kingdoms, it has been said that Lü Bu came from a Mongolian tribe," Randgriz mentions. "However, we're yet to confirm his origin."

The door to the room comes open, pulling your attention away from the screen for a moment. You smile as Buddha walks in.

Shortly after the start of the match, he got a craving for popcorn and left to find some. Based on the pout he's wearing and the absence of popcorn, you assume he could not find any.

"No such luck, huh?" You ask.

Buddha sighs.

"No, but Bu-chan said she would have some brought over soon." He pauses a moment to look at the screen and raises a brow.

"It's a history lesson," you state. "Do you want to watch it with me?"

Buddha yawns, obviously not interested.

"If you want a lesson, I can give you one."

You snort.

"What sort of lesson does the Buddha have for me?"

The said man grins and sits in the middle of the floor with his legs crossed, motioning for you to join him. You sit the tablet down and ease to the floor in front of him. Once you are comfortable, you give him a nod.

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It can not be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell," he recites.

You raise a brow, not exactly certain what he is trying to say.

"Elaborate."

"Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment," he clarifies.

You hum.

"I don't think there was ever a time when I was alive that I just focused on me. Who am I? What makes me happy? I let the motion of life pull me down even though these questions were the most important aspect of me."

"You have all the time in the world now," Buddha mentions. He rests his hands in his lap face up, a pose you recognize from statues of him. "So who are you? And what makes you happy? Aside from material things."

Material things? So he means abstract things. Raising your hand, you name some; little things in life - now death - that make you happy.

Turning your eyes to him, your face turns red as you notice the look of interest in his expression.

"And I'm happy here...with you and Jataka. I don't want to be forced to say goodbye."

The thought of being torn away from the two of them sinks you into despair.