THE MON

The aaa with a character who is perpetually ill, entirely isolated, and shrouded in garments that completely cover his body. The answers to who this character is, how he came to be alone, and where he resides will soon be revealed. He lives in seclusion, dwelling inside a cave on a remote island located far away from his motherland. However, he was not the first human to set foot on this island, as various others had arrived before him. As evening approaches, this mysterious figure stands facing a wall of the cave for no apparent reason. Instead of tears, blood streams from his eyes as he weeps, repeatedly crying out, "Forgive me mother, forgive me father, forgive me sister". He is not talking to a mere blank wall in a fit of madness; rather, he has drawn a simple sketch of his mother, father, and sister on the stone surface—the trio who tragically lost their lives due to a mistake he made. To understand whether he is a murderer, the narrative shifts 7,000 years into the past.

Seven millennia ago, it was an ordinary and peaceful time where people engaged in trade, traveled freely, and lived happily. At that time, the protagonist of this story was a twelve-year-old child who enjoyed the company of friends and peers. A significant period passed filled with the warmth of family and friendship. One evening, as was his usual routine, the boy began to meditate. However, this particular day proved to be highly unusual, as he experienced an unprecedented and agonizing discomfort. He suffered a severe, unbearable chest pain that felt like a heart attack, causing him to scream out, "Please mother, save me! It feels like I am on fire!". Hearing his agonizing cries, neighbors gathered at the scene. Yet, due to an unfortunate misfortune, it became painful for anyone to even look at him, and from that day on, he was permanently deprived of his mother’s loving gaze.

Within a very short period, his body transformed, and blood began to pour continuously from his eyes and nose. Fortuitously, his father was a skilled physician. However, even his father found it difficult to approach him closely due to the nature of the condition. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the father swiftly wrapped bandages around the boy’s eyes and provided a garment designed to completely cover his entire body. The boy was left entirely isolated in his room, overwhelmed by a drastic transformation he could neither understand nor control. Experiencing severe physical pain coupled with an anomalous trait that prevented others from looking at him, he faced a massive crisis. Exhausted by the torment, he eventually fell asleep that night.

His parents were left in utter shock and grief. His mother wept bitterly, crying out, "Oh God, what has happened to our son?" while his father attempted to console her. It remained an unfathomable mystery to everyone, because what perplexed his parents the most was not just the bleeding from his eyes and nose, but the profound difficulty anyone experienced when trying to look at him. It was an extraordinary illness, the likes of which his physician father had never encountered before, leaving him entirely ignorant of any potential cure. When a new day dawned, his mother arrived early in the morning, only to find that the child who used to sleep peacefully was now a figure entirely wrapped in cloths. The sight moved his mother to tears, devastated by an extraordinary disease that possessed neither a known origin nor an explanation.

Later that morning, his playful friends arrived at his house to call him out to play, as they usually did. However, it quickly became apparent to them that this would no longer be possible. The boy refused to eat or drink; indeed, he no longer required any sustenance. Deep in thought, he began to analyze his condition, wondering if it was caused by food poisoning or the venomous bite of an animal. After contemplating for some time, he realized that this affliction had commenced precisely when he began his meditation the previous night. This realization resonated deeply within his mind, though it was a notion he found difficult to fully believe. Driven by a need to test this theory, he forced himself to meditate over the next few days. Unfortunately, his efforts only resulted in escalating pain and progressive physical deformity. Consequently, he made a firm resolution to abandon meditation forever.

For unknown reasons, the boy's fair complexion began to turn dark. Soon, a majority of the villagers began to exhibit identical symptoms, falling victim to the same mysterious illness. An extraordinary torrential rain began to fall, triggering widespread flooding across the region. As the sick villagers began to perish one by one, the village physician—the boy's father—found himself entirely helpless. A bleak and ominous atmosphere enveloped the entire village, and as time progressed, the disease only intensified. Tearful eyes became a common sight in almost every household. Tragically, the boy's mother, father, and his only sister were eventually infected. His family members grew progressively weaker, until they finally passed away, vanishing from his life like three lamps suddenly extinguished by an unexpected gust of wind.

Left completely helpless, the young boy had to endure an extraordinary tragedy, losing his entire immediate family while still merely a child. Stripped of his humanity by the oppressive disease, he was forced to bury his family entirely on his own. Bereft of any external care or attention, he decided to live a life of absolute isolation within his home. Meanwhile, another physician resided in the village who harbored deep-seated resentment toward the boy's family. This animosity stemmed from the fact that the boy's father was highly capable, attracting most of the villagers for treatment. The late physician had always spoken kindly to his patients and treated them with great hospitality, earning the genuine affection of the community and allowing his family to prosper. Furthermore, during an era where monetary currency did not exist, this success provoked intense jealousy and anger in the rival physician. This malicious doctor, who did not even know how to properly care for his own elderly parents, let alone a patient, saw the current tragedy as his opportune moment to rise.

