Uneasy

(Content warnings and a reading guide are in the author's note of Chapter 1)

I observe that all the sentient beings in Jambudvipa are guilty with every thought and impulse.

-- The Original Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra

Buddhists speak of karmic ties. Guannan was born at the dawn of a chaotic age and would vanish at its end. Bound by fate to that era, she was destined to spend all her life force for the sake of the world, then attain Buddhahood on the spot. She would be known as the "Buddha Who Quells the World."

"Guannan, people's hearts are in turmoil. This is a warning that the boat may capsize." Cien gently closed his eyes. Behind him stood crumbling walls, with smoke and gunpowder filling the air.

Light streamed through the cracks, falling across Cien's peaceful face. Guannan stared in a daze, suddenly feeling that Cien was Guanyin, the Bodhisattva who saved the world.

"Go down the mountain." Cien suddenly opened his eyes. "I observe that all the sentient beings in Jambudvipa are guilty with every thought and impulse."

Cien's words and the sutra gradually blended together, transforming into a distant yet weighty chant that echoed in Guannan's ears.

Guannan knew her name came from that line. The world was steeped in suffering, and demons ran rampant. Master Cien had hoped she would not commit the same karmic sins as ordinary people, and that she would take those words as a warning.

She simply nodded. Somehow, she felt that an invisible force called "fate" was tugging at her, sending her into the mortal world to quell its countless absurdities.

People's hearts are in turmoil. I am the Buddha Who Quells the World.

It's basically a story about a group of women resisting oppression.

Theme: Passing the torch