As Ling Xuan sat down in his room and unpacked, he suddenly noticed something peculiar. Among his belongings, nestled between his folded clothes, was a book with a note stuck to the cover. His curiosity piqued, he picked it up and read the note:

You'll need it.

—Feng Mui, Your Friendly Neighborhood Matchmaker.

Ling Xuan raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. The matchmaker was full of surprises. He carefully removed the note and examined the book. Its cover was plain, with no title or markings. He opened it and began to flip through the pages. The book was filled with maps and diagrams,all relating to a single subject.The Shambala Archipelago.

The information in the book was quite detailed, even more so than the tomes Ling Xuan had read while at Kinnara’i Gyi Sangsum. As he pored over the pages, he muttered to himself, “Maitreya, eh?”

The Maitreya was a mysterious figure, said to be the son of the primordial deity who created the Archipelago. According to the ancient texts, after God finalised the creation of life on the Archipelago, He would travel to Chenrezig Ling Island and relinquish His physical form by burning it there. From the ashes, the first inhabitants of the island, known as the First Men, would mould the Guardian into existence—the Maitreya, protector of all who worshipped Chung Gzug Mar Med, or The Sky Wandering Giant, as Ling Xuan had just discovered.

For centuries upon centuries, the Maitreya served its role as the Guardian of All Who Worshipped the Chung Gzug Mar Med, ensuring the safety and spiritual well-being of the inhabitants of the Archipelago. The island of Chenrezig Ling stood as a beacon of divine presence and power, a sacred place where the First Men revered the Maitreya and performed their rituals.

However, the tranquility of the Archipelago was shattered when the Empire discovered its existence. Upon this discovery, the Empire unleashed an unthinkably brutal assault on the natives, a campaign of slaughter that aimed to eradicate every last one of them. The massacre was shockingly successful, with reports emerging that none had survived the onslaught. This outcome was unprecedented and begged a critical question.

Ling Xuan, deeply engrossed in his reading, paused to consider the implications. According to the older texts, although previous assaults by the Empire were brutal, they had never completely wiped out the native populations. There were always survivors who carried on their traditions and memories. So why did this particular account claim total annihilation?

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

His eyes widened as a realisation struck him. "Everyone had indeed died! The ones who claim themselves to be the natives were actually individuals sent by the Empire from the Mainland! That’s why the books spoke of Xia suddenly turning into a benefactor from the individual who destroyed them! It was because they were part of the Mainland!"

Ling Xuan was stunned by the implications. The Empire's assault had not only been a physical extermination but also a cultural and historical one. The true natives were eradicated, and in their place, the Empire had implanted their own people, masquerading as the original inhabitants. This was a sinister form of colonisation, one that aimed to erase and rewrite history.

His mind raced as he pieced together the fragments of this dark truth. The benevolent figure of Xia, who was celebrated in the Mainland's accounts as a saviour and reformer, was actually the orchestrator of this deception. By planting their own people and erasing the true history of the natives, the Empire ensured that their version of events would be the only one remembered and passed down.

“Wait, what happened to the Maitreya?” Ling Xuan quickly turned the pages, eager to uncover the next part of the story. As the slaughter of the natives was occurring, the Maitreya awoke. This ancient guardian, created from the ashes of divine intervention, rose to defend its people with unparalleled ferocity. The book detailed how the Maitreya was able to bring down several Grand Masters, each defeat a testament to its formidable power. In fact, the text suggested that if the Maitreya had gone unfettered, the entire assault on the Archipelago might have ended differently, perhaps even in the natives' favor.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. As the Maitreya stood in defiance, protecting its people with every ounce of its strength, Xia arrived. The rest, as the saying goes, was history. The Maitreya, despite its immense power, couldn’t even land a single scratch on Xia, the Ancestor of the Empire. Xia defeated the Maitreya without breaking a sweat.

Yet what happened next was peculiar. Xia, known for his ruthlessness, did not kill the Maitreya. Instead, he completely bound it to Chenrezig Ling. The book did not elaborate on why Xia chose to bind the Maitreya rather than kill it, but this act left the guardian eternally tied to the island, unable to protect or avenge its people.

Ling Xuan sat back, pondering the implications. Why would Xia, who had orchestrated such a brutal campaign, spare the Maitreya? The decision seemed out of character for the merciless Ancestor. Was it an act of mercy, a strategic decision, or something else entirely?

Whatever the case, Ling Xuan decided to read further. He eagerly flipped the page, only to find that the chapter had ended. He had read all there was about the Maitreya and its tragic fate. Disappointed yet intrigued, he glanced at the title of the next chapter:

The Search for Amrita.

“This should be interesting,” Ling Xuan thought as he delved into the next part of the book.