“There are still many Brahmas who yearn to become Great Men.
“They long to become great sages capable of teaching sentient beings and saving the world.
“And it is precisely at such a time…”
“that the demons appear.”
“They tell those Brahmas a cruel truth—
“That they can never become Great Men.
“Because they lack a certain qualification.
“Or perhaps…”
“because they have never received a prediction from any Buddha.”
“And so…”
“jealousy, disappointment, anger, resentment…”
“Eventually drag their hearts completely into darkness.”
“This…”
“is the root from which the most terrifying Demon Kings and Demon Gods of every kalpa are born.”
Mahā Brahmā Sahampati slowly nodded.
“Indeed.
“Many Brahmas, consumed by disappointment and resentment, eventually die after their minds have fallen into darkness.
“And then…”
“they become demons.”
Itihasa suddenly smiled.
“Then…”
“If there were a Brahma…”
“placed in a position that would make anyone else envious…”
“yet he felt no jealousy.”
“Not only that…”
“He could still maintain sympathetic joy.”
“He could preserve the purity of one of the Four Immeasurables of Brahmā.”
“Even at the very moment when he had every reason to resent fate, every reason to feel that he had been wronged…”
“He could still accomplish this.”
“Then…”
“What would become of him?”
Mahā Brahmā Sahampati answered:
“Such a Brahma…”
“Or rather, such a person…”
“would be like the two sacred lotuses blooming upon these primordial waters.”
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“No.”
“He would be even closer to a crystal-clear jewel—
“A pearl that has broken through the earth…”
“and blossomed from the mire symbolizing the very root of evil.”
Before he had even finished speaking—
Rohini immediately asked:
“Who is that person?”
“Where is he?”
She turned toward Itihasa.
And the question she had just asked…
was precisely the question Mahā Brahmā Sahampati had been about to ask as well.
Therefore, the Great Brahma King said nothing.
He merely turned his gaze toward Itihasa.
The meaning in those eyes was unmistakable:
We want to know too.
Itihasa smiled faintly.
Then he extended his accustomed hand.
The next moment—
an ancient book, crystalline and translucent as though it had been carved entirely from precious gemstones, suddenly appeared in his palm.
He spoke softly.
“The great Itihasa Canon.”
“The Fifth Book, the Vedas.”
“This supreme treasure that bears the same name as you and me…”
“Tell Mahā Brahmā Sahampati and Rohini.”
“The man whom the Great Brahma King has just described as…”
“the pearl that has broken through the mire of the root of evil…”
“Who exactly is he?”
“And where is he?”
Itihasa's voice was unbelievably gentle.
It was almost as though he were not speaking to an ancient book at all.
It was as though he were speaking to his own beloved brother.
He slowly opened the ancient tome.
Then he turned its gemstone-bright pages toward Mahā Brahmā Sahampati and Rohini.
One by one, crystalline characters appeared across the pages.
The Great Brahma King stared at those words.
Then, slowly, he read aloud:
“That person…”
“is a Formless Brahma dwelling in the highest level of the Formless Realm—
“Naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana.”
“His name is…”
“Shuo Lei.”
“Shuo Lei…”
Rohini softly repeated the name she had just heard.
Itihasa turned the ancient tome back toward himself.
Then carefully closed it.
“I must admit…”
“My interest in Shuo Lei is no less than yours.”
“Because…”
“He is the only Formless-Realm Brahma who will be attacked by the hordes of demons during this kalpa.”
“And from this day onward…”
“I doubt there will ever again be a kalpa-ending in which the hordes of demons show such intense interest in a Formless-Realm Brahma.”
“We truly have my dear friend Bhadrakāla to thank.”
“He was the one who told me about this interesting matter in advance.”
Those words…
finally answered every question in the hearts of the Great Brahma King and Rohini.
Itihasa—the God of Truth.
Bhadrakāla—the God of Time.
“Both were Heavenly Patriarchs, sharing a bond so deep it was as though they were a single soul in two bodies—closer than even twin brothers.”
Therefore, there was nothing strange about Bhadrakāla occasionally informing Itihasa in advance of important events that would occur in the future.
Rohini asked:
“Then…”
“Why have you told us about this?”
Itihasa smiled.
“Because I learned from Bhadrakāla that…”
“after Shuo Lei escapes from the demonic path…”
“he will do something very interesting.”
Mahā Brahmā Sahampati was silent for a moment.
Then he said:
“I presume…”
“it must be interesting enough for you to record his name in that ancient book you treasure more than life itself.”
“We are becoming rather curious ourselves.”
“How exactly will the hordes of demons interfere with a Formless-Realm Brahma?”
“Especially…”
“one dwelling at the highest level of the Formless Realm.”
“A being who has already succeeded in dispersing his own soul…”
“and even sealed away his own memories and consciousness, to the point that…”
“although he exists, he is almost as though he does not exist.”
“However…”
“I have no habit of prying into the karma of others.”
“So let everything unfold according to its own karmic consequences.”
Itihasa merely raised the corners of his mouth.
He seemed completely unconcerned by the Great Brahma King's declaration that he had no habit of prying into the karma of others.
Instead, a hint of pride appeared upon his face.
“Of course.”
“Because one of my duties…”
“is to record the stories of heroes and virtuous people in the Itihasa Canon that bears my name.”
“So that their good deeds…”
“may become eternal.”
“So that their names…”
“may be engraved forever throughout the infinite universe.”
His words had barely fallen—
when Itihasa's figure vanished into thin air.
Just as effortlessly as he had appeared.
Without a trace.
Left behind, Mahā Brahmā Sahampati and Rohini simultaneously repeated the name they had just heard within their hearts.
“Shuo Lei…”