Pathway

And with flaps of her wings using the divine evasive technique, she was out of the passage. Only to find herself in another section where she was met with the booming voice, teasingly.

"Zhang Xiu Ying. Yes, a true demigod. We know of you. How you become, and who you become. We very well know of your becoming. But do you?"

Heaviness descended on Zhang Xiu Ying the moment she entered the hallway. Everywhere around her turned dark, except a spot at her front where she saw a replica of herself. The white armour, fiery wings, and blazing sword. She had a dreadful feeling about the sword she was holding, and quickly put it away.

"Wise indeed, Zhang Xiu Ying. In here, we will show you something about yourself, and you will tell us what you see."

Her image reverted backward to an image of a cluster of billions of bright stars connected by pulsating threads. As she watched, she saw a single ray of white light, entering the clusters of stars, and fell upon a particular star. The star started to shine brighter than the rest, breaking away from the cluster and entered a place where the stars were not just bright like itself, but were blazing.

The blazing stars completely ignored the little bright star whose light appeared too dim compared to them. Feeling left out, the little star departed from that place and came to another place where the stars were massive in sizes, and with blazing light. Here also, the little star was put aside. The star then journeyed from there to a different place. At this place, the little star couldn't see the former clusters of stars, also couldn't see the light from the second set of stars, and could only see specks of light from the third set of stars.

The star looked up, and saw billions of star clusters, bigger and brighter than the last set of stars it had come across. The little star realized that he was even less than a speck here and became dejected before heading back the way it came. It was there for a long time staying on its own, when a single ray of white light entered the cluster again. But the little bright star was not interested in the light entering the cluster, but in the direction where the ray of light came from.

Thus, it left on a journey to find out the source of the light. It travelled days without end, but kept travelling. It passed the beautiful pond of a yellow light, but kept going. It came to the amazing river of a green light, and kept going. Next it passed the mesmerizing sea of a red light, but didn't stop. Still forging ahead, it came across the ravaging ocean of a blue light, but didn't give up.

Then one day, it came to a place where it met another tiny little star. It told the tiny little star that it was looking for a place where a single ray of light was coming from. The tiny little star sighed, and told the curious star that it was its job to send out the light.

But the curious star was not convinced that the tiny little star could do such a thing. Then the tiny little star showed its true might, and its size covered half of the heavens. The curious star became frightened to its core, but the mighty little star told the little bright star not to be. That itself still had many stars bigger and brighter than it. At that point, the curious star could only, but asked itself, where it really was among the stars.

When the mighty little star saw the curious little star's dejection, it said consolingly.

"I was once like you, little star. I had to come here to find out like yourself, what I was. For you to be here, you are deserving of being a heavenly star. So, why don't you enter and see where you can truly be."

The star entered a mortal womb where it became a true star shining brighter than ever before the image reverted back to Zhang Xiu Ying.

"Zhang Xiu Ying, where are you in the universe?"

"I am here with you."

With eyes full of tears, Zhang Xiu Ying answered.

"Clever, very clever. Where the universe put you, yet more with us. You may proceed."

Zhang Xiu Ying exited the place, and found herself outside the entrance to the valley of gods.

Then, the voice proceeded to ask her.

"Zhang Xiu Ying. Why are you here in the valley of the gods?"

"I want to be a heavenly demigod."

"Your wish is in the hand of the universe, Zhang Xiu Ying.

The light of a thousand colours descended on Zhang Xiu Ying at that moment.

"This is the light of manifestation. The universe's gift to you, Zhang Xiu Ying. You may leave now."

Zhang Xiu Ying found herself back in the hallway, and quickly left through the last exit. She came out at the other side of the valley of the gods, not far from where lord Primus was waiting.

Beaming with smiles, sometimes grinning and laughing, the titan lord couldn't contain his joy as he stared at the face of Zhang Xiu Ying.

"Let's go home, Xiu Ying. Let's go home."