It took a little over 3 months to finally reach the Heavenly Maiden Sect by the flying artifact. Aside from distance, Tyr could not continuously supply the whole artifact on her own indefinitely. They had to stop at regular intervals and allow Tyr to recover.
Lind would have enjoyed the scenic views more if he had not been so busy regulating his emotions. The pain in his cheek would stop for days at a time, but it would resume once more. Sometimes faintly, other times it would nearly be overpowering, but it never completely settled. Lind's rage railed against its cage inside his heart, but the heart demon was growing stronger over time.
Shoti had the most success in getting him to laugh and at one point severely distracting him with a game she had learned as a child. The rules were modified for adults of course, but it was remarkably like paper-scissors-rock. The difference was the relationship between elements. It was interesting because up to 6 people could play but even with just 2 people it had to be slightly more complicated.
For this version, Lind lost a few times and was forced to endure massages from Shoti that were hell on his nerves because of how close she was, but was admittedly very distracting. Shoti lost more as time went on and after the expected tantrum, sometimes a real one, she would attempt to lose articles of clothing until Qing would tackle her to the ground.
Lind laughed so much and used the memories to anchor himself during his meditations. It was only partially effective at those times. Lind could see that he was getting worse because of the mark reacting like that on his cheek. Was Trynith causing it on purpose to punish Lind for escaping his assassins?
When Lind was in his meditations, it would normally be a storm of light flowing through his meridians as it coalesced into his dantain and the 6 cores there. The emerald flame would grow bigger slowly as well, but now a massive maw of darkness seemed to want to swallow him up.
Lind knew if he was possessed again completely, it would likely be the end of his life forever.
He ended his current session as the hollow feeling faded away and opened his eyes to twilight. The open arches of pristine white stone revealed the massive garden exposed to the open sky. The sun was falling to the horizon as the stars began to appear slowly with the moon.
Lind had never really looked up at the stars since he was a child and living with his mother. She had lay with him in the herb garden and just hummed to him as they looked up at the expanse of stars. He held on to the sweet memory as he felt more at rest than he had in weeks.
A gorgeous platinum blonde emerged from the shadows of the hall that encircled the garden and made her way on one of the 6 stone paths to the pavilion Lind was using. He was currently in the healing courtyards of the Heavenly Maiden Sect. If he used his Eyes, he would see profound Qi flowing in Sky Realm level formations all around him.
Only the truly stupid would ever attack this sect. He had been forced to use his Eyes less unless he was truly outside the formations setup for the sensitive areas of the sect. He would suffer massive headaches otherwise.
"Please sit and relax, Lind." Qing smiled sweetly at him as her pale eyes looked him up and down carefully. Lind knew his face was pale and he had lost weight since the whole ordeal began. Food had lost its taste, even sweets did nothing, but he ate because he must.
The sweet smell of tea filled the air as Qing produced a steaming pot from somewhere. The Lotus Empire had bitter teas but they were good for soothing aches and pains of the body. The Heavenly Maiden Sect, on the other hand, had very sweet teas made from a mix of leaves and honey locally harvested. It reminded Lind of Long Island Iced Tea but it was far more soothing than that numbing drink.
Lind savored the amber liquid as it seemed to clear his mind and heart for a few moments. He relished these moments with Qing.
"It is time, Lind." He looked up to see a very serious look on her face. She was always professional when helping him but otherwise she had become perhaps his closest companion since he left the Frey Clan. Shoti had told Lind that Qing usually did not act like that save around her, but Shoti had smiled and hugged him in a very calm manner for a change when she revealed that.
"Time for what?" Lind really was confused. They had been having double and sometimes triple sessions with senior Tyr helping as well if it got really bad. It had only happened twice but it had been close calls.
"It is time to face these heart demons. We cannot put it off any longer." His tilted head conveyed how lost he was as she set down her tea on the small table next to her. She seemed to collect herself for the next few words. "I have received permission to use an artifact of the higher realms."
Lind felt his mouth go dry. He did not know what the artifact was, but higher realm did not refer to the Floating Isles. That was still a location within the mortal world. Lind's hands shook as he felt fear rise, but he kept it under control and steadied himself.
"What do I have to do?" Qing looked into his dark green eyes and moved over to his side to embrace him. He felt all his worries fade for a bit as her hands gently stroked his head. Lind wondered if he would regress into a little boy mentally at the current rate of affairs.
"It is called the Mirror of Will. It is not something we use lightly nor is it used even if it seems appropriate. The resources to move it are considerable, especially to this continent." Lind focused on the vibration of her voice so close to the top of his head. "Elder Sister and I had to argue for weeks before the petition was put forward."
Lind felt a tremor in his soul. He knew why Qing was so serious now. It was not the artifact itself, although that was potentially terrifying enough, but what the Heavenly Maiden Sect wanted from him to be allowed to use it. A shadow of darkness began to appear in his dantian until Qing's words shocked him sober completely for the first time in months.
