Romance of the Seventh Star: After 500 Years
I: Kanzeon
Time was moved at last.
Kanzeon raised her arms into the air; a lavish embrace of the breeze that was smoothing the thin chiffon of her tunic against her musculature.
It was a metaphor of course. In the immortal Realm Above, time was a non-issue. Temporal awareness was marked instead by phenomenon.
So this day – a date, at least, to the residents of the Realm Below – something had happened.
The goddess of mercy breathed in deep and the cherry blossoms perfume made her smile. It has been a long, long while since the trees flowered and would bear fruit.
Five hundred years…
Five hundred years of stillness, of brooding, of gestating…
Oh, things had been happening, certainly, like little cogs fitting themselves into the great clockwork. The infrastructure of the capital and imperial palace was as good as new. In fact, embellishments were even added. The military was restored to its former strength. Though of course, precautions had been taken against another ingathering of independent power.
Perhaps, the most significant change was the continually empty throne of the Jade Emperor. What had evolved in place of the absolute monarchy was a shared responsibility fronted by the collective magisterium.
In plain speech: an oligarchy.
A distant yell interrupted Kanzeon from her ruminations. The goddess of mercy lowered her arms and turned in the direction of the sound with a wry arch of a brow.
Jiroushin was hastily approaching.
Indeed, if there was ever one thing that remained steadfast in the five hundred years, it was the harried look on his personal assistant's face.
"You are going to be late!" the whiskered man lectured as he came near. "I have been waiting by the carriage for you!"
Kanzeon response was a one-shoulder shrug. "I'm enjoying the last of my boredom," she said flippantly even as she obliged her personal assistant by ambling towards the exit.
"What are you talking about?!" Jiroushin huffed, unimpressed. Yet, despite his bristling nagging, he dutifully fell behind his superior.
"You'll be even more bored should someone at the magisterium complain about your lackadaisical ways again! At least refrain from yawning in their faces this time!"
"Do you believe in the rule of Three?" Kanzeon threw her aide a non-sequitur in response.
Jiroushin threw the aristocrat a befuddled glance.
"Rule of three?!" he parroted with furrowed brows. "What has that got to do with anything?!"
"People say bad things come in threes. Good things too, do you think?" Kanzeon threw her assistant a saucy wink and tried not to laugh when he stared as if she was growing horns.
"Today's a good day to be random!"
Jiroushin needed not to have worried. Kanzeon would not have missed the meeting at all, not if she wanted to be present for the discussion of a most stimulating subject.
"– The spells of the talisman have come to an end. The heretic Seiten Taisen will no longer be closed off from the real space of his location –"
"– But will he be released? –"
"– We've no obligation to let him out of the cell! –"
"– Leave him to his fortunes then, since he is now visible to passers-by –"
"– this is too soon –"
Yes, five hundred years have passed.
Unfortunately, some people could be petty regardless.
Kanzeon swept an unobtrusive scan around the senate hall. Even as she was making a list of the various loudmouths who were shoving their foot in other people's faces, there was one particular response which she wanted to check out.
Artlessly slouched and bearing her weight on an armrest, her gaze paused at the steely expression of the Seishin Okimi, Genshou. He looked like a man keeping a tight lid on his simmering temper.
Suddenly, with a subtle shift of his head, the Seishin lord was boldly returning the bodhisattva's stare.
Kanzeon rewarded her old friend's alertness with a tiny lopsided grin.
This private exchange did not manage to continue as the Seishin lord was distracted by his youngest son, the Roku-ouji. Yoshi, who was sitting beside his father, had leaned closer and whispered into the senior noble's ear.
"– This signifies as well the end of sentence for those deemed involved in the upheaval. –"
Instantly, Kanzeon's attention narrowed in on the turn the conversation was taking. Undoubtedly, both the master and princeling of Seishin no Goten would be equally keen. They had similar vested interest after all.
Full blasting an air of self-assuredness, Kanzeon rose from her high backed seat. Her rank had secured her a location in the first circle of the magisterium; a front row view of the room, in fact. Therefore, when she moved, all eyes fell on her.
"Hiroshi Shushou-dono(2), it is appropriate that you brought up this issue," began the goddess of mercy confidently. "The liberalisation of Seiten Taisen is a matter more complex than simply letting that little chimp out of the cage. That which is unresolved long ago still seeks absolvent.
The person Kanzeon had addressed was a strapping young bureaucrat, a risen star within the council. He was one of those who successfully filled the various political and military vacuum caused by the destruction. Though he came from no notable house (plebian class, strictly speaking), his lack of pedigree had been sold as an advantage that convinced the various partisans to agree on his candidature for the Chief Commander of the reformed armies. They had thought his neutrality a buffer between their competing interests.
