On the Other Shore of the Long River, that peculiar Strange Flower swayed in the wind.
It seemed to be the last thing that could keep the White-Clad One company...
Whenever the White-Clad One went down into the river to light the lanterns, it would watch him from the wind on the Other Shore.
The pure white Strange Flower resembled the White-Clad One. It was like another version of him.
Whenever the White-Clad One returned, he would sit beside it for a long time, murmuring endlessly, "Eternal existence is life; annihilation is death."
"Between life and death, perhaps there is another way to find release..."
"But I lack a source of 'annihilation'!"
A faint consciousness seemed to be slowly growing within the Strange Flower.
It watched the White-Clad One go down into the river again and again, and return alone time after time...
It seemed to notice that the White-Clad One was gradually becoming somewhat different from the six Lantern Lighters before him.
And each time the White-Clad One went down into the river, he stayed longer and longer.
It seemed that after countless rounds of lighting lanterns, the White-Clad One had not returned, but had instead traveled far toward the Other Shore.
Finally, this time, when the White-Clad One returned after more than ten days down in the river, he held something the Strange Flower could not understand.
The White-Clad One looked exhausted and utterly weak.
What he held looked like a ball of wind... yet also like a wisp of the power of annihilation...
It was something without form, yet it seemed to be the most feared thing in the world!
The White-Clad One staggered over to the Strange Flower on the hillside and plopped down on the ground.
He gazed at the thing in his hand, seeming