Chapter 12 (Ending) (Part A)

 As Max faced the last stage of Bardo, his hands were holding the sword of flames, a rope was on his waist, and a diamond ring was on his finger. He was at his best, trying to be calm. His sudden separation from Jizo dulled his mind. His steps were lazy, and his breaths were long. He let his eyes drop not a single tear. 
 The upcoming realm was devoid of light. All was darkness, and darkness was all. Nowhere could be seen. No sounds appeared. The sudden coldness shocked Max’s heart. He wasn’t sure if he was walking on the ground or not. 
 To overcome his fear and darkness, Max emitted flames from his body. Those flames lightened the ten directions around him. What the light revealed numbed his spine and shortened his breaths. 
 Thousands of Phantom children were standing around him. They all had his face, transparent dark bodies, and glowing red eyes. His face was reflected in their unmoving eyes. Their faces were lifeless. They are souls, yet they are soulless. Before them, Max’s soul was vulnerable. His heart skipped a beat due to the scene. Getting surrounded by replicas of himself can drive everyone mad. As all phantoms were dark, Max could not distinguish the outsiders.
 The phantoms began making eerie whispering noises and attacking Max by hitting him with their bodies.

  Each touch of their bodies weakened him. During attacks, the eerie sounds they made hurt Max’s eardrums. They put their mockery on him, making him inferior. They whispered to him that he was just a demon that would bring doom to his family and humanity. They told him everything he feared to become. 
 Max could not flame them but could blow them with the wind. To keep them away, Max waved his fiery sword and caused glowing amidst the darkness. He flapped his majestic wings to keep them far from him. The ghost boys, however, multiplied in number. 

 The attack went on for nearly an hour, wearing Max out. Suddenly, he could not change into his demon form anymore. 
 Max felt something escaping out of his body. He felt a sudden weakness after it had escaped. He felt his powers had been drained. And he saw what had escaped from him.

 His demon form, adorned in flames and spreading its majestic wings, stood before him. Pointing its finger at him, he charged more phantom boys at him.
 Max felt let down after his demon form had parted from him. He could then use only his sword for defense. Due to the loss of demonic power, every swing of his sword exhausted him. His body was weary, and so was his soul.

 That time, Max realized it would go on for eternity if he didn’t change. He stopped his attack, dropped his sword, sat on the floor, and said, “You all are no real! You all are replicas of my illusion,”
 The phantoms and the demon figure said monotonously, “How could you tell we are unreal? Can you not hear us nor see us?” His demon form produced more phantoms within a second. They filled all his surroundings as quickly as water flooding a valley.
They began attacking him wildly, causing him to shake and vomit blood. His breaths were heavy, and so was his heart. He felt a choking pain in his throat. He felt as if his internal organs were burning. Max, using his strength, said
“You all are reflections of my mind…! You…You all mean nothing! All of you, even you, are just me!” He pointed at the demon figure and said him directly to the eyes.

 The kids mockingly said, “Isn’t it because our attacks had shaken you? and attacked more. Max could barely sit. 
“No, you cannot attack me! I have no will to attack myself. And so will you all… I accept all of you as me and parts of mine,”

 He sat down with his eyes closed and his mind not caring about their attacks. He murmured in mind that he would not hurt himself. It was very hard at first, but he recalled the incident on the boat. He tried to neglect all his pain and focus on one thing, “They are just me and parts of my mind and soul,” He sent all his sufferings to nothingness and focused on those words repeatedly.

  Max’s body was weakened due to the attack. His once-white skin had turned darkish. His lips were white with no blood. But, he remained upright. He could feel the pain but did not respond. At that moment, the attacks went slower, but Max still gave no reaction to them, only accepting them as part of him. 
 Finally, all the pains had ceased. Max gave no reaction to the ease of pain. “They are not different from me,” he focused.

 He had no perception of pain and painless. He had no perception of all five senses. He had no perception of responses. He had neither perception nor no perception.

 He had witnessed the sameness of the nature of all feelings. 

 He had witnessed the sameness of the results of all feelings.

 He had witnessed the sameness of the truth of all feelings.

He had witnessed the sameness of all activities

 He had been liberated from all the pains of his soul and body. Thus, he opened his eyes.

