Story: Outside our world exists one of gods . A place where the gods reign supreme and humans live like days of old.
Meng is a unique god who becomes lost in an endless forest. His only chance of escape is an old dying mortal who brings back memories of his past which he would prefer remain forgotten.
It was late one evening, and Meng and Kaien had stayed up to drink wine by candlelight. He remembered the wine in the cup being the same deep red as Kaien's eyes, which at that moment were fixated on one of the young human servant girls.
"You know Meng," he began. "Grandfather once told me a story of his grandfather. Apparently one day he was walking along the road when he came across a young human woman who was close to death. At that time my ancestor thought to his great self, what a pretty mortal, it would be a shame to see her wither and die. So do you know what he did next Meng?"
"What?" Meng smiled. He was already slightly drunk off the wine.
"Such a kind ancestor," said Meng.
"True, but it makes me wonder," with a swipe of his hand so fast that only Meng could see, a deep slash appeared horizontally across the young girl. Blood began to pour forth, and the girl collapsed in a heap on the floor while shuddering in shock. "Is it really possible?"
Meng found himself clutching the glass more tightly than he intended. He forced a smile on his face as the young mortal girl withered in pain.
"Just one drop," said Kaien as he placed his glass on the table and walked over to the girl. He grabbed a bunch of her hair and pulled her head upwards. He then bit his finger so that it drew blood, and placed it against her mouth. The young girl then let out a choking noise before her body went dead.
Kaien stared at the body while looking disappointed. "Maybe we should try once more. "
He didn't know whether it was because of the wine, but Kaien tried it again on another three girls. Every one of them was a failure, and Meng expected him to give up until he called over the last remaining servant girl.
"Since this is the only one left, why don't you take a shot at it Meng?"
Meng took one look at the girl's frame which was trembling. "I don't think your grandfather would be pleased if we killed another one of his girls who can so skillfully serve wine," said Meng who was beginning to feel nauseous. "And besides, how can someone like I achieve something which the blood of your family can not?"
He expected Kaien to try and make him, but instead Kaien sighed in exasperation and stormed off to bed while proclaiming that the story must surely be a lie.
Or was it?
If there was ever a time to test to see if his blood contained mystic properties it was certainly now. Meng bit into his wrist until it drew blood, held it up to Lucy's dead lips, and left it there to trickle and flow down her dead and immobile throat.
"Live Lushe, please live, it's not time for you to die!"
He prayed that her eyes would open, her breathing would return, and the mad old woman would jump to her feet and continue her crazing ramblings, but much like the night he and Kaien experimented, the body remained limp in his arms. He attempted to bleed himself more (to see if it would make any difference) until the blood overflew out onto her chin and stained her already filthy clothes, but no matter how much the lifeless corpse drank, the result was the same, and body remained rigid and still.
It failed. It always failed and he should have known better than to try and resurrect dead mortals.
Meng didn't shed tears, but he remained there and allowed himself to wallow in a profound feeling of sadness which he hadn't experienced since the day his adopted father died. As painful as it was, he had to accept that Lucy was already ill, and mortals would inevitably live lives much shorter than his own. Even if the blood managed to succeed, Lucy would still soon live and die in the blink of an eye.
When a god dies the body is consumed by the remaining relatives in order to receive their power, but such a thing is impossible for humans, therefore Meng buried her in a shallow grave.
He wondered if it was appropriate to say some parting words, but because she was a monk, he felt a few prayers would be enough to settle her restless soul. He pulled out the worn and dirty prayer book (which Lucy had forced upon him hours earlier) from his pocket, and searched for an appropriate prayer which didn't pay homage to a benevolent god. He flipped through the book until he landed upon the last few pages which were covered in illegible scribbles and stood there staring at the incomprehensible language as though it could provide clues to Lucy's strange personality and unknown past.
He continued turning the pages to find small sketches of strange looking houses, machines, and mortals wearing odd clothes. He couldn't help but recall the ridiculous stories of another world which she'd told him one night by the fire.
"Another world?" Meng said while gazing at the mound of dirt which had become Lucy's grave. "Can such a thing really be?"
Afterward
There are stories which have a happy ending, but there are also those which end in tragedy. Lucy was nothing more than one of our fellow mortals who unfortunately became lost in a world of gods. Maybe her life can serve as a warning to those who seek adventure and thrills in a land beyond our own.
But let's not forget our protagonist Meng Li, who was left alone in an endless forest with nothing more than tales of a fantasy land to keep him company. I know little of how he escaped that maze, but what I do know is that Meng knew more about our mortal suffering than any other god.
Or so I thought.............
Meng Li's journey was far from over, but my knowledge of these events is, and I have no choice but to bring his story to a close.
Why do you have that look upon your face? Disappointed are you? I can't blame you when I introduced you to a mysterious land beyond the setting sun, and then ripped it mercilessly away.
Can I tempt you with another story, or an interesting yarn to pass the time? How about the tale of a dashing thief, a half god, or a kingdom with no gods? It's one that can't be missed, and will leave you wanting more! In a world of mystery and intrigue, there's a lot going on, and my Tales from a Land of Gods have only just begun!
Until next time, my fellow mortals!
Want to know what happens next? Check out the next part Khan and the Kingdom without Gods here.
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