Maudgalyayana died.
Kapilavastu came under attack from the demonic path. Maudgalyayana went to stop them, using his divine power of movement to pass through the blockade in an attempt to save the people of Kapilavastu. Yet karma was difficult to overcome, and in the end, he still failed to save them.
He even exposed his weakness because of it. The demonic path discovered that Maudgalyayana's divine powers could not withstand karma. In the end, a demon called Puranas seized the opportunity, trapped Maudgalyayana beneath a mountain, and crushed him to death.
Trapped by karma, Maudgalyayana's divine powers failed him, and he ultimately perished there.
After Maudgalyayana's death, Kasyapa sought out the Demon Prince.
For among those who now held the greatest control over the universe's karma was the Demon Prince. Because of the Retribution of Karmic Sin of the heavenly demons, he had stripped away the Karma Demon's power. He now governed part of the underworld, controlling the cycle of karmic retribution in order to hone his own skills.
"So, what do you want to learn from me?" the Demon Prince asked Kasyapa.
From beginning to end, the Demon Prince wore no expression at all.
Kasyapa did not answer directly, instead looking toward the living beings of the underworld.
The scenery of the underworld was like his expression as well—unchanging as ever. A dim, dark-red sky hung overhead, like a night that would never arrive, like a dawn that would never appear.
The earth was withered, the sky lonely. Nothing in heaven or earth changed in the slightest.
People often described something as "hellish," but if they truly saw hell with their own eyes, they would likely discover that few things in this world deserved the word "hellish."
Hell existed beyond will itself. Endless chains dragged countless divine souls away,