"Shoti and I will be serving the Sect in the Floating Isles after a rigorous program of forced cultivation isolation." Lind bolted up out of the seat and stared into her smiling face. She seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and gently patted the cushion next to her.
Night finally fell as they sat there quietly.
"Why?" The single word was spoken hoarsely from Lind's throat as tears fell down his face and he was pulled deep into a hug this time.
"We care for you, silly boy." Lind's heart ripped open. Isolated cultivation meant they would no longer be around until they met a breakthrough quota. It meant the sect highly valued the 2 women and wanted them to advance quickly to the Floating Isles. Lind had heard of this even in the Frey Clan.
If a cultivator was wasting their talent but wanted something precious from the clan, they had to pay a price of servitude. No showing their faces to potential higher powers, or going on adventures. Strict pill regimens with a deadline to breakthrough. If they failed, they would be crippled as punishment for wasting the clan's time.
Lind doubted the Heavenly Maiden Sect would cripple either of them, but it could force them to do work no one else wanted to do. A price had to be paid. Nothing was given for free.
"I want to hear it now." Lind mumbled words but Qing froze. She looked into his face and smiled as she now began to shake. He then smiled and pulled her into his embrace. "I don't want to know because I want to build trust. I want to know because I want to help you carry the burdens and joys going forward. You are the closest person to me."
Friends did not cover what was offered, nor were they more intimate, but in that moment, Lind finally wanted to know why he trusted Qing so much instinctually. He wanted to understand it all.
Qing nodded and then seemed to think for a long time before finding her starting point.
"Do you know about the Conclave of Perfection in Rith?" Lind shook his head and saw almost relief in her pale eyes that flashed pale blue for a moment. "They are a small but powerful group on the far eastern coast of Rith. Essentially as far from the Demon's Teeth as you can get on that continent."
Lind pictured the world. The Sarth Continent hung like an overly large banana with a curve facing its 2 neighbors to the north and east. It was closer to the nearly splatter shaped Indelia, but above them both was the eye shaped Rith. It was supposedly carved up by a powerful cultivator unlike the other 2 continents, but no one could prove it.
Lind imagined the far eastern tip that was smaller hills and grasslands had the Conclave of Perfection. It boarded the Dread Desert that led west to the Demon's Teeth marking the border of the Demon Empire.
"They follow a simple, but brutal, cultivation path. All life is imperfect, thus it struggles to cultivate. Life must achieve its perfect form to recreate perfect cultivators." Lind felt that was very Darwinian of them, but leaning towards dark paths. Afterall, who decided what was perfect?
Qing poured a fresh cup of tea to calm herself. Lind held her free hand and smiled at her. For once, he felt no pain from the mark nor the call of his heart demons. He was more clear headed in that moment than he had been able to achieve in months.
"There is a group of men and women in charge that call themselves the Arbitrators of Truth. They decide the laws, enforce them, and when it suits them, ignore it all for their true goal." Qing then looked Lind right in his face as a hollow look entered her pale eyes. "They breed perfection Lind."
A sharp pain in his chest spiked but he did not look away from Qing. He nodded for her to continue.
"For those that are already members of the Conclave, it is not much different from arranged marriages, except in 1 major way. If a child is not an improvement from the parents, they must separate immediately and be evaluated." Qing's voice became angry at that point. "If you are deemed 'defective' you are summarily enslaved and sent to the markets for whoever will take you away."
Lind had to focus. His vision blurred for a moment but he swore to see this moment through.
"If it was deemed a simple statistical anomaly, the couple can try again with better partners. The Arbitrators, of course, are near perfect specimens." Lind was not surprised in the least at that comment. "If you are deemed of immense potential, whether native or not, you are forced to contribute to improve the Path to Perfection"
Lind suddenly understood. Qing was like him. She was exactly like him. Only, it was possible things were worse for her. He gripped her hand but she smiled gently at him and did not stop.
"My father was from Indelia, I was told. He had come to trade as had a thousand times before but this time, the Arbitrator of Light decided he was excellent stock. They strapped him in a room and used him. My mother was one of those women." Lind felt rage. The Kingdom of Altair was monstrous, but the Conclave was worse. No one was a person to them, just another stone in the path they built to their definition of perfection!
"I was 13 and about to be paired up against my will, when a brazen girl broke through to the Soul Realm forcibly. She picked up the whip of the overseers and went wild. It was chaos. I don't think you need to guess who that was." Lind smiled for the first time since the story began.
"Shoti never changes." Lind never felt more thankful for her than right then. She saved 2 of his closest friends that day.
"No, she does not. She crippled the overseer, took his keys and freed the rest of us in the Body Refining Realm. She never stopped until we stole a ship and made it to the northern cliffs of Sarth. A Heavenly Maiden found us and took us in. The rest was Fate as you know it." Lind hugged Qing to his chest as he saw tears fall down her face.
The darkness of her past was heavy, but Lind did not find it a burden. He smiled and simply held his closest friend.
"I am ready, Qing." Lind solidified his will and accepted the trail to come.