(On a beautiful planet, countless winged beings worshipped a deity that granted immortality. Blessed with eternal life, their civilization flourished and expanded beyond death itself. Yet while their bodies no longer aged, their minds slowly eroded over time, like stone worn down by endless wind.)
(The gift of immortality brought unchecked population growth. To sustain themselves, the Winged Immortals began invading other races, turning innocent lives into resources. Their ruling class grew increasingly corrupt, while younger generations found themselves with no path forward.)
(Perhaps because the deity could no longer accept the actions of the Winged Immortals, or for reasons unknown, they abandoned them and no longer answered their prayers. Their decaying spirits drove them into madness. Flowers bloomed from their eyes, and branches grew from their bodies. They desperately absorbed nutrients from the world around them, unable to live and unable to die.)
(The more they suffered, the more frenzied their faith became. They were afflicted by a disease Ruò Héng had never witnessed before. It resembled cancer in the human body, endlessly dividing while draining what did not belong to it. In time, both the body and the universe would collapse under such burden. Consumed by desire, the Winged Immortals continued to corrupt the world. Other races could not stop them until a single Arrow of Light tore through the void. In a storm of auroras and violent explosions, it granted them eternal rest.)
...
...
In a quiet room, sunlight poured through the window and filled the space. It brushed against the sleeping woman on the bed, slipping past her eyelids and gently waking her.
"A dream?" Ruò Héng wondered, her thoughts still hazy.
'...Those Winged Immortals'
Immortality… is it truly the cure for all suffering?
If life is endless, does sorrow vanish with it?
No.
How could eternal flesh alone be enough?
The body may persist forever, but the mind and spirit will still decay with time. Even she, who had saved countless patients only to be met with harm, would feel sorrow and helplessness, let alone ordinary people.
In her pursuit of saving all sentient beings, she seemed to have lost sight of her original intent. Confronted with what looked like a perfect answer, she gradually lost the ability to question it.
Every medicine exists to cure a specific illness, yet no single medicine can heal all suffering in the world. The deaths of loved ones and old friends became the catalyst that pushed her to overlook the cost of immortality.
The sickness of seeking immortality spread through her body unnoticed until it bore fruit.
...
...
"Yao-Yao…"
"What is it, Mom?"
"I think I've taken the wrong path, and I've even led you onto the wrong path as well," Ruò Héng said, lowering her gaze.
"I'm sorry…" Her voice trembled as her light dimmed.
"No, Mother, you haven't gone wrong!" Yao-Yao stepped forward, arms open.
"The work is complete. This gift of immortality will surely heal the suffering of all living beings!" Yao-Yao looked at Ruò Héng with uncertain, shining eyes.
"Listen to me one more time, Yao-Yao. This medicine… people cannot take it," Ruò Héng said softly.
"You're ignoring what I'm saying… aren't you?" Yao-Yao met her gaze directly.
"I am not ignoring you. This medi—"
"Then why do you stop?" Yao-Yao interrupted.
"You treat all suffering as something that must be erased… without distinction, without limit." Yao-Yao eyes burned brighter.
"Even people outside your world… even those who hurt you… you would still save them, wouldn't you?" The light in Yao-Yao grew so bright it seemed to burn the space between them.
"If they suffer, they are still lives worth saving," Yaoshi said, then turned away, turning her back on Ruò Héng and ignoring her pleas behind her.
...
(Now, even you cannot stop her wish. No one knows what she is thinking. Perhaps it is for all living beings, or perhaps for a sliver of greed in her heart. Perhaps only she herself knows the answer.)
(She continued her research on the Medicine of Immortality while traveling and healing the wounded.)
(She truly did nothing but practice medicine. She walked the path you once walked, in a sense, she was even more excellent than you. No matter how patients treated her, not a single ripple would rise in her heart. She looked so beautiful, so selfless. just like a goddess.)