So far, Hiroshi Shushou seemed to be holding his ground rather well. That said a lot.
Kanzeon caught the look the military leader darted in the direction of the Seishin Okimi and his son before he responded to her.
How intriguing.
"Are you referring to the incarnations of your nephew Konzen Douji, Tenpou Gensui and Kenren Taishou?" Hiroshi was candidly asking. He bore a demurring smile, his disarming presence certainly another reason for his approval among the elites.
Murmurs swelled throughout the hall. Kanzeon coolly waited for her audience to quieten down before answering.
"There are ties forged from the beginning that have yet to end," she said blandly, keeping her sight on the military leader.
A flurry of activity and badly hushed exclamations broke out.
"– Are you saying the four rebels will wreak havoc again?! –" one simpleton in the crowd demanded.
Immediately, more voices chimed in with similar concerns.
Kanzeon languidly raised her palm and her indomitable gaze bore enough force to put a lid on the discontent. "Why not be more optimistic?" the goddess of mercy mooted. "I would rather look forward to them clearing the debts they had accumulated. Much more beneficial, wouldn't you say?"
From the corner of her eyes, she could see Genshou and his son remaining impassive. It was not an argument for them to deliver, no matter how much they had at stake. Just as noteworthy was the Chief Commander, who sat back in his chair, looking rather content.
"Does Kanzeon-sama mean to make them serve the Realm Above?" the Shushou raised his voice.
Casually, Kanzeon propped a hand again her waist. Her nails showed vividly red against the pale chiffon.
"No need to make it sound so calculating. As it is, Konzen Douji is already an ordained Sanzo, which makes him an indispensable player in our affairs within the Realm Below. Should the four of them be drawn together again, it would be more expedient to entrust the entire group with whatever major task that needs to be accomplished. Unity is strength so on and so forth…
After all… there are mitigating circumstances to their crime against the Realm Above, weren't they?" Kanzeon continued and inwardly smirked at the uncomfortable shifting among her audience.
People who lived in glass houses should not throw stones.
Sensing that her audience was reeling in their flak, she attacked with a subtler hand, "If the minimum sum for the transgression of long ago has been paid for with five hundred years, what happens from now on… it shall be redemption."
Still, looks of consternation failed to abate as the sense of misgiving lingered, even if no one dared to go one up against the goddess of mercy. It was a precarious balance between self-preservation and wider mistrust so Kanzeon knew the next person who spoke would tip the scale either in her favour or continue the debate. Unfortunately, Genshou, with his obvious liability, had little space to manoeuvre.
"Kanzeon Bosatsu-sama's exhortation sounds wise and generous!"
The voice of Chief Commander Hiroshi rang brightly, almost startling in its effect as it broke through the tightening tension. His pleasant face was beaming with sincerity.
"Our Realm remains in constant need of consolidating. Retaining support, loyalty and talent will be to our benefit. Has our Realm not always emerged from any wreckage stronger than ever? We could see this occasion as a release of doves."
It was seldom that the most prominent military officer made such clear support of a motion among the magisterium. Against the new buzz that broke out, Kanzeon stood like a bulwark, making sure that her nonchalance in the face of such unexpected partisan was perfect.
The collective sentiment seemed to be mellowing so she approved when Genshou chose this moment to rise from his seat.
"Seishin no Goten has always served the Realm faithfully. My heir, the Hikari-hime, is equally eager to bear and follow the same tradition," the Okimi declared. He was an undeniably imposing figure, representing not only the interest of his daughter and autonomous domain but also as a member of a major governmental agency whose credibility had suffered along with irruption of the Seiten Taisen.
"To assuage any anxiety… I propose for Kanzeon Bosatsu-sama to oversee the restitution from those whose loyalty to our Realm requires demonstrating."
Of course, it was courtesy to wait a few moments for possible protests. People were hemming and hawing but it seemed the discontent had retreated, for now.
So, Kanzeon sent the Seishin lord a decorous nod of acknowledgement.
"I'm more than happy to oblige," she drawled, discrete with her satisfaction even though what she wanted to do was pumped a fist in victory. Genshou was less inhibited and allowed himself a small smile. Yoshi sent the bodhisattva a look of gratitude.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi, whom Kanzeon observed from the corner of her eyes as she sank back into her seat, was assuming an air of impassivity. The Chief Commander was unreadable, which made him an interesting fellow indeed.
One by one, those who had been sentenced as liable in some way to that day of devastation were freed from their penalty. Of course, it precluded the number who had not been executed or banished from citizenry of the Realm Above.
