Pivot of the Sky
chapter-169-30041322

Ugallu added: “I heard that the bull was heading for Enlil, and he might have been able to run Enlil over if Mourrin hadn’t gotten in the way. It’s a pity I didn’t experience that battle.”

Girtablullu grabbed the jug and drank deeply. “There’s nothing to regret. I’d rather not have experienced it, and you’re lucky you weren’t on the battlefield. Otherwise, the ones who charged to the front should be Kusarikkul and you. Would we still have been able to sit and drink together like this if that happened? You should no longer resent Mourrin. I’m also giving this horn to Amon as a form of closure from the past.”

Amon was surprised and couldn’t help but ask: “Lion King, didn’t you participate in the battle of the gods?”

Ugallu grinned. “Don’t think that just because you can withstand three roars from me, you can now compete with the gods! This wasn’t really a fight to the death, the intensity is not even close! You must be very interested in what happened between Mourrin and me, and since you are now qualified to sit here and drink with me, I will tell you about this past.”

Amon smiled faintly. “Lion King, if you don’t want to talk about it, you are free to do so, I have no intention of pursuing the matter. What happened between you and her is your business, I have no intention of asking.”

Girtablullu suddenly slapped the table. “Amon, just let him talk! It’s been over two hundred years, and as soon as he left the Ennead’s divine realm, he came to find me, so he obviously has something to say. Once he has said it, he will be relieved from the burden, so a mortal like you should just give the Lion King some face and beg him to say it, or else he’ll be unhappy. Who will he talk to if not you?”

……

The Lion King, Ugallu, was not the most powerful of the nine emissaries, and before the war broke out between the Anunnaki, he had not yet passed the test to the ninth level. However, Ugallu was gifted with amazing powers and immense strength. Especially when he roars, his fighting power is not to be underestimated, making him the fiercest as well as most aggressive emissary among the rest.

He had been guided by Tiamat to join the Anunnaki, becoming a lion that received the secret of the gods, and stepped onto the path to divinity. He fell in love with Mourrin, and the violent lion learned to be gentle. His roar that shook the sky turned into soft singing, and he dedicated a melancholic and haunting song to the goddess of youth and love. As for why the song was melancholic, it was because Mourrin had never been moved by him.

Mourrin always smiled at him so charmingly, but whenever Ugallu wanted to confess his love for the goddess and share the river of love with her, Mourrin always rejected him, not even giving him a chance to speak, and this drove Ugallu nearly crazy. The gods of Anunnaki all knew of Ugallu’s love for Mourrin, and although the goddess was not angry about it, she also never expressed her love for Ugallu.

Until one day, Mourrin invited Ugallu to a drink for the first time, and Ugallu was overjoyed, thinking that his infatuation had finally touched the goddess of youth and love. At the banquet, the goddess smiled and poured wine for him, and Ugallu was drunk with happiness. He thought that he could have the goddess after drinking the wine, and then he really opened his arms and hugged Mourrin.

But Mourrin reached out and pushed him away, and he fell to the ground, completely drunk. When Ugallu opened his eyes, half a year had already passed, and he had been out for such a long time! The Anunnaki divine clan had changed completely, as a civil war had broken out and the gods split into two factions. The war ended before Ugallu woke up, with Tiamat and Kingu belonging to the losing side of the battle.

In addition to Ugallu, the other eight beast kings were driven into battle by Kingu, and five of them were slain by the gods. Ugallu was the emissary of Tiamat, and his position in the Anunnaki divine clan turned awkward. This was followed by a conflict that broke out between Enlil and Marduc, and both of these gods stated that if Ugallu would submit, he would continue to serve as an emissary of the gods in the new divine realm.

And at that time, Ugallu was in great pain, realizing that Mourrin had invited him to a drink for the sole purpose of incapacitating him so that he would be unable to fight in the war. If Ugallu appeared on the battlefield, he would be on the side opposing Mourrin, so had Mourrin tricked him using her beauty? Although he wasn’t the most powerful emissary under Kingu, he had been taken care of with just one drink.

He decided that, if Mourrin truly loved him, he would follow her guidance with all his heart and soul, and if Mourrin was only trying to keep him out of the battlefield, then he could not accept the fact and could no longer stay in the Anunnaki. He found the goddess, and with a loud roar that shook heaven and earth, he spoke his mind, asking the goddess if she truly loved him.

