Foreword
Hey, you! The one holding the book. Yes, you. Stop looking around like that, you're only embarrassing yourself. I was hoping for someone more open minded, but you look like you have your wits about you, so I suppose you'll have to do.
No, don't turn away from me!
I've got a story, well at least a dozen stories, and I've been dying to tell somebody, so you're not going anywhere until I'm through! What kind of story? You ask. Well, it's about the gods of course!
You're no doubt familiar with Hercules and the gods of Olympus, the Australian aboriginal dreamtime stories, and the bloodthirsty Aztec gods. They've appeared in various tales throughout the ages, and even a toddler could name at least one.
Hey, there's no need to yawn like that! I know you've heard them all before, but what I'm here to tell you is that the gods are real.
There you go, rolling your eyes like I'm mad. I'm not crazy, well maybe just a little. Who wouldn't be after all I went through in order to learn the truth. The gods of myth maybe make believe, but thousands of years ago our world was inhabited by living breathing gods. They created the earth, the sky, and the food and water, which you obviously take for granted. Back in those days we humans were nothing more than slaves to these gods, like a horse which pulls a cart. Imagine doing that with nails like yours! It wasn't the best way to live, but all that changed when the gods broke out into their own civil war. Much like us humans the gods were, and still are, greedy and destructive by nature. Many desired nothing less than to conquer our world and claim it as their own.
Eventually the gods were driven into many opposing factions, and with no end in sight, one fraction came up with a destructive and brilliant scheme.
What is it? You ask. Seems like I finally have your attention. I'd love to end my tale here and bask in your anguish as you struggle to create your own conclusion, but this is the best part which I cannot omit.
Ok, I'll tell you....Ha, ha....I'm sorry but it's difficult to contain my glee! The gods of old, ancient beings who would make you tremble in fear, trapped their enemies on a continent of our world and sealed it away forever.
It's a lot for your naive brain to comprehend isn't it? In short, they took a part of our world and turned it into an impenetrable prison from which there is no escape. This prison is surprisingly vast and is almost a world of its own. Some say it overlaps parts of our own, and you can see its border when glancing out into the setting sun. Not that I believe such foolish rumors.
My story is too far-fetched, you say. I can tell you don't believe me, and the last guy who listened to this tale also protested that there is no such thing as gods, and I agree. There are no gods anymore, in this world.
Those who once stood victorious slowly perished with time, but the defeated in their prison proceeded to multiply and thrive until they had created their own Land of Gods. An oasis for immortals who still live like the gods of old.
This brings me to the reason why I was so desperate to rip you out of your mundane existence and subject you to my tales. For us humans this land of the gods is a place of poverty and pain, a decrepit merciless hell with no way out, but it is also a place of mystery and intrigue, and such dangerous places always have their own strange attraction.
So do you want to hear a story? I know you haven't asked yet, but why else would you still be here with an expression like that upon your face. Alright, it's been a while, so I suppose I'll tell you one. But I have no interest in telling you stories about all powerful gods who rule and oppress us mortals. Instead, my interests lay elsewhere in the form of a rather unique god by the name Meng Li, and how in the strangest circumstances, he came to learn more about human suffering than he ever intended.
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