The Jade Emperor, desperate, sent word to the Western Paradise.

Buddha himself descended, serene and immeasurable as the cosmos. Sun Wukong stood before him, staff in hand, unafraid.

"I have mastered the Seventy-Two Transformations and the Cloud Somersault," the monkey declared. "Heaven has no power over me. Why should I not rule from the Jade Throne?"

Buddha smiled. "If you can leap from the palm of my hand, the Jade Emperor shall yield his throne to you."

Sun Wukong laughed. "Your palm is smaller than a lotus leaf! Watch me!"

He somersaulted across the universe. Past the Eastern Ocean. Past the very pillars of heaven. Stopping only when he reached five towering pillars—the very edges of existence. To mark his achievement, he wrote "The Great Sage Was Here" on the central pillar... and urinated at its base for good measure.

Returning triumphant, he landed before Buddha. "I've reached the end of the universe. Now give me my throne!"

Buddha showed him his hand. On the middle finger were the words: "The Great Sage Was Here." At the base of that same finger, the faintest scent of urine.

"You never left my palm," Buddha said gently.

Before Sun Wukong could respond, Buddha's hand closed. The Five Elements Mountain descended from the heavens, pinning the Monkey King to the earth.

"Five hundred years," Buddha decreed. "In five hundred years, a monk will come from the East. He shall be your master, and you shall accompany him on a journey to the Western Paradise for sacred scriptures."

Thus did the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven, begin his long wait beneath the mountain—waiting for the monk who would change his destiny forever.