A recap of...
Black Myth Wukong
After successfully escorting Tang Sanzang and recovering the Buddhist scriptures, Sun Wukong ascends to Buddhahood, but ultimately rejects life in the Celestial Court, instead choosing to live on his mountain in peace. However, the Celestial Court is angered that Sun Wukong would disobey them, and sends an army led by Erlang Shen to force him to return to the Court. Sun Wukong duels Erlang, but is incapacitated by the circlet that binds him to the court and is sealed in a stone. However, right before he is sealed, Sun Wukong manages to split his power into six Relics, each one corresponding to one of Wukong's six-senses (the same six-senses [zh] of Āyatana in Buddhist philosophy), that are scattered and hidden all across China.
Over the next few centuries, the Monkeys of Mount Huaguo would send out a number of young warriors to try and recover the Relics so they can revive and free Sun Wukong. One such Monkey (who becomes known as the Destined One) sets out on his quest to find the Relics.
First Relic: He first heads to the burnt down ruins of Guanyin Temple and recovers the first Relic, Sun Wukong's "eyes", by defeating Heifeng Guai, who apologizes and claims he was forced by the Court to oppose the Destined One.
Second Relic: The Destined One then heads to Yellow Wind Ridge where he defeats the Yellow Wind Sage and recovers the severed head of the Bodhisattva Lingji. As an appreciative gesture, Lingji hands over the second Relic which he had guarded until then.
Third Relic: The Destined One continues his journey to the mountains, where he frees Zhu Bajie from imprisonment and they both defeat Yellowbrow. Maitreya proceeds to thank them for defeating Yellowbrow, who stole his artifacts as well as the third Relic, which he then gives to the Destined One.
Fourth Relic: The Destined One and Bajie then arrive at the lair of the Spider Demons to find the fourth Relic, but Bajie is captured by the matriarch, the Violet Spider, who plans to marry and devour him for having "ruined" her centuries earlier. The Destined One rescues Bajie and battles both the Violet Spider and the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master, resulting in their deaths and the acquisition of the fourth Relic.
Fifth Relic: The Destined One and Bajie continue to the Forest of Embers, where they find the Red Boy attempting to steal the fifth Relic from the Bull Demon King. The Destined One defeats Red Boy, who then commits suicide to avoid the humiliation of defeat. This enables the Destined One to take possession of the fifth Relic.
Sixth Relic: With five of the Relics now in possession, the Destined One and Bajie return to Mount Huaguo to find the sixth and final Relic. On the way, they find that Sun Wukong's old weapon, armour and cloud have been hidden in the region, thus they decide to recover them before the Court does. They reach the summit of Mount Huaguo where the Destined One discovers that, as the "Destined One", he himself is the sixth Relic, also known as Sun Wukong's mind, hence why the "Destined One" resembles Wukong exactly. In fact, his true destiny is not to revive Sun Wukong per se, but to inherit the legacy of his name and powers, thus becoming his new incarnation.
In order to achieve reincarnation, the Destined One is forced to battle the stone body of Sun Wukong, who has no mind and no soul. Upon the defeat of Wukong's stone body, there exist multiple endings:
If the Destined One did not fulfill any of the optional requirements for other endings, he fails to inherit Sun Wukong's legacy. He is forced to wear the same circlet that bound Sun Wukong to the Celestial Court and his body remains trapped inside the rock waiting for a new Destined One.
If the Destined One defeated Erlang Shen in an optional boss fight prior to the final battle, he successfully inherits Sun Wukong's memories and refuses to wear the circlet, preventing himself from being bound to the Celestial Court.
Over the next few centuries, the Monkeys of Mount Huaguo would send out a number of young warriors to try and recover the Relics so they can revive and free Sun Wukong. One such Monkey (who becomes known as the Destined One) sets out on his quest to find the Relics.
First Relic: He first heads to the burnt down ruins of Guanyin Temple and recovers the first Relic, Sun Wukong's "eyes", by defeating Heifeng Guai, who apologizes and claims he was forced by the Court to oppose the Destined One.
Second Relic: The Destined One then heads to Yellow Wind Ridge where he defeats the Yellow Wind Sage and recovers the severed head of the Bodhisattva Lingji. As an appreciative gesture, Lingji hands over the second Relic which he had guarded until then.
Third Relic: The Destined One continues his journey to the mountains, where he frees Zhu Bajie from imprisonment and they both defeat Yellowbrow. Maitreya proceeds to thank them for defeating Yellowbrow, who stole his artifacts as well as the third Relic, which he then gives to the Destined One.
Fourth Relic: The Destined One and Bajie then arrive at the lair of the Spider Demons to find the fourth Relic, but Bajie is captured by the matriarch, the Violet Spider, who plans to marry and devour him for having "ruined" her centuries earlier. The Destined One rescues Bajie and battles both the Violet Spider and the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master, resulting in their deaths and the acquisition of the fourth Relic.
Fifth Relic: The Destined One and Bajie continue to the Forest of Embers, where they find the Red Boy attempting to steal the fifth Relic from the Bull Demon King. The Destined One defeats Red Boy, who then commits suicide to avoid the humiliation of defeat. This enables the Destined One to take possession of the fifth Relic.
Sixth Relic: With five of the Relics now in possession, the Destined One and Bajie return to Mount Huaguo to find the sixth and final Relic. On the way, they find that Sun Wukong's old weapon, armour and cloud have been hidden in the region, thus they decide to recover them before the Court does. They reach the summit of Mount Huaguo where the Destined One discovers that, as the "Destined One", he himself is the sixth Relic, also known as Sun Wukong's mind, hence why the "Destined One" resembles Wukong exactly. In fact, his true destiny is not to revive Sun Wukong per se, but to inherit the legacy of his name and powers, thus becoming his new incarnation.
In order to achieve reincarnation, the Destined One is forced to battle the stone body of Sun Wukong, who has no mind and no soul. Upon the defeat of Wukong's stone body, there exist multiple endings:
If the Destined One did not fulfill any of the optional requirements for other endings, he fails to inherit Sun Wukong's legacy. He is forced to wear the same circlet that bound Sun Wukong to the Celestial Court and his body remains trapped inside the rock waiting for a new Destined One.
If the Destined One defeated Erlang Shen in an optional boss fight prior to the final battle, he successfully inherits Sun Wukong's memories and refuses to wear the circlet, preventing himself from being bound to the Celestial Court.
