Sun

The immortal Monkey King, resolute and inflexible like the mountain that carried him. Sun, the immortal mountain spirit born from a magical stone, wandered freely between heaven and earth until one day the cries of a group of pandas caught his attention. It was from them that he learned of the existence of death. Although confused by this sudden revelation, the pandas mistook him for the mountain deity. In particular, a little panda named Li Li fell in love with Sun and devoted his days to picking peaches for the Monkey King. But when a flash flood hit the panda village one day, Li Li was lost in the torrents while searching for peaches. Sun arrived too late, and despite the pleas of the other pandas, he was unable to bring his friend back from the dead. It was then that Sun suffered a loss for the first time. Unable to understand his grief, he fell into a deep sleep. Millennia have passed, and many more would have passed if Sun had not been awakened by a battle between dragons. After slaying the Black Dragon and unknowingly saving the Riverlands of Cadia, he questioned the Silver Dragon about immortality and finding his purpose. Instead of the answer he sought, the dragon gave him the name Sun and the task of being the guardian of the earth. But what does this imply? Sun was once again lost in thought... ===An immortal existence=== Before the cataclysmic upheaval awakened him, he had been asleep for millennia.

Deep in a long dream, he contemplated majestic waterfalls in all their splendor and hills adorned with flowery fauna. A little panda emerged from the green woods and called out to him. In the end, all these visions converged on a single butterfly, emerging from the confines of its sleeping reverie.

He has awakened now, a being born from the spiritual energy of the mountain, formed within the rocks and forged over millennia. His domain spanned the limitless expanse of creation, heaven and earth submitting to his whim, and his alone. But at the height of his celebrations, he finally discerned a deep and unknown emotion seeping into his existence. Perched on a solitary branch, he gazed for centuries at full moon nights, perplexed by the barely perceptible melancholy that threaded its way deep into his heart like a delicate thread.

"Great Monkey King! Look what I brought! I climbed to the highest peak and picked the plumpest peaches!" He looked at the bustling scene under the tree, and memories of that small figure, a little panda named Li Li, stirred within him. In the eternity of his existence, this moment marked a brief but significant interlude.

At that time, he roamed freely among the sprawling mountains between heaven and earth. The mysteries of its origin and final destination eluded him, but an unprecedented feeling of freedom enveloped him. It was only when a mournful wail fell on his ears that he was drawn to the black and white creatures, who were crying because of what they called "death." What was this “death”? Intrigued by this mysterious entity, he cast a single fleeting glance, and thus unknowingly became entangled in their story. In the story presented to him, the very essence of the mountain spirit had frozen into a stone, forming an immortal being, none other than himself, the great Monkey King.

At first, he brushed aside the disturbances and moved to another mountain peak, where he continued to rise early in the morning, drenched in dew, reveling in the isolation of the mountains. However, a small creature deep in the forest cried incessantly, invoking the Monkey King's name with persistent cries that echoed through the canopy, disturbing its peaceful solitude. Annoyed, but curious, he parted the thick veil of the forest and fell on the source of the tumult: his little limbs were damaged and worn out by incessant work. At that moment, their gazes intertwined and a radiant glow flickered in the creature's eyes.

Saving the creature and its kin from the raging torrent was enough of an afterthought. These creatures were marked by intractable stubbornness. Well aware of the merciless power of river floods during the rainy season, they nevertheless clung tenaciously to their meager homeland. The Monkey King had lived eons and developed miraculous abilities akin to godhood. Among his many skills was complete mastery of river diversion and the construction of shrines on rocking slopes. He passed on these skills not out of charity but solely out of a desire for peace and tranquility.

Yet a panda had a tenacity that exasperated the Monkey King. Day after day, he clumsily crossed the hills and valleys just to present to the Monkey King what he considered to be the finest peaches. It was an unwavering devotion that the Monkey King could not avoid.

Despite the Monkey King's initial irritation, as the days turned into seasons, he grew accustomed to the daily ritual of eating a perfectly ordinary peach, as well as the presence of the panda who had introduced himself as Li Li. The Monkey King even began to slightly enjoy their mundane conversations. Mortals possessed a primordial penchant for naming everything, and Li Li was no exception. He chattered endlessly, insisting that the Monkey King had a name. The pandas even named their village Spirit Creek. Invariably, Li Li always asked him the same question.

“Did you come up with a name today?”

"No, I don't need such things."

"I know you're the great immortal Monkey King, but that's not your name, is it? Everything in this world still needs a name."

