The Sorceress' Revolt - Ko Biji's Story - Part 4 Chapter 2 by Translations by Ainikki / Anime Blog Tracker

The Sorceress' Revolt - Ko Biji's Story - Part 4 Chapter 2

The Sorceress' Revolt Author: Toriumi Jinzō Translator: Ainikki the Archivist Ko Biji's StoryPart Four: The Heavenly BookChapter 2 Our universe is vast and contains a multitude of mysteries. At the heart of it is a mysterious being that humans call God: omniscient, omnipotent, and beyond all comprehension. More than a million years ago, humans were not humans yet, but humans-to-be were australopithecines, capable of thought and reason and making tools. They understood enough to wield clubs made of wood and stone and bone and go to war. Those evolved into sinanthropus pekinensis (Peking Man), which gained the ability to set and control fires. The birth of homo sapiens into the world was not an expected event, but it was a welcome one. Homo sapiens was truly intelligent, and the progress of the species was eagerly observed. Would they develop language? A culture? A civilization? What level of sophistication were humans capable of? In order to test this, the Heavenly Book was made. It was not given into the hands of humans for fear that it would be damaged or destroyed. The divine beings that took an interest in human development believed that they would require guidance in order to walk the right path. The shape this guidance took was two-pronged: first, cultivate human intelligence by protecting the species and making sure they reproduced, and second, cultivate the human sense of empathy. Faith and the teachings of Buddhism were not gifts from the divine, but were things that humans made up themselves, because they were inherently good. They created these beliefs in their hearts and spread them widely to others. That the beliefs took root so strongly was in keeping with human thought patterns and emotions. The Heavenly Book was also part of the divine plan to cultivate human potential. Like the rest of this plan, it was never given, but encouraged: whoever gained the Heavenly Book would need to seek for it and earn it through hard work, determination, and wisdom. The inscriptions engraved on the Heavenly Book were entitled Desires and Treasures. It was first engraved many thousands of years before, and had been revised and updated over the years to reflect the culture of the time. The ancient writing tested the reader's wisdom, Hakūn-do Cave tested the reader's courage, and the reader's potential determined how they would be able to use the Book. Thus, Tanshi's duel with En Kō was part of the test for worthiness to read the Heavenly Book. Rumor of the book had spread since the time of China's first Emperor, and these rumors were encouraged. All part of the plan. En Kō was a representative of an intelligent species, one between sinanthropus pekinensis and homo sapiens. He'd been granted eternal life and granted special powers to make him a better guardian of the Heavenly Book. He'd been ordered to eliminate all humans who set foot in Hakūn-do Cave... and he had, up until now.*** "Only one planet in our vast universe includes humans," En Kō said bitterly. "I hope the knowledge of the Heavenly Book will bring the species good fortune and not ill." He scratched his head. "My role was to test human potential. What a laugh." Until Tanshi had stolen part of the Heavenly Book, he had not known the scope of his own role in the cave. "If the human who entered the cave did not possess wisdom, courage, and potential, they would never have been able to take even a part of the Heavenly Book. Isn't that so?" En Kō's face twisted with sudden anger. His anger was understandable: Tanshi had managed to take the Heavenly Book without a fight. "Does that brat even have any potential? He stole the Heavenly Book while I was gone, like a wimpy coward." The goddess laughed. "Indeed, he stole the Book while you were away. But such a scheme shows human ingenuity, does it not?" En Kō slumped. "I believed you could predict anything that might conceivably happen to humanity, goddess." "Humans are intelligent and sapient, not mindless creatures operating based on our wishes. I can predict patterns, but I am not omniscient." "Patterns? Like what?'" "Some humans are lucky. Fortunate. And some are very much not." "Fortunate?" "And unfortunate. Yes. And because some of them are lucky, they aspire. They hope for greater things for themselves." I suppose I was unfortunate to be bested by Tanshi. En Kō snorted. "It seems like Tanshi wanted the Heavenly Book very much, yes?" the goddess asked. It didn't make sense to En Kō why the goddess seemed impressed by Tanshi's actions. Why wasn't she angry, like he was? "He risked his life. He overcame his fear of you to get the treasure," the goddess said. "But what can we do now?" En Kō asked. "Now that he has the Heavenly Book, there's no telling what he'll do." "I say we leave it alone." "What?" "Tanshi has the Heavenly Book. This was part of the divine plan. Now that he has it, we must observe what he will do with it, no? We do not know how humanity will change, if at all, and we should not interfere. At this stage, it is our role to watch over, but not to alter events." The halo of light dimmed, leaving the surface of the Heavenly Book in fog and darkness. When it brightened again, the Heavenly Book looked a bit different. "I have added Tanshi's actions to the Book," the goddess said. En Kō bowed to the halo several times. "Thanks to this, you should be able to observe his actions from afar." "Thank you, goddess." En Kō spread his hands out, dissipating the fog and showing him an image of Tanshi. He was ragged, worn-out, and being hugged tightly by Ko Biji. En Kō frowned at the image. The halo disappeared as the goddess' laughter echoed through the cave.

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