Chương 2: Prologue (R)

In the heart of China's oldest province, among mountains that guarded millennial secrets, there was an archaeologist who specialized in ancient languages. Her passion had taken her around the world, and she had devoted her life to deciphering forgotten tongues and unearthing secrets buried by time. But nothing compared to the discovery she had made. Her latest expedition had led her to a hidden cave, a place mentioned only in the most ancient accounts of the region.

Inside it stood a door of Oriental design, majestic and enigmatic. Its carved wood bore inscriptions in a language that appeared to have Chinese roots yet defied any attempt at classification. The archaeologist had spent a week in front of that door, with her assistants regularly bringing her food and fuel for the small generator that kept the lights running.

Despite all her efforts she had reached a dead end, and all that remained was to photograph the door and its inscriptions so she could analyze them in her study and consult other specialists who might offer some assistance. As she approached her equipment, a faint tremor began to make itself felt beneath her feet. Without hesitation she ran for her backpack to grab the laptop where she kept all her notes and discoveries on various languages.

In her race against time she realized the tremor was not natural and seemed as though the vibrations were coming from the door itself. Laptop in hand, she turned toward the exit, but it was then that the ground beneath her gave way, hurling her into a hidden chamber below the cave just as the ceiling came crashing down. Surrounded by dust and darkness, the archaeologist saw that she now found herself in a subterranean chamber, cut off from the outside world by the rubble blocking the hole in the ceiling.

Yet one detail seized her attention. In the center of the chamber, illuminated by a mysterious light that allowed her to see in the darkness of the cave, stood another door similar to the one she had found, but bearing inscriptions that appeared even more ancient. With the mysterious light as her guide, the archaeologist searched in vain for another way out, but the only escape route she could see was the gap in the ceiling, now choked with debris, and the enigmatic door.

Aware that every moment was precious, she approached the new door to see if it could be opened. But as she drew near, and despite the desperate situation, her passion for knowledge and archaeology made her heart beat faster at what lay before her. She knew that, trapped as she was, she stood before something that could completely reshape the history of China, and perhaps the entire world.

As she examined the inscriptions and the door, a new tremor began to shake the cave, this one even more intense than the last, while the door started to glow brighter and brighter. And as she shielded her eyes from the blinding light, the ceiling, already weakened by the previous tremor, collapsed entirely, burying the cave's mysteries along with the archaeologist beneath tons of rock. Forever.

I wake in a room bathed in soft light, facing a woman of incomparable Oriental beauty who watches me from an Oriental-style armchair with a mixture of serenity and sadness. Her clothing, though seemingly simple, is clearly worthy of a Chinese imperial palace.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I ask, confused.

"My name is He Xiangu", she replies in a voice that soothes my troubled heart.

"And you are somewhere between life and death. I am sorry to tell you that you are currently dead."

"Dead?" The word escapes me. I know I should be more dazed, in profound shock, but for some reason my mind feels clear and it seems as though nothing worries me.

"I am deeply sorry, but yes", she tells me, nodding at my words.

"Your search led you to a place that should not have existed. The door you found was not supposed to be there, and its discovery triggered a series of signals that forced us to destroy it. You were an incidental victim of those circumstances."

"I can't believe it all ended like this", I murmur with a tranquility entirely out of place given my situation.

"Since you died because of us, there is compensation, something we have done before under similar circumstances", He Xiangu tells me, offering a melancholic smile.

"We offer you the chance to reincarnate in the world to which that door was originally connected, with your memories intact. In addition, you will receive a body bearing the Blessing of the Heavens and one minor request." If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Could I choose that Blessing?" I ask immediately, intrigued despite the situation and thanks, I suppose, to my tranquility, which I can only describe as supernatural.

"Of course. It's the least we can do", she answers.

"And how does this work? What would this Blessing be?" I ask again.

"In the world you are going to, people born with the Blessing of the Heavens are granted stronger bodies and a better understanding of various things I cannot reveal to you. There are other Blessings, but being born human you cannot have them", she replies.

"If you wish to choose, you will have to indicate how you want the Blessing you've been granted to be distributed", He Xiangu tells me with a smile.

