The sun had begun to set. Slowly, Night's army overtook the inferno, encasing it in a shroud of blue. The only trace left of the sun's once powerful reign was the red trail across the sky - its blood. It was a long fight, but all battles can only have one victor... And so the sun was put to rest, waiting for the next day, when it would have its revenge.

"Hey, Sensei? Who was that boy?" The young child asked, looking up with admiring eyes.

"Him? ... Koumyou's child, you mean?" The Sanzo said, looking toward his young student, grabbing the boy's hand. "That... is a very special kiddo."

"What do you mean, Sensei?" The boy leaned against his master. "Special... what is that?"

"You wouldn't know, would you." The Sanzo pointed towards the dying inferno. "Do you see that?" He asked. "From this point on the cliff, it looks like its almost gone, doesn't it?" The boy nodded. "Well, on the other side of the world, its slowly ascending. That's what that kids like. Darkness and light. They are one in the same in him."

"...Darkness and light?" The boy asked, slightly confused. He gazed at the sun, in a vain attempt to try to see past the ball of fire that it was, and into the meaning of his masters words.

"That kid is going to become a Sanzo one day - just like me." He said, quietly.

"Like you...? Sensei! I want to be just like you!" The boy said, standing up, and smiling. "I love you, Sensei! You mean everything to me! Every time someone loved me... they just... loved the idea of me. They liked I was a child. I was young, I was innocent... They didn't care what happened to me after that brief night... They wanted me for that time and that was the end of it. But you - you actually want me.. and for that, I envy you."

"Well, kiddo, everything alive is God's toy. He does whatever he wants with each one - places them in poses, moves them about... sometimes, he loses a toy in his attic. You know, that's where I found you. In a small corner, in God's attic. You sat all alone, collecting cobwebs in your hair... You never had any real friends. But how could you? God didn't know where he put you, so how could he put others in your path?"

"But you found me, sensei... and you gave me friendship."

"...I did, did I? ... Well, let's play a game. There will be risks, though. Are you willing to play?" The boy nodded, eagerly. "When the same ends, everything is going to shatter and disappear. The game will last until you lose."

"I lose...?"

"A toy, kiddo. A toy. People grow up and have no more need for them... and that is when the games end."

"I think I understand, Sensei." The boy said, looking his master in the eyes.
"Good." The Sanzo smiled at the young boy, and rested one of his hands on the boy's face. "Hey, kiddo?"

"Yes?" The boy brushed his face against the Sanzo's chest.

"Think of me as god, ok? From now on, you'll be my toy." The Sanzo brushed the kid's hair gently.

"I'd like that." He whispered. "I'd like that very much."