Chapter 10: Trial of the one Eyed Tribe
Tom's success in the sixth Trial gave him a sense of accomplishment. Still, he couldn't shake off the feeling of anger towards himself for becoming arrogant, even if it was simply because of the Trial. He realized that he had fallen into the same trap as the main characters from the novels he used to read. They believed that achieving a slight hint of power would solve all their problems and make them invincible.
Tom thought to himself that he had come so far, and with only three trials left, he needed to keep up the pace and not falter at the end of the road.
Tom constantly encouraged himself after completing each Trial, reminding himself of how far he had come and urging himself to keep going and not give up. He knew that the remaining trials wouldn't be easy, but he was determined to push through and emerge victorious.
"It's now or never. The seventh Trial, here I come" After he said that, Tom entered the subsequent Trial.
Tom entered the seventh Trial only to see Yellow Fog again.
Tom wanted to know if he entered the first Trial again or if something went wrong with the pagoda. But, after looking at it closely, Tom noticed that the Fog this time, although Yellow, had a black-colored dot in the middle as if it was an eye?
Tom didn't need to wait long for an answer to his question because it spoke.
"Ulcer of the soul, a burning pupil, gazing at what belongs to others, not looking at what belongs to you. An eye that doesn't close will never reach for what is in front of it."
After Tom reflected on the hint of the Trial for a while, he thought he understood the purpose of it. This time the Trial is going to focus on the sin of envy, and it will probably have something to do with eyes since it was mentioned so many times in the hint.
Feeling excited about what was coming, he entered the Fog with all that he had.
[Pov Change 1 (Truth)]
Once upon a time, in a small village, there was a straw house where a mother and her daughter lived. It was a peaceful night, and the stars were shining bright in the sky. The mother tucked her daughter into bed, but the little girl pleaded for one last story before falling asleep. With a gentle smile, the mother couldn't resist her daughter's innocent charm and agreed to tell her another bedtime story.
The mother took the book near her daughter's bed, intending to read a story from it, but the daughter insisted that her mother must continue the story of the one-eyed tribe. The mother wanted to object, but she was too exhausted, so she agreed.
Grabbing an old book from the antique shelf in the room titled "The Clork and the Eye of the Moon." The mother asked her daughter if she was sure she wanted to hear the story, and of course, the curiosity of children will never be satisfied until they hear the end of the story.
[Pov Change 2 (Book)]
Legend has it of an ancient species that lived on this planet before mankind. The Clork is a specie that possessed extraordinary powers, but what made them unique was the fact that they had only one eye, and once they looked at someone else, their innermost instinct would rage, and they would want to take everything from them. This caused them to wage many wars between themselves, and because of all of that, the Clorks angered one of the true ones that cursed them with a curse that would make them feel a burn like no other once they sought what wasn't theirs.
A long time after the curse was placed, there was a young Clork named Coorkas. Of course, this Clork wasn't any normal Clork because the one who possessed the body was Tom.
Tom looked around to better understand the Trial, only to notice that all of the "people," if he could even call them that, were giant one-eyed creatures. A couple of minutes passed, and Tom stayed where he was, waiting for his memories to get wiped, but nothing of that sort happened. He remembered the Trial of the Sloth, where his memories stayed as is. He thought that this situation might be similar, and what would you know, he was correct.
After another couple of minutes passed, a sudden feeling came from deep within him. Whenever he looked at one of those one-eyed creatures, he felt a need to go to them and take everything they got. Although this feeling didn't come alone, it came along with a sense of burning that made him think that he was going to die.
The creatures were looking at the ground, trying to keep their society working and trying to interact with other Clorks amiably while resisting the urge to stab them. This contradiction made for an interesting society where most people tried to stay far away from others to not look at them. They thought that if they didn't look into any Clork's eye, they would not get the idea to rob and take. It seemed they were created to follow the concept of "Out of sight, out of mind" to the point.
Tom wanted to know if he would get a message to tell him what to do or will he need to find out by himself.
Walking around the road, Tom kept his head down just like the rest of the Clorks, not knowing the mission of the Trial. He only knew that he needed to stop himself from becoming an envious one-eyed Clork if he wanted to succeed.
The time passed, and Tom walked through the city. Seeing the situation here while keeping his head down made him think that these creatures are truly pitiful with no purpose in life, all because they have this urge to rob all the people around them. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to take one of them and dissect it to study, yet he held himself, knowing he would fail the Trial if he did that.