Mourrin looked at him with a strange gaze and said without any expression on her face: “This is just a civil war between the gods, no matter what side you take, you will not be violating the oath you made when you first joined the clan. When I kept you out of the war, I was just trying to save your life. I know your feelings towards me all these years, and I didn’t want to see you sent to a meaningless death in the war. Regardless of whether you participate in the war, you would not have changed the outcome. Are you going to resent me? If so, what I’ve done means nothing to you.”

Ugallu roared in sorrow and anger: “That’s not the answer I want, I just want to ask, do you really love me?”

Mourrin asked in response: “Why should I love you? And what kind of love is it that you are asking?”

Ugallu replied: “Because I love you so much and I want you to love me as much as I love you, and we can have each other. I don’t want to lose you!”

Mourrin said plainly: “I never belonged to you, you were given the chance to save your life, so what’s there to lose? I never said I loved you, so why should you love me? Do I have to love you just because you love me? The divine will will not be coerced by a mortal soul, no matter how much you claim to love me!”

Mourrin turned around and disappeared after saying these words. Ugallu roared to the heavens on the Assyrian Plateau, a deep knot forming in his heart. He wanted to prove to the gods his love for Goddess Mourrin, and to move the goddess’s heart! He knelt on the icy glaciers in the high mountains and called out Mourrin’s name, the bone-chilling cold freezing his body, but Mourrin did not even show up to look at him.

Under the gaze of the gods, Ugallu offered the most precious thing he had to the goddess: his claws. To the animals which were lucky enough to go on the path to divinity, their own parts of body were the potential materials of a deitifact. Ugallu’s claws were possibly going to get through the judgement of fate along with him, and even before he faced the final test, the claws were sharp enough to forge weapons used by the gods. He offered them to Mourrin, the warrior goddess of Anunnaki.

Ugallu pulled off his claws one by one, an excruciatingly painful process which tore at his heart, and when he offered them to Mourrin’s statue, the goddess finally showed up. Surprisingly, Mourrin was not at all touched, but coldly told him to leave. With deep coldness in her eyes she said:

“Don’t you think it’s ridiculous that you’re trying to gain the sympathy of a deity and the love that you desire by hurting yourself? Let alone a god which transcends eternal life, even a wise mortal would stay far away from you! You magnify that little selfish desire in your heart just to get what is not yours, to prove to the gods how much you love me. Put away your claws, for how can you cherish that so-called love when you do not even love yourself?

How can someone who coerces emotions be kind in love? Do you feel in your heart that after giving up so much for me, you want me to compensate you for your sacrifices with my love? Think about why you love me, it is not because I love you, people are loved only because they are lovable. You are pursuing the good that belongs only in your own dreams, but in this way, from this day forward, I will never see you again.”

Ugallu shouted: “Are you going to banish me from the Anunnaki’s divine realm? Then why did you leave me alive in the first place?”

Mourrin’s form disappeared and the last of her voice appeared: “This is not a play! You might have gotten to where you are today by passing various tests, but those tests were at least consistent! On the other hand, instead of telling me how much you love me, you’re actually constantly telling and moving yourself, and this means nothing to a god! Today, you have shown that you are an even lesser being than Kusarikku whom I slew, so I will leave you this horn as a memento. Since you are willing to be wounded, then go wander with your wounds!”

This was the past between the Lion King and Goddess Mourrin, and at this point, Ugallu stopped talking, slowly sipping the wine in his cup, as if he was savoring the memories of the past. Amon asked softly: “You looked for me to tell this story?”

Ugallu laughed. “I just wanted to say it myself, Amon, what do you think? As for the popular legend about the curse of Goddess Mourrin, where every man that falls in love with her would experience great suffering, what do you make of it?”

But instead of answering, Amon asked in response: “When you were kneeling on the glacier and pulling out your claws, didn’t anyone try to stop you?”

Ugallu replied: “The goddess’s fairy servant had once persuaded the goddess – ‘The Giant Lion is so infatuated and so pitiful, why don’t you just show him some tenderness.’ But she was reprimanded by the goddess.”

Amon asked again: “How did the goddess reprimand the servant?”