It was really very upsetting. The Monkey King moved to a higher mountain and, as expected, the mornings became peaceful again. However, a particular desire began to awaken within him. He found himself drawn back from the once disruptive hustle and bustle, eagerly awaiting the arrival of this little panda who would defy all odds to cross the mountain forests. As the days passed in silence, his desire only intensified. He was suddenly seized with the urge to seek out Li Li and ask her why everything in the world had to have a name. It had become a maddening distress that had taken root within him.

However, as he came down from the mountain, he heard those pitiful groans again. But this time, it was Li Li who had succumbed to what the pandas lamented as death. Three days earlier, rain had caused another flood. The fierce roar of the currents could not reach the most distant peaks, and when the river carried Li Li away, he still clung to a peach. In his final moments, he reassured his friends, unwavering in his belief, that the Monkey King would surely come to his aid, for there was nothing the Monkey King could not do.

"You must be able to save Li Li, right? He believed in you! Please use your divine powers! We implore you, great Monkey King, please save him!" The Monkey King was frightened by his helplessness. What was life? What was death? How could he save Li Li when he couldn't even understand these concepts? Question after question swirled through his mind like a storm.

"I can't save him. I can't save anyone! I'm not a god, I'm... I'm..."

Who was he? He didn't even have a name.

" Leave me alone ! »

He ran forward, his mind consumed by the idea of ​​the permanence of death.

He fled to the north. But where was he going? Where do we go after death?

Then a revelation struck him like a bolt of lightning: the path north pointed to the very mountain of his birth. Did death mean he would never see Li Li venturing across the hills and rivers again?

One's birthplace, one's home held the power to console even the most broken souls... At least that's what he heard the pandas say one day.

He finally arrived at the place of his birth, where the broken stones from which he was born still stood atop the peak. He gathered them in a tight embrace, and in that moment, those cold, lifeless stones seemed to vibrate with palpable heat. He allowed himself to fall asleep and slept there for millennia, until the world convulsed and roared, waking him once more.

His consciousness plunged back into the upheaval that had awakened him. It turned out to be a black dragon, covered in blood and relentlessly crashing into a barrier that had inexplicably formed around it.

“Where did this annoying fly come from?”

He defeated the dragon only to see the arrival of another, identical in appearance but silver instead of black. However, this one wasn't there to fight. The silver dragon began to explain what had happened while the Monkey King slept and how the land had changed greatly over the ages. Crowds of refugees had fled the ravages of war and sought refuge here. The silver dragon seemed to be a guardian responsible for their safety. However, a schism had torn him and his brothers apart. For the sake of these mortals, the silver dragon had no choice but to suppress his own kin, a painful duty that had inadvertently caused a cataclysmic vortex in the northern sea. In light of this calamity, the silver dragon had decided to calm the storm with its own body.

The Monkey King, who was now fully awake, listened half-heartedly while gathering his own thoughts. What was the meaning of existence for an immortal like him? He still hadn't found the answer in all his sleep. But before him stood the silver dragon, apparently sharing the same fate.

Perhaps this creature could reveal the answers to the questions that had eluded it. "Since I helped you, answer this question for me. You're an immortal, aren't you? Do you ever get bored of just... existing?"

The dragon laughs. It had been ages since anyone had asked such a question, and never so bluntly. The last one to inquire... well, that's a story for another day. The story now focused on the stone monkey.

"Fate weaves its tapestry for all living beings, guided by the hand of fate. Yet you and I, unbound by life or death, are exempt from their mortal suffering. Thus, it is our sacred duty to protect the world, the cycle of life, and the fleeting moments between them. Stay vigilant here, and when the time is right, I will reveal to you the truth you seek."

"Wait, who are you? How do you know all this?"

The dragon had already disappeared into the waves, leaving behind ripples that spiraled into the vortex. "Allow me to grant you a name," an echoing voice sounded, "One that embraces the cosmos of existence. As guardian of this realm, your name will embrace all. You will be known as 'Sun'." As the sea began to calm down after the dragon descended, Sun's heart also regained a sense of serenity. But then he realized...

"What kind of answer was that? That's complete nonsense! I was just tricked into standing guard here. Well, I have a name now, but how is it written? All that about the cosmos and such... it's gibberish to me."

After muttering for a while, Sun settled back down on the same rock. This time he looked up at the sky, as if hearing a familiar voice. How he longed to see Li Li again so he could finally tell her his name.