Raja had moved to fast for Saji to react and the next thing she knew was that after the golden glow had faded, they had appeared at the center of a large, paved square. The ground of the square was made from large, 2 by to meter stone cubes that had been buried in the ground.

After taking a short look around she saw a number of tall and steep mountains in the distance. What was particular about his mountains was that it was only passible to their peaks as a sea of clouds expanded around them. Furthermore, each of the mountains had a couple of Buddhist temples scattered around the peak.

It took Saji another moment to realize that they were also located on such a mountain peak and that there was a large group of monks awaiting them a distance away. She turned to face Raja.

“Where are we?”, she asked somewhat warily.

Raja smiled reassuring.

“This is Trayastri?sa, one of the seven heavens of the Buddhist faith. Don’t worry here everyone had buddha in his heart, there are no enemies you have to fear.”, his speech had become somewhat different from what it normally was. His body too, seemed to be different from what it normally was like.

(In the Buddhist faith Trayastri?sa is the highest heaven that maintains a physical connection to the mortal realm. Because of this the deva’s in Trayastri?sa heaven involve themselves into worldly affairs, unlike the heavens above who do not do so.)

In the city of a billion names he seemed to be a usual monk, a mortal being with a tainted mortal body, but here in the realm of Trayastri?sa he was a true buddha, eternal and unchanging in his tranquility.

Before Saji could say anything else the group of Buddhist’s who had been waiting on the side of the stone square had reached them and made a polite bow followed by a Buddhist greeting. Raja smiling returned to greeting.

“I immediately have to meet his holiness Sakra.”, Raja said with a bit of urgency.

The Buddhists smiled and nodded. One of them stepped forward.

“Sakra already awaits you. Please follow me.”, he immediately began to move towards one of the many temples on the peak. Raja and Saji followed him in a normal tempo and it only took a short while until they reached a tall golden pagoda that seemed to reach out of the atmosphere into the space.

The monk then led them inside the pagoda and they began to climb an almost impossibly long staircase. Millions of steps and a few hours later they finally reached the top of the pagoda. Interestingly Saji did not feel tired or exhausted after the ridiculous number of stairs they had to take. In fact, the hours they had spend climbing the pagoda had calmed her previously confused mind and replaced the worries inside her heart with tranquility.

This was after all a Buddhist heaven, it would be strange if it did not have such an effect on her.

They had reached the very top of the pagoda, through the windows she could see the black infinity of space and the glittering light of the stars around them. It was a stunning, unreal sight, but not even close to the incredibleness of the hall itself.

Just as the rest of the pagoda it was made of pure gold with Buddhist scriptures and chants engraved into the walls. Some kind of red paint had been used to highlight the scriptures from the golden background. On the other side of the hall sat a single, tall buddha looking right at them. A tranquil smile played on his lips while his eyes were two churning galaxies that saw through everything in the world.

Raja walked forward and bowed.

“Amitabha, oh great ruler of Trayastri?sa. I Rajamtasja have come to call our temples to war in accordance to our agreement with the heavenly dragons of Jianghu, the human gods under the lead of the sleeping lady and the old emperor of the dwarfs.”, his voice echoed through the hall and for a short moment disturbed the serene silence.

(According to Buddhist believes, Sakra is the ruler of Trayastri?sa)

Sakra nodded.

“In accordance to the agreement I shall send the devas of Trayastri?sa into the fight against the old lady of the human court.”, his voice was faint, but it resounded inside Raja’s and Saji’s mind until it had reached an almost unbearable level.

“Furthermore,”, Sakra stood up from his cross-legged position and a golden radiance appeared around him. He took a step and small golden lotuses bloomed underneath his naked feet.

“The Buddhist faith shall mobilize every bodhisattva scattered in the mortal world in the fight against that old wrench!”, his words instantly shocked both Raja and Saji. How could a holy figure like the ruler of Trayastri?sa, a true holy deva, call someone a wretch?!

Sakra grinned as he saw their shocked expressions. “Did you thought that just because I am a buddha I cannot talk like a normal person? That wretch is somebody even Buddha Shakyamuni would immediately call a bitch! I don’t think there is any human loathed more then her!”, he continued to insult this mysterious woman.

(Buddha Shakyamuni is the historical buddha who is believed to have founded Buddhism around 600b.c )

With a mysterious glint in his eyes the grin disappeared from the holy Sakra’s face and was replaced by true and tangible tranquility. Unlike most people and even gods who could not achieve complete control over their own emotions, a Buddhist deva like him did not need to hide his emotions behind a mask. With but a thought he could become a asura of wrath or a buddha of tranquility.

(Asura are bloodthirsty demons that originate in the Hindu faith and were adapted into the Buddhist faith system. According to the believes a buddha can also turn into an asura.)

“I have to go and inform the other heavens about this matter. For now, you should both stay in Trayastri?sa until all of our forces have gathered!”

Sakra’s voice seemed to contain a certain magic as both Saji and Raja felt their thoughts blur and their minds become empty. Both calmly bowed and then went on their way down the tall pagoda. Only a few hours later when they finally reached the bottom of the pagoda did they wake up from this strange state.

It felt like they had been hypothesized.

The scary part was that even a powerful Buddhist deva such as Raja could not resist the strange magic Sakra had used.

Raja sighed. “In the end a little monk like me cannot compare to a Buddhist lord such as his holiness Sakra.”

Saji frowned but remained quiet. This Buddhist fraction was very different from what she had imagined.

“Raja… why do you all hate this ‘wrench’ and who is she?”, Saji suddenly asked.

Raja froze, and his expression turned uncomfortable. He really did not want to be the one who had to explain the situation to Saji. Ultimately, he sighed a second time. Dragging Saji to a secluded corner he made her sit on the steps of a small building.

“Fine I will explain it to you.”, he slowly said, clearly a little annoyed.

“Thank you!”, Saji said earnestly.

Raja wordlessly looked at her and shook his head.

“You have to know it either way. It was just a question of time before one of us had to explain this matters to you.

Where do I begin?”, he thought for a moment.

“This whole situation is due to a conflict that started almost five hundred years ago and involved the different human factions that are represented in the city of a billion names. Since many millennia there has been a council that represents the human kind in front of the other races and decides the actions our race takes against certain matters of great importance.

This council is called the human council and was led by one of oldest human gods, a god who had grasped a truth that according to many has already been forgotten in the sands of time. He was one of the most powerful beings in existence rivaling the likes of the first gods that were born as representations of the elements.

He, the ‘old man’ of humanity, is also Ji’s teacher.”

Saji was shocked. This was the first time she found out that Ji had a teacher. In fact, this was most likely the first time she found out anything about this mysterious god. Despite her shock she remained quiet and allowed Raja to continue his explanation.

“Unfortunately, the ‘old man’ was an eccentric and had an odd temper. He would often do things no one could understand and offended many factions by making decisions that seemed unreasonable to them. Because of this the council soon divided into two factions, one that supported the ‘old man’ and another one that supported the goddess that is now known as the lady of the council.

A good part of the human gods under the lead of the sleeping lady, my Buddhist faction and a number of smaller human factions including the Ta-clan supported the ‘old man’ together with the heavenly dragons and the dwarves who had a long history with the human council.

On the other hand, the Daoist faction, the magi and another half of the human gods had gathered under the banner of the lady and attempted to overthrow the ‘old man’.

At this time Ji was still just a mortal on the verge of godhood so he had no way to interfere into the situation, the ‘old man’ however could have fought for his position. In fact, both factions were already gathering their forces and preparing for a full-blown war.

In the end however the ‘old man’ chose to disappear and leave the position to the lady of the council, bringing all factions who had supported him into an awkward situation that persisted until now. We had a deep enmity towards the lady of the council so there was no way we could take part in the human council and because of this we further separated from the other human factions.

After enduring for a few hundred years we chose to send Ji, the disciple of the former leader, to negotiate a solution to this persisting problem. We hoped to end this conflict, yet this slut actually dared to attack and nearly kill Ji!

After 500 years all of us hate her to an extent difficult to imagine for others. This time we will go to war. This time blood will soak the city and we will present her severed head to the ‘old man’ and Ji!”

…..

“You have to stop this!”, inside a hidden room located inside a low-key building on the edge of the great city, an old man spoke to Tian. He had an imposing presence and the faint aura he radiated was both powerful and dangerous. Yet as he was talking to Tian he was earnestly asking as an old friend.

“I cannot do this Ryujin and you know that!”, Tian gravely shook his head.

(Ryujin is the Japanese dragon god and deity of the ocean. In japan dragons wield the power of the ocean and often times dragons are thought to be the incarnations of rivers.)

“It is to late to resolve the situation. Blood has already been spilled on both sides! The only way to end this conflict is by killing many more!”, Tian’s eyes were cold and bloodthirsty.

The old man called Ryujin had a very serious expression.

“You know what will happen if you clash right now. The city is not prepared for a war of this magnitude. Millions of innocents will die as collateral damages! I don’t care what you or the humans do to each other, but I cannot allow you to endanger every single being inside the city!”, his voice was faint, but it carried strength and determination.

Tian wordlessly stared at him. He shook his head.

“You really think it is in my power to stop this?”, he asked a little helpless.

Ryujin frowned.

“Blood will flow and neither you, me or any other force can stop it from happening!”

“There has to be a way!”, Ryujin could not accept this kind of answer.

Tian laughed, but it was a flat and joyless laughter.

“Even if you combined all other factions within the city, do you honestly believe you can match even one of the two factions you want to stop?”, Tian once again shook his head.

“Wait, brother. Wait until we have sorted out things. Then, and only then you can act!”