In this one thing, Kanzeon was glad. Li Touten's collaborators – whether major cronies or disposable accessories – had been incisively rooted out without a shred of sympathy.
There was some spillover effects, unfortunately, such as the case of Seishin no Goten Nana-hime Hikari.
Kanzeon was not surprised that it took the princess more than two months after her release to pay her a visit. In fact, she was expecting a longer wait. Sentimentality could be so crippling.
"Hikari-chan, it's been a while," Kanzeon warmly welcomed the Nana-hime. She had decided to meet her guest at the round lotus pool in Shichiku no Miya(1) where they were first formally introduced to each other.
The youngest scion of Seishin no Goten had refashioned herself. Her hair was now a layered feminine bob, with longer front and side fringes and a shorter back. Where previously she had favoured bright frocks with flared knee-length skirts, she now donned a pale blue high-waist dress with a wide neckline and soft gathers that fell to her ankles. It was a more mature and sophisticated appearance which underscored the tempered solemnity in those piercing silver eyes where previously, mischief had sparkled.
Gracefully, Hikari offered a short curtsy. "Kanzeon-sama is full of vigour as always," the younger aristocrat responded.
"And Hikari-chan is evermore lovely. Your new look suits you." The bodhisattva complimented before inviting her guest to take a seat at the white, round marble table.
The Nana-hime's smile barely broke through the dolourous veneer that had, doubtless, become a fixture of her current character. It added a certain inexplicit depth to her attractiveness, making one question how such quiescent delicacy had come upon youthful features which seemed more suited for sprightliness.
Sorrow would always leave a mark, even if for the better.
"I thought I should come see how you've been," Hikari said, once she settled herself opposite her host. "Haha-ou-sama told me how you've help draw my noble father out of his despondency. Thank you."
"Genshou-dono has a strong will," Kanzeon waved away the credit, "as is expected of the Seishin Okimi."
The older aristocrat leaned forward in her chair. "What about you?" she asked, "what are the plans for yourself in the capital?"
Hikari tittered, the sound a biting mixture of faux amusement and self-deprecation.
"Does Kanzeon-sama really not know?" the princess questioned rhetorically. "I've been named heir and will be groomed to take my noble father's place."
"I see…" Kanzeon took in the Nana-hime's stolid visage and the pensiveness in her gaze that told of a perpetual mourning. "You're thrilled, I supposed?"
The Seishin noble looked away. "It is my place," she uttered without passion.
Kanzeon narrowed her eyes, considering her options. Without warning, she hoisted herself to her feet with hands on the tabletop and leaned over the startled princess.
"Would you like to see Goku and Konzen? The enchanted water of my courtyard serves as a portal to the Realm Below," the goddess of mercy offered with a challenging grin. "The two are kicking up quite a storm down there. I suppose they always will no matter where they are."
The bodhisattva watched keenly as her guest stiffened, eyes growing larger with barely concealed incredulousness and sure heartache.
"No!" Hikari shot to her feet and burst out in a surge of unmitigated emotion.
Kanzeon was positive it was the most alive the young princess had been since she had woken from her imprisonment.
Her composure lost, Hikari made no effort to hide how affected she was, or – more accurately – still was.
She briefly buried her face in her palms, before lifting her head to speak firmly to the goddess of mercy. "I need to keep focus on my duty to my house," the silver-eyed girl reasoned, almost pleadingly. "There is too much that I need to make up for."
A deep breath helped to calm her further.
"Whatever that have happened before…" Hikari continued but had to break off when she found herself unable to speak of the past. "We're now divided by a world so perhaps… it best stays this way."
Kanzeon stared at the bowed head of the wilful Nana-hime, whose hands were clenched on the table. The girl did so remind her of her father, the current Seishin Okimi, at times.
The faint gurgling of a distant spring filled the silence in between the two standing nobles. It was a beckoning sound.
"I've read your journal. You've guessed one thing wrong." The bodhisattva interrupted the thick moment.
Hikari lifted cautious eyes, still unsettled but willing to hear the other out. The subject raised had piqued her interest.
"There's no new Tentei," the hermaphrodite stated in a light tone. "The Realm Above is managed by the magisterium. The loss of the Jade Emperor is not so detrimental after all, yes?"
The Seishin aristocrat stared at Kanzeon wonderingly, part quizzical and part adrift.
"Five hundred years is over. Things have… progressed," the goddess of mercy reached forward and gently slide the princess's left fringes behind her ear. "I think you understand really, Hikari-chan."
