Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Duel of Truth
Dark clouds gathered above the palace, swirling ominously as if nature itself sensed the impending clash. The crowd, a sea of anxious faces, watched with bated breath as Surya and the False Buddha stood poised to engage in a battle that would echo through history. The False Buddha, draped in heavy robes adorned with gold and jewels, sneered at Surya, his eyes filled with contempt and disdain. He saw in Surya not a rival, but an impudent upstart—a speck daring to challenge a mountain.
Surya, calm and composed, held his staff lightly, its wood glowing faintly as though it channeled the sun's energy. The False Buddha scoffed, raising his hands to the heavens, summoning his power with a guttural chant that reverberated across the courtyard. The ground trembled as colossal beasts emerged—winged serpents with scales like molten lava, towering ogres wielding clubs that could flatten entire villages, and spectral wolves whose howls could freeze the blood of the bravest warriors.
"Witness the might of a true Buddha!" the False Buddha bellowed, his voice booming like thunder. "I command beasts that have razed kingdoms and shattered dynasties. This is enlightenment—power beyond mortal comprehension!"
But Surya merely smiled, his eyes serene as he raised his staff. With a wave, a radiant dragon of pure light burst forth, its scales shimmering with a golden glow. The dragon coiled and snapped, consuming the False Buddha's beasts with a single, effortless motion. Each monster fell as if they were mere shadows vanquished by dawn, and the light dragon's roar echoed with a majestic finality that silenced the battlefield.
The False Buddha's face twisted with fury, and he unleashed a storm of lightning and fire, elemental forces crashing down on Surya like a vengeful tempest. Yet, Surya stood undeterred, his movements fluid and effortless, as he conjured a shield of translucent energy that absorbed the onslaught. With a flick of his staff, he countered each attack with his own—a cyclone that swallowed flames, a wave of pure sunlight that extinguished the lightning.
"You speak of power as if it is the key to enlightenment," Surya said, his voice carrying a calm authority. "But enlightenment is not found in domination, nor is it a prize to be won. It is a state of being, a truth that cannot be grasped by force."
The False Buddha's fury deepened, his pride wounded. "You spout meaningless words! I am the chosen one, the true Buddha of this land! Who are you to preach to me?"
Surya's eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief. "Let me tell you a story. Once, long ago, a baby was born—not just any baby, but one who carried the spirit of a Buddha. This child did not follow the usual paths of meditation, rituals, or renunciation. He rebelled against tradition, seeking freedom and liberation from the chains of societal expectations. He walked his own path, defying norms, for he was born enlightened, destined not to conform but to revolutionize. He achieved enlightenment at birth, unbound by the rules that govern other Buddhas."
The False Buddha sneered, his arrogance thick as he waved off Surya's words. "A baby born a Buddha? Nonsense! A mere folktale! Enlightenment requires years of discipline, countless lives of suffering and rebirth. A child born enlightened defies the very nature of Samsara! You insult the teachings with your lies!"
Surya chuckled softly, knowing the truth that lay hidden beneath the myth. "Oh, how the ignorant cling to what they believe is impossible. That baby, that Rebellious Buddha, was no myth. He sought not to meditate in stillness but to act, to break the chains of illusion with every breath. He did not wait lifetimes to awaken; he was born into this world with eyes wide open, unbound and free."
The False Buddha's rage surged, and with a roar, he summoned a beast like no other—a great serpent dragon, armored in scales of obsidian, with eyes that burned like twin suns. The beast surged forward, its massive form blotting out the sky, each movement shaking the ground beneath it. But Surya, undeterred, raised his staff once more, and from the earth emerged a titanic phoenix, its wings blazing with the fires of creation. The phoenix met the dragon head-on, their clash lighting up the sky with a brilliance that could be seen for miles.
With every strike, the False Buddha's attacks grew wilder, more desperate. He conjured spears of darkness, torrents of ice, and storms of razor-sharp wind, but Surya countered each with calm precision. He manipulated the elements as if they were extensions of his own will—earth rippled at his command, air bent to his desire, and water danced like liquid crystal, extinguishing flames and drowning storms.
"You say you are enlightened," Surya said, deflecting a series of vicious strikes with a casual swipe of his staff. "But all I see is a man grasping at illusions. Enlightenment is not in your beasts, your power, or your titles. It is in truth, in the freedom to see the world as it is without the veil of arrogance."
Desperate, the False Buddha lunged, wielding a dark blade that crackled with malice. Surya met him with a simple steel sword, ordinary yet wielded with the grace of a master. The False Buddha attacked with all his might, his movements deceptively swift for his size, blending martial arts with brutal ferocity. But Surya's every counter was effortless—a turn, a deflection, a parry that sent the False Buddha stumbling back. It was not strength that drove Surya but precision, and a deeper understanding of every movement, every breath.
"You fight with all you have," Surya observed as he knocked the False Buddha's blade aside with ease. "But you are not fighting me; you are fighting your own delusions. You cannot win, for you are trapped within yourself."
The crowd watched in stunned silence, captivated by Surya's effortless mastery. Even the most hardened warriors among them could not help but be awed by his presence. There was no hate in his strikes, no malice—only the undeniable truth of his words manifesting in every movement.
The False Buddha, panting and battered, hurled a final desperate attack—a wave of black energy meant to tear the very fabric of reality. But Surya responded with a simple gesture, dispersing the attack into harmless sparks. The crowd gasped, and whispers spread like wildfire. They had never seen power like this—power wielded not as a weapon, but as an extension of enlightenment.
Exhausted and broken, the False Buddha fell to his knees, his grandiose image shattered. "This… this is impossible! I am the ruler, the one destined to transcend Samsara!"
Surya lowered his staff, his expression compassionate yet firm. "Samsara is not escaped through deceit or power. It is transcended through truth, through liberation from the ego's chains. You call yourself Buddha, but all you have done is trade one prison for another."
With that, the battle ended not with a final blow but with the realization that Surya's strength was not just in his power but in his unwavering truth. The people, once bound by fear, now saw a glimmer of hope. Surya had not just defeated the False Buddha; he had shown them a path beyond fear, beyond lies, and beyond the shadows that had darkened their land.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone