Wordlessly she rose from her seat and drifted to the base of the ledge she used to casually watch over him for the past weak. When he didn’t follow she simply held out a hand and beckoned for him to follow.
He followed her up a set of glossy black steps that didn’t quite match the cave wall.
He wondered, Were these always here?
Standing over the hole he had woken up in, his new home felt somewhat smaller than he was expecting. It couldn’t have been more than ten meters across at the widest part.
They circled around the rim as she guided him to one of many pitch black passages. Despite the same stillness as the rest of the cave, the air around this entrance was different. Somehow heavier.
The light from his makeshift camp gradually faded to barely a flicker as they approached the tunnel.
“Mistress?” He hesitated.
“Hmm?”
“I-I don’t want to seem rude, but can you see where we’re going?”
Fu Kong clapped her hands together, the explosion of the loud smack stopping them until the echo returned. “Forgive me, it’s been some time since I’ve been around someone who hasn’t built their foundation.”
Mareus only heard the flutter of her robes before the darkness retreated. Even the weight he felt seemed to lift, though only slightly. A palm sized black flame came into view as it floated beside them. For a moment it continued to grow as more and more of the shadow was sucked in.
“Perhaps this will make it easier for you.”
He stretched his hand out to touch it.
“I’d advise against that. That spell is far beyond your current capabilities and though the flames may only be illusory, they’ll burn with more of an intensity that anything you could imagine.”
Mareus sheepishly pulled his hand back and quietly tucked himself deeper into his makeshift fur clothes.
Fu Kong’s tone softened. “How is it then? Are you able to see better?”
“Y-yes, thank you Mistress.”
The passage was still dark despite the flame, with walls made up of completely black stone as if they were carved directly out of the shadow. Thanks to her magic, Mareus could make out the smoothed surfaces of the tunnel. They were too rough to be called polished, but it was clear that they weren’t natural.
Even though he could see the path, he ran his hand along the wall to make sure he wouldn’t get lost.
“It’s warm.” He realized.
They followed the passage for over an hour until the tunnel finally opened up to a wider passage.
Although the sun hadn’t risen yet, Mareus’ eyes stung when he looked at the sky for the first time in what felt like ages. His shoulders relaxed and the tension in his jaw melted away with the breeze flowing over him.
“I didn’t realize how confining it was, not seeing the outside for so long. And this view-“
Before him was a cliff that opened up to a fantastical looking valley. Everything he saw rivaled places he had only heard about in stories. From great plains that stretched into an unending forest of every color. To snow capped peaks in every direction. And the bluest river he’d ever seen bisected almost the full length of the valley.
“There is great beauty to this world, you can tell just from looking out across the valley that lies before us.”
Fu Kong stood off to his side as she commented over the scene. Even she was admiring this scene she must have seen hundreds if not thousands of times.
She asked, “Do you know what causes you to feel this way?”
Mareus shook his head.
“At its essence, everything here is no different than our camp underground. There is stone and dirt, water flows through cracks, wind snakes through invisible paths, light and shadow fight for dominance over any given space.”
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Mareus watched over the valley while comparing each detail with the dark cave he had grown used to. The words she used made sense, but he racked his brain for an answer to her question. Unconsciously he stepped closer to the ledge as he tried to take in as many details as possible.
Before he could see the bottom of the cliff an updraft crashed into his face and sent him tumbling back on the plateau.
Fu Kong let out a small chuckle and continued. “Even beneath our feet there is an ocean of fire that hasn’t touched the surface in tens of thousands of years.” She ran her hand over a stone as if she could feel the heat radiating through it. “So why is one space more breathtaking than the other?”
Mareus waited for her to finish, completely absorbed in her speech. Her words kindled something within him and he greedily wanted to take in every one of the immortal’s thoughts on the world. It was then that he realized she was waiting for him to respond.
He froze at the thought of an immortal telling him to give her a profound explanation. His hands felt clammy and his stomach began twisting in knots. Images of her deciding he wasn’t worth teaching and throwing him over the cliff flashed through his mind. Could someone with just over a decade of life say anything profound to a mythical figure who lived for centuries?
