840Please respect copyright.PENANA9k0ng1w1NK
So this840Please respect copyright.PENANAM9vSzfq6WJ
is finally it.840Please respect copyright.PENANATfRWaoxOMb
840Please respect copyright.PENANAiOjgs9Liqo
840Please respect copyright.PENANA6jpbTBmQkM
840Please respect copyright.PENANACh9SQN1x3M
A man in rags stood in front of the gate. The gate to where it all began and840Please respect copyright.PENANA6TB9MdzFwK
where it would all end. A thousand steps it took him but he was reluctant to840Please respect copyright.PENANAGRXNZ8nqZd
take the last step. After all who'd be willing to walk to their deaths.840Please respect copyright.PENANAcrJrVf98Yv
840Please respect copyright.PENANAZUEs4G51LL
840Please respect copyright.PENANAm2kAhePIaZ
840Please respect copyright.PENANASeTRsiue6g
Yet his mind was ready. His body steeled. The man took the hood off his head to840Please respect copyright.PENANALfdqlUm7mD
reveal an aged face. With many wrinkles and more scars. He took a deep breath.840Please respect copyright.PENANAtwfjVUjbDF
Breathing in the fresh mountain air and the bloomed sakura trees. This beauty,840Please respect copyright.PENANAxHbfEyEwSp
he wondered if he'd be able to appreciate this picturesque view after...840Please respect copyright.PENANAmRyCjADWc9
840Please respect copyright.PENANAoiNMqcMZMW
840Please respect copyright.PENANAcO1sTPuHhc
840Please respect copyright.PENANAf0KysX3iaP
"I have finally come my brothers." Finally he took that last840Please respect copyright.PENANAmFYJlgekmE
step and knocked, three times. First time, for the beginning, second time, for840Please respect copyright.PENANAE3jOh5rzkA
the journey, third time, for the end. One second, two seconds, three...The gate840Please respect copyright.PENANALVcL3AOO4Y
opened, with a creak echoing through all the mountains.840Please respect copyright.PENANAA81pJXZhns
840Please respect copyright.PENANAJYVHeKy2pl
840Please respect copyright.PENANATqS2DtN44K
840Please respect copyright.PENANAuNHvuX6TZI
"Who goes there?" A voice boomed.840Please respect copyright.PENANA5eVDbUCnbB
840Please respect copyright.PENANA293oPRMVxc
840Please respect copyright.PENANAILyS5yoCje
840Please respect copyright.PENANAMtSLp1d4sj
"I have come for my rest, as my master before me and his master before840Please respect copyright.PENANAY9qgJtMT0d
him."840Please respect copyright.PENANA2pyMMhRAY9
840Please respect copyright.PENANAuRHo3FEask
840Please respect copyright.PENANAvnAOAmc0wQ
840Please respect copyright.PENANAlHGhE2e7wf
"What're you called?" The voice asked once again.840Please respect copyright.PENANAWiPqa8QMfZ
840Please respect copyright.PENANApyYvNvFGOS
840Please respect copyright.PENANAlQAMkGMRiV
840Please respect copyright.PENANAn5kGosU3o5
"I am Serene Dancer. 10th Master of the Golden Columns."840Please respect copyright.PENANAzD1gqGbdqe
840Please respect copyright.PENANANFvSWaX152
840Please respect copyright.PENANAj1IjwtYlBw
840Please respect copyright.PENANAZInQtW8gOx
"You may pass."840Please respect copyright.PENANAMEPMLh72bX
840Please respect copyright.PENANAcgvILcp7c7
840Please respect copyright.PENANAHDkcSics8w
840Please respect copyright.PENANAQwSuhZsqLe
Serene840Please respect copyright.PENANAEYAIjdjeAw
Dancer passed the threshold. He knew he could've done so before hand but840Please respect copyright.PENANAlUm8iy1y2X
traditions were important. Especially in this sacred place. Tradition...how big840Please respect copyright.PENANA8lxwJHXSki
part of his life has that been ever since he joined the Golden Columns. 840Please respect copyright.PENANA7tTCwK7cqo
How it moulded him, made him the man he was today. Should he be proud, or840Please respect copyright.PENANAEPnKSeTDMR
should he be ashamed? He could not truly answer that.840Please respect copyright.PENANAzCcs8xiyCV
840Please respect copyright.PENANAyCrzzbWju1
But the840Please respect copyright.PENANAzGu9cA0xwy
