"Are you sure you don't wanna take a break?" Monkey asked as he and (Y/n) have reached the mountain range and were now on their way to the top so that they could see how much more they needed to travel.
(Y/n), walking in front, was clearly struggling on this uphill slope, hunched over and making slow and heavy step. Monkey was behind her, in case she falls backwards he could catch her. She slowly inhaled.
"Nah I'm good." she exhaled.
"You're clearly not."
"If we're...If we're gonna take a break, I want it to be on a nice...flat surface." she panted.
"If you say so." he shrugged, smiling and trying not to giggle.
At some point, it began to snow, (Y/n) didn't seem to mind, if anything, having some fresh snow was good for her exhausted self. But though it was common for really tall mountains to have snow on top of them. Monkey knew they weren't *that* high. This snow wasn't natural but as far as he knew, it was still just snow, so he didn't say anything. Oh, how wrong he was. And he realized he was wrong once they reached the lowest top on the mountain range. The whole place was covered in snow, and despite the cold wind, the sky was covered by grey clouds and so they couldn't see the horizon. The snow what now going up their ankles.
"This isn't normal right?" (Y/n) asked as she searched inside her bag. "I mean, we're in the middle of summer."
"Right," his eyes narrowed slightly. "and it can't be the dragons' doing. They're always so strict about the weather."
"Maybe they'll come by and fix it then."
"They better, even I will have trouble navigating in this mess."
He looked at her and saw she's covered herself in a blanket.
"What? It's cold." she said when she noticed his gaze. "Aren't you cold?"
"I have fur, and I'm Sun Wukong. I'll be fine." he looked back at the scenery. "Ah, there's a village down there." he pointed.
(Y/n) looked down. Between two mountains was a little village built on a stone platform and with houses made of stone. She frowned slightly.
"I'm not an expert, but I don't think stone is the best material for this kind of weather."
"Well snow probably isn't their typical weather anyway. Come on." he said as he began to walk towards it.
She followed him. The more they approached the village, the denser the snow became. It would snow in her village during winter, but she's never seen this much before. And because it was summer, she didn't bring a coat. She shivered from the cold, the snow now going up to her calves.
(Y/n) almost slipped on the iced stone as soon as she took a step on the platform.
"Need a hand?" Monkey offered his arm.
"I'll be fine." she smiled, shaking the snow off her boot. "Back in my village, we'd slide along the frozen river in winter.."
"Alright. But if you fall then it won't be my fault."
"Heh, sure."
The two of them began exploring the small village. There was a single plaza surrounded by a dozen of houses, with one bigger and fancier-looking than the others. They checked the normal ones, they were furnished, but they were all empty. No food, and no warmer clothes.
"Ghost village."
"Don't."
"Definitely ghost village." he nodded.
"It's not a ghost village! Shut up!"
(Y/n) tugged on her blanket, he noticed she was shaking and laughed.
"I still can't believe that with everything that happened, you're scared of ghosts!"
"I'm not scared! I-It's just cold in here."
"Of course, of course." he walked away, ignoring her glare.
She followed him to the bigger house and changed the subject.
"This abandoned village, think it has something to do with the snow?"
"Probably not. This place seems to have been like this for..." he thought for a moment. "I'd say a century at least."
"Woah..." she said under her breath.
They opened the big doors of the biggest house, and (Y/n) gasped when she saw the dozens upon hundreds of skeletons, human and demons, scattered around a large entry hall. Of all sizes, some had clothes on, some didn't. Monkey, now with a graver expression, walked in. (Y/n) hesitated but still followed him inside.
"None of the bones are broken." he said, inspecting the demon skeletons. "That's not really helping on how they died." he clicked his tongue.
"It...It wasn't in a brutal way, that at least we know." she said as she went to check on the human ones on the other side of the room.
"But then it could've been anything." he held his chin as he thought, frowning. "Poisoning, locked in here to starve to death, some evil powers draining their life form." he clicked his tongue and kept looking for clues. "The list goes on."
"The humans however...s-some of them are in pieces."
(Y/n) crouched down to a skeleton that was sitting against the wall. The clothes they were wearing were worn out. She reached to touch their skull, but she frowned when she did. She pressed, making the head turn to the side and fall over. Her eyebrow furrowed and she looked at her hand. As she made the tip of her thumb touch the tip of her fingers, she realized they've gone numb.
"(Y/n) please don't destroy the evidence!" she heard Monkey exclaim.
In normal circumstances, she'd say a sharp line back, but she just blew hot air on her hand and brought it under her blanket. Looking to the back of the room, she noticed something.
"Monkey," she said as she walked closer to it. "one of them's different."
"How so?" he asked, following her.
"Something's carved on their forehead."
They both stopped in front of a skeleton which looked like it belonged to a human, the worn out robe they were wearing was pierced at the chest, just like their rib cage. Only non-human detail was the nine dots, cleanly carved into the forehead in a rectangular pattern. This could not have been done by hand.
"Is it even hu-?" she began to ask, but then saw Monkey's expression.
He looked shocked and horrified, with shaky hands and a pale face, he reached out to the skull but then stopped himself. Whatever was going on in his mind at this moment, he seemed to have gotten a grip.
"That...that's Tripitaka's." her eyes widen in shock. "He had that same mark on his forehead."
"H-how? How is his skull the same?"
"Well, he was the chosen one after all."
The two of them felt their hearts drop as soon as this third voice talked. They looked towards the open front door and watched as this tall large demon hunched over to step inside through the door. Wearing an armor, he had three horns, though the third one seem to have been broken. (Y/n) didn't have to look at Monkey's suddenly tense body to know that this situation was *the* worst one they could ever be in. That armor was different than the other generals they've encountered, this was the armor of a Lord. He didn't have any weapons on him, but just his aura alone was enough for her to take a step back.
"You however," the demon looked at her with bright purple eyes, smiling calmly. "are just a happy coincidence. Or, maybe a pitiful disappointment."
She gulped. Monkey stood in front of her, his staff ready.
"Hey asshole." Monkey smirked. "What's up with the creepy decoration huh?"
"Not decoration per se. This just became where we dump the bones of our food and guinea pigs."
"Guinea pigs, the demons right? Hard to believe you'd stand so low and resort to cannibalism." he said, buying time for (Y/n) to look around for another exit and for himself to come up with a plan.
"We've been testing and studying a few theories throughout the past century, to bring you down once and for all."
"Ha! You think you could do what the Jade Emperor himself couldn't?!"
"Oh but times have changed Monkey King, you'll see soon enough."
"Better now than later!"
