This time, Yama headed North-westward, and as they ventured deeper into the celestial realm, the air grew thick with ancient magic.
The path before them shimmered with iridescent light, beckoning them towards a sacred temple hanging in the distance.
The temple was a marvel of spiritual architecture; its pillars carved from the clouds themselves, and its walls echoing with the melodies of the drifting winds.
As the clouds parted, the duo were instantly buffeted by a thick scent of ancient incense.
Yama and Ryujin were surprised to see a massive White Tiger; a being of pure light and strength.
It sat in repose, upon a dais of cloud, awaiting them with eyes that seemed capable of perusing the intents of one's mind.
"Welcome Ryujin, seeker of the Medallion of Awakening." It spoke, its voice resonating like a celestial gong.
"To claim the Medallion, you must first demonstrate an impeccable level of cognitive excellence.
You must unravel the enigmas of the paradoxes, and confront the truths that lie within." It added.
As the White Tiger introduced the nature of the trial to Ryujin, Yama calmly stood to the side, waiting silently; his figure cloaked in the authority of his domain.
He had brought Ryujin here, knowing the weight of the trial that lay ahead of him; however, the level of confidence he had in the latter was just as vast and towering.
"Remember," Yama spoke, his voice low but deep, digging into the very core of Ryujin's mind.
"The Medallion of Awakening is not just any ordinary Apex Chaos Grade Treasure; it is also a testament to the bearer's triumph over a Divine Level Trial.
It would greatly aid you when the time comes for you to obtain an ancestral legacy."
Ryujin nodded.
Though he had little clue about what Yama was talking about, but for the latter to mention it; especially with such seriousness, then it must be just as important as the other two, if not more.
Steeling his resolve, Ryujin wasted no more time as he stepped forward to meet his fate.
Then with a wave of its massive paws, Ryujin was suddenly covered by thick plumes of clouds, and by the time his vision cleared, he couldn't help but freeze, gobsmacked by the sight in front of him.
Before him, was a vast expanse of sky that shifted in color from the softest of lilacs to the deepest indigos, reflecting his state of mind.
The ground was not solid but made of a translucent material that resembles crystal, giving him the illusion of walking on light itself.
Towering pillars rose from the ground, inscribed with ancient runes and symbols that glowed with an inner luminescence.
They casted no shadows, hinting that the light within the Crucible weren't coming from any single source.
It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, creating a gentle ambience that suffused the air with warmth.
The walls pulsed with a soft glow, seemingly breathing; expanding and contracting with a rhythm that matched the glow of the firefly.
The streams and rivers within it flowed in an unorthodox manner, running from the ground into the air, defying gravity as they twine around the pillars and arches.
It was a sight that engaged all of Ryujin's senses; hence his reaction.
It was almost as if the crucible itself was challenging him to expand his perception beyond the limits of the physical.
It was in that moment that the White Tiger once again appeared with a calm majesty.
The air around it shimmered with the power of raw potential, the very essence of the chaos treasure that it guards.
From the looks of it, it seems it would be the one to dole out Ryujin's challenges.
"Prepare yourself little one." It spoke, snapping Ryujin out of his reverie.
Ryujin realized his tests were about to begin, and as such, he took a little time to readjust his mental state as the color changing sky began to rapidly reduce the rate at which their colors changed; a feat that flashed ripples of veiled shock across the tiger's eyes.
"I'm ready." Ryujin announced as he walked over and stood before the tiger.
-------
"Ryujin, to proceed, face the Ship of Zheng... If you replace every single part of a ship over time, and you build another ship from the replaced parts, which one is the original ship?"
This time, Ryujin's mind paused momentarily, trying to rid itself of its previous thought process and create a blank slate.
Ryujin had guessed that the riddles would increase in difficulty, but what he hadn't considered was the sheer randomness of their contexts and the fact that he might really miss one of them.
Though, there was a possibility he might not have to answer every riddle correctly, and might be graded percentage-wise, but he was never going to on it; he had come here determined to struggle and suffer for his rewards.
To arrive at his answer to the riddle, Ryujin had to contemplate the nature of identity and change.
The first that came to his mind was the identity of the object over time.
'Objects maintain their identity over time regardless of change; thus, the ship's identity cannot be solely dependent on its physical components.'
Then he began contemplating what defines a 'ship'
Was it the arrangement of its parts? or was it its function? 'Or the intention behind its construction?' Ryujin thought to himself before arriving at his conclusion.
'A ship is surely defined by its function and name rather than its individual parts; after all, a car and a plane both have tires, but one couldn't be called the other.'
Up next, Ryujin distinguished between the essence of the ship (its purpose and design) and its physical form (the actual parts), and came to the conclusion that; while the form may change, the essence remains constant.
Then finally, after hypothesizing all the information he had gathered, and sorted; Ryujin concluded that both the restored ship and the one reconstructed ship from its old parts are, in a sense, the original ship, yet they are also different due to the continuous change they've undergone.