being atop the stairs would. The stairs that begun from the gates all the way840Please respect copyright.PENANAXfQ1IqlrUo
up to the Kami Temple. It was truly majestic, Serene Dancer could not help but840Please respect copyright.PENANAgIEvptQCvj
take a few moments to appreciate it. But he knew he could not wait any840Please respect copyright.PENANAgLm04gI1VO
longer. He had to keep going.840Please respect copyright.PENANAMQRldcxU8O
840Please respect copyright.PENANAlmMNEfaWoJ
First840Please respect copyright.PENANAo39n2lAHZ4
step, ten steps...twenty...Serene Dancer counted each and every last step.840Please respect copyright.PENANAS6zYAvI6xT
Taking in every last blade of grass and pebble, until he reached the main840Please respect copyright.PENANAnyJNLpHEdN
temple with their grand doors open.840Please respect copyright.PENANAXHzSZWn2Ku
840Please respect copyright.PENANA1NjBEKVVh9
The first840Please respect copyright.PENANABTUoTxbUm5
step tentative, each one helped Serene Dancer gather more courage, until he840Please respect copyright.PENANATapNWc9kIS
entered the temple itself. Inside the temple was darkness, with a path of840Please respect copyright.PENANAEbD4AiDNiu
light leading further in. 840Please respect copyright.PENANAfoycoe8yZp
840Please respect copyright.PENANAWuEg7aP4my
840Please respect copyright.PENANAcm14TheAr4
840Please respect copyright.PENANAx410CbatrO
Serene Dancer was surprised, he was expecting splendour. Beauty to match the840Please respect copyright.PENANAriFvhOKN12
outside, but the darkness felt as if it would swallow you whole. It felt as if840Please respect copyright.PENANALadMT5KrZs
Serene Dancer would lose his mind inside this darkness and would be forever840Please respect copyright.PENANAKkq4yFuA80
trapped.840Please respect copyright.PENANAdREIZX8lar
840Please respect copyright.PENANAvqtxxSNlgY
840Please respect copyright.PENANArimVhNCZvP
840Please respect copyright.PENANAyynpvDr2TT
"Calm840Please respect copyright.PENANAmM3pLEMFXr
mind, calm spirit. The great one shall guide you." His mantra. He kept840Please respect copyright.PENANA3JPPUK9Trk
repeating those words until he had renewed courage to challenge the darkness.840Please respect copyright.PENANAT11LvC7AJ1
The courage did not come But he knew he could not turn back, thus muttering the840Please respect copyright.PENANAQV19KO7CKg
words under his breath he followed the path of light.840Please respect copyright.PENANAmZQ0lE9rSi
840Please respect copyright.PENANAczcu6eQ6B7
He walked840Please respect copyright.PENANAS2iU7aWBdm
and walked, ten minutes, twenty an hour. "Calm mind, calm spirit..."840Please respect copyright.PENANAFPFEkVNtwq
The only words echoing in the darkness. As it kept encroaching the path of840Please respect copyright.PENANAvRKvCPDObC
light, dwindling it down. 840Please respect copyright.PENANA6mmKncEXqg
840Please respect copyright.PENANAPHcbinIQAP
"Enough."840Please respect copyright.PENANAX2dEVaGkEs
A voice joined Serene Dancer's prayers as the darkness retreated from the path840Please respect copyright.PENANABbfyD11hgi
and revealed a figure sitting upon a throne, shining so brightly that it overtook840Please respect copyright.PENANA62S3BAytKD
the darkness and there was only light.840Please respect copyright.PENANAj1uYeZN8ma
840Please respect copyright.PENANAtaJlY1B0QX
"You840Please respect copyright.PENANAy3WbRHP59G
have come far, Bongzhon."840Please respect copyright.PENANA4pqJEGRFiQ
840Please respect copyright.PENANAgB4NW3cD7M
Serene840Please respect copyright.PENANAFRSrbjmpRf
Dancer wept, for he was so overwhelmed by the sheer presence.840Please respect copyright.PENANAVqxUXS3CcE
840Please respect copyright.PENANArzZInzQyqI
"Come,840Please respect copyright.PENANAEptWq3mdC9
let us talk." Serene Dancer felt his legs move on their own as he walked840Please respect copyright.PENANAD00qErHmaw
closer to God. Upon reaching the light he bent his knees, laying his, bald,840Please respect copyright.PENANAWavFpmbVNI