The Lion King looked into the distance and replied: “This is also what I heard, that the goddess said to the servant – ‘If you find him lovable, then love him, but do not come and persuade me! You can say such things without taking any responsibility, expressions of false goodwill with mere words, when it is I, and not you, who will actually have to face him.'”

Amon: “And what did the servant say?”

The Lion King: “And the goddess’s servant said – ‘He has removed all his claws, and if you do not comfort him, I fear that he will hurt himself even more.’ And the goddess snapped – ‘If the Giant Lion chooses to hurt himself, then let him suffer the consequences of his own choice, he should not be saved by the gods for it!'”

When Ugallu said this, Amon suddenly laughed, smiling silently at the wine in his cup, a smile that somehow seemed heartless to an ordinary person. The Lion King put down his cup and asked: “Amon, why did you laugh?”

Amon smiled and said: “It seems that a god that truly transcends eternal life transcends not only the form of life’s existence, but also possesses an unbiased heart and is able to see things for what they truly are at their core. What you did back then, was meaningless to a true god. There may be benevolent gods in this world, but there are no soft-hearted gods that will change their mind because of your threats to harm yourself. Mourrin did not fall in love with you, but this was not a tragedy in itself. The real tragedy was you playing up your own sadness, the goddess did not hurt you.”

The Scorpion King on the side suddenly broke out in laughter, then the Lion King also laughed. These two old friends laughed heartily at each other, the wine in their cups trembling with the laughter. The Scorpion King drank freely and said: “Ugallu, it seems that you are finally free.”

Ugallu also laughed. “If I am not freed, how can I heal my physical and mental wounds, and how can I survive the test of endless ceasing and arising cycle? Those three roars just now were an account of my realizations and quests for the truth. After meeting Amon, telling him this past story and giving him the horn, I am finally at peace.”

The Scorpion King put down his wine cup and said: “What do you plan to do in the future? Since it is also fate for us to meet here today, I do have a suggestion, why don’t we create our own divine clan. Amon, you can also become a god of this divine clan, and in the future, this place will be our divine realm.”

*In the duel just now, although these two had lost, the Scorpion King was still a bit unhappy about the result, and ended up making such an outrageous suggestion. He also wanted to persuade Amon to build a shrine for him and the Lion King in the Plains of Duc, and made a promise to create his own divine clan.

Before Amon could reply, Ugallu suddenly turned his head towards the coast, and following that, Girtablullu did so as well. Amon also looked in the same direction, and was surprised to find several people in strange clothes walking along the coast. There were five men and one woman, and they seemed to be coming from the sea, heading towards the sand dunes to the east.

Previously, none of them had discovered their presence, but the Lion King’s roars had revealed their tracks. However, the three of them were too busy talking to notice them. It was only when those people got closer that the Lion King finally noticed them, and Amon was the last to see them.

When the three of them looked over, the one who led the line of people said softly: “The lion’s roar contains some truth of Samadhi. Vimalakirti, what do you think?”

The one who was speaking had a full head of short hair in a curly bun, ears hanging till his shoulders, and a graceful and serene demeanor. With a cloth wrapped around the body but exposing the right shoulder arm, he walked barefoot in the hot sand, his body cloaked with the setting sun above the sea, and his back seemingly exuding countless rays of golden light. The person called Vimalakirti was an elderly person wearing a blue-white tunic, his style of clothing different from the various countries in the continent. When sweeping by using detection magic, one could not find anything but the feeling of spotless and unblemished.

Vimalakirti replied: “The first one, to perceive and to conceive. The second one, not to perceive but to conceive. The third one, not to perceive, not to conceive. All that has a reason are not permanent. The countless troubles echo endlessly. They breed the seed of the infinite light in mind, so that the delivery of desires starts.”

These people were not speaking the languages of the continent, and Amon had never heard it before, but he naturally had a kind of feeling that he could understand the meaning that they were expressing. It was like every word they pronounced was a piece of advanced information magic. The meaning of the words were packed with the sound so that the one who heard the words could decipher them immediately in mind. But there was certainly something he couldn’t fully understand, not because of the language barrier, but because of some concepts that he had never heard before. Ugallu stood up and asked: “Who are you people, and how did you suddenly appear here?”