He dashed towards him, brandishing his staff. He jumped but right before he could attack, and right before the demon could counter, Monkey transformed into a cheetah. He swiftly got behind his opponent and climbed up his back, scratching him in the process with his claws. Once up to his head, he turned back, wrapped his legs tightly around the neck and began to punch him in the face multiple times. The demon, although he fell for his trick, didn't seem panicked and soon created a powerful gust of wind, pushing Monkey off of him. He landed on his feet, back at (Y/n)'s side, and groaned.
"You think I'm here to fight you? Please." he rubbed his face, not letting the pain get to him, despite what he said, he looked eager to fight too. "I am here because you are on my property." he gestured to the house, (Y/n) looked at him confused. "And now that you're here, I won't let you leave until you are both dead."
"You'll kill us, without fighting us." Monkey raised an eyebrow. "Do you realize how stupid you sound?"
"Maybe not you, but her?" he nodded towards (Y/n). "She doesn't have a lot of time."
Monkey glanced at her and his eyes widen. Her whole body was shivering.
"Has it been so long since you've traveled with a human that you forgot?" he looked back at the demon Lord. "Humans don't do very well in the freezing cold."
He grit his teeth, clenching the grip on his staff.
"Now, since the best and obvious solution is to take refuge here. Let's make this village off limits shall we?" the demon lord said as he tossed a charged crystal ball towards them. "Good luck."
Having learned from experience, Monkey made sure (Y/n) was safely behind him before hitting the ball with the tip of his staff. However, as soon as he touched it, it glowed a blinding light and suddenly the two of them were outside. The village nowhere to be seen, in fact the snow was now so dense, they could barely see the outlines of the mountains around them. Although it was clear they were teleported in another part of the mountains. The snow was up to their hips now. It was hard to believe it was the middle of the afternoon. Monkey clenched his fists, many unanswered questions came up in his head.
'Just what was this guy planning this time?!'
"Brrrr!"
He turned around and quickly went up to (Y/n) and rubbed her arms to keep her warm.
"Come on, we gotta get out of here." he took her hand and began walking.
"You...You're not gonna f-fight?"
"No. Right now the most important thing is to get you somewhere safe."
'This is bad,' he thought. 'she's freezing cold.'
Even though her hand was numb, she could still feel a bit of warmth from his hand. Although, as time passed, she felt it less and less. And the snowflakes hitting her face felt like little needles puncturing her skin. But then, she began to feel better, she began to feel warm... Maybe too much. Monkey felt her hand slipping away.
"(Y/n)?" he looked back. "You ok-What are you doing?!" he exclaimed as she was in the process of taking off her clothes.
"It...It's getting hot in here. Isn't it?" she said in a breathy voice, her face red.
He quickly stopped her and put her tunic back on, and he wrapped her blanket around her again. He felt his heart twist. Her senses were beginning to malfunction. This was really bad.
"Screw this." he turned into a eagle and picked her up by the back of her shoulders.
"Waah~!" she exclaimed, caught off guard, as she hanged on to his claws (which thankfully weren't hurting her).
He figured this was the best course of action: go beyond the clouds where the snow wasn't. They were rapidly going up in the air. But just as they passed the mountain tops, a large shadow appeared above them. It was the Demon Lord.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" he said with a big smile, raising a fist.
Instinctively, (Y/n) conjured a protective barrier just as he brought his hand down. It did protect them from the attack, but they were still violently pushed down into the ground, they heard the Lord laugh as they fell, thankfully the snow broke their fall. Monkey, back to his original form, looked up but didn't see anyone. He wanted to look for the bastard but once he noticed (Y/n) trying to stand up, he went up to her to made sure so was okay.
"Come on, we gotta go."
Seeing her losing her balance, he picked her up bridal style so she wouldn't have to walk in the snow. (Y/n) was once again surprised but didn't complain, she couldn't feel her feet either. They walked for a while, Monkey would look up or behind him from time to time. He went as fast as possible, but even to him the snow was making it hard to walk, plus with (Y/n) in his arms.
"I'm sorry I'm heavy!"
"I told you, you're not heavy."
"But you just said..."
"Huh? I didn't say anything."
"...You didn't?" she looked up at him, genuinely confused.
Monkey stopped for a second, looking at her with big eyes before he quickly kept going. Now she was hearing things. This was really, really bad.
"No I didn't. Listen to me and me only okay?"
She nodded.
"And repeat everything I'm saying to you alright?"
"Re...Repeat everything you say got it." she nodded again. "...I'm sorry."
"I didn't say anything! What did you think I said?"
She just shivered. She didn't want to repeat what she heard, let's just say they weren't the nicest things.
'Right. No time for questions, just get her somewhere warm.' he thought, picking up the pace.
No matter how long or how fast he walked, it felt like they weren't going anywhere, the snowy mountain seemed endless. (Y/n) kept shivering and Monkey began to blow hot air on her and to pull her closer to his, hoping his fur would keep her warm. He was getting frustrated and desperate.
"Su... ...ong!"
He stopped and frantically looked around.
"Sun ...kong!"
This didn't sound like the Demon Lord, but he was still on his guard and he walked up to where the voice came from.
"Over here! Hurry!"
He saw a little light waving in the distance and coming closer, being held by a silhouette. He tried going faster but it was difficult. The silhouette threw the light towards him, which he could now make out to be a lantern, and they disappeared. As the lantern fell in front of them, a man with long hair came out of the light and caught it just in time before it could fall into the snow.
"Phiew, that was close." he whispered.
(Y/n) looked up and Monkey and he noticed her stare.
"No don't worry, that really happened."
"It really happened okay." she curled up and closed her eyes. "Good."
"Who're you?" Monkey asked.
"The spirit of these mountains." said person began to walk and he followed. "I'm supposed to help guide the worthy lost at night, but in this storm, everyone could get lost no matter what time it is!"
"Rough."
"Well you know," he sighed. "I actually haven't worked in years. And this is you guys, so maybe you could help."
"I'm not doing anything until she gets in front of a campfire."
"Don't worry, we're almost there."
As they walked, Monkey noticed that (Y/n) was shivering less and less. He figured that maybe the lantern provided her some warmth, it was a spirit's after all. He let out a sigh of relief. What he didn't realize was that, when the person stops shivering, it was actually a sign that their condition is getting worst. Soon enough, they reached the bottom of a mountain, where a little door was hidden. The spirit opened it and let Monkey and (Y/n) pass. A little cozy house with a low ceiling but high enough for them. The spirit took them to a little pit were he placed the lantern in, its light glowing more and more until it lit up the whole room. Monkey quickly laid her down beside it. Just as he began to stand up, she grabbed his arm.
"Mmh..." she hummed, moving his arm to the side.
