"Fatherrrrr, Motherrrrr, I'm here!" Tian skidded into the room noisily, announcing her (and her brother's) presence in case her parents did not notice her.
She was beyond excited.
At a young age, Tian had learned to read and from there, a passion for books sprouted. She found it fascinating that so much information could be gleaned from those few printed pages. She loved learning new things and devoured every book she could find in the Celestial Realm. Her parents indulged her in her passion because they too believed that knowledge is power and it was not a bad thing to like reading compared to other vices she could have picked up instead.
Having read numerous stories about the Human Realm, Tian believed that when it is her turn to reincarnate, it would be the adventure of her lifetime. Her brother refused to tell her anything about his reincarnation, claiming that she would find out when it is her turn. That air of mystery enveloping Immortal Gods' reincarnation to the unknown Human Realm fuelled her curiosity and that desire to learn more about the Human Realm burned strongly in her.
"Is it my turn already? Is it? Is it?” Hopping up and down, she could barely contain her excitement.
"Calm down my dear. Let your father have a chance to speak. Look at him, his mouth is opening and closing like a goldfish." Tian's mother, the Empress of the Celestial Realm, shook her head in amusement at her daughter and laughed at her husband who could not find a chance to speak. The all great Celestial Emperor who could command the most powerful Celestial Beings stood no chance against his daughter.
"Sorry. Hehe. I will stand at attention and listen to my dearest Father." Tian grinned and reined in her excitement to allow her father a chance to speak.
“Thank you my dearest daughter for allowing your father to speak." The Celestial Emperor sighed in exhaustion, practically re-enacting the scene between Yun and Tian in Tian’s room just now.
He received a cheeky grin in return.
Shaking his head ever so slightly, he returned to the original topic - the reason he called for Tian.
“Ah yes.. Your time for your First Reincarnation has arrived. BUT before I send you off to the Human Realm, there are some things you need to know. Every one of the Immortal Gods has gone through this cycle, Yun-er, your mother and even myself. Firstly, my little sky*, you have to know that the Human Realm is not what you imagine. It contains all kinds of good and evil, which makes it a very dangerous place. When humans' souls are tainted by their greed and desires, they will go to no ends to achieve their desires. Even if it means getting their hands tainted by death.”
“But..” That was not the Human Realm Tian knew of. The Human Realm in the books she read described humans stepping up as heroes to vanquish evil beings and being the upholder of justice and all things good. She found it difficult to believe what her father was saying but she knew that her father will never be wrong. Even though she acts cheeky and bold in front of her parents, deep down inside, her father the Celestial Emperor is a figure she respects immensely.
However before she could continue her sentence, her father was already going on. It was then that she heard something that surprised her so much she stood there for a solid minute in shocked silence.
“Wait, wait..! Father can I ask you to repeat that last line again, please?”
“I said, your memories will be erased anyway so these information is just for you to know now.”
“WHAT?!”
The shout rang through the entire palace. If this was a cartoon or an anime, you would see birds flying off startled from the loud and sudden shout.
Tian could not believe her ears. She always thought that she would be going down to the Human Realm with all her memories intact, armed with the information on the Human Realm that she gathered through the many years in the Celestial Realm. Her high confidence in going down to the Human Realm was because she thought she would be all prepared for any sort of experience. No wonder her brother refused to tell her anything. He knew she would react like this and was waiting to see her reaction to this piece of news.
She shot a glance over to where her brother was standing and could see him snickering to himself, trying to hold in his laughter at her reaction. She knew it!! As much as Yun loves his sister, he loves teasing her as well. They had a very comfortable sibling relationship where they had laughs at the expense of one another and also cared for each other greatly.
“Tian-er, how many times have I told you not to shout like that? You’re disturbing the other people living in the castle. And it’s bad for my ageing ears.” the Empress admonished her, wincing at the impact of the shout on her ears.
“Sorry Mother. Tian-er will keep that in mind. But Mother, you’re immortal anyway… Are you sure you are ageing?” Even after sincerely apologising, Tian could not help adding the last line in reply to the Empress’ comment.
Before her mother could reprimand her again, Tian turned towards her father seriously.
“Father, I do not understand. If my memories will be erased, how am I going to be able to experience life in the Human Realm without any knowledge on what I am going to face?”
“See, my little sky. This is where you do not understand the purpose of the First Reincarnation. It is meant for Immortal Gods to experience life as a human to be able to better understand the beings that we, as Gods, sovereign over. If you do not understand the people who turn to you for help, who prays to you, who looks to you to lead them, how are you going to be able to be a proper God to them? Even if we are all-powerful and supposedly all-knowing, without experiencing and feeling it for ourself, we will not be able to truly understand people who are not like us. The erasing of memories and the rebirth is to allow you to start from scratch as one of them. To learn and to feel what it means to be a human. Subsequent reincarnations are voluntary dependent on yourself and your purpose. By then, you would have already learnt what you need to about the Human Realm from the First Reincarnation. That’s why for subsequent reincarnations, you are allowed to keep your memories."
Patiently, the Celestial Emperor taught his daughter the meaning behind the First Reincarnation. He knew that not everyone understood why the First Reincarnation was necessary and why it requires a memory wipe while the subsequent reincarnations do not.
Listening to her father, Tian although reluctant to accept it, understood the intention behind the erasing of memories and the importance of that step in the First Reincarnation. However, suddenly the idea of reincarnation didn’t look as exciting as she once thought it would be anymore. The thought of losing all her memories of her family, of her friends and of her time now in the Celestial Realm terrified her.
Is she really ready for this?
Can she really do this on her own?
“Tian-er, come here.” Seeing her daughter’s worried face, the Empress beckoned Tian over and enveloped her in a warm hug.
“Don’t worry my dear, I know it sounds scary. We have all been there once before. I know what you’re feeling now. I was frightened and even cried on my First Reincarnation. Always remember that we will be watching over you from here, silently cheering our baby girl on.” Gently patting her daughter, the Empress reassured and encouraged Tian. She was tearing up a little as well, knowing that their little ray of sunshine would be leaving their side for a long while.
Enveloped in her mother’s warmth, Tian could not help but tear up a little as well. It has been a while since she hugged her mother and felt like a child all over again in her mother’s embrace. Listening to the reassuring words from her mother, Tian felt as if she gained the strength and courage to brave the scary First Reincarnation.
Pulling back, Tian looked around at her family and could feel the love and warmth surrounding her. She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and in that moment, knew she can do it. She was going to be alright.
----------------------------------------
* Tian in Chinese is 天 which means sky. That’s why he calls her his little sky.