The leading person replied: “We are on the Way. We come from where we’re aware, we watch the desirings and the aware, and we go to where we wish. Due to your three roars a moment ago, our tracks were revealed. My name is Amitabha, and these are Vimalakirti, Maitreya, Manjushri, Ksitigarbha, and Ninos.”

Amon scrutinized these people curiously, and other than that Ninos, the first five did not quite dress the same way as the inhabitants of the various countries in the continent, as if they were from the far east. On the other hand, Ninos, who was walking last in the line, had a shaved head. Amon could tell that Ninos was an ordinary mortal, but he couldn’t see anything else about the other five, nor could he detect any traces of their movements with his detection magic.

It turned out that they were just passing by and happened to walk here, only revealing themselves due to the lion’s roar. As they answered Ugallu’s question, they did not stop walking or talking.

The woman called Manjushri had an alluring figure and pleasant features. She looked at Ugallu and asked: “The roars, like thunder, can free one from confusion and delusions. You must have passed the test of the endless ceasing and arising cycle, and watched the desirings and the aware. Today you are reborn, but what is the difference between this life and the next, and between my life and all living beings’ lives? You are unfettered by the endless ceasing and arising cycle of life, but what do you know about the nonexistent and imperishable?”

Amon’s eyebrows furrowed, these people had obviously heard the past that Ugallu had just told. They seemed to be talking about the path after passing the test of endless ceasing and arising cycle. Ugallu was completely stunned by the question Manjushri asked, while Girtablullu slapped the table and said: “What are you talking about? You guys look like gods, which divine clan do you belong to? We’re in the midst of talking about building a new divine clan, but you are trying to invite us into your divine clan? Sorry, but this Scorpion King does not know you and is not interested in your clan or your realm!”

Amitabha laughed. “You focus on the divine realm, while I prefer to call it the pure land. The pure land of an Awake is decided by the desirings he awakens and enlightens, by what they are, what they desire and what they do. The pure land is the consequence of the desirings. The desirings are the consequence of the Awake himself.”

Girtablullu glared at him, held the two unconscious female scorpions close to him, and continued to drink his own wine. But Ugallu said thoughtfully: “Friends who are passing by and can walk safely through my three roars, please sit down and drink wine with me.”

Several of them said in unison: “Thank you, dear sir Giant Lion, for the offering.” Each of them took a piece of meat from the table, but not the wine, then folded the palms together in front of their chests to take their leave and walk down the dune.

As they walked by, Amon grabbed Ninos’s sleeve and asked: “Where are you from?”

Ninos: “I am from the Kingdom of Assyria, and I now follow Amitabha the Revered One.”

Amon asked again: “Why did you shave your head?”

Ninos replied calmly: “To get rid of the worldly troubles.”

Amon points at the others: “Why do they have hair?”

Ninos smiled, “They are no longer troubled.”

Amon smiled and let go of his hand. The Scorpion King was feeling tense even though he bowed his head and drank his wine, secretly channeling his magic to guard himself, a dark streak appearing on the back of his hand. The origin of these people, or rather gods, was unknown, so it was normal for Girtablullu to be fearful.

When Amitabha walked by, his gaze slipped past Girtablullu’s body, but landed on Amon’s face. He suddenly stopped and said: “The past is gone, the future is yet to come, the present is non-lasting. You want to pass the endless sea of misery, but it is not the final truth. Eternity is not about arising or ceasing. Are you willing to listen to my teaching?”

Maitreya appeared slightly puzzled, as if he was surprised that Amitabha had suddenly asked Amon a question. Amon shook his head and said: “I understand what you are talking about, is it referring to the path to divinity after passing the text of the endless ceasing and arising cycle? But I’m going to seek my own path. I am not looking for guidance to join any divine clan.”

Without saying anything more, Amitabha turned and walked away. Vimalakirti seemed to have something to say, but he eventually did not say anything and simply followed Amitabha. When Amitabha had walked down the sand dune, he said to Ksitigarbha: “You have seen the Underworld of Osiris, now you wish to go to the Underworld of Kella. Any inspiration?”

Ksitigarbha replied: “I did have some. Their wishes are not what I wish. But my grand wish is finally going to be formed thanks for this journey. The living beings’ merits will be shared with me.”

These people, speaking strange and foreign words, slowly walked away. Ugallu seemed to be in a bit of a daze. Suddenly he shouted: “Wait, could you say that again? I didn’t get it!”