Taking a chance, he respectfully bowed with his fist pressed together.
“I apologize Mistress, I don’t know the answer. I’m from a small village. And few of our people have traveled further than our hunting grounds.”
“Don’t think of this as my asking for a deep understanding of the Dao. But, more of me,” She paused. “Looking to understand how you view the world.”
She conjured a palm sized book from her sleeve and began to casually thumb through the yellowed pages. The cover was blank except for a small title that read: Through the Eyes of Mortals Volume Fifteen.
“In my experience, the best way to know a person and their nature is to learn how they view the more simple and mundane things before learning where they stand when it comes to more, let’s say, complex topics.”
After skimming through her book and apparently not finding what she was looking for she returned it to the surprisingly large storage that made up her sleeve. She gestured to the valley below them and asked again.
“What would make you feel like this view is more beautiful than the one we just came from?”
In truth, Mareus wasn’t sure what she wanted from him. What made the valley more beautiful than a cave? It just was. It was one of those things people knew and didn’t question. Caves are dark and damp and uncomfortable, although, his cave was different. It was comfortable and relaxing.
He fell into a lotus stance and crossed his arms as he looked out over the valley. Why is this view more beautiful than others I’ve seen?
Mareus scanned the hills and mountains, the golden light that dyed the waters, the grasses stretching from the river banks until they mostly covered the cliffs. The sea of green and blue swaying in a gentle breeze.
It was a truly perfect sight, but the more he thought about what made it beautiful, the more normal each part began to seem.
He grew up seeing the grasses in gardens where they were used for every kind of medicine. The morning light would bathe his home in gold every morning while he exercised. Even the river was only slightly more special because of its size compared to the three man wide river that ran by his village.
“I’m sorry Mistress, I don’t think I can decide what makes it beautiful to me. I only know that being able to see so far makes a big difference. On their own, it’s all things I would see everyday. I guess, I could say that seeing them all in harmony like this makes them beautiful to me.”
Her dark eyes lit up, changing from a bottomless void to a gleaming obsidian that matched her jade like face. He still couldn’t get over how similar their features were, even if it was a superficial comparison and her looks were like a more perfect version of his. Though, it was still strange since he had grown up being told he was a source of jealousy for the girls in his village.
Mareus couldn’t help but wonder if they both originated from the same land.
Her eyes were thin and rounded with a singular smooth lid, while his were more narrow and one of them was hooded. Even his black eyes that were freckled with specks of deep purple couldn’t compare to her pure ones.
Everything about her was like some master artisan matched everything together to be as perfect and beautiful as possible. While his own face didn’t seem uneven, there were still things he didn’t quite like about it. Such as his lips being too thin and his nose slightly too wide.
“Your thoughts are similar to my own.” Her words cut his thoughts short.
“What do you mean?”
“I was never able to understand why some people would consider some things beautiful while others were off putting.”
Fu Kong started walking backwards towards the cliff. She must have forgotten how close they already were to the edge because she was completely focused on him and didn’t show signs of stopping. Her foot was about to land in the open air when he reached out to catch her. But she kept her footing and even took a few more steps away from the cliff.
He looked down to see a dense and smoky cloud that had formed under her feet.
“As you can see, I am able to use a greater power that is connected with the Law of this world. I do not know if it is because of my connection to this power that I have always found the darkness to be more comfortable or if it is because of my preference that I have a connection to this power.”
Mareus crawled forward on all fours and noticed that the cloud had blocked the updraft that knocked him back before. Cautiously, he put his hand on the cloud only for it to sink in a little before stopping on a springy surface. The sensation of absolute comfort swallowed him. On top of that it didn’t feel dirty like he would expect a smoke cloud to feel, it didn’t feel like anything really. Like it kept out the cold and heat equally, remaining perfectly neutral.
She walked back to his side and looked back out to the valley. “As for the scene here, I’ve found my answer to be… the balance. There are multiple elements at play here that, like you said, have created this harmony. I believe that balance is what makes it become ‘beautiful’.”
He sat for a moment and watched the darkness slowly dissipate into the sky as he considered the things she said. And her power. If she could so casually walk through the air, then what else could she be do?