Heaven is Owned Within a Bowl, Who Shall Own the Bowl?

Unlimited power, as though he were part of the heavens?

Xi Chen couldn't help but become dumbstruck towards the mysterious void emanating from the depths of the void. Failing to find within himself a reasonable explanation towards the meaning of the statement that was tossed in his direction, the handsome man allowed for a light sigh to escape into the void.

Unlimited power… why wasn't he feeling a shred of this "unlimited power?"

All he knew was that there was a bowl that had emerged from the void, as well as its physical structure and form. But as for whether a wooden bowl could grant him this so-called "unlimited power"… then Xi Chen had a few questions to ask to the mysterious speaker shrouded within the void.

Of course, certain sensitive questions regarding mental health and psychotherapy sessions…

Alas, no matter how much time seemed to pass, the void didn't speak any further. Xi Chen had the crawling sensation that it was expectantly waiting for him to respond, though he had completely no idea what to even say in this matter.

Was he supposed to exclaim in jubilation, crying about how he would reform his glory and reshape his hideous past into an honorable future? Or was he supposed to question for more information with the skeptic's mindset?

Being the former villager-turned highly successful businessman whose personality relied on rationality, as Xi Chen consoled himself, there was only one option available to him. As such, he adopted a decisive demeanor, and blazed in with all guns blazing.

"You said… there was unlimited power – as if I were part of the heavens? There where is this power – how come I don't feel any different? This better not be a joke – if you're playing around with my will professing some illogical, unreasonable 'heavenly power', then don't blame me if I take this matter to the courts!"

The moment he heard his own words resounding throughout the void, Xi Chen felt as though he should have killed himself the next moment from sure embarrassment. He wanted to bury his head into his hands and release a few bitter tears of shame, but there were no hands nor head he could use…

Of course, since he had successfully committed suicide by jumping off a hill in desperation, where would he still retain his head or hands?

"Will your mortal courts even listen to the words of a dead man?"

The mysterious voice within the void seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion as Xi Chen, and the mockery was displayed at its fullest. As the latter groaned in sheer embarrassment, the voice cackled in delight.

"You claimed that it was unreasonable, but you don't even check your surroundings to verify that your judgement is sound. If the bowl grants you heavenly power, then you have heavenly power. If it doesn't grant you heavenly power, then you don't have heavenly power – where's the joke in it?"

"The bowl is right there – why didn't you ever think of checking what it actually is?"

"Of course, I considered that possibility!" Xi Chen retorted in a clumsy voice.

"But since I can't see the bowl – how am I supposed to check it for any suspicious elements!?"

"…you know the bowl's physical form by heart, why would you even need to look?"

The soft muttering of the void caused Xi Chen's mind to screech to a halt, and he stared blankly into the darkness for a good period of time. When recalling that indeed, for some unexpected reason, he had abruptly received information regarding the physical structure and form of a certain wooden bowl, Xi Chen desperately wanted to cry. Particularly when such realization happened right after his actions of self-embarrassment before an omniscient entity…

How shameful is that – a mortal trying to outreason something not bounded by the laws of logic, and bursting in pride whilst doing so at that!

Furiously calming himself down in three tries, Xi Chen envisioned the shape of the bowl that had flickered in his consciousness earlier. Imagining that his eyes were now closed, even if he did not have physical form, he willed for his mind to dredge the remainder of stupidity from itself, and slowly got to work.

The bowl was completely ordinary; it was a meditation bowl that was used by Buddhist monks, crafted from the most ordinary of oaken wood and shaped by hand-crafted tools. It was a meter in diameter, and was shelled with a width of five centimeters at the fringes. The exterior of the bowl was coated in a light-colored varnish, causing the overall appearance to resemble more of birch than oak.

Simple, but with a touch of elegance.

The backside of the wooden bowl didn't differ by much, and complemented the other side rather nicely. At the lowermost center of the bowl, however, Xi Chen found several interesting etchings, concealed within the grain of the wood.

It was a total of three incomplete sentences; it seemed illogical upon first glance, but Xi Chen couldn't help but give a second look after having received the warning of the void.

"Will for oneself to beget the saint. Will for others to beget the fool. Will for thyself… to beget the devil…?"

Will for himself or another person?

Was this an allude to the supposed divine powers that a heavenly deity might possess – the ability to simply manifest creation upon a single thought? That certainly resonated with the Western world's faith of monotheism and Christianity… but what were these words regarding a saint, fool, and devil?

