Three Lives, Three Worlds: Jasmine's Fate [Hiatus]

Reminiscence 14 - "The Price for War"

Thousand Beasts Mountain, Ghost Realm

He didn't want to die...

Why...had they left them here? Defenseless, taken from their homes. In this harsh, unforgiving landscape, with nothing but each other.

No creature would want to die after such a short life. He had not had the opportunity to turn into human form yet, had not yet had the pleasure of experiencing life like his other immortal siblings. The ones that survived to adulthood.

Yes...he remembered now. It was the custom of his kind. He and his siblings were left on Qian Shou Shan (千兽山, Thousand Beasts Mountain) when they were close to reaching immortal status. The mountain was full of fiery mythical beasts who had nothing but their claws and strength to fend for themselves. Still in their true forms, unlike other immortal children, Bai Ze Beasts did not turn to their human form until they reached 4,000 years of age.

Many mothers in his tribe had multiple litters, but not all survived to their adulthood, due to this harsh custom. But it was a necessity, because they couldn't afford to have too many of their kind roam. Only the strongest, luckiest, the ones that were destined to bring glory to their people could live. They bred only leaders.

The ancestral testing ground for his kind was not so merciful to his litter of eight: only he remained after a little more than four hundred days of being on this mountain. The first hundred days, he had watched his most eager and docile siblings become victims of a Nian (Mountain Beast). The remaining six tried to be more cautious and they worked together to endure the harsh reality that was set upon them. They stayed within their pack, huddled together, while keeping an eye out for predators that would do them harm. But the mountain was never forgiving, despite the beauty it held.

Everything was deadly, especially if one lost sight of the hidden danger behind the allure of the flora and fauna. Even the water from the river was not safe to drink, because deadly two headed serpents lay in wait for the opportunity to strike.

It was the first attack that sent chills down their spines, as they watched their eldest be strangled to death by the large two headed yellow serpents. The noisy struggle was long and agonizing. Each breath became shorter lived as the serpent tightened its hold. The desperate sibling tried to bite and claw at the unyielding beast, but to no avail. They watched her disappear under the dreadful murky dark waters. They felt fear and anger at their own helplessness, because they couldn't save her...their only sister, who had protected them since their arrival.

And it was him.... who she had saved that day...

Because he had not heeded her cautious words, had approached the water where the monster lurked. She gave her life as a result, took his place...because he had not listened. The funny thing about attachment was the weakness it gave one's soul. From the first moment they licked each other's wounds as cubs, their sibling connections became non-severable. If only his sister, the strongest among them, had not bonded like this with him, she would have been the last remaining.

But fate would have it, like destiny had decided before they had even stepped foot on the mountain, that it was not the strongest who would survive. Somehow miraculously, he was the only one remaining, the weakest link present on that fateful day. They had all protected him until the end, feeding him, sheltering him, and taking on all the danger that lurked in the shadows.

How was that fair, he wondered, because it was not how it was supposed to be? Only the strongest should remain breathing. But they did not care; they did anything to protect their youngest.

He did not understand the depth of their sacrifice until the day he transformed into an immortal child. His last two remaining siblings' bodies were not yet taken by the merciless world, and he did not want their bodies to be eaten by savage beasts. Nor could he built a fire to burn their corpses. So with his bare hands, he dug their graves, and laid rocks over them. He could not cry, because there were no tears left....but the heavens took pity. The sky mourned the loss of his siblings for him, covering the forest with soft rain.