According to Jiroushi, Kanzeon had been better behaved since that notable meeting at the senate. But that was because she was spending much of her time amusing herself with whatever she spied in the Realm Below rather than making life difficult for him.
Kanzeon knew Jiroushi was grateful for her reduced misbehavior but concerned that she was too engrossed with the life of Konzen in his current incarnation.
However, no one became the bodhisattva without an impregnable standard of discipline even the sanzo-acolytes of the Realm Below would find it hard to follow. So Kanzeon knew what she was doing.
Still, it had been undeniably entertaining for her to watch Goku trying to fit into the Keiun temple at Chang'an. The little monkey was as adorably pesky as ever and unpredictable in his games. Most of all, he was still good for Konzen, now known as Genjyo Sanzo, thirty-first of China.
It was obvious mortal life for the three men had not been as sterilised as when they were gods. Tenpou might have a little breather for now, playing house with his twin sister. But Kanzeon could see from a mile off that it would not last, not with who was intending to move into their neighbourhood.
Though keeping an eye on her favourite band of misfits was taking up time, it did not mean she did not have her ear on the grounds of the Realm Above. There had been many interesting tidbits she had gathered. It was not only in the lower world that things had been moving.
Jiroushin really was worrying too much as usual.
Hikari visited again after more than three months. Kanzeon received her at the inner courtyard with the round oval table. It was the early morning and she had felt like enjoying the daily paper in the outdoors.
Kanzeon took one look at her guest and instantly observed an improvement to the latter's mood. The princess seemed more purposed. There was a sense of being centred in the light of her eyes.
The goddess of mercy made no comment but was glad. With an inward smile, she set her newspaper aside to transfer all attention to the guest who was settling into the high-backed chair on the opposite side.
"You've been busy, it seems," the hermaphrodite said, hinting that she was aware of the various reports regarding the Seishin aristocrat. "It must be something important for you to pop by."
"I'm returning to Seishin no Goten. I'm thinking to live in reclusion like my mother, actually." Hikari revealed with an air of someone who had decided on a path of action.
Kanzeon cocked her head to the side. "That's too bad. The capital could do with the presence of the heir to the seat of the Seishin Okimi."
"My noble father resides in Seishin no Goten mostly. I think it makes more sense to stay under his direct tutelage. There'll be time later for networking." It was obvious from the way the princess replied, that she had spent much thinking over the matter.
"It was my choice to come here, really. I thought I would be facing my issues straight on. But I guess… I'm still not ready."
The goddess of mercy rested her chin on her right knuckles. "That depends. What are those issues?" she asked.
Hikari looked at the senior aristocrat with a puzzled look, as if she did not understand why the latter was asking such an obvious question.
"The burden of my heirloom, of course!" she exclaimed. "I'm aware my father used it as a bargaining chip for my protection. I know I've to live up to the expectations of that position as well as the repercussions of what my past transgressions have caused my house."
Kanzeon hummed thoughtfully. Then, she rose to her feet.
"Come with me," the bodhisattva said, before turning and walking to the exit, certain that the baffled princess would follow.
The destination was her personal study. Upon entering, the hermaphrodite headed for the bookcase on the right. Among the stacks of books and ornaments kept there, she reached for a picture frame placed on a shelf at eye level.
Kanzeon turned towards the princess and held out the item, indicating for the other to take it.
"I would like to give this to you," the goddess of mercy said, smiling at the stunned mien of the younger noble.
Hikari took the eleven by eight inches frame, staring at the picture contained within. "This is…" she breathed shakily.
"I picked it up while visiting Tenpou Gensui's office," Kanzeon explained.
Surrounded by a plain wooden border was a childish artwork of four figures standing before a tree with a pink crown. The cartoon figure of Tenpou was placed by Goku, who had Konzen on his other side and then Kenren. The remaining space beside the tree was filled with an orange sun(3).
"Goku does so love to doodle…" Hikari murmured and Kanzeon witnessed the raw emotions that flooded her mien. The heart of the heir to the Seishin no Goten had remained in its place after all.
"You said you took this from Tenpou's office?" the Seishin aristocrat softly queried, all the while keeping her gaze on that incredible memory of long ago currently in her hands.
"Yes. I went there before the renovations began," Kanzeon confirmed.
"Why are you showing me this?" Hikari lifted vulnerable silver eyes. "I understand that Your Excellency has been made overseer of their existence in the Realm Below. But what tie do I have with them now?"
The bodhisattva smiled, gratified at this right line of questioning.
"At the zenith of our prosperity and malevolence, the four of them tore through the façade of our world. Now, they have emerged again. It'll only be a matter of time before the four of them gather. I expect the dance between light and shadows to turn a new cycle as well."