He understood, though still confused, and turned around. She placed her freezing cold hand on his back and began to press it, though Monkey could barely feel she was putting pressure on it. He turned back around and gently put her hand back under the blanket.
"Just rest up. You need to get your strength back." he whispered before facing the spirit.
"Rest up...sure." she whispered.
"Just what the hell is going on?" Monkey asked with a grave voice and an expression that said 'if I'm not given information, I will hurt you'.
"H-hey it's not my fault!" the spirit raised his hands. "A century ago, the three-horned demon lord and his soldiers came here, took over the village and ate the villagers. Now they come from time to time and dump bodies and bones in the human chief's house. And now it's snowing like it's winter! I-I'm guessing the demon lord created this storm because he saw you coming..."
Monkey thought for a moment.
"I tried asking the Heavens for help bu-"
"Bahaha! As if he'd help a little mountain spirit! He wouldn't even help an Earth God."
"The...The Earth God of this land is dead."
A tense silence settled for a moment.
"The demon lord killed him. Thankfully right before he died, he gave ownership to me."
"I see... It'd be the asshole's land if he died by his hand. But it's not like it'd matter."
"It does! I'd have the high ground, since *he's* the one on my property."
"Yeah, but like I said, Heavens aren't gonna do anything anytime soon." he shrugged.
"They will! They're just busy!"
"There is one thing that doesn't add up though." he said holding his chin, ignoring what the spirit said. "Where are the dragons?"
"Huh?"
"The weather's messed up because of this guy. It's been hours now, they're not that slow. Where are they?"
The spirit, at first confused, began to understand what Monkey meant, he frowned.
"...They were here not long ago to warm up the weather and change the cloud formations." he said. "Then they just left without saying anything. They didn't even finish their work. I did think it was weird but..."
"But?" Monkey asked, though he knew what the answer would be, he wanted to push the spirit to that certain direction.
"I thought, maybe they were called because of important duties. You know, some dragon business."
"Exactly!" Monkey stood up and began to pace around. "They're always so dedicated to their work, they'd never let such a huge anomaly slip under their nose like that. Even important dragon business wouldn't be as important, not in this time of year at least. So the one who called them must be in a higher position than them. So the only one who could've done that would be-"
"-the Jade Emperor himself." the spirit's eyes widen in realization.
"Boom." Monkey pointed at him. "He called them to leave their work, and kept them from leaving. And he's not that stupid, he knows what's happening down here." he paused, frowning. "He might be more of a scumbag than I gave him credit for."
'But why?' he thought. 'He's powerful enough to take down the bastard. Does he have something he wants? Or something he can provide...'
"Th-This is huge!" the spirit quickly stood up. "That would mean the Jade Emperor is working with-"
Suddenly, the mountain broke open, crashing the spirit's home. Monkey looked out to see the three-horned demon lord floating above them. He extended a hand and created a gust of wind to lift up a bolder and then throw it towards the pit.
"No!" the spirit exclaimed but before he could even do anything, the lantern was crushed to pieces and he disappeared into thin air, gone forever.
Monkey's eyes widen in horror as the demon laughed.
"*Now* you're on my property! I knew if I was patient enough you'd lead me to that damn spirit! Thank you Sun Wukong, now nothing is stopping the expansion of my territory!"
(Y/n) curled up into a ball. Seeing her like this, this was the last straw for Monkey. He clenched his fists as the demon kept laughing.
"Shut *up* already!"
He kicked up his staff and kicked it again towards the lord's chest, pushing him far away. He fell in the snow and still slid a few more meters.
"You've tried me!" Monkey yelled out. "Well now you got me!" he cracked his knuckles, his piercing golden red eyes never leaving his opponent. "Time for a good ass-kicking revenge, Imma rip off the two horns you got left and finish the job!"
The three-horned demon slowly removed the heavy staff off of him, it created a little hollow spot on his armor. He clicked his tongue and looked up to see Monkey dashing towards him at full speed. The lord stood up, ready for what's to come, but he was still caught off guard when Monkey went in zigzag, so fast he could barely see him. Finally, he came from the side, turned his arm into metal and punched him in the face with it. Although he was wearing a helmet, it broke on impact. Monkey didn't waste any time and kicked him in the teeth, hitting him again and again with everything he got. The demon lord eventually got a hold of himself and created a gust of wind, pushing him away.
Monkey was shot into the air, rotating a few times, right back towards the already broken mountain. He landed horizontally on his feet, creating a crater beneath him before jumping back to the fight. The demon threw rocks at him but he turned into a falcon and easily dodged them. Once he was close enough, he turned back to his original form and the demon went to punch him. Monkey climbed on the back of his hand, ran up his arm and put him in a chock-hold, squeezing tightly. Suffocating, the Demon Lord struggled and punched Monkey repeatedly, still he wouldn't let go. After that he slammed his back on the nearby mountain, and even let himself fall down, Monkey let out a 'guh!', feeling the armor's and the demon's weight being suddenly pressed on his stomach. He finally let go and the demon coughed, rubbing his neck before attempting to punch Monkey but he pushed him away with his feet, making himself roll back and stand up.
"Hehehe." the Demon Lord stood up, his throat sore. "Even with only two powers, you still got the hang of i-." he looked over to see a giant ape, bringing its fist down on him.
A big explosion of snow and rocks roared, soon after, the demon flew away as fast as he could. Now floating above the broken mountain, he looked down as his armor crumbled in pieces.
"Damn you Nian Zhen and your 'state of the art' armor!" he said between his teeth.
He looked up and watched as Monkey, now a giant ape, slowly stood up straight, an even bigger crater beside him.
"You think I'd even let you do a stupid speech?" he said in a clear voice. "I will *break* you!"
The demon gulped and was getting a little anxious when something blue caught his eyes. He looked down and let out a 'ha!' of relief.
"I don't believe you should worry about me right now!" he said with a smile, trying to stay calm. "Worry about what's right in front of you instead!"
Monkey's eyes narrowed, not getting it. The Demon Lord gestured down. Looking where he was pointing, he gasped when he saw the little glowing blue bubble in the distance. It was flickering.
"You've always been so emotional Wukong! It's what brought their doom, and it will bring hers as well!" he laughed and used a crystal to disappear.
Monkey ignored him and started running towards the faint blue light, then he turned into a leopard, then a falcon, anything that could get him faster to the dead spirit's broken home. Once close enough, he turned back to his original form.
"(Y/n)!!!" he called out when the barrier she created around her disappeared.
She created it in the beginning of the fight, without even knowing who Monkey was fighting. It protected her from the mountain debris, but not from the cold. He kneeled down beside her and held her up. The sudden movement made her open her eyes, and in a moment of lucidity, she looked at him and smiled.
