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The twilight sun shone brightly upon the horizon as the sun slowly set. Xiaotian sat upon the cliff, kicking his feet back and forth, staring at the glimmering waves crashing upon the rocks just 20-ish feet beneath him.
He sat there, not with a smile at the gorgeous view, or even a face of slight relief at the victory he'd secured only a few days prior, but rather a face of concern and fear. He held his palms up to his chest area and turned them around to inspect both sides, as if he needed to check something, to prove he was still... human. He let out a sigh of relief, although he didn't sound as relieved as he did fearful... But at least for now... he was free. Free from destiny, free from chaos, free from... himself.
Xiaotian tried to think of anything good, like the beach day they all shared, but that day, that one day, the damned eternal day, that day which lives on in his memories... Azure... The way I failed to do my only job in life, and could've let the whole world be destroyed because of something I caused because I had to open that damned stupid scroll... I could have lost everything and everyone...
As he sat, contemplating his victory which followed his horrendous failure, the same words, the same thoughts, kept echoing in his head, creeping into his soul as though it was a neverending darkness. And for what felt like an eternity, all he could think of was pain, of the bigger game he's a pawn in, of the game Azure was nothing but a pawn in, of destiny, of chaos, of that which I am said to be the harbinger of, of the endless turmoil, the wars and plagues and darknesses and all the suffering and endless pain and the eternity of darkness and how destiny cannot be undone and how pain is inevitable and-
Suddenly, from seemingly out of nowhere, the Six-Eared Macaque appeared, likely via shadow travel, but who knows, maybe the lovely fellow walked or flew, or was there the whole time behind a bush, the possibilities really are limitless with this guy. "Hey bud, you okay?" Xiaotian nearly jumped hearing that, which would admittedly be unfortunate seeing as he was sat upon the edge of a cliff right above the water.
"O-oh. Heyyy uhm. Bud?" Xiaotian responded nervously.
"Iiiiis everything alright ooor-"
Xiaotian craved to tell the truth, yet only said his false reassurances, his "yeah no I'm good... totally fine!", which was fooling no one.
Xiaotian, despite the tempting offer to tell the truth, to say no, to cry out for help, to ask for someone to listen, to vent his frustrations, to scream, to cry, to beg, sat there silently, prompting the ever-concerned Macaque to sit down next to him.
The two sat in silence for quite some time, and at one point, Xiaotian tried opening his mouth to speak, yet couldn't find the courage to do so, to call out for help, so he kept his mouth shut and tried drowning the fears out by humming a familiar tune, one he thinks of when he hears of the familiar tales of his mentor, and his new adventures, my adventures that screw everything up and hurt people and can ruin lives, HAS ruined lives even...
"The moon... sure is gorgeous tonight, ey bud?" Macaque playfully said, elbowing Xiaotian's arm. "Y'know, I actually met Chang'e once, Goddess of the moon and all, she's quite fun to be around-" but the words just trailed off. As Macaque rambled about his experiences with the Goddess, Xiaotian contemplated more, because Heaven forbid this kid DOESN'T have existential crises at like, age 30-something. (How old is this kid? Hello, other narrators, how old is this kid?)
The moon sure is gorgeous... the moon, the stars, and the cosmos... so far... so distant... so grand... so unknowable... Could something as crucial to life as the moon ever just... quit? Could something so grand, so powerful, just give up one day, and abandon all it's meant to be? DESTINY CANNOT BE UNDONE. Would it? Would it leave its familiar home, the sun and the Earth and the Solar System, for a better life, one where it can't affect those around it? HARBINGER OF CHAOS. Can one be so truly noble, to lose all they know, just to protect those they love? LOOK AT WHAT HE'S DONE TO YOU. REDUCED YOU TO A MINDLESS, SAVAGE ANIMAL. Can one break free from what they are, and live solely in the smaller picture of life? DO NOT LAMENT YOUR FATE CHILD. DESTINY HAD FOUND YOU.
All of these thoughts raced throughout Xiaotian's mind, and his face clearly displayed the great dismay he was in, as Macaque perked up and placed his hand on Xiaotian's shoulder. "Kid... is everything alright? You're not exactly yourself today..."
Xiaotian looked up at Macaque again, this time Macaque could clearly tell something was off, like, tremendously so, as he peered into Xiaotian's dark brown eyes. He saw fear, he saw pain, he saw agony...
"I... I don't even know... It's just been so much lately... Everything's been a blur to me... Ever since we fought the Lady Bone Demon and won... I've been feeling haunted by the words she said, and I feel like, after everything that's happened lately... what she said feels truer than ever before..."
"I get what you mean, bud. Really, I do. The Lady Bone Demon has a pesky talent for being right about a lot of things, things we wish we could avoid...