head down until his forehead touched the path of light.840Please respect copyright.PENANAxrEtOIz77A
840Please respect copyright.PENANAYqBrhqNzzq
"You,840Please respect copyright.PENANAUCXGrp2TpU
as many before you, have come to be judged. Do you swear to accept my840Please respect copyright.PENANAIrti9gS5pF
judgement, whatever it may be"840Please respect copyright.PENANApeW1m9S4lC
840Please respect copyright.PENANAbgpsC3lGu5
"I840Please respect copyright.PENANAN1CDujPgMd
do so swear." Serene Dancer's voice sounded so tiny, so miniscule in his840Please respect copyright.PENANAVTFy32SjS8
ears. Especially compared to the voice of god.840Please respect copyright.PENANAMtJGawsDRw
840Please respect copyright.PENANA9UMFOr1Vl5
"Very,840Please respect copyright.PENANAvpP6eRN8PE
well. Raise your head." As he did so, God's shape began to change,840Please respect copyright.PENANAhUgsA7td6o
morphing into something else, something smaller. Until the light stopped fluctuating840Please respect copyright.PENANA8uiJMSSvyF
and a small boy appeared out of the light.840Please respect copyright.PENANA95uwd4EVBI
840Please respect copyright.PENANACGozLMnBi2
"This840Please respect copyright.PENANAas9esozuVO
is the past you." Voice still unchanged. "Tell me why did you decide840Please respect copyright.PENANAHS1rKsQqD8
to join your order at such a young age?"840Please respect copyright.PENANAoJ9jZUVxrj
840Please respect copyright.PENANAR8gqlOmAok
Serene840Please respect copyright.PENANAjdQfnRQR25
Dancer sat in silence for a while, gathering his thoughts. "I wanted more840Please respect copyright.PENANArA5lKfCG5c
out of my life. My parents were honest people, but poor. They were not able to840Please respect copyright.PENANAr8HnlWwmMp
provide for me and my siblings..."840Please respect copyright.PENANAzlGODr5lBP
840Please respect copyright.PENANALc586jYyhI
"Is840Please respect copyright.PENANAKGrs5fQ0f2
that why you abandoned them without saying a word?" Gods words cut through840Please respect copyright.PENANAIc15DUILol
Serene Dancer's as if knife cutting butter. "Do you know that they have840Please respect copyright.PENANAXPul0dWMfg
spent years searching for you? That they blamed themselves for your disappearance?840Please respect copyright.PENANAGpB9aAsV1L
They died, 10 years after you joined the order. Thinking they have failed you,840Please respect copyright.PENANA2VL5ZJZiod
leaving your siblings on their own. They are all dead now aswell."840Please respect copyright.PENANAa9Ud3uiBoq
840Please respect copyright.PENANA6LxGuFVs9Q
Serene840Please respect copyright.PENANAxwDVhbmv1n
Dancer sat in contemplation. It was his family, but it has been so long ago840Please respect copyright.PENANAb6bWdgUsCU
since he stopped being Bongzhon that it mattered little to him. The loss of840Please respect copyright.PENANAH6lPxIQB9X
life was horrible, but it was all in the past.840Please respect copyright.PENANAiX6s82lWKI
840Please respect copyright.PENANAM5EoNLqv50
"Do840Please respect copyright.PENANAqs1TqKV8uE
you still believe you have made the correct choice? Of abandoning your family840Please respect copyright.PENANA7wAS6r92sZ
leading them to ruin?"840Please respect copyright.PENANA3iVvjtB6QT
840Please respect copyright.PENANApkOqQpVaHF
"Yes."840Please respect copyright.PENANAT9nTHUCehQ
Was the only word Serene Dancer said, for that life would lead to ruin whether840Please respect copyright.PENANAlyV8tDHgAg
he would've stayed or not.840Please respect copyright.PENANAGMlvmTNuFk
840Please respect copyright.PENANA2T463crzAe
"Very840Please respect copyright.PENANAid4AKZeA5C
well." The light changed form again. This time to a grown man. With well840Please respect copyright.PENANANBUWj75LYE
developed muscles and a shaved head. "This is you when you have taken the840Please respect copyright.PENANA6U8nShmDdY
mantle of master. Tell me, do you believe you were worthy?"840Please respect copyright.PENANAJ3MaxuyCD8