To banish the boy from the village, the malicious physician initiated a calculated rumor, starting with the desperate patients currently under his care. He manipulated the villagers by orchestrating a provocative narrative, suggesting that the sudden outbreak of the disease was actually the doing of the deceased physician whom they had once highly esteemed. He convinced the people that the entire family was a curse upon the village, and that expelling the surviving boy would restore prosperity and bring back the sun. This rumor spread through the village like wildfire. Although the villagers initially doubted the claim, the persistent propagation of the lie eventually led them to accept it as truth.

After a few weeks, the incidence of the disease appeared to decline. However, this reduction was solely due to the high mortality rate which had drastically reduced the village population, leaving behind only those individuals resilient enough to withstand the affliction. As people gradually began to venture outside, the deceitful physician intensified his rumors. He explicitly told the villagers that the miserable disease, which forced every household to dig graves for their loved ones, was entirely the fault of the old physician, and demanded that the boy be driven out immediately. The villagers began to place absolute faith in the fraudulent doctor because he happened to possess an effective remedy that alleviated the symptoms of the illness.

Fueled by growing fury, the villagers collectively decided to permanently banish the boy and his family's legacy from the village. One night, an angry mob gathered in front of the boy's house, shouting hostilities and demanding that the "curse" leave the village. Receiving no response after shouting for some time, the villagers broke down the door and stormed the house, only to find it entirely empty. The young boy had anticipated the danger and escaped through the back door. Near the open back door, on the right side of the yard, the villagers noticed three white flowers placed at three specific spots, representing the resting places of the boy's family. Upon seeing this, the fraudulent physician immediately declared to the crowd that the family had finally perished as well. To a community that had witnessed the relentless demise of family and neighbors, death had become a normalized occurrence. The villagers now blindly accepted everything the false doctor said, viewing him as their sole savior from death.

Finding the house deserted, the malicious physician decided to plubder its valuable items before setting the structure ablaze. Watching from a distance with eyes full of tears, the boy witnessed his childhood home being consumed by fire. Filled with intense rage, he vowed to himself, "I will burn you to ashes just like this, remember that well". Realizing he could do nothing more, he fled. As he ran swiftly into the night, he unexpectedly encountered his best friend weeping upon a rock. He quickly approached her to ask the cause of her grief, and she explained that her entire family had abandoned her through death, leaving her as the sole survivor. Driven to despair, she expressed her intention to follow them to the afterlife.

Recognizing that she shared the exact same tragic fate, the boy deeply understood her profound pain and sorrow. Demonstrating his inherently noble character, he suppressed his own grief to comfort her, eventually confiding his own misfortune and impending exile. When she inquired about his destination, he revealed that he was heading toward a completely different island. Having no one left, she pleaded to accompany him. However, the boy refused her request; because he was severely ill and unable to guarantee the safety of another life, he urged her not to embark on such a perilous journey. Although she was deeply reluctant, she eventually acquiesced to his decision. He then requested her assistance in constructing a raft to cross the water, a task she willingly helped him complete. After launching the raft into the water, the boy expressed his gratitude and bade her farewell. As a parting gift, she gave him a necklace that had belonged to her mother. She could no longer bear to look at the necklace herself, as it constantly reminded her of her deceased mother. Wearing the necklace around his neck, the boy sailed away, keeping his eyes fixed on his friend until she was completely obscured by the thickening mist.

A day passed before the boy safely reached his intended destination. As nightfall approached, he found himself on a completely silent, uninhabited island with no shelter. He decided to spend his first night safely positioned inside a tree. He quickly climbed the tallest tree within his field of vision. Hoping for a peaceful night, he was instead flooded with memories of his past and the happy times he had spent with his family. As these thoughts overwhelmed him, bringing tears to his eyes, his chronic hemorrhagic condition flared up violently once again. With no one available to assist him, he summoned his maximum endurance to withstand the excruciating pain.

The intensity of the agony eventually caused him to lose consciousness as the night wore on. Upon waking the next morning, he discovered that the massive tree he had slept in was completely withered and dried up. The sequence of events left him utterly bewildered, and he marveled at the fact that he was still alive. He questioned how he managed to survive when his entire family and all the villagers had been rapidly wiped out by the disease. Descending from the dead tree, he began to search for a secure habitation. After walking a short distance, he discovered a beautiful cave that offered a profound sense of security. He chose this location as his permanent sanctuary and began preparing the surrounding environment for long-term survival, gathering food and storing it within the cave.

Overcome by a sudden wave of grief for his family, he utilized the cave wall to sketch their likenesses. A staggering 7,000 years elapsed, during which he remained trapped in deep sorrow. Suddenly, a distressing realization dawned upon him: he concluded that he was the original vector responsible for spreading the deadly disease to the other villagers. A profound sense of guilt consumed him, echoing relentlessly within his mind. His sorrow and fear intensified far beyond anything he had previously felt, causing him to fall to his knees and weep bitterly, bringing the narrative back to its opening scene. Gradually, the evening arrived without him notice.

