Beginning Beyond The Horizon

High above the sky, everyone held the eagle feathers tightly with both hands, for fear of falling to death if they let go. The breeze brushed against the face, and two eagles crossed the Endless River of Sorrow and soared into the sky.

Hajime asked, "Why do they call this river the Endless River of Sorrow?"

Yul said, "This is named after the mistakes made by our ancestors. Once a group of people were forced to throw themselves into the river here. Since then, the clear water has turned into blood, and it can no longer be used for fishing or farming. Therefore, the locals began calling the river the Endless River of Sorrow."

Hajime frowned, "We didn't do anything wrong, why should we bear the consequences of our ancestors?"

The five of them didn't know how many hours they had been flying, but they only knew that it must have been half a day, because the sun had already set to the east. They flew for a long time, seeing nothing but water as far as the eye could see.

Abrafo's stomach growled. "How long have we been flying?" he asked.

U-ri said, "If I'm not mistaken, we've been flying for half a day."

Yul said, " I didn't see land or any birds."

Mochio said, " How is it possible?"

Hajime wondered if there was something wrong with the river. According to what Yul told him earlier, many people died in this river. He was afraid that there was a curse on the river. He asked, "U-ri, is this river cursed?"

U-ri shook his head and said, "I don't know, but according to some ancient books I've read, thousands of Kakungga people drowned in this river."

Hajime asked, "Accidental drowning?"

U-ri sighed and said, "Forced to drown."

Hajime took out a small paper butterfly. He kissed the butterfly and said, "Stay here."

Abrafo teased with a smile, "Madame Bayarmaa, what are you doing?"

Hajime said, "Mark our tracks, if the dead were not accidental but forced, then they must have had a lot of hatred for this person or persons who hurt them. If we fly back to this butterfly after a few hours, then that means we are going around a cursed river in a circle." The four looked at Hajime. "The spirits won't let us cross."

Abrafo said loudly, "Yul, your wife is very smart, it's a pity that she is old." He looked at Hajime. "Madame Bayarmaa, I bet you must have been beautiful when you were young."

Hajime boasted, "Of course."

Abrafo asked, "How many children do you have?"

Hajime said, "None."

Michio said, "You are so old but have no children…. I don't believe it."

Hajime said, "I don't want to have children, so I decided to marry a man." U-ri, Michio, and Abrafo laughed out loud. "What's so funny? Do you think it's strange for a man to marry a man?"

Abrafo, who was still laughing, "You are so old, your brain is not working, and you still think of yourself as a man." He pointed at Hajime.

Michio laughed, "Amitabha…Ha…ha…ha…ha… Amitabha…"

Hajime looked at the three laughing men, which made him very angry. He smiled evilly at the three of them, and said, "Disappear."

The eagle on which the three sat disappeared without a trace. The three people who fell from the sky screamed in horror. The wooden eagle appeared in the palm of Hajime's left hand.

Yule grabbed Hajime's shoulder and demanded, "Bring them back."

Hajime looked at the wood carving in his hand and said, "I refused, how dare they call me a liar?"

Yul said, " You're a woman. It's wrong for them to laugh at you, but they're not wrong about how you mistakenly think you are a man."

Hajime suddenly realized that he was still the old woman in disguise. He said angrily, "Fine." He took a deep breath and threw the wooden carving down. "Catch them."

A few minutes later, the eagle was soaring beside Hajime and Yul. The three men were still trembling.

Hajime looked at the terrified men and laughed, "Who is laughing now?" He pointed his finger at the three men and continued laughing.

Abrafo shouted madly at Hajime, "How dare you do that to us… you ugly old hag?"

Hajime scoffed, "If you want to free fall for a second round, please keep talking and calling me names." He stared at Abrafo coldly.

Michio reached over and covered Abrafo's mouth.

Abrafo jerked away Michio's hand and asked madly, "What the hell are you doing?" He was wrestling with Michio's hands.

Michio said, "I don't want to go for round two, so you better stop talking."

The two men continued to argue.

U-ri is about to tell the two to stop fighting when he sees a small spark appear in front of them. He pointed forward and shouted, "Everyone look." He pointed to a shiny object in front of them. "What's ahead of us?"

Abrafo and Michio stopped arguing, and the four looked to where U-ri pointed.

Hajime murmured in despair, "That's my butterfly."

Michio asked, "What do you mean?"

Yul looks at the three sitting on the other eagle and says, "We're flying in circles."

Biting his lower lip, Hajime said, "Angry souls won't let us leave." He looks at Yul. "No wonder those who've left never return."

U-ri asked, "What shall we do? Shall we go back?"

Hajime said, "We are forcing our way out of here." He looked at the four men. He sent three talisman papers to the three of them. "Hold on, don't lose it." He gave Yul one. "The same goes for you. Don't lose it."

Hajime took out another paper talisman and sent the talisman down into the river. He closed his eyes and began chanting. The single talisman turned into thousands of lightning bolts and hit the water surface. When the lightning hit the water, screams rose from the river to the sky, and thousands of spirits flew around the two eagles. Hajime took out his silver bangle and threw it into the air. The bangle expands and covers the two eagles.

