THE MEASURE OF SELF (Part II: The Wrong Truth)
---
Chi stood before the mirage of the Connection Realm.
It did not glow.
It did not pulse.
But it's potential energy residing in it could be felt by Chi.
For a moment , He was terribly shaken .
It's a distortion in space, shaped like something that refused to be understood.
"This realm answers the location of realms," Amamiheuwa said.
Her voice was steady.
Too steady.
"It connects to every Realm, the powerhouse of knowledge to the Realms existence ."
Chi flexed his fingers.
They felt heavier than before.
As if something unseen had already begun measuring them.
"Place your hand inside," she said with caution
"and focus completely on Ojadili."
Chi didn't move.
Not yet.
"If your focus equals or surpasses this world's measure, you will see a symbol that indicates the realm they are into."
A pause.
"If it does not…"
Silence stretched.
Chi glanced at her.
"…you gods really like pausing before bad news."
Amamiheuwa did not react.
"…your thread unravels."
Chi let out a breath.
Slow.
Controlled.
"Ends where threads break?" he asked.
No answer.
That was answer enough.
He looked back at the mirage.
Something about it felt… hungry.
Not for flesh.
For Connecting.
Chi rolled his shoulders once.
"I hope the experience is interesting," he muttered.
Then—
he stepped forward.
And plunged his hand inside.
---
The world broke.
Not around him.
Through him.
Energy exploded outward—
not as light—
but as pressure.
A force that did not push him away—
but entered him.
Chi's scream never fully formed.
Because time did not pass.
It stacked.
Moments layered over moments—
years folding into seconds—
seconds stretching into something unbearable.
He saw—
nothing.
Then—
everything.
Not images.
Not memories.
Possibilities.
Versions of Ojadili.
Alive.
Dead.
Broken.
Victorious.
Forgotten.
Each one flickered—
then collapsed—
as if the realm rejected them.
Chi's grip tightened.
His mind strained.
Focus.
Ojadili.
Not the warrior.
Not the prophecy.
Not the fear.
Just—
him.
The man who refused power.
The man who still chose to stand .
The man who challenges the gods .
Something aligned.
For a moment—
the chaos paused.
And then—
the realm looked back.
---
Chi was thrown.
Violently.
His body slammed across the ground, rolling, skidding—
until he stopped.
Silence.
Amamiheuwa moved instantly—
then stopped.
Her eyes widened.
Not in fear.
In recognition.
Chi did not move.
At first.
Then—
slowly—
he inhaled.
" Are you okay ?" Amamiheuwa asked with concern written all over her face .
"I saw…" he said slowly.
His eyes struggled to focus.
"…a cane."
A breath.
"And a mallet."
Amamiheuwa closed her eyes.
Understanding aligned.
"The Correction Realm."
A ragged breath.
Then he stood up and looked at himself.
His hand trembled as it lifted slightly from the ground.
It did not look the same.
The skin had changed.
Thinned.
Paled.
Wrinkled.
Chi forced himself up.
His body protested.
Not with pain—
with age.
Hair fell across his face.
Long.
White.
Rolling down and touch the realm.
Yet the hairs sparkles like diamond .
He reached up.
Touched it.
His fingers trembled.
"What…" he rasped.
His voice cracked.
Not from injury.
From time.
Amamiheuwa said nothing.
She did not need to.
The truth stood before her.
Time had not passed.
It had settled.
On him.
As if the realm had reached forward—
and tested how much of him it could take.
And decided—
not yet.
Chi coughed.
Forced breath into lungs that felt older than they should be.
Chi let out a weak laugh.
He pushed himself up.
Unsteady.
His body resisted.
But his will didn't.
With his Divine powers he made himself younger and strong but the hairs remained .
"We need to move."
His voice was quieter now.
But sharper.
"Now."
---
Back in the clearing—
the seven paths waited.
Patient.
Unmoving.
Ojadili stepped closer.
Close enough to see them clearly now.
Each path shimmered.
Not visually.
Conceptually.
Ideas pressed into form.
---
The first—
A painting.
Himself.
Not perfect.
Not flawed.
Just… him.
Two outcomes lingered in the air:
Admire it.
Or dismiss it.
---
The second—
A friend's success.
Hidden.