840Please respect copyright.PENANAGLWa0ICAew
"I840Please respect copyright.PENANAD31SL0mzac
do." For believing otherwise would be dishonouring the choice made by840Please respect copyright.PENANAmQIUbxQVb3
everyone who chose him. The mantle of master is passed on through vote. With840Please respect copyright.PENANAT1kcTKQt3q
everyone in the order eligible to vote, from the youngest acolyte to the840Please respect copyright.PENANALxAfHdjtYe
hardened elder. Serene Dancer would respect their choice.840Please respect copyright.PENANAJtDGO54nT5
840Please respect copyright.PENANAbNgmXXmHwV
"And840Please respect copyright.PENANAbIBCeb793V
what of your choices? Would you do anything else or do you believe you were840Please respect copyright.PENANAHu0hpWheBs
perfect in your role?"840Please respect copyright.PENANAm8QPChY7Za
840Please respect copyright.PENANAwsympIlI74
"I840Please respect copyright.PENANAOWhuOgH5eF
was not the perfect master, but I would not change any of the choices I840Please respect copyright.PENANAWVT34Z8lZM
made." Before, the answer would've been yes. But not anymore. Did all his840Please respect copyright.PENANAuQxOSrHXCB
choices lead to a good conclusion? No. But they were his choices and he would840Please respect copyright.PENANA8u8k6Wh6Cr
stand by them.840Please respect copyright.PENANAkq7iJKo7QB
840Please respect copyright.PENANAxLIgWbtO9F
"Good."840Please respect copyright.PENANAmoxAikUkbv
A shift again, and this time Serene Dancer saw an older man. A man with a bent840Please respect copyright.PENANAa9m2TN1Es5
down posture and beard that only ended at the waist. A man who had both840Please respect copyright.PENANA1GI0TGEBV4
wrinkles and scars on his face. A man that was him.840Please respect copyright.PENANAPzFQFZYROl
840Please respect copyright.PENANAiYDxYwk6AQ
"This840Please respect copyright.PENANAnw9xtNXEui
is you now, with all of your experience and wisdom you have gained. Tell me,840Please respect copyright.PENANA2MKloj5Pde
why did you decide to rest now?"840Please respect copyright.PENANAIAZXsIAvVD
840Please respect copyright.PENANAIfpU22FaCu
"Because840Please respect copyright.PENANA0pFgGsSACJ
I am tired." Tired of seeing his friends die, tired of seeing people in a840Please respect copyright.PENANAgm9uM5uNKh
cycle of poverty and violence, tired of seeing the young ones deny tradition840Please respect copyright.PENANAEITBU8NKmg
and stray further away from the righteous path. His time has come to an end.840Please respect copyright.PENANApAdXa1lDlh
840Please respect copyright.PENANAwzaHRKkK6H
"Any840Please respect copyright.PENANAfVh2X395ri
last words before I begin my judgement?"840Please respect copyright.PENANAtZEcbFtHkw
840Please respect copyright.PENANAeaxhaE0hA4
"No."840Please respect copyright.PENANA6JS1jmSGVP
Serene Dancer cleared his mind, it was time to let go. 840Please respect copyright.PENANAiqtez72CJM
840Please respect copyright.PENANAJsw3S49MVu
"Bongzhon,840Please respect copyright.PENANAw8pbYnScUY
Serene Dancer, I have judged you worthy of the land of light. Go and find your840Please respect copyright.PENANAEUSwg8guOm
rest."840Please respect copyright.PENANA2SGrow7r9J
840Please respect copyright.PENANAFCHQ8FvF1I
The light840Please respect copyright.PENANAnUfP43oWaJ
enveloped Serene Dancer, as he felt it's light touch and warmth. He felt840Please respect copyright.PENANAGCwccUVwhr
his body slowly disappearing as it joined the light and he felt, for the first840Please respect copyright.PENANAkoLdnwdP9u
time in decades, happy and in peace.840Please respect copyright.PENANAsOi8T4WLtu
840Please respect copyright.PENANAfVYqPLNC9p
840Please respect copyright.PENANAp2itmRoEO7
840Please respect copyright.PENANAc0VW3vg9oN
840Please respect copyright.PENANAqKBxdfzcYk
840Please respect copyright.PENANAIZ7RclbERU
840Please respect copyright.PENANAcKVSKK1GEx
840Please respect copyright.PENANAEC8fqpnKuM