Chapter 10 (Bagan)

Zeya and Saw Nan Mon are locked up in a metal prison cell with a power shield surrounding them. They both could feel the prison cell moving. It might be a vehicle transporting them somewhere.

“Hey… I’m sorry. You tried to save me, but now we all get locked up,” Zeya said.

“Nah, we have people to save. We still don’t know where they are taking us. Besides, I hope your father is alright,” Saw Nan Mon replied. Zeya was amazed by her answer.

“Saw Nan, how did you know that my father is one of the captives?” he asked. She looked him back with a sad smile and said,

“ As usual, by looking at your face. Since you have a family, You need to save them. It’s your duty, and I found no offense in doing so,”

“Saw Nan, you have never told me about yours too. Tell me, do you also have a family?”

“Zeya, what do you think my age is?”

“Umm… About 18?”

“I’m turning 467 years old this week,”

“Wait… what?” Zeya was amazed.

“I was born at the time of the Bagan dynasty. I might be a gifted one or a stroke of bad luck in the family. Since birth, I can control things and talk to animals, especially snakes. But these powers led me famous in an unwanted way. A drought happened in Bagan, and people blamed me for being one with powers. They told me the witch and my family brought the disaster. One night, by the secret order of the king, the people of Bagan captured my family and burnt them at stakes,”

Saw Nan Mon pause talking for a while as tears began to roll down. Zeya knew she wasn’t lying.

“I couldn’t save them… I didn’t even know how to use my powers. All I could do was selfishly run. Later, the Weizzas saved me and taught me how to use my powers. And here I am now,”

“Oh…” Zeya was speechless. Saw Nan Mon was like him, losing things she loved because of power. He could feel what she was suffering.

“Gree…” the vehicle they were in suddenly stopped. Aizzagawna came to their cell and said, “Move!!! Don’t ever think of escaping, or else the cyborgs will explode. They both didn’t look at him and got out of the cell. Outside, they saw a desert-like place with pagodas and brownish brick stupas. Saw Nan Mon didn’t look good. It was, of course, the land of Bagan.

(Note* Bagan was the capital city of Burma from the 1000s to the 1200s. It was a prosperous land. The citizens of Bagan were famous for building brick pagodas. Some myths tell that a Weizza named Aizzagawna made a “golden rain,” making the land rich and fertile.

By the late 1200s, Bagan’s economy became weaker. Some chemists and archeologists suggested that building too many pagodas caused the land to lose nutrients, making it infertile. The city of Bagan fell in 1284 due to repeated Mongol invasions. But, the pagodas and the stupas built by its citizens still stand today. In 2019, Bagan was regarded as a UNESCO heritage site)

As soon as he got out of the cell, Zeya thought about his escape and other people’s. He secretly used his powers to control Aizzagawna’s body. It was so hard to do. Aizzagawna showed no response, so Zeya changed his mind. He tried to control cyborgs’ bodies. This time, however, they showed some feedback on his power. But, “Hey, don’t do it now. We need to know what this guy is doing. It’s better not to attack first,” Saw Nan Mon’s voice appeared in his head. He looked at her, and she nodded. Zeya stopped using his powers for a moment.

Suddenly, they both saw some cyborgs carrying the mutant Zeya took from planet Tatera in a glass box. Zeya was thinking about what Aizzagawna was planning.

“So, why have you taken us to the land of Bagan? For pilgrimage?” he asked him in a mocking voice.

“Of course, for pilgrimage. The stupa in front of you is called Dhammayangyi, a work of my ancestors who had lived on your nasty planet,”

“Aren’t you the same Aizzagawna who made this land prosperous?”

“Nope, that’s just a myth. I just took his name. Now come inside the stupa,”

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