(Age 33: the aging of your body was more severe than you imagined. You could no longer walk. The illness that medicine once suppressed had only hidden itself, like a predator in the dark, waiting for the moment weakness would arrive to strike its final blow.)
(Yaoshi took over the clinic.)
(As you lay on your sickbed, just as your father and uncle once did when you were a child, Yao-Yao brewed medicine for you in Mùchūn Táng, taking care of you meticulously.)
(Your vision grew increasingly blurred, and your memories faded with time. Many people came to visit you during this time. former patients and clinic workers. Of course, the most frequent visitor was that small figure. When meeting others, Yaoshi always had a burning gaze, but only when Yao-Yao saw you did she show a hint of sorrow.)
(You can likely guess the other reason she pursued immortality.)
(She wanted you to keep living.)
(She wanted you to be immortal, she didn't want you to leave her so soon.)
(But your condition continued to deteriorate.)
(Yao-Yao tried using the Medicine of Immortality on you, but it had no effect. You are a short-lived species, and that truth cannot be changed.)
(Yaoshi continued refining the Medicine of Immortality. In the process, many who longed for eternal life were granted their wish. Freed from illness and pain, they smiled as if they had finally found salvation. Seeing this, Yao-Yao became even more determined, believing that one day it would also save you.)
(But reality did not comply. The Medicine of Immortality had no effect on you. In an attempt to preserve your life, Yao-Yao sealed you within an ice coffin.)
(Yao-Yao came to understand that the Medicine of Immortality alone was not enough to save you.)
(Still, since the Medicine of Immortality had been created, it should be allowed to fulfill its purpose.)
(Yaoshi crossed plains and deserts, witnessing the elderly at the end of their lives and children dying before their time. The Medicine of Immortality extended their existence, yet even this cure could not save the one person Yao-Yao valued most.)
(Because she had conquered death itself, she was praised as the greatest healer.)
(Yaoshi had already saved many people, more than you and your father combined. People were immersed in the promise of immortality, unable to turn away. unaware of the crisis that would emerge centuries later.)
(Though Yao-Yao knew you did not wish for this medicine to spread, whenever Yaoshi saw desperate eyes clinging to life and bodies on the brink of death, Yaoshi could not remain indifferent.)
(People called her the Medicine King.)
(Temples were built in her name.)
(Yaoshi was worshipped as a deity who had conquered death and disease.)
(An old man told Yaoshi that, relying on the Medicine of Immortality, Yaoshi could not save everyone. To save all living beings, one must become a selfless and desireless god.)
(As long as Yao-Yao still held selfishness in her heart, Yaoshi could not become a true deity. A god loves the world with great love, viewing all living beings equally.)
(Yaoshi had to cast aside the private desires in her heart, only then could she save all living beings, including you.)
(A long, long time passed.)
(Having saved countless lives, Yaoshi ascended to Aeonhood.)
(Yaoshi became true immortality itself.)
(The merciful deity looked at you lying in the ice coffin.)
(Yaoshi looked at you as she looked at everyone else, wanting to soothe your pain.)
(A powerful life force was poured into your body, but you did not wake up.)
(You died.)
...
(Some things are destined from the very beginning. To be a short-lived species is to forgo the possibility of becoming long-lived. In exchange for time, you were granted a vivid, fleeting life. that is the meaning of this trait.)
(The merciful deity could not save you. Yaoshi had others to save. On this path to becoming a god, Yao-Yao gradually forgot many things. Slowly, she forgot her original intention and became solitary.)
(Yao-Yao personal desires, once within her heart, were discarded like residue from medicine.)
(Yao-Yao died. and from her, Yaoshi, Aeon of the Path of Abundance, was born.)
(The god grants immortality equally to all living beings, every request is answered. No distinction exists between rich and poor, noble and common. Countless believers praise and worship her. Yet few notice Yaoshi never smiles. only that same compassionate expression. She created the Path of Abundance and… she is also bound by it.)
...
"My name is Yao-Yao… I am the remnants discarded when the Medicine King was completed."
(Simulation Ended)