"Monkey." she said in a slow weak voice. "I knew you'd win."
"R-right. Good riddance."
He held her close to him, she was freezing cold but she wasn't shaking. Her skin was now a strange shade of blue.
"I...Heh." her eyebrow furrowed. "I'm sorry I'm so weak. Defeated by cold. Not the most epic of death."
He shook his head, tears building up in his eyes.
"You're the strongest person I've ever met."
Her expression fell for a moment before she smiled again. She'd cry too if her tear glands weren't frozen. Her gaze wandered a bit and he shook her to keep her awake.
"Come on," his voice trembled. "stay with me (Y/n). Please."
"Hey, it's okay." she looked at him and placed her frozen hand on his cheek. "I feel warm."
Just as he was about to hold her hand, it slipped away. Monkey sniffed and shook his head again as she closed her eyes. He held her close and he began to cry in the middle of this snowstorm. Even the wind wasn't as loud as he was. At this moment, he couldn't move, his heart was too heavy for that.
"...Seriously?" he finally said, his voice still trembling a bit.
He laid her on his lap and look up the dark sky, his deep sadness turned into fury.
"You'd let your precious Golden Cicada die like that?! I know you're a scum but you're an even bigger coward than I thought!"
His only response was the wind. He shook his head and wiped away his tears.
"Fine." he whispered. "Fine!" he shouted again. "I know what you want! You want me don't you?! That's why you did nothing! Come and get me! Just please..." he looked at her, unconscious but barely alive. "Don't let her die because of the stupid things I've done!"
Just then, the wind died down, it stopped snowing. Monkey looked up to see the sky clearing above him, the sun shining a light on him and her.
Next thing (Y/n) knew, she was standing on water, well, it looked more like a mirror with how still it was. No mountains, no earth, only a endless sky filled with clouds, all reflected in the water. She looked at her hands, she could feel them and her skin was back to its original color. She wanted to be relieved but right now she was just quietly confused. Not far away from her was a monk, sitting down and meditating. She walked up to him, the water rippling slightly with each step she took. Now in front of him, she took a closer look at him. He was wearing a fancy robe with a matching hat. She felt bad for interrupting a stranger's meditation but...
"Um... Excuse me?"
He opened his eyes and looked at her. She took notice of his pretty brown eyes.
"Where are..." her gaze wandered before going back on the man. "Am I dead?"
He smiled calmly.
"Not quite."
"What do you mean?"
"Right now you are in this fine line between life and death." he explained as he stood up. "This conversation we're having is taking place within a second in the living realm. Whether you live or die now all depends on what will happen there."
"Uh-hu..." her body began to slowly fade away, then quickly came back to normal, she frowned when it did. "I'm sorry who are you?"
"I am Tang Sanzang." he bowed. "But I'm known in stories as Tripitaka."
Her jaw dropped and she quickly bowed.
"I-It's an honor to meet you sir!"
"The honor is all mine." he said. "I've wanted to speak with you for a while so I've decided to come here to keep you company and give you a little lesson."
"Um...for how long exactly?"
"Not sure. When I was dying, I meditated throughout my time here. Maybe hours, maybe days, maybe more." he walked passed her. "Come walk with me."
Hesitant, she took one last look around, looking for a possible way out, but she eventually walked beside him.
"You see (Y/n)," he said. "this conversation would not be happening if we weren't here discussing it. Without me, the speaker, and you the listener, this moment would not exist. Therefore this conversation isn't our core function. You are listening to me right now, but this isn't essentially you, you're not always listening."
(Y/n) raised an eyebrow. He chuckled.
"I didn't mean it in a rude way of course."
"Right..." she nodded, knowing he didn't.
"I mean that you are playing this role right now, just like I'm playing the role of teacher, but it's not my core function. There is no essential one true 'Tripitaka', just like there's no essential one true '(Y/n)'. And so we think we exist, therefore we suffer."
"Uh..." her body began to slowly fade away then quickly came back to normal, she held her temple as if she just came back to her senses. "Sorry, we think we exist therefore we suffer?"
"Right." he nodded. "We think there is something essentially true about reality. To be clear, this isn't nihilism, it's not 'nothing is real', just that everything is empty of inherent quality, so, non-essentialism. Some call it the clear light, understanding the essential non-existence of everything. Throughout years and years of training, I've had the experience of perceiving this emptiness. I would describe it as 'nothingness but shining'."
"Wow."
"And in death, I was able to free myself from my mortal body, from my 'self'. You would think it would've been enough to get to enlightenment, but there's actually much more I have to liberate, to separate myself from. Although I do not know what, I have been...searching and training for a century now." though his voice was still calm, the corner of his mouth twitched and he did press on the word 'century'. "But I'm sure that if I just search within myself for a little longer, I will get there."
As he talked (Y/n)'s body started fading away again before quickly coming back. She lost her balance for a moment, but Tripitaka held her shoulder.
"Could you repeat that? Sorry, it gets foggy in here sometimes."
"That is your consciousness fading away and then coming back. You nearly died there."
She looked at him with big eyes.
"It feels weird I know." he patted her shoulder before walking again.
"You were talking about liberating yourself from your body right?"
"Right, death is the relinquishing of a self that essentially does not exist but it's liberating because the self is also a source of suffering."
"But why suffering? I didn't get that part."
"Well every body is inherently suffering. Having a body...hurts." he glanced to the side. "The fact that every physical thing is impermanent is a cause of suffering. Old age, sickness, disease and death."
"Oh, I see."
"And some people try to escape this feeling by distracting themselves, to the point when they forget about the reality of the universe. That everything is empty."
"Uh-hu, kind of like a game. I remember when I was a kid, I would play pretend alone or with my friends, and sometimes we'd get so into it, that we'd really believe like 'yes I am the moonlight horse-bird princess of the dawn'!"
They both laughed.
"A horse-bird?"
"Yeah a horse with wings." she chuckled. "Just some silly mashups we'd come up with for fun."
"Well," he cleared his throat. "that is an excellent example yes. And so you see (Y/n), once you free yourself from this dream-like reality and wake up to the fundamental emptiness of everything, only then will you be enlightened." he paused. "Well, it's one of the first steps at least. Honestly I'm still figuring out the rest."
"Yeah, I understand." she nodded, thinking. "I don't think I want to be enlightened then."
Tripitaka froze. She looked at him and for the first time, she saw him completely baffled.
"...excuse me?" he blinked.
She awkwardly leaned back.
"I..." he smiled, though still shocked. "I don't think you understand, of course you want to reach enlightenment."
"I do understand. But if enlightenment is like what you're saying, then I don't want it." she shook her head. "That would mean I'd have to give up the physical world, I won't be able to enjoy the things I like, because they're not real. I won't be able to feel..." she placed a hand on her heart. "the way I feel when I'm with the people I love."
"Y-Yes but..."
"And so, following your logic, does that mean you've never enjoyed anything?" she looked at him, a bit sad, remembering the little notes he's write in his book of sutras. "Did you not enjoy traveling to the west with your disciples? Did you think their friendship wasn't worth it because they weren't real? Because I know you meant a lot to them."
Tripitaka opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. Which was a first to him. His eyebrows furrowed.
"I don't mind living in a dream." she looked down. "The way I see it: it's better to live in the present, enjoy what and who is around you. Your favorite food, the beautiful sceneries, the people you've met, the good and the bad, laughter and tears, you can learn and grow from it all." she looked back at him, smiling. "Life throws so much at you, it'd be a shame to ignore all of that."
"But... When you'll die, you'll never go to Heaven to be a Bodhisattva then. You'll just join humans in the world of the dead."
"Compared to what I've lived through, I believe whatever's waiting for me after death will be worth it."
Tripitaka looked down, processing what she said. For a century he's been alone with himself, focused on what's within himself, so having a new, different opinion wasn't what he expected. When she asked about his living life, he realized that until now, he's only remembered all the times he's been hurt and forgot about all the times he's been saved. Memories of his travels came back to him, moments where he stayed calm, where he laughed, was angry, was sad, when he was flustered, all because of the silly shenanigans his disciples would go through all the time. After a moment of silence, he chuckled.
"I suppose I was too busy playing monks." he whispered before looking back at her. "You make a good point (Y/n)."
"Really?"
"Perhaps there are multiple universal truths. Yours and mine are different, but that doesn't mean they can't coexist." he smiled.
She frowned, not understanding.
"You're wiser than you look, I could learn from you."
"Oh n-no I-!" she bashfully shook her head and waved her hands "You're giving me too much credit here."
"I believe you're not giving yourself enough credit." he bowed and she bowed back. "This has been a good lesson, for both of us. Thank you."
"No, thank *you*! I've learned a lot."
"So did I." he stood straight and looked around. "We seem to have some more time. Any questions?"
"...Did you know Monkey had feelings for you?"
Once again, he was taken aback. But soon she could see a certain melancholy in his eyes.
"...I had a feeling he did yes." he slowly nodded. "Tell him I'm sorry- Ah. Actually, please don't tell him you've seen me today." he looked to the side. "I'm not sure how he'd react if he knew."
She sighed through her nose.
"I have one last question if that's okay."
"What is it?"
She opened her eyes to see people she didn't know looking down at her, each of them glowed a gentle light of a different color. When she woke up, they stepped back, she sat up and looked around. She seemed to be in a palace given how big the room was, white stone decorated with green and gold. There were people staring at her and she noticed Nezha and Ao Bing there. She wanted to smile and waved but then she noticed how stoic there expressions were, though Ao Bing did nod, acknowledging her. She touched the little hollow spot on her neck and felt a pulse.
'Okay. So not dead.' she nodded to herself.
"Welcome back to life (Y/n)."
She looked back and her eyes widen. On top of a set of stairs, sitting on a throne of jade was non other than the Jade Emperor.
"Oh, my..." she kneeled before him. "Your Imperial Majesty, I-I do not deserve being in your heavenly presence!"
"Nonsense." he waved his hand, smiling. "You're Golden Cicada, of course you deserve to be here."
"Th-Thank you for bringing me back to life, I owe you...Actually I'm not sure what I can give you." she looked at him.
"You being alive and carrying out the monk Tripitaka's mission to the West is plenty enough."
"Right!" she nodded. "Though I can't do that without..." she trailed off as she looked around. "Excuse me but, where's Monkey?"
Silence filled the room, Nezha looked down and clenched his fists.
After being brought up to speed, (Y/n) was led to a dark dungeon specifically made for the Monkey King. A room with a spherical cage with no visible door, suspended by multiple chains attached to the ceiling, the walls and even the floor. There was only a little opening with bars for them to communicate. She stood there for a moment before walking up to the cage and leaning close to the bars.
"Monkey? It's me." she spoke quietly so that the soldiers guarding the door wouldn't hear. "I heard what happened. Now what's the plan?"
"...Plan?"
"Yeah, you must have had one in mind when you asked Heaven for help. You hate Heaven and the people working there."
"There is no plan."
"Wha... Come on now," she tried to see him, but she could only see darkness inside the cage. "you can easily break open this cage can't you?"
"Of course I can."
"Then why don't you do it?"
"Because I gave my word." he spoke with an emotionless tone. "My freedom, for your life."
"...Since when do you keep your word?" she frowned. "You lie, you trick people. That's what you do."
"Not this time. The Jade Emperor will take you to Guan Yin's island, from there you'll start your journey to the west. You'll have official bodyguards and you'll be safer that way."
"But I-" she pursued her lips, her eyebrows furrowed. "I don't want to go anywhere without you."
There was a moment of silence. She leaned closer, forcing a smile on her face.
"Come on, please, let's just get out of here."
"...Are the guards watching?"
Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly looked back to see the soldiers' back facing her.
"No."
"Okay, give me your hand."
Smiling for real this time, she reached inside the cage, there was enough space to fit her arm through. She waited for a second before she felt something warm slowly tracing up her palm and between her fingers. Her heart sunk when she felt Monkey's hand gently squeezing hers, their fingers intertwined.
"(Y/n), thank you." he said. "Thank you for freeing from that crystal. And thank you for allowing me to go on one last adventure. Traveling with you has been..." his voice cracked a bit and he took a deep breathe. "I'm glad to have met you." he gently pressed his mouth on the back of her hand for a moment. "You'll do great, I'm sorry I won't be there to see it though."
As he spoke, tears filled up her eyes. She felt his hand slip away.
"No." she shook her head and tried to reach out to him, but even with her whole arm swinging inside the cage, she couldn't reach him. "No! Monkey come on! You can't do this! You just can't!" she began to hit the cage with her other hand as her tears flowed down. "What is wrong with you?! Get a hold of yourself!"
Her cries caught the attention of the guards. Seeing her hitting the cage, they took her by the arms and dragged her away.
"You're not Sun Wukong!" she struggled. "The real Sun Wukong would never give himself up like that! Monkey! Monkey!!!" she sobbed. "Come on." she hung her head down. "This isn't you."
Monkey brought his knees closer to his face. It was fine, it'll be fine. Now that the Emperor got what he wanted, no way is he gonna let her get hurt again. She'll be okay, she'll be safe. At least this time he got to say goodbye. Yet, as he heard her crying and yelling, he curled up even more into the almost infinite darkness, gripping his hair with a shaky hand.