Eventually, the boy’s mental endurance reached its breaking point. He began to run aimlessly in a state of frenzy, finally stopping beside a lake located near his cave. As he sat there weeping, he noticed a highly unusual and serene individual walking toward the forest on the opposite side of the lake. A distinct aura of light radiated from this stranger’s body as he walked quietly, looking down at the ground in absolute tranquility. Sensing that this individual was profoundly different from any ordinary human he had ever seen, the protagonist began to covertly tail him. After a short while, the mysterious stranger sat upon a stone beneath a tree, adopting a meditative posture. The stranger then began to speak aloud, and the protagonist realized that the words were being directly addressed to him.

Emerging from his hiding spot behind a tree, the protagonist rushed forward aggressively to attack the stranger, wielding a heavy wooden branch he had broken off. He delivered a powerful, rage-filled blow, but to his utter astonishment, the strike passed cleanly through the stranger’s body and forcefully struck the tree behind him, deflecting away. Overwhelmed by confusion, his fear escalated significantly. His frantic mind took over, prompting him to hurl various objects at the mysterious entity, yet the stranger remained completely unperturbed, maintaining his meditative stance as if nothing had occurred. In a final, desperate display of anomalous strength, the protagonist uprooted a massive tree and swung it at the stranger. Astonishingly, as the tree rapidly approached the entity, it was instantly incinerated and reduced to ashes in less than a second. Exhausted by his futile efforts, the protagonist collapsed to his knees, looked down, and demanded, "Who are you?".

The mysterious entity began to explain his nature, stating, "You cannot truly see me because I exist in a timeline that is far in your past". He explained that while he could not perceive the protagonist with his physical eyes, he could see him through his mind and project a non-physical manifestation of himself. He described his powers as extraordinary, claiming the ability to read the minds of all living beings, tear open space, and travel at the speed of light. However, he noted that he lacked the ability to physically travel through time. He concluded by saying, "Nonetheless, I understand what you are thinking. Yes, I can treat your affliction, but the truth is, you suffer from no disease whatsoever. You do not require medicine; what you need is a master".

The protagonist, still kneeling on the ground, failed to comprehend these words, having never heard such concepts in his entire life. He responded, "If you can truly read my mind, then you must know why I came to this island. A deadly disease broke out in my former village, and I was its original source. Because of me, my family, my friends, and the majority of the villagers died. Yet, I know no cure for it. I believe I am the last survivor, but what I find impossible to believe is how I am still alive while extraordinary things constantly happen around me. Surely you must know this".

The strange master replied, "Yes, you are by no means an ordinary person, but the problem is your own ignorance of your nature. My entire purpose for coming here is you. I can assist you and explain the reality of your condition; you do not require medicine, only proper training". Accepting his situation, the protagonist stated, "If you claim I have no disease, I will accept it as such, for I have no other choice. I accept you as my master".

The master then revealed the source of his condition, explaining, "The phenomenon you perceive as a disease the bleeding from your nose and eyes, and the inability of ordinary humans to look at you occurs because your power is far too great for this ordinary world and your physical body to sustain. My objective is to teach you the ultimate truth. We have many exercises to perform in the future, but for now, you must go and rest well. We shall begin anew tomorrow. Meet me at this exact spot before sunrise". Filled with intense curiosity, the protagonist departed without saying another word.

While walking back, the protagonist heard the distressed cries of an animal. Rushing toward the sound, he discovered an isolated foal in the jungle being harassed by two wolves. Due to the presence of two predators, he could not simply charge in blindly to disperse them. However, as the foal was on the verge of becoming prey, he broke a wooden branch from a nearby tree and leaped into the fray. The wolves shifted their focus to the protagonist and began to stalk him. One wolf suddenly lunged at his body, knocking him flat on his back. It fiercely bit his leg and began to drag him, while the second wolf positioned itself on top of him, delivering a violent claw strike to his face.

The force of the blow dislodged his facial concealment, and the wolf's claws severely wounded his face. In a fit of extreme rage, the blood coursing through the protagonist's body became as hot as acid. The blood was so intensely hot that upon staining the attacking wolf, it instantly corroded through the predator's flesh and broke its bones. The corrosive blood also struck the wolf’s eye. Enduring severe agony, both predators fled the scene. Remarkably, the bleeding facial wound healed almost instantly, leaving only a scar. The protagonist quickly rearranged his facial covering and approached the foal. Finding the young animal unharmed and realizing that they were both entirely alone, he decided to bring the foal back to his cave.

As they walked a short distance, the protagonist's mysterious condition flared up severely once more, causing him to lose consciousness and collapse. However, he did not hit the ground; instead, he fell into a dark rift in space that had suddenly materialized beneath him, functioning much like a teleporter. He regained consciousness immediately upon entering this dark, black void and stood up. For a moment, he stared intently at an object visible within the expanse. He realized he was looking directly at his own planet. As he observed it, he was suddenly pulled backward at an extraordinary velocity. His rapid descent finally came to a halt beside a massive, swirling vortex—an entity known in the modern era as a black hole.