The judge's consciousness awakened, but he found himself in a place entirely unfamiliar to him.
He looked up, meeting a pair of eyes filled with grief and despair.
In that moment, memories of his past life surged forth.
A scene that One Soul had never remembered now resurfaced in the judge's mind. After his beheading, his soul body left his corpse, a Sanskrit chant arose, and lotus flowers bloomed beneath his feet.
The lotus flowers ascended to the heavens like a staircase, forming a path of lotus to paradise.
By stepping onto the staircase, one could reach Nirvana.
To sever ties with the mundane world and become a Buddha.
He was a disciple of refuge for ten lifetimes, an official for ten lifetimes, an honest and upright official, inspiring the people.
But in all ten lifetimes, he died an unnatural death, enduring suffering to become a Buddha.