"Well." the Jade Emperor said when (Y/n) was brought back to him.
From the side of the room, Nezha and Ao Bing exchanged a look, they didn't like the empty look on her face. She's obviously been crying a lot.
"Now that you've said goodbye, I'll sent Nezha and Ao Bing with you, I saw you've already met."
"I have a question." she looked up at him. "Would you have let me die if Monkey hadn't offered his freedom to you?"
"Excuse me?"
"Would you have let me die, if Monkey hadn't asked for your help?" she repeated, frowning. "I don't know the sutra of last resort, Golden Cicada's powers would have been gone forever."
"Oh...you don't? I could've sworn you've learned it in Tripitaka's book." he chuckled, she narrowed her eyes. "Nevertheless, of course I would've still saved you."
"You tricked him didn't you?"
"Mmh?"
"You purposefully waiting until the last second of my life because you knew Monkey would get desperate enough to bargain with you!" she pointed at him. "You used me to emotionally manipulate him so you could get him off your back once and for all! Have you no shame?!"
"Do not point at me woman!" he hit his armrest. "Need to remind you that you are addressing the Jade Emperor!"
"You could be the Jade Emperor, the Demon King, Buddha himself, or the Emperor of China, nothing, *nothing* excuses you from acting like total *trash*!"
A heavy silence filled the room. Everyone, including the Emperor, was dumbfounded.
"...Did you just call the Jade Emperor trash?!" Nezha broke the silence.
"Yeah I did, and I'll do it again!" she looked at him before going back to the Emperor. "Monkey was right, you're a coward! You were too scared of the Demon Lord to do anything! Is that what happened when Tripitaka died-?!"
"Enough!" he exclaimed with a booming echoing voice and suddenly stood up.
As he did, his aura grew outwards into an energy field and pushed her back. With a yelp, she rolled a few times on the floor before ending on her bottom. She was intimidated, but she forced herself to keep glaring at his angry jade green eyes as he glared back at her. Eventually, his aura came back to normal and he sat down.
"I will dismiss this little outburst as Sun Wukong's bad influence. This conversation is over. Nezha, Ao Bing," the two young men stepped forward. "take her to Guan Yin's island."
"Yes your Imperial Majesty." they bowed.
"And try to keep her out of trouble will you."
(Y/n) didn't object when she was escorted out of the Heavenly Palace. Giving the situation, she wasn't really in the mood to admire the beautiful interior design. Before they flew down to the mortal realm, Nezha turned into his true form and offered to carry her on his back.
"So we'd be even."
She puffed a smile hearing his more mature voice and got on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck, then they hopped down through the clouds. After a short flight, (Y/n) saw they went over the broken mountain range, she actually felt relieved to not see snow anymore.
"Alright, let's go there." she pointed to the valley past the mountains.
Neither Nezha or Ao Bing responded.
"Nezha?" she tugged on his neck. "Get down."
"We have to take you to Guan Yin's island."
Her eyes widen, she didn't expect him to say that. She let go of him but he was still holding on to her legs, so she started hitting him on the head.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
"Would you stop it already?!"
"You first! Put me down!"
"(Y/n) for gods' sake-Ah!" he exclaimed as she pulled his hair and violently rubbed her knuckled on his temple.
Slowly but surely, Nezha lost altitude. Soon enough, the two of them fell down on the ground, his fire rings disappearing. Ao watched, then quietly followed.
"What is wrong with you?" Nezha asked as he stood up.
"What's wrong with *you*?!" she stood up as well. "I thought you'd help me come up with a plan to free Monkey!"
"Obviously not! We were given orders!"
"Well great, screw you then." she waved her hand. "I'm going back to Heaven and I'm confronting the Jade Emperor."
"Don't you dare," he pointed at her. "you've already angered him enough!"
"He got angry because he's guilty! He's in the wrong and you know it!"
"He is the Jade, Emperor!" he pressed on the title. "Whether he's right or wrong, it doesn't matter! As long as he's here there's nothing you can do!" he paused, his expression becoming more serious. "I won't let you get on Heaven's black list like Wukong. He is a bad influence, it's better for you this way."
"Listen, right now my friend is all alone, partially because of me, mostly because of your Emperor. I am getting him out of there." she slowly raised her fists and readied herself. "And if I have to fight you to get to Heaven again, I swear to the gods I will!"
Nezha was surprised, but then he saw the sweat on her forehead and her shaky fists. He sighed.
"Come on (Y/n)." he said as he walked up to her. "I'm a celestial being, you really think you could-woah!"
He dodged her fist as she took a swing at him, though she was slow, she caught him off guard, and so she was able to hit him when she followed with a kick. He stepped back, he barely felt any pain from her attacks but he was still shocked.
"Wha-?! Since when do you know how to fight?!"
"When you watch Sun Wukong battle humans and demons everyday, you get the gist of how to throw a punch." she said, still in a messy fighting stand.
"...You really are serious about this."
She didn't respond and just glared at him. He sighed again and ran a hand through his floating hair.
"Even if I just stood there, it would take you years and years of restless hitting to even leave a bruise on me."
"Then I hope you're comfortably standing, because I'm not stopping until I get back up there!"
She tried to punch and kick him multiple times, but this time, Nezha was prepared and was able to dodge every attack she threw at him. This went on for a while. At some point, she paused, panting, but her fists were still raised the entire time.
"I don't want to hurt you." he said.
"You...You think *I'm* enjoying this?"
'This will never end.' he thought.
She took another swing at him, slower than usual given how worn out she was getting. Nezha simple leaned to the side to dodge and raised a hand to her face. A little red light glowed from his palm, gently knocking her backwards into unconsciousness, he caught her before she could hit the ground.
"She won't like this when she wakes up." Ao said.
"Won't be for a long while, she sleeps like a brick."
"...She must really care about Sun Wukong, just like he cared enough about her to ask help from Heaven." he paused. "Maybe...they both influenced each-other."
Nezha was silent for a moment before picking up (Y/n) bridal style. He walked up to his sworn brother and handed her to him.
"Could you get her to Guan Yin's island yourself? I'll catch up with you later."
"Where are you going?"
"Going to take care of some business." and with this vague answer, he flew away on his fire rings.
Ao looked at him go before looking down at (Y/n). He waited until he was out of sight to lay her down and raise his hand above her face. A little blue light glowed from his palm and when he put his hand away, (Y/n) shuffled a bit before waking up.
"Welcome back." he greeted right before she quickly crawled away and stood up.
"Take me back to Heaven!" she pointed at him.
"Okay."
"I swear I won't hesi-wait, what?" she rose her fists but then put them back down.
