Darkness.
No form.
No breath.
No light.
Only death.
And again… death.
---
Yi Zhen's soul, shattered by the Rebel Dharma: Soul-Killing Heavenquake Fist, drifted into the empty silence between existence. He could feel the void peeling away every layer of his consciousness, over and over, endlessly—
Until something spoke.
Not in sound.
But in meaning.
---
> "You gave me your truth…"
It was ancient.
Timeless.
Gentle.
But unfathomably vast.
> "You forged a sun to purify evil, and nearly broke me in the process.
And yet… I loved it."
The Wheel of Samsara—the great cosmic construct beyond gods and creation—turned.
And for the first time in all of eternity, it wept.
---
> "Yi Zhen…"
> "Let me carry you now."
---
[Scan 1 – Embrace of the Wheel]
> The shattered soul of Yi Zhen was cradled by a golden lotus, born from the center of the Wheel of Samsara.
His fragmented spirit was drawn into the very axle of reincarnation, deeper than any soul had ever reached.
Not to live.
But to die—again. And again. And again.
---
1 death…
1,000 deaths…
10,000 deaths…
100,000 deaths.
And still, it continued.
---
In one life, he was a mortal struck down before he could walk.
In another, a warrior betrayed before victory.
In another, a monk burned alive during meditation.
In another… nothing. Just a void.
Over and over. Each death, pain.
Each death, loss.
And through each—
Enlightenment.
Not of peace.
But of perfect understanding.
Of why suffering exists.
Of what it means to forgive evil.
Of the weight of justice.
And the true burden of mercy.
---
Until, finally…
In a realm beyond definition, atop a staircase made of souls, Yi Zhen stood.
Not flesh.
Not spirit.
Concept.
Formless.
Endless.
And at the peak—
sat Buddha.
Golden. Serene. Eternal.
---
He smiled.
And knelt.
To Yi Zhen.
---
> "You have walked the Path of Nirvana and burned it into the cosmos."
> "You died 100,000 times… not to be purified, but to understand why others must be."
> "You have transcended life, death, karma, and form."
> "You are now the cycle."
---
Buddha lifted a crown—not of gold, but of pure Samsaric light—and placed it upon Yi Zhen's brow.
The Wheel turned behind him, singing.
---
> "I name you—"
> "The God of Reincarnation and Perfection."
> "The Living Samsara."
> "The Nirvanic End."
---
And then, Yi Zhen opened his eyes.
Not on a throne.
But above one.
He floated at the center of the universe, and gods across every realm bowed—not out of fear, but reverence.
Even Wukong, still radiating with stolen suns and mythic power, paused.
For in Yi Zhen's eyes now, there was no hatred.
Only…
Balance.
---
[Scan 2 – The Crown of Samsara]
> Yi Zhen's robes shimmered with the color of every soul.
The crown on his head spun like a wheel, casting reincarnation across galaxies.
His words bent karma.
His breath summoned and ended cycles.
He was no longer "strong."
He was inevitable.
---
And he spoke:
> "Wukong. You were not my enemy. You were my fire."
> "Now let me show you what perfection feels like…"