Goddess Qiáng

The rustling of the chains. The continuous dripping of her blood rhymed with the sound of water leaking from the roughly patched shed roof.

She could hear her own heartbeat slowing down, and she silently prayed that he would suddenly have a change of heart and release her from the ropes he used to tie her to the bark pillar of this wretched shed that smelled like animal waste and blood. The pain she felt in the pit of her tummy was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart. How could Long Wei do this to her?

They loved each other. Or so she thought, seeing as his love for her brought her to this miserable situation. She trusted him, she trusted him to love her and keep her secret. He did keep her secret but just so he could use her for his selfish needs. She sat on the floor, still chained to the bark of the shed for so long. The shed had no windows, and the door was always locked.

The only time she could tell the time of the day was when he'd come for more of her blood. It wasn't that she couldn't fight him; it was because the strength in her couldn't be wasted on an attempt to fight him. If worse comes to worst, she knows what to do, but she gave him more time, hoping that one day, the precious memories they've spent together would somehow trigger something human in him and make him release her, release them all.

She had no idea how much more she could take or how much longer she could hold. In her thoughts about the past, a slave suddenly ran into the shed. She could tell that the girl was a slave because of how she was dressed up.

"Goddess Tía, you have to do something! Long Wei is using your blood to create monsters that take away our precious families and friends. He's become unstoppable, you have to stop!" She wailed at the feet of Tian, but then two guards appeared before and forcefully dragged her away. The slave screamed and shouted as she struggled to leave their grasp. "Save us all, Tian!" was the last thing Tian heard before the sound of the slave's neck snapping followed.

They killed her. They killed the innocent girl. She was just a child. Tian's head, which was bent, suddenly whipped to the back, and she began to howl in laughter. Her laughter echoed and got louder and louder, almost resembling a thunderstorm.

Memories of her and Long Wei began to replay in her mind as she continued to laugh. He was a lowly physician when he met him and offered to take him under her wing as her student, and made him into a known physician in the whole of Wuhan kingdom. Everywhere she went, he followed. They saved lives and cured diseases and pandemics together, and along the way, they began to fall for one another and eventually became lovers.

Outside the shed, the wind blew greatly with power and anger, carrying along trees and little huts on its path, resembling a hurricane. Tian's eyes glowed as the memories continued to play. A day came when she thought she was ready to let him know of her true identity. She was more than happy when he pretended to love her, regardless of who she was, but she should have known better.

Rumors began to spread that she was a witch and she was using people's blood to make herself beautiful and rich. Her life and work as a physician started to crumble to pieces, and business stopped blooming.

Her workers and people who loved her began to stay clear of her and eventually left her alone. When she thought she still had one more person by her side, he betrayed her, made her use her powers, and exposed her to the whole kingdom.

He told the people that he had captured the evil witch and he would save the kingdom from the likes of people like her. He made a deal with a sorcerer who made him a magic binding rope which he used to tie Tian's body to the bark of a wretched shed. Hence, how she ended up in this situation.

Her eyes glared with fury. The wind had successfully turned into a hurricane and had begun to steal people of their houses, livestock, and even the humans among them. Long Wei managed to ride on his horse over to the shed where he kept her.

Dressed in clothing made for royalty, he looked regal and handsome, but his eyes were dark with evil. He had drunk from Tian's blood, which gave him supernatural powers. He opened the door of the shed and walked in on Tian, whose entire body glowed with sudden markings. 

"Do you think you can still use your witchcraft magic after all this time?" He scoffed. Tian smiled ruefully at him. She never once pitied him, even when he told her the story of his childhood, but looking at him now, all she could do is pity him.

"Whoever said I was a witch?" Her voice echoed, and she didn't even raise her voice. She strengthened her arms besides her and broke the ropes that bound her to the tree. Tian licked the blood that trickled down her chin and breathed out a fresh breath. The shed slowly began to shake violently, and everything in it began to shed away. Tian's body slowly left the ground and started floating in the air.

Shock registered on Long Wei's face at the powerful aura Tian emitted. "I am a deity of creation and order. I hold power in the heavens and seas. I simply came to live a life of a human and enjoy the privileges of walking the land of the humans. The human world is so ungrateful, rotten to the core and very greedy. It's so painful to see a whole kingdom reek of such qualities, but do not worry, for I shall rid you all of your disease," her voice sounded like a huge thunderstorm. She was now floating in the sky.

Everyone in Wuhan kingdom could see her from where they stood. The sky changed its form and atmosphere, and the moon and the sun appeared at the same time. Screams and shouts filled the air. Tian watched the humans on land scatter like ants as they tried to find a place to hide. Some began to kneel and beg for her mercy. She was beyond merciful, her Chakra and mushu overpowered her being, she was in full deity form.

The tattered tunic and pants she wore immediately transformed into a gorgeous Hanfu, heavily decorated with gems and beads.

Her skin glowed, and her hair turned into a full-blown updo with jade combs holding the knot firmly. Her beauty was stunning and blinding, and her eyes glowed a bright crystal light as she waved her Yu-Shan in a circular motion. This made the wind blow furiously, and it sounded furious. Thunderclaps sounded, and every time they did, the people on land would scream and wail on their knees and beg for forgiveness.

The kingdom of Wuhan smelled of chaos and disaster. Long Wei fell to his knees, his royally made clothing had reduced to nothing but trash. His eyes darted frantically around in fear. He immediately began to bow repeatedly, his forehead violently hit the ground repeatedly as he begged for forgiveness.

"Please, I beg of you. We were wrong, you are right. We allowed greed and foolishness to blind our way of thinking and acting. We are humans, we make mistakes and commit lots of atrocities. Please forgive us." He rambled, his lips were just moving in Tian's eyes. She wasn't having it.

She suddenly appeared before the man she loved with all her heart. She bent down to his level where he kneeled and held his face in her hands. Long Wei could not look her in the eyes; he didn't dare to do such.

"You made me know love and you made me know pain. I must thank you for the happiness you made me feel and for waking me up from my fantasy dream." Tian spoke in a soft whisper to her lover, her fingers softly caressed his face.

"I will seal my soul in an enchanted object that will serve as a representation of my power. I will appear to the world of the humans once again, and when I do, I hope the land is pure of greed, evil, and envy. Now, receive your punishment." She ended and instantly returned to the sky. She spread open her Yu Shan and closed it between her hands, which she clasped together. The moon covered the sun, and the thunderclaps intensified, as did the thunderstorm. The ground beneath them began to crumble, and little by little, every human on the land of Wuhan kingdom slowly turned into stone until everyone on the land was nothing but stony statues.

The atmosphere returned to normal, and Tian ascended back to land. She kneeled right in front of Long Wei and pressed her forehead against his. She too slowly began to turn into stone. A bright orb shone greatly in her chest area until it burst out of her body. It floated in the air and then disappeared.