Below the golden pagoda, a solitary temple stood in the vast snowy meadows.

When Padmapani informed them of their arrival, Hermes slowed down the chariot and gently landed on a patch of thin snow near the temple.

The temple wasn't extremely conspicuous, but the architecture was unique.

It was a fusion between the Buddhist temples of India, which incorporated tall and rounded spikes, and East Asian architecture, which prioritized symmetry and sharp roofs.

Padmapani bowed a few times to the temple and invited them in.

The three removed their footwear and then entered through a sliding door.

The temple was quite large and centered around a courtyard.

Padmapani turned to Hermes and Ashoka, "Sirs, The Buddha requests only Sir Alex, I will lead you to a waiting room."

Hermes pouted and jokingly replied, "We're being chased off~~?"

"I'll be quick, Hermes," Alex rolled his eyes at Hermes' childish attitude.

After that, Padmapani explained to him that the courtyard was beyond the sliding door in front of them, and then led the two others somewhere else.

Alex was starting to feel nervous.

'I've met quite a few powerful deities, but The Buddha still seems a step above those...'

However, he recovered his composure and with one swift move, he slid open the door.

'Wow...!' Astonishment couldn't describe what Alex felt at the sight of the courtyard.

The meadows outside of the temple were snowy, yet, this courtyard was lush and green.

A small and still pond was in the corner of the courtyard, and an isle with a gazebo rose from the waters, to which a small bridge led.

In the center of the courtyard, a tall and thick tree with heart-shaped leaves stood.

Alex's eyes moved all around the courtyard searching for Siddartha Gautama, but he did not find him.

However, a leaf suddenly turned into a man.

The man then fused with the tree bark.

However, that man was then in the shape of the tall grass under the tree.

Alex was bewildered.

If he did not concentrate, he could not see the man at all, and only the flora of the courtyard would be visible.

And, when he focused, the man would turn from an object to another.

Alex stood in his place, confused.

"Hahahahahahaha," A pleasant voice started laughing.

It came from the direction of the tree, and suddenly, the shapeshifting man appeared.

He sat under the tree, in a lotus position, and his eyes were closed.

Then, he opened his eyes.

Alex blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw a gargantuan statue in front of him.

But, when he observed the surroundings, he discovered that...

'I'm in his palm!?' Alex was standing on a crease of the palm of the Buddha, whose body seemed to be the size of the entire world.

His fingers reached into the sky, and his clear eyes looked down on Alex.

Suddenly, Alex blinked again, and he was back in the courtyard.

"Sir, are you by any chance Siddartha Gautama?" Alex was feeling rather overwhelmed.

The man didn't speak, but he waved at Alex and hinted at him to sit down in front of him.

Alex didn't wish to move, but a strange force overtook his psyche, and his body somehow voluntarily moved towards the man and sat down.

From this close distance, Alex observed the Buddha's(?) features.

Gentle and symmetrical black eyebrows and eyes that glowed like precious gems.

He had a youthful and somewhat handsome appearance, but his demeanor didn't feel immature by any means.

His curved lips inspired comfort in other people and his large earlobes made him seem wise.

The man's lips moved, and he simply said, "Siddartha Gautama, they rarely call me by that birth name anymore."

"So you're the Buddha?" Alex's eyes brimmed with curiosity.

"Perhaps, perhaps not, we are all the Buddha, only tainted by the endless suffering and rebirth that is the Samsara," Siddartha did not speak too much, yet he did not speak too little.

"I believe you've invited me here..." Alex wished to know the reason behind his invite.

However, anger suddenly overtook him, and he exclaimed, "Aren't you the protector of India, why haven't you intervened when Indra almost 'killed' Hermes?!"

Buddha's face did not move a slight bit at the anger-filled remark, and he gently replied, "They have told me not to."

"They? Who are they?"

"Everything, I believe you call them Chaos in the western lands, we call them Brahman."

'Chaos? The god Nyx warned me about? What do they want?'

At that moment, a voice that came from all directions spoke, "Siddartha, you are taking too much time, send over the child quickly."

Buddha calmly chuckled and said, "That's their voice."

Then, Siddartha placed a hand on Alex's shoulder.

Alex wasn't able to dodge, and the hand seemed to weigh down on his body enormously.

His eyelids also felt heavy, and he slowly lost consciousness.

Buddha remarked, "I hope the young boy can see through them."

___________________

Alex's eyelashes twitched, and he gently opened his eyes.

He was in a strange dimension, far stranger from any place he's ever been.

The whole realm was a cube the size of a small room, and the walls were entirely plastered with mirrors.

It was disorienting to see his reflections infinitely reflect itself, and his precognition did not help either.

Therefore, he immediately deactivated precognition and took a closer look around.

"What is even this place?!" There wasn't anything around, and even when he punched the mirrors with his full strength, they did not break.

Out of a sudden, a gray mist entered through a minuscule gap between the mirrors.

The mist filled the entire room, and then, imploded upon itself and formed a ball.

Following that, the mist ball took the shape of a humanoid body.

'Can that really be called a human body?' The body had no mouth, no eyes, no ears, no ge*itals and was more akin to an abstract ceramic sculpture of a human.

On top of that, the body's gender was completely unclear.

"Hello, child of another world,"