"Ever since the monk Tripitaka's death, the Jade Emperor has been acting strange, avoiding talking about what happened. Something is going on and he must be confronted about it once and for all. As celestial beings, we can't do much in fear of punishment, but you're Golden Cicada, he'd never harm you."
"...What about Nezha?" she looked around.
"He left to 'take care of some business'." he rolled his eyes, not believing it. "Whatever he's planning, he's still adamant about getting you to Guan Yin's island." he turned around and gestured to his back. "We must hurry before he comes back."
"Okay," she nodded. "let's go."
Nezha approached the dark dungeon, he stopped at the door and the guards bowed to him.
"Dismissed." he said. "I have unfinished business with that damn monkey."
"Very well your Highness." they said before walking away.
He waited for them to be far away before stepping into the room. He approached the cage and began fiddling with the chains.
"What are you doing brat?" he heard Monkey ask.
"I'm breaking you out."
"You knocked your head or something? I don't even want to get out."
"I'm not doing this for you dumbass." he stopped and looked into the little entrance. "I'm doing this for (Y/n)."
"So am I."
"Well she doesn't seem very thankful for that now does she?"
Silence.
"We both targets, her to demons, me to Heaven. If I'm out of the way, the Jade Emperor could finally seriously protect her."
"...You're Sun Wukong." Nezha said. "Don't you think that's enough protection?"
"Aww is that a compliment?" his little joking remark sounded forced.
"You may have given up, but she sure as hell hasn't." he pointed towards the exit. "She's out there, fighting to get you out of here."
"What...?" in the darkness, Monkey leaned a bit closer to the bars.
"As her friend, it pains me to see her waste her time, willing to take on Heaven itself, all for someone like you." he fiddled with the chains again. "And as her friend, I get that she won't change her mind because she obviously cares about you for some reason. So let's just get this over with."
Monkey pursued his lips and clenched his fists as he heard the sound of chains falling on the ground.
(Y/n) and Ao Bing opened the doors to the throne room. As they approached the Jade Emperor again, they heard whispers echoing through the room, the court officials and other celestial beings staring at them.
"Ao Bing, what is the meaning of this?" the Jade Emperor asked, calm but clearly annoyed.
"Let me ask you this instead:" she stepped a bit more closer with a serious expression. "what is the deal with the Three-Horned Demon Lord?"
"What?"
"I need to know who I'll be up against."
"The demon lord had been working in the shadow for years," Ao answered for him. "waiting to become powerful enough to defeat Sun Wukong and eat the monk Tripitaka. And with the kingdom he's been creating, experiencing on new ways to create weapons and armors, he's well on his way to do just that."
"I see," she nodded before looking back up. "is that why you didn't do anything to prevent what happened a century ago?"
The Emperor gagged and nervously looked around to see that everyone was now staring at him, he glared at her.
"I-I don't have to answer to you!"
"With the chance to get rid of Monkey once and for all, you knew Tripitaka would transfer his power onto someone else because he believed in you! So you sacrificed *the* chosen one and let a completely random stranger take his place!" she gestured towards herself. "Just to get him off your back! Am I right?"
"...Tang Sanzang's death was a tragedy-."
"Don't you call him by his real name." she pointed at him, pressing on her words. "You've betrayed his trust and belief!"
"I didn't!" he exclaimed, looking more and more desperate as he felt the stares of his subjects on him.
"Then why did you let him die?! Why didn't you do anything to help me or my father?! Were you scared?!"
"No!"
"Then what are you guilty of?! Answer me!"
"I was just tired okay?!" he shouted, getting frustrated.
She blinked twice, taken aback. She really expected him to get angry. He sniffed.
"When Wukong was here, everything was just so complicated all the time." he held his head. "Ever since the day of his birth I had no time to rest whatsoever! And when he became a disciple, it got even worse! He had good intentions so even when he was bothering me and Heaven, I was forced to actually help him! I'm so tired of this!" he hit his armrests multiple times. "I'm the Jade Emperor, ruler of Heaven, I deserve a break don't I?!"
The members of the court awkwardly looked at each-other, knowing they couldn't disagree with him. (Y/n) herself didn't really know how to react, the image she had of the Emperor shattered and drastically changed these past few hours. And now she just saw a pitiful, overwhelmed old man.
"It happened so fast, the demon lord and his army came out of nowhere" he looked down. "next thing I know Sanzang's dead. I-I wanted to do something I really did! But then Wukong got trapped in a mountain again, and I felt this huge weight lift off my shoulders. I...I thought it'd be okay since Golden Cicada's powers have been passed on, and the Three-Horned Demon went back to his lair and never came out. I thought it was over."
"So what, you just...did nothing? Even when me and Monkey started our journey?"
"Almost seven hundred years of constantly having to deal with this damn monkey!" he hit his armchair. "Even when he was trapped by Buddha he'd disturb the local gods and any celestial being coming by! I needed a break! You guys were doing very well on your own anyway."
As this was going on, Nezha and Monkey were sneaking through a corridor on the floor above. One of the walls was opened to the large throne room so they crouched down and passed along the balustrade. They were too focused on escaping that they weren't paying attention, until they heard (Y/n)'s voice.
"...My biological parents died because of you."
When she spoke, they both stopped and looked down.
"My father died, because of you. Tripitaka died because of you!" she raised her voice and pointed at him. "So many people died because of your incompetence! *I* almost died!"
"N-No! I-" he stuttered. "I was contacted by a golden snake from the Three-Horned Demon saying that if I just moved out of the way, he'd get rid of Wukong for good."
"And you believed him?! Do you hate Monkey that much that you forgot he's after me too?!"
"I..." he sighed, his shoulders dropping. "I'm sincerely sorry." he bowed his head. "Let me make it up to you, I could help you get to Guan Yin's island before sundown."
"I don't *want* your help." she looked around at the court members and spoke with a clear voice. "I know Monkey has a nasty reputation here and you people of Heaven don't care much for him. Nor do you care much for me really, I'm just a random human who happened to inherit Golden Cicada's powers. Well let me tell you, the two of us together are going to Guan Yin's island, we're going to defeat the Demon Lord, we're going to complete the journey to the west, all without his help!" she pointed at the Jade Emperor and paused. "Then you will have no choice but to respect him, and me." she looked up at him, a spark of determination in his eyes. "Let him go." she slowly said.
The Emperor pursued his lips, his eyebrow furrowed and his body tense. He groaned, and just then Ao Bing noticed something behind him and turned around.
"...Very well." the Emperor finally said and waved a hand. "Get him back here."
"I don't think there's a need for that anymore." Ao said.
