55 Filler
25,000 years ago, at the highest Immortal Realm Plane.
An enormous bird was lazily sleeping at the top of the volcanic mountain.
Occasionally, the raging volcano erupted trying to burst the entire mountain.
The bird had many colourful flames surrounding its body.
Suddenly, the space distorted and formed into a void around the surrounding.
A figure of a lady appeared out of the void space.
The lady glimpsed at the bird and its beauty mesmerized her.
She stood frozen on the spot and stared at the bird with a dazed expression.
Noticing someone's presence, the bird slightly opened its eyes.
But, the bird quickly closed them and fell asleep again.
When the lady noticed the bird opening its eyes, she recovered from the daze and approached the bird.
Once the lady stood a meter in front of the bird, she asked in a soft voice:
"Will you consider my offer again?"
But, the bird slept and gave no reply nor a reaction.
The lady smiled and waited for its reply as if she knew, the bird would reply to her.
But, after 10 hours of waiting, she received none.
She got annoyed yet didn't express her distress at the bird.
She gazed at the bird and waited again.
Finally, a month later, the bird woke up; it had a surprised expression.
But, it quickly changed into an arrogant demeanour.
When the lady noticed the bird waking up, the lady showed her bright smile at the bird.
The bird stood up and flapped his wings.
After the bird shifted its sight at the lady and mocked her in an arrogant tone:
"Little girl, did you forget your last lesson? Want to see my flames again?"
The lady slightly trembled while a fearful expression appeared on her face as she recalled it´s flames.
But, she again smiled and showed a marking on her hand.
It had a tattoo of a golden dragon engraved with Fann.
When the bird saw the marking, It startled the bird for a sec.
Yet, its expression remained the same.
Instead, the bird sneered in an enraged voice.
"So, the little golden lizard wants to dare challenge me now?"
The girl froze and shuddered for a while before she quickly said:
"No, this marking has no relation between them."
"They merely submitted as a token of gratitude."
"They do not wish to involve itself in any conflict against you."
"But, will you reconsider about my offer?"
When the bird heard her words, it relaxed and laid down on the ground.
The bird ignored the lady and slowly closed its eyes.
Once the bird calmed down and closed its eyes, the lady pondered for a while.
After a moment, she sat next to him and sang a beautiful song.
Next day, the bird woke up and glanced around its surrounding, realising the lady already left the place.
It sighed in relief.
After the bird stood up and stretched its wing before flying out of there.
In a blink of an eye, 2 years passed.
The bird still slept and remained in the same spot at the peak of the same mountain.
But, the mountain changed so much.
It was no more volcanic instead just a cold deserted mountain filled with rocks.
Slowly, a void formed around the surrounding and the same lady came out of it.
The lady had a raging bright pearl in her hand.
Without saying a word, she threw it at the bird and sat down on a rock.
Suddenly, the bird opened its mouth and swallowed the pearl without looking at it.
After a while, the bird burped from its mouth and asked in a cheerful tone.
"Little girl, I'll listen to anything you say today."
The lady with a contented expression said:
"Ok, I will tell a short story from a mortal world."
"There was a rabbit and turtle who were childhood friends. The rabbit always teased the turtle as a slowpoke while circling around the turtle. The fuming turtle didn't rebuke the rabbit as it was true."
"One day, the rabbit and turtle watched the running tournament, intrigued seeing everyone running so fast."
"The rabbit laughed out loud and teased the turtle in front of everyone."
"The turtle felt humiliated and enraged, declared a challenged to the rabbit."
"Hence, the rabbit willingly agreed on the challenge to figure out what the turtle wanted to do. After the turtle explained the challenge was a running tournament between them."
"When the rabbit mocked the turtle and ignored the turtle, the turtle said to have a bet between them. If the rabbit wins, the rabbit can call the turtle in any names. But, if the turtle wins, the rabbit has to stop calling names or teasing the turtle."
"The rabbit stared at the turtle and happily agreed with the bet."
"Just like that, the tournament began."
"At the beginning, the rabbit dashed so fast, the turtle could not see his figure ahead but, the turtle lost no hope and ran as fast as it could."
"Meanwhile, after dashing, the rabbit lost all interest and wandered around the way."
"At some point, the rabbit would eat and sleep while the other time, the rabbit would join and play with others."
"When the turtle realised that, with an excited emotion, the turtle headed straight ahead while focusing only on the finish line."
"Finally, after a few hours, the turtle reached the goal and became the winner."
"In the end, the rabbit never came till sunset."
"The turtle stared at the rabbit for a second before leaving without a word."
With a curious face, the lady glanced at the bird before asking in an excited tone:
"If you had to choose between the turtle or the rabbit who would you pick?"
The bird showed a disdained look and replied in a husky voice:
"Of course, the rabbit."
The lady became speechless and bewildered.
She asked blurting her words:
"Why did you pick the rabbit?"
Instead of replying to the lady, the bird lazily rotated its head before speaking in a low voice:
"I also have a similar short story. Do you want to listen?"
It piqued her interest; the lady nodded her head and waited for his story.
Later, the bird showed his disdain expression and started his story:
"The story also has a similar concept as yours."
"Only the format is slightly different."
"It has both the turtle and the rabbit as a childhood friend."
"The rabbit bullied the turtle and in return, the turtle challenged the rabbit to stop."
"The challenge was also the running tournament."
"But 2 years limit, running around the jungle."
"Just like your story, the rabbit dashed out so fast, only the turtle remained at the start line."
"The turtle slowly headed out but his focus remained only at the goal."
"Here too, the rabbit diverted his interest on the other things instead of the tournament."
"After a month, the rabbit ran around with the deer while the turtle ran alone."
"2 months later, the rabbit had a great feast with the squirrels while the turtle ate alone at the road."
"3 months later, the rabbit sang a song along with the cuckoos while the turtle walked toward the goal."
"6 months later, the rabbit swam along with the swans across the river while the turtle still swam alone and headed towards the goal."
"7 months later, the rabbit found and stayed at a rabbit's den while the turtle ignored the other turtles and just moved toward the goal."
"2 years passed, the rabbit walked around with a few bunnies while the turtle reached the goal."
"When the turtle found no sight of the rabbit, the turtle finally relaxed and waited for the rabbit."
"But, the rabbit never appeared until the next year."
"The turtle discovered the rabbit with a few bunnies along with the babies."
"The turtle approached the rabbit with a happy expression and said in a high voice: I won."
"But, the rabbit showed a happy expression and said indifferently: I had fun."
The bird let out the hysterical laughter after finishing the story.
The bird asked the lady in a high-pitched voice.
"So, little girl, do you finally get it?"
The lady pondered with a perplexed and bewildered look.
After a moment, she shook her head and curiously asked:
"What do you mean? Didn't the turtle still win at the end?"
The bird gazed up in the air and replied:
"If I only had one goal in my head, I'd have chosen your offer long ago."
"But, I like my freedom, the same as the rabbit."
"Even if I delayed, I'll reach there someday."
"So, I never abandon my freedom."
"Little girl, since you get it now, this will be our last farewell."
The bird stood up unleashing its domineering aura everywhere and flew away from the spot.
The daze lady stood alone.
After jolting out of the daze, the lady sighed before punching in the air.
A distorted void appeared she glimpsed at the empty spot with reluctant eyes before stepping into the void.
Once she disappeared, the mountain collapsed leaving no evidence of their presence.