Upon arriving at his conclusion, Ryujin answered;
"Both and neither. The ship remains the same by name and function, but its essence and identity are in constant flux, much like the nature of life itself."
-------
"Well done. Answer me this: what has a heart that doesn't beat?" It asked.
Ryujin's brain overclocked its processing power as it began to delve into the depths of its mind, sifting through screens of memories with impossible speed.
Then he found it!
It was from one of his memories of his life as a White Oak Tree.
'Buried within the rough leaves of a globe artichoke is the sweet and tender "heart."' The answer surface within his mind.
"An artichoke." He answered with concealed glee.
-------
"Indeed. Now, ponder this; a statement says 'I am lying.' Is the statement true or false?"
This time, Ryujin's expression contorted into a frown.
He analyzed the statement, and realized that if the claimed the statement was true, then he must be lying, which in turn would make the statement false.
Then again, if he said it was false, it would mean he isn't lying, potentially making the statement true.
Furthermore, he noticed that both answers created a continuous loop where the statement cannot be conclusively true or false without leading to a contradiction.
At that moment, Ryujin was hit by a stone of enlightenment, causing a light bulb of insight to light up within his mind.
'Ofcourse, there are some statements that are beyond the scope of traditional true/false evaluation.'
With that thought, Ryujin concluded that the statement was a paradox with an unsolvable loop, a statement that defies the binary true/false dichotomy and instead exists as a thought-provoking puzzle.
'Not all questions necessarily have an answer.' He added; his chin on his webbing of his thumb and index finger.
"If the statement is true, then the speaker is lying, which makes it false. But if it's false, then the speaker is not lying, which means it could be true. The paradox is an unsolvable loop." He replied.
-------
"Impressive. If you shoot an arrow, before it can reach its target, it must get halfway there. Before it can get halfway, it must get a quarter of the way, and so on. So, how can it ever reach the target?"
The Nobel Scientist within Ryujin burst forth once again as he brooded in utter tranquility.
Firstly, Ryujin highlighted the question as a paradox after all, it is insinuating that motion is impossible because it involves an infinite number of steps to reach a destination.
Secondly was mixing-in the Concept of Infinity; which focused on how dividing the path of the arrow into an infinite number of segments doesn't prevent motion but rather describes it in a way that seems counterintuitive.
Thirdly were his insights on the Continuum of Motion. He could easily recall that motion is a continuum; and this meant that, despite the theoretical division of space into smaller and smaller parts, the arrow moves through space-time as a whole entity instead.
With all that coming together, Ryujin arrived at an assertive conclusion that; the arrow does indeed reach its target because it moves through space as a whole, not in infinite increments.
"Motion is a continuum, and the division of space into infinite segments is a mental construct. The arrow does reach the target because it moves through space as a whole, not in infinite increments." He answered.
-------
"Splendid. Solve the Omnipotent Paradox: Can an omnipotent being create a stone so heavy that even they cannot lift it?"
Here, Ryujin had to take a moment to consider the definition of omnipotence.
'Omnipotence... That should be one's ability to do anything that is logically possible.'
Upon arriving at this conclusion, Ryujin realized that the paradox of the question was designed to challenge the very definition of omnipotence by presenting a task that seems impossible for the being.
'Creating a stone so heavy that the omnipotent being itself cannot lift it...' Ryujin's thoughts trailed off for a moment.
Then after what simultaneously felt like hours, minutes and seconds, Ryujin gave his answer.
"No." He answered, before adding;
"The very nature of omnipotence means that the being would be able to both create the stone and lift it, defying the paradox." He answered with a sigh of mental fatigue.
------
"You show wisdom.
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears.
I have no body, but I come alive within all elements but flames.
What am I?"
This time it was a question that triggered responses from all of Ryujin's previous lives.
As a White Oak Tree and Golden Orchid, he felt; "The whistling of the wind."
As an Immortal Jellyfish & Orca, he perceived; "An underwater sonar."
As a Gold Eagle, he heard; "The thunder of a lightning strike"
As a Jaguar, Tiger and Turtle, he felt; "The seismic vibration of the earth."
Then finally, as a Nobel Scientist, he gave his answer; "An Echo; deadly to flames."
-------
"Immaculate. Now let's finish this with another paradox.
What happens when an Unstoppable Force meets and Immovable Object?"
Ryujin sunk deep into his thoughts, excavating every form of wisdom, knowledge, insight and intuition left within.
He had managed to do excellently well so far, and this was the final question.
If he was truly needed to answer every question correctly, then this question would decide whether he obtains the treasure he was here for, or leave emptyhanded in defeat.
Multiple ideas streamlined themselves within his mind creating a train of thoughts.
'This is obviously a paradox meant to test the limits of two absolute powers.
The fact that one is 'unstoppable' and the other 'immovable' also means that they are an equally matched omnipotent entities whose reason for existing is to negate the very essence of that powers both of them.
But, since one cannot defeat the other, doesn't that mean they will both surrender?!' Ryujin thought to himself as he prepared to answer.