"What do you want—a strong body, better comprehension, more luck, or a bit of everything?" I look at He Xiangu with indecision and say "Isn't there some more visual way of choosing, something that would show me the magnitude of this Blessing so I can be better informed about what I'm picking?" He Xiangu regards me for a moment and says "Knowing the world you come from, I think this format will be more familiar to you." With a gesture of her hand, a pillar rises from the floor with a scroll resting on top.

"Go ahead. I think everything will become clearer", she tells me with a smile. I approach the pillar and look at the scroll. I see it has only four entries that read: Body 8, Comprehension 8, Spirit 8, Luck 8"What does this mean?" I say to He Xiangu without looking at her, my eyes fixed on the scroll as I try to decipher its contents.

"Those are the Blessings you will be born with in the new world", He Xiangu tells me.

"In that world, a human who is not Blessed would normally have between 4 and 6 in what is written on the scroll. Based on your request, you may increase or decrease those numbers to choose how you want your Blessing distributed, but I must warn you that I cannot tell you what the entries on the scroll mean or what they are for."

I stare at the scroll for a long time under He Xiangu's watchful gaze and, understanding what she has taken as an example from my world, I begin to deliberate as my inner min-maxer, the one that only emerges when I play videogames every now and then, takes hold of me. After reaching a decision, I ask "If I put a 2 in one of the categories, would that be too bad?" She looks at me and asks in turn "Are you thinking of putting a 2 in something?"

"Yes, in Body", I answer.

"From what I can infer with these stats, to give them a name, and from the type of door I found, I imagine the world I'm going to is connected in some way to Chinese mythology." I set the scroll down to look her straight in the eye and say "And the fact that you happen to bear the name of one of the Eight Immortals is, I suppose, not entirely a coincidence." He Xiangu regards me with her smile, neither confirming nor denying anything, but I can catch a glint of recognition in her eyes.

"In a world like that, I suppose having a strong body can be useful, but it will always be inferior to mastering magical techniques or having the luck of the heavens on your side, if all the old stories hold any truth", I tell her.

"Even Sun Wukong, despite his mighty physique, relied more on his magical techniques than on his strength when he rebelled against the heavens."

"You're right about that", He Xiangu tells me.

"Every example you could find in what you know as Chinese mythology could be said to have a Body score below 4 in the visual representation I've provided."

"I can assure you that whatever you put in Body, it won't place you in a life-threatening situation, but you will encounter more difficulties than a normal person usually would", He Xiangu tells me finally.

"I may regret it later, but I choose to follow the path of Li Tieguai or of Bodhidharma Damo from mythology", I tell He Xiangu.

"So I choose Body 2, Comprehension 10, Spirit 10, Luck 10."

"Are you certain?" she asks, the smile leaving her face, replaced by a serious expression.

"Yes. For better or for worse", I answer. With a gesture of her hand, the pillar and the scroll vanish.

"And your minor request?" she asks next. For a second I hesitate, but finally, thinking about everything I'm leaving behind, one last pang of regret drives me to ask a question I perhaps shouldn't have "Could you tell me how One Piece ends?" I see He Xiangu arch an eyebrow upon hearing me and she asks "Are you sure you want that to be your request?"

Hearing He Xiangu's reply I sigh and tell myself that, as much as I'd love to know the ending, the best thing I can do is ask for something that will make my future life easier, especially after the selection I've made. Although a small part of my brain is still telling me that He Xiangu, in fact, never said she couldn't tell me or that she didn't know.

"I think it's better if I change my request for another one", I tell her, ignoring the small part of my brain that insists it wants to know how One Piece ends.

"And considering how low I've set my Body, the difficulty I'll probably face is that I'll be born with a body that gets sick easily. I'll be the typical girl who catches every cold and illness from everyone around her."

"Therefore I want to be born into a family that can take care of me and pay for the doctors who will have to visit and treat me frequently", I finally choose. He Xiangu nods, her face this time reflecting sincere approval as she tells me "That is fair. It shall be granted." Then, with an elegant gesture, she conjures a door similar to the one I found in the cave "When you cross through, you will begin your new life. Remember your past experiences; they will serve you well."

I approach the door, filled with a new determination "Thank you, He Xiangu, for this second chance."

"May you find peace and purpose in your new life", she tells me as I push the door open, ready to step through.

"What a pity you won't remember any of this", I hear her say suddenly, just as the doors swing open, but before I can react to her words, a tunnel full of stars claims me.