Abrafo shouted, "What did you do?"

Hajime shouted, "Enrage the spirits."

Yul asked, "Why would you do that?"

Hajime shouted, "Did I tell you? We're going to force our way out of here."

Michio's lips trembled and said, "Enrage the spirits? This is not looking good."

Hajime said, "It's a perfect idea. If the spirits don't wake up angry, how do I know which one is my ancestor? I ask my ancestors to help me."

U-ri said, "So, you are a descendant of Kakungga tribe?"

Hajime nodded, "I am." A golden butterfly appeared in front of the five of them. Hajime smiled. "We follow that butterfly."

The eagles followed the golden butterfly and led the five people across the river. When they were close to the escape gateway, thousands of ghost hands rose from the river to pull them down, but they were protected by the magic wall of the bangle.

Thousands of angry ghost hands began to slam the magic wall, trying to break through the magic wall of the bangle, and the transparent crystal fortress began to crack.

Watch as the magic wall begins to zigzag down from top to bottom. "The top is cracked," U-ri yelled, pointing up.

Michio stood up, quickly drew a talisman in the air, and before any spirit ventured down, he sent the drawn talisman up to block the opening above.

Yul looked at Hajime and said, "Can you make this thing fly faster?"

Hajime said, "I can't. I'm chasing that golden butterfly. If we lose sight of that butterfly, we're screwed, and we'll be wandering in this river forever."

Abrafo shouted, "Your magic wall can't hold it anymore!" He grabbed the hilt of the sword on his back.

Just as the top of the magic wall collapsed on top of them, the golden butterfly burst into hundreds of tiny golden particles, forming an open gateway. The two eagles flew straight into the open gate, and the strong wind blew past the five men; hundreds of screams and cries died away behind them. The powerful force pushed the five people out of the gateway. The five men screamed in horror and fell on the beach on the other side of the Endless River of Sorrow.

Hajime fell face down with sand in his mouth. He spat out the contents in his mouth, wiped his mouth, and said, "I'm sorry, I..." He continued to spat and wiped his mouth.

Michio grunted in pain. "I'm still alive." He heard U-ri moan in pain in his low voice. "U-ri where are you?"

U-ri moaned in pain, "You, stupid monk…you are sitting on me…"

Michio yelled, "What? I can barely hear you. Louder."

U-ri moaned, "Get off of me…"

Abrafo stood up beside Michio and U-ri. He said, "You are sitting on him."

Michio got up quickly, "I'm sorry..." He helped U-ri up.

Yul asked, "Is everyone alright?"

Abrafo was startled when he saw Hajime sitting on the sand wiping his mouth. "Yul," he said, pointing at Hajime. "Look."

Michio stared at Hajime and asked, "Who is he?"

Abrafo looked around and asked, "Where's your wife?" He smiled. "Eh... could it be, your wife has fallen to her death?" He giggled.

Yul looks around and doesn't see his old wife. He saw a young man in his early twenties sitting with his back to them twenty feet away.

Hajime heard Abrafo scolding him and turned around quickly. "You are the only one who fell to your death." He frantically approached the men madly. "Is everyone okay?" The men nodded. "Sorry for the hard landing, when I'm scared my mind goes blank so everything I've created is lost."

Yul asked, "Who are you?"

Hajime flirted with a smile, "It's me. Your beloved wife."

Yul said, "My wife is an old lady. You are a young man."

Hajime ran to the river and looked at him. He said to himself, "Why does it disappear? How is it possible? So, when I am afraid, even my disguise will disappear?" He slowly walked towards the confused men. "I need to work harder." He stopped and stared at the four men. "What are you four looking at?"

Yul said, "You of course."

Hajime sighed, "Well, the old lady is one of my disguises. This is my real face."

Michio asked confusedly "Then you're a man?" He looked at Yul, then at Hajime. "You and him…husband and wife…"

Hajime folded his hands on his chest, "So?"

Abrafo said, "You don't have to worry. Many royal families have male mistresses. In Tanzang, this is not a problem. My brother has one." He dusted off the sand on his robe.

U-ri said, "No wonder you told General Kazan at the meeting that even if you are young, you cannot bear children."

Michio grabbed a handful of Hajime's white hair and pulled Hajime's pricked ears. He said, "I want to know why you want to marry a man. Please tell us."

Hajime patted Michio's handed away, "Don't touch me...it's disgusting...how long will you guys intend to interrogate me?"

Abrafo said, "Look at your abnormal ear. They are pointy at the top."

Yul looks back at the Endless River of Sorrow, ignoring the four men who are arguing. He could clearly see Tanzania walking happily in the marketplace. From where he stood, he could see the tall palace. He knew that the fate of the kingdom was in the hands of the five of them, and it was his duty to protect the safety of everyone. He must not fail this mission. He picked up his bag and started walking away from the four arguing men.

The four men see Yul leaving them behind. They quickly grab their bags and go after Yul. As the five men began to leave the river and enter the desert terrain, the sand behind them slowly moved and erased their footprints.