 At that time, four great shadows were in his front, back, and sides.

 He could see the outsiders (not from the Bardo realm) recruiting from afar. They began charging towards them. They had various forms. Some had animal-like body parts and some had multiple body parts. Their bodies were ablaze. Their bodies were deformed. Their mouths, with protruding ugly fangs, appeared contorted in the extreme, and their thick and broad tongues, rough like a turtle’s neck or a straw mat, dangled from their mouths.

 They would make snappy, ugly, terrifying, and rough sounds of “Phut phut, picut, phulu phulu!” Others would call, “Let’s get rid of him! Grab that demonic child! Let’s make sure that he is caught, cut, slashed, tied, held, harassed, cut in pieces, gotten rid of, and destroyed!”
 Max’s physical body was still so weak that he could no longer protect himself from the outsiders. But still, with his little left strength, he grabbed his sword and was ready to face everything. Suddenly, four great shadows before him manifested into their original forms.

“Max Norton, you have proven worthy of our aid,” Sultana Maryam’s gentle voice appeared.“It was my honor to guide you,” Iason, the Siren boy’s voice, too.“Good job,” Lucy’s strong, short round voice came at last.

 From his north was the green elven boy he met in the forest in a green Halo, sitting with crossed legs. He gestured not to be afraid.
 From his south was golden-skinned Sultana Maryam in a bright yellow halo, sitting with crossed legs. She gestured the abundance of his soul.
 From his east, Iason, the blue-haired Siren boy now with legs, in a light blue halo, sitting with crossed legs. He held two lightning bolts in his hands.
 From his west, red-haired Lucy in a red halo, sitting with crossed legs. He gestured the great concentration.

 All their lights combined into a rainbow and shone upon him, warming Max with a cozy feeling. In a short time, the rainbow covered his whole body, and the rainbow was his body. 
 Then, a white robe appeared on top of Max’s T-shirt. It was soft and warm at the same time. It had restored the energy he had lost. A golden crown of five jewels appeared on his head. Max now emitted his own white halo and gestured the realization of the Truth. Sitting with crossed legs, he had become the one with a thousand rays of the sun. 
 For a moment, all the outsiders were stunned. They were immovable from their positions. 
 Max observed the ground beneath him. Ironically, it was not land or soil he stepped on. It was a lake. It was a lake with not-moving, unshaken, fresh, clear water. It was steady in its place. Max found it calming, yet he desired to see its wave. He desired to see it as it should. 
 “Plup”
 He touched the surface of the water gently. It produced a tiny wave. The tiny wave doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled and quintupled. Upon passing before Max and the four children, the wave turned into a great sea swell. Roaring and dashing, spreading to all directions, it crushed the enemies of Max. 
 The rays of sunshine appeared from above. Piercing the clouds, it gave him warmth as a blanket. The lake swiftly shrinks into a small pound in front of Max. A grass plain, adorned with flowers of five colors, replaced the lake. A great tree appeared behind him. Its flower fell upon him. Its leaves and branches gave rest to singing birds of all kinds. Its roots dwindled deep into the ground. 
 From the pound at the foot of Max, there it appeared. His demon form, blazing with red flames, rested upon Max’s foot. It sat before him and said,
 “O, Max, you had conquered me. You had defeated me. You may now end me if you desire,”
 Opening his mouth, Max spoke,
“I do not desire. You and me are the two sides of a coin. You and I are interdependent on each other. I accept you,”
 Then, the demonic form turned into dark black smoke. It went inside Max’s chest and seated upon his heart. Max blinked and turned himself into a fearsome form with fangs, horns, and a nostril. He blinked again and returned to his humane form of a 12-year-old. 
 “Max, now you have full control over him,” the other child said to him. They stood from their place and gathered around him. They made him get up from his seat. Max was shy and said,
“It is not possible without you guys’ help. I know the true nature of you all. O wisdom ones, I adore you all for your help.
 “Max, no need to thank us. Do you know why?” Lucy brought up a question. 
 “Because you all are also parts of me,” 
 All the children smiled and were delighted by his answer. 
 Then, the exit from the realm of Bardo appeared. Max told the children that it was time for departure. But he said that it was not a departure truly, because they would never be departed. 
 Still, he waved at them before entering. 
 And they waved back.
…