Kanzeon could feel the immutable truth of her words and will wrapping around the paling princess and herself. It was near prophetic.
"You're the next Seishin Okimi and five hundred years ago, you found yourself entangled in their lives. Perhaps, it is to prepare for what is to come."
Hikari's eyes were wide, more than a little overwhelmed.
"So we're stationed in the Realm Above while they, in the Realm Below?" the Nana-hime surmised, half introspectively before shaking her head. "Kanzeon-sama, this is too farfetched! I just want… I just…"
The Seishin princess was clutching the frame tightly as she turned her distressed face away.
Kanzeon was not without sympathy for Hikari, but she would not shy away from what needed to be said.
"But you're right in that you're not ready," the goddess of mercy continued, a sharp edge on her pull of lips. "The four of them are not as well."
Hikari turned back to Kanzeon with a face full of indecision. Then, she moved to the bookcase. With deliberate care, she returned the picture to where it was standing before. Her fingers lingered upon the memento.
"This best stay here… for safe-keeping," the princess murmured. Her tone was wistful.
However, when she next faced the bodhisattva, there was a new layer of determination and clarity in her eyes and voice. Anticipation thrummed within Kanzeon.
"I realised I needed space to sort out some thoughts," Hikari confessed. "That is why I wanted to leave for home."
"If there is one thing I have learnt after all that has happened, it's not to evade my responsibility. So," the Seishin princess continued firmly, "I promise you that I'll ponder over what you've told me. And that when I come here in the future, I'll take a look at this again."
Kanzeon thought of her nephew in the Realm Below. Of Genjyo Sanzo taking up smoking in remembrance of the previous abbot of the Keiun Temple, the one who had rekindled the sense of focus in him again. She thought of the humaneness that was seeping into his life due to the bond he was currently re-forging with Goku.
She felt just as proud of the Nana-hime of Seishin no Goten for coming so far.
"If that's the case, I wait eagerly for your next visit." Kanzeon replied with fondness.
Offhandedly, because she was feeling humourous again, the hermaphrodite teased, "By the way, with your departure, wouldn't Hiroshi Shushou be disappointed?"
The Seishin princess's response was telling. She was more sombre than flustered and Kanzeon immediately perceived that something significant must have happened.
Perhaps, Hikari's decision to leave the capital was more than it seemed.
"Your Excellency even knows about this? You're indeed all-seeing…" the silver-eyed noble exhaled before stating firmly, "I've no attention for anything beyond my training as heir. Not that I would wish chichi-ou-sama to abdicate ever, actually."
The last statement was dispensed as an afterthought before the princess gathered herself to explain that two of her brothers and her personal attendant, Kourin were waiting for her at the ambassadorial palace. The four of them would be heading back to Seishin no Goten together, it seemed.
Soon left to her own self, Kanzeon moved to stand before Goku's drawing. Having been carefully treated, it had managed to yellow only a little in the five centuries.
"Well, there seems to be some stalling…" the bodhisattva mused aloud, as if the characters within the picture frame could reply. Despite the acknowledgement of setback, she did not sound upset at all. "But the tale from five hundred years ago definitely continues."
"Indeed, each thing is of like form from everlasting and comes round again in its cycle; whether a hundred years or two hundred, or for an infinity of time(4)."
In fact, the goddess of mercy sounded happy.
Footnotes:
1) Please refer to Entry 15: The Disagreeable Cicadaof Romance of the Seventh Star: Gaiden Days to understand the significance of the round lotus pond in Shichiku no Miya. It is also the place where Hikari and Konzen were formally introduced to each other.
2) Hiroshi Shushou = the Chief Commander Hiroshi. The name 'Hiroshi means broad-minded. 'Shushou' is a military title, like 'Gensui' or 'Taishou'.
3) The drawing by Goku is part of the manga canon. Kanzeon did pick it up from the debris.
4) A quote by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (161 to 180AD) and Stoic philosopher – "For a man can lose neither the past nor the future; for how can one take from him that which is not his? So remember these two points: first, that each thing is of like form from everlasting and comes round again in its cycle, and that it signifies not whether a man shall look upon the same things for a hundred years or two hundred, or for an infinity of time; second, that the longest lived and the shortest lived man, when they come to die, lose one and the same thing."
From Lady Rurouni:
Hello to those who knew me from RoSS: Gaiden Days and who has just discovered my works! I should first clarify that RoSS: After 500 Years is a sequel and depends on the reading of Gaiden Days to be understood.
And I hope this will be a work that satisfies your reading pleasure.
So thank you for taking time to read what I wrote! Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.