[AU: You are a future demigod on a journey to complete ten sacred trials. Wukong and Lin are your companions ^^]

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This was yet another one of your trials. The trio arrived at the sacred river, where a divine guardian dwelled within the waters. Though he didn't appear hostile, anyone wishing to cross to the other side had to speak an Absolute Truth.

A humanoid male figure emerged from the river, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes at the three of you.

—"A warrior with an identity crisis, an enthusiastic little girl... and a monkey with more ego than brains." The river deity let out a dry chuckle.

Wukong didn't take even a second to react. His staff spun into his hand with a violent flourish, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle as his golden eyes flared with dangerous intensity.

—"What did you just call me, you talking puddle?!" Wukong roared, taking a step toward the riverbank. —"I've defeated sea dragons that would make this river look like a spilled glass of water. Take back that comment about my ego before I use my staff as a straw and drink you dry!"

Lin quickly hid behind you, staring in amazement at the watery figure rising before them. The deity's aura flowed like a current, calm yet impossibly heavy. This wasn't an enemy you could simply strike down.

He was the river itself.

The river wasn't insulting them.

It was simply stating what it perceived.

—"Many have said the same before drowning in their own lies. This river cannot be crossed by bridges, only by an Absolute Truth. One so pure that it will not dissolve within my currents." The spirit of the river extended a translucent hand toward you.

You took it, but before you could speak, the river interrupted you once again.

—"I don't want an emotional speech full of endless words. I want one truth. One as accurate as that primate's intention to mate with you."

The silence that followed was so dense that even the sound of the flowing water seemed to stop.

Lin's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between you and Wukong, her innocent confusion quickly giving way to a mischievous sparkle.

As for the Monkey King, who normally had a sharp comeback for every insult, he froze completely. His staff, which had been trembling with fury only a moment ago, now rested motionless in his hand. The crimson of his cape seemed to have migrated entirely to his face, spreading beneath his fur all the way to the tips of his ears.

Oh no.

—"Hey! You... overgrown puddle!" Wukong exclaimed, pointing a trembling finger at the spirit while avoiding your gaze at all costs. —"Quit talking nonsense! I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven! And I don't... what you just said was a fallacy!"

The river deity burst into booming laughter, the sound echoing like a waterfall crashing against stone.

—"A fallacy? Curious. I have spent countless centuries incapable of telling a lie. It's quite an inconvenient condition. It makes dinners with other gods unbearably awkward."

Lin let out a laugh that she hurriedly disguised as a cough the moment she noticed the murderous look on Wukong's face.

Because the Monkey King's ego had just drowned.