Or revealed.
---
The third—
A cruel stranger.
Ignored.
Or confronted.
---
The fourth—
The easy path.
Or the harder one.
---
The fifth—
More than his share.
Or what was fair.
---
The sixth—
Desire.
Forbidden.
Pulling.
Or resisted.
---
The seventh—
Truth.
Or comfort.
---
Ojadili's breathing slowed.
Each one looked simple.
That was the problem.
But now—
he understood why.
Not because they were wrong.
Because they were incomplete.
Udonkanka remained seated.
Watching.
"You see it," he said quietly.
Ojadili nodded.
"They all look right."
A pause.
"And wrong."
Udonkanka smiled faintly.
"Good."
Ojadili turned to him.
"What do we do?"
Silence.
Then—
Udonkanka stood.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As if even standing had a correct moment.
"Nature is not merely hard," he said.
"It is unfair."
Ojadili frowned.
"That's not helpful."
Udonkanka ignored him as he stepped toward the paths.
That's when Ojadili notice that he was sober .
"Identical brings just like twins ,you won't understand but they share the same blood and everything."
He begins to move closer to a path .
"Hey ,I think you can sit and narrate " Ojadili carefully said as Udonkanka continues to move.
"Suffer the same storms."
Another.
"And arrive at different ends."
He stopped before the first path.
"Why?"
Ojadili had no answer.
Because there wasn't one.
Udonkanka looked at the painting.
Then at Ojadili.
"The difference," he said quietly,
"is not what they faced."
A pause.
"It is what they accepted."
Ojadili's chest tightened.
"What are you saying?"
Udonkanka stepped forward.
Toward the first path.
"The correct path," he said,
"is the one where you admire the painting of yourself."
Ojadili's eyes widened.
"That's arrogance."
"No."
Udonkanka did not turn.
"It is honesty."
"That doesn't make sense—"
"It does," Udonkanka said calmly.
"You are not being asked to be humble."
A step closer.
"You are being asked to be true."
Ojadili's breath hitched.
"Wait—"
Too late.
Udonkanka stepped into the path.
And vanished.
Silence.
Not heavy.
Not violent.
Just… gone.
The realm did not react.
That was what broke Ojadili.
No shift.
No warning.
No consequence.
Just acceptance.
As if the decision had already been made—
long before they arrived.
"Odu…?"
Nothing.
Ojadili stepped forward—
then stopped.
Instinct screamed at him.
Not to move.
Not yet.
The paths shimmered.
Waiting.
Watching.
Measuring.
His heart pounded.
Too loud.
Too fast.
Wrong.
Everything felt wrong.
He looked at the path again.
At the painting.
At himself.
And for the first time—
he hesitated.
Not because he didn't know what to do.
But because he did.
And that terrified him more.
---
Far away—
Amamiheuwa moved again.
Faster now.
Her control sharpened.
Her precision tightened.
She traced the sigil once more—
forcing alignment—
forcing entry—
forcing access—
Nothing.
The space resisted.
Not violently.
Absolutely.
She stopped.
Chi leaned against the wall.
Breathing slowly.
Trying to stabilize.
"What's wrong?"
Amamiheuwa's expression darkened.
"The Correction Realm…"
A pause.
"…does not accept gods."
Silence.
Chi blinked.
"…what?"
"It cannot correct what is already beyond correction."
That landed harder than anything else.
"So we can't go in."
"No."
Chi laughed once.
Dry.
Broken.
"Of course we can't."
He slid down the wall.
Sat.
For a moment—
he said nothing.
Then—
quietly—
"So his life depends on him."
Amamiheuwa did not answer.
Because it was already true.
---
Back in the clearing—
Ojadili stood alone.
Seven paths.
One truth.
Too many consequences.
His breathing steadied.
Slowly.
Painfully.
He looked at the painting again.
At himself.
Not the hero.
Not the failure.
Not the chosen.
Just—
him.
Something inside him shifted.
Acceptance.
Raw.
Uncomfortable.
Real.
Ojadili took a step forward towards the Sixth path .
Then whispered—
not to the realm…
but to himself.
" This must be the right path , I shouldn't follow anyone sober "
And the path before him—
shifted.
Slightly.
As if—
for the first time—
the realm was listening.