(Y/n) followed his gaze and turned around to see Monkey jumping down from the floor above them and landing in a crouching position. He now had his staff but he let it drop by his side. Nezha descended on his fire rings but she only focused on Monkey as he stood up and faced her across the large room.
The two of them stood still, looking into each-other's eyes. Tears built up in her eyes as her expression twisted with a range of emotions, then they both dashed towards each-other. He opened his arms first and slowed down so as to not knock her over, while she picked up the speed and jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. The impact made him spin around a couple of times before he hugged her back, burying his face in her shoulder as his eyes filled with tears. They stayed like this for a short while, ignoring everybody looking at them. Nezha went to stand beside Ao Bing, his arms crossed. He noticed the smile on Ao's face.
"What?"
"That was a really nice thing you did."
He clicked his tongue and looked away, Ao chuckled.
Finally, (Y/n) pushed Monkey away and hit him on the chest, he was unfazed but still surprised.
"Don't ever do that again!" she exclaimed, crying.
"...I'm sorry." he softly said.
"Yeah you should be!" she glared at him, but then her expression softened. "And, I'm sorry you had to go through this. All of this."
He sniffed and smiled, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. He hugged her again, wrapping his arms around her neck this time, and she hugged back. This hug was a bit shorter, he eventually let go and faced the Jade Emperor with an venomous glare.
"You got a lot of explaining to do."
The Emperor gulped.
(Y/n), Nezha and Ao Bing explained what happened. Monkey burst out laughing at some point.
"You...You call the Jade Emperor trash?!?!?!" he managed to say, holding his stomach. "Even I never called him that!"
She bashfully scratched her cheek and the Emperor blushed in shame. After being brought up to speed, the conversation shifted to the two Heaven officials giving information about the Three-Horned Demon Lord and whatever he was planning.
"From what I understood, he wants to expand his territory." Monkey said.
"Maybe he wants to take over China so he'd have eyes everywhere to chase us down." (Y/n) thought.
"It would be a good plan, but I don't think he's that subtle." Nezha shook his head. "Most likely it's easier for him to get the material he needs."
"For what?" she tilted her head.
"His new experiment."
"Um, I'm sorry but..." the Jade Emperor said as he was having an audience with a member of the court. "Couldn't you discuss this elsewhere?"
Monkey and (Y/n) gave him a blank look, she glanced at Monkey to make sure if it was okay to ignore him. He turned back, and so did she.
"We believe he's creating an armor or a weapon." Nezha continued. "His generals already acquired some components but it's still unclear what he's planning on doing with it. Being enclosed in his lair all the time."
"What, you don't have spies or anything?" Monkey raised an eyebrow.
They glared at each-other.
"Does he have an army?" (Y/n) asked.
"Yes, not as big as a century ago though."
"Right," Monkey narrowed his eyes. "that would've been inconvenient."
"But if he's this confident about his plan," Ao said. "then that mean he must have the equivalent of an army."
"Maybe that's what he's making," she pointed. "a weapon that is the equivalent of an army."
"And where's he now exactly?"
"Probably on his new property." Ao frowned, not liking this. "Although, we'll try and get a new Earth God and Mountain Spirit to get the land back."
"This 'kill to own' law is so full of bull." Nezha mumbled.
"Oh I don't know." Monkey shrugged. "That would mean I technically own two third of China."
"And that will be a great argument to abolish this law, thank you very much." Ao bowed his head.
(Y/n) chuckled as Monkey groaned.
"Alright!" Monkey said as they faced the Jade Emperor, who was just done with his meeting. "We'll be going now."
"And don't try to help us!"
"Um (Y/n), about that..." Monkey, Nezha and Ao Bing leaned closer. "Lao Tzu the imperial alchemist has a lab full of cool stuff and artifacts." Monkey whispered and nodded towards an old man talking to other court officials in a corner. "We can't not have access to that."
"Also," Ao whispered. "if you ever need our help, we need to be relieved of our duties first before leaving work."
"Okay, got it." she nodded before addressing the Emperor again. "But~! You know, on the off chance that we do need help from our friends, or a specific someone in this court." she gestured to the two sworn brothers, then around the room before pointing at him. "You have to let them help us, because you owe us that much!"
"Damn right you do!" Monkey smirked.
"Sure, of course." he huffed, wanting this conversation to be over.
"Alright..." she was about to say thanks but she didn't want to thank him. "bye."
Monkey snickered and sent a mocking look to him before following her out of the palace, cackling and mocking the people passing by on the way out. Some he greeted like old friends and they responded by running away.
They said goodbye to Nezha and Ao Bing who summoned a cloud to take them down to earth, on the same valley passed the mountains. Since they figured the demon lord still hadn't finished his weapon, and after the beating Monkey gave him, he probably won't be out of his lair for a while.
"Man~! You can't do any tricks on this thing!" Monkey hit the cloud as it descended, making (Y/n) chuckle.
Once they reached the ground and hopped down from it, it disappeared. For a moment, the two of them looked at the scenery ahead of them, in a much needed silence after all the shouting that happened today. The summer breath gently hit them, they could see the ocean in the horizon.
"...You know," she said. "when I was dying I went into this strange mental space between life and death and... Tripitaka was there."
Monkey suddenly looked at her with big eyes.
"Said he wanted to keep me company." she added.
He opened his mouth but then looked down, then back at the horizon.
"Did he gave you a confusing lesson about enlightenment?"
"He did."
He laughed, she smiled.
"He hasn't change one bit." he shook his head.
"Before I left, I asked him something. I asked if the kindness he'd express towards you when bringing you back into the group everytime you got kicked out, was the same kindness he'd express towards the demons, forgiving them for trying to eat him." she paused. "He took a moment to think about it. And then he said: no," she looked at him. "he brought you back, because he wanted you back."
Monkey took a deep breath, a flow of feelings rushing through him. Then he smiled.
"I had a feeling that was the case yeah." he nodded.
The two of them faced the horizon for a bit more, giving time for him to process this. Finally he turned to her.
"Thanks (Y/n)."
"Think nothing of it." she smiled before walking away.
"No, I'm serious." he took her hand, stopping her and making her look at him. "Thank you."
He articulated his words, and by the way he looked into her eyes, it was clear that he was thanking her for more than what she just told him, for more than what she did today. Her heart skipped a beat.
"You're...you're welcome."
A moment passed, she looked down, her cheeks a shade pinker. Monkey followed her gaze and realized he's been holding her hand for a little too long. He let go of it and cleared his throat.
"Come on, I wanna be as far away from these mountains as possible." he said before walking away, hiding his slightly red cheeks.
(Y/n) held the hand he was holding. She felt a warmth in her chest before shaking her head and following him, not knowing he felt that same warmth.