Plus, the wording of the first and third sentence seemed to contain similar meanings, but surely that wasn't the case, no?

Xi Chen relayed the questions in his mind to the void, and the concealed speaker replied with a slight pause in between. Certainly, the smirk could still be felt within the elucidating voice, but compared to before when Xi Chen was unintentionally shaming himself, it was much more lenient and tolerable.

The three sentences etched into the bottom of the wooden bowl did conform slightly to Xi Chen's thoughts, though there were several differences.

First, to will for oneself – that was quite literal and easy to comprehend, for it referred to the condition of willing some existence or event to happen solely for one's own benefit. To will for others could best be interpreted as an act of goodwill towards others, alternatively known as generosity or benevolence. The only glaring issue that Xi Chen could find within the second sentence was that since the only condition was that he had to will something that only others could benefit from, it did seem to be quite naïve and foolish as there were many loopholes that could be exploited…

But the third – to will for thyself – was to will for some event or existence to occur just as the others, but for the sake of one's benefit at the expense of others.

It carried a true and malicious intention, for its condition required that whatever Xi Chen was to obtain from it, he had to cause someone to suffer to a certain extent. The moniker – that of a devil – was certainly fitting for such a condition, for only those plagued by devils would seek to benefit at others' expense.

But to describe selfishness as a saintly cause, he didn't really know what to say in regards to it…

Having come to a decision to experiment with the three conditions on the bottom of the bowl as well as the void's irritating claim of "unlimited power," Xi Chen cleared his mind to give it a shot. Filling his consciousness with only a single sentence, he spoke with clear determination and resolve.

"I… I want strength, clairvoyance, and eternal wealth!"

They were childish dreams, but such exaggerated claims could serve as an excellent identifier as to whether the bowl's three sentences had any effect. And to fulfill Xi Chen's mixture of expectation and disappointment, there was absolutely no change whatsoever.

"…it didn't work?"

He didn't feel an iota stronger than before, and he couldn't predict anything in the future. Nor did he have any eternal wealth.

"You… really are slow minded, aren't you not?" the void sighed with a hint of exasperation.

"Did you think that with heaven's bowl in hand, you could become heaven itself? The bowl is the medium, and you cast your will through it, and not a direct manifestation of your desire! In this place, just where would you find strength, clairvoyance, or eternal wealth? Does wealth, strength, and clairvoyance exist here?"

Since at the root, he was still a mortal being, it was natural that all of his commands required context to manifest. Xi Chen's doubts were immediately resolved by the response of the mysterious speaker, but still felt rather irked by the snub to his pride.

"Perhaps not strength or eternal wealth, but surely clairvoyance should be a legitimate claim!"

"You idiot! Time doesn't exist – where would you even find the future!? There isn't even a past or present, what are you going to use to divine?"

Urk…

Xi Chen selectively ignored the outburst of the void, and instead returned his attention towards the wooden bowl captured in his consciousness. With a slight pause, he opened his mind to its limits, and enunciated slowly and clearly whilst propelling his imagination.

"I want a physical form – that of a human being!"

Strength didn't exist in a void, for there wasn't a prior defining clause for strength. But his command for a human body should be sufficient – if he defined the context through his imagination?

He imagined himself as his prior body; slim and lean with the perfect pitch and pronunciation of muscular build. Just the right amount of height, with a countenance that was clean and devoid of worldly sins…

Indeed!

He still couldn't see anything, but there was the slightest of tactile sensation. When he thought of moving his fingers, there was a distinct response – that of muscles and ligaments tensing and relaxing…

"My… little mortal, you're having fun, aren't you? Got used to wielding the power of Heaven yet – have anything you wish for?"

"I…"

Xi Chen's voice trailed off as he lapsed into thought. The void gently reverberated as it waited for the man to regain his thoughts and motivation, holding great expectation for the chaos a mortal blessed by heavenly power could instill.

And when Xi Chen finally recovered his mind and spoke, his voice was tinged with part malice, part mania, and part compassion…

"I… want to return back before to when it started. Before I fell into that spiral of a hellish mess… and I want to change it all."

"Interesting…"

"Bring me back to before that event! And there's one thing I want as well – that binder containing the marriage certificate, booklet, and contract!"

As the man's presence faded from the void, two grains of sand dropped into the wooden bowl of heaven. They were infinitesimal in size, and were inscribed with the words "saint" and "devil".

To a certain mortal world, chaos was about to descend. But as to whether a mortal blessed with heavenly power could retain his mind or become a corrupted mass of perverse desire, the void greatly wished to know.