"You have given me much to consider," he said at last, his voice carrying undertones of something that might have been wonder, or fear, or the strange mixture of both that accompanied the discovery that one's understanding of the universe might be fundamentally flawed or incomplete. "Perhaps... perhaps it is time for this old teacher to remember what it means to be a student."
The Buddha's form began to fade, not disappearing but withdrawing, stepping back from the immediate conflict to contemplate questions that would require more than eons to properly examine. His parting words drifted across the battlefield like gentle rain falling on soil that had been too long without water: "Continue your path, my former student. Show us what choice truly means."