Suddenly out of nowhere, Tom noticed an arrow that no one around him seemed to see, and a feeling from deep within told him that this arrow would lead him to where he needed to go to accomplish the mission of the Trial.
With nothing better to do and no idea where to go, Tom decided to follow and see where it was going to take him.
Chasing the arrow from one road to another, from one corner to another, Tom found himself in an old part of the city, a part that seemed to lack any care, not like the other parts had much care put into them with the state of this society they can be said to be half broken already.
Tom looked in front of him only to see an old store sign with "Bookstore of the unseen" Looking at the store and then looking at the arrow, it was evident to Tom that the arrow wanted him to enter the store, so he did just that, and once he did the arrow disappeared.
Behind the counter of the store was an old man holding a book with a strange symbol on the cover, "The Eye of the Moon." Once the old man noticed Tom, he welcomed him with a sleepy tone. Tom didn't really care; the only thing on his mind was succeeding in the Trial.
Tom wondered why the arrow would even bring him here in the first place. There didn't seem to be anything of significance here. That was until the old man spoke, "Have you heard of the eye of the Moon?" Tom wanted to say "no," but he didn't have the chance to speak because the old man continued, saying, "The eye of the Moon is a legend I have heard about since I was young. I even dreamt of being the Hero that awaken it, but sight it seems I am not meant to be." After that, the old man didn't continue talking as if he wanted Tom to ask him to continue.
"What is the eye of the Moon? and why do you want to awaken it?" Tom asked, not letting the old man's expectations down.
"Children, these days, have no patience. I was going to continue on, but you interrupted me… Will, seeing as you are the one who is meant to be, I will tell you the eye of the Moon is in all of us yet in no one. If it awakens, it will purify the Clorks from their envy, thus removing the sense of burning we feel once we look at each other."
Tom felt happy, thinking that was most likely the purpose he needed to achieve to succeed in the Trial, so he asked with haste, "Ok, old man, don't stop there. Do tell me how I can awaken it."
The old man was taken aback by Tom's enthusiasm. Even as a child, he had always sought the Eye of the Moon, but he had never shown such excitement. Nevertheless, he decided to answer Tom's question.
"I'm glad to see that you're eager," the old man said, "but remember to keep your composure. As I said, the Eye of the Moon resides in all of us. If you wish to awaken it, all you need to do is look into a Clork's eyes."
"That is it?" Tom asked, not believing it would be that easy.
"Of course, that wasn't it because you need to look into the eye of a Clork without any thought of envy in your mind. Your eye must be as pure as the Moon itself if you want to awaken the eye of the Moon." The old man told Tom the rest of the information he needed.
From Tom's analysis of the Clork civilization, it seemed that if a Clork let his envy get to his mind, he would burn; thus, looking into another Clork's eye was quite risky; however, what choice did he have? he didn't care about saving the Clorks, but he will do it for the only reason the Trial.
Tom said but four words, "Look into my eye."
The old man asked, "Are you sure you want to start it now without any preparation?." after he said that, he looked into Tom's eye briefly, and that second told him all he needed.
Tom and the old man each took a seat, and once Tom said, "Start." they each looked into each other eyes.
Once Tom lifted his head to look into the old man's eye, he felt his body nearing the old man wanting to rob him of all that he had, yet he pushed his body back while keeping his eye looking at the old man.
The seconds passed, and the feeling of envy grew more intense by the second. Tom tried to hold the feeling back, only to notice himself reaching face-to-face with the old man who seemed uncaring for his life. Tom, yet again, pushed his body backward, and the only thing that made him not turn to envy was knowing the fact that this was but a trial and that he wouldn't get anything from killing the old man now other than failing the Trial.
After understanding the fact there was nothing to envy here, and even if there was, he was too weak to get it; his mind started to get clear.
They say that extreme darkness can be just as pure as extreme light, if not purer, and from Tom's current situation, it seems that this is true because the thing that held him back wasn't the light within him but the fact that he knew there was nothing to be gotten of killing in this place.
Tom's mind became clear. He stayed looking at the old man that was until a sudden crack was heard from within and all around him.
The old man cried in joy with a hint of madness in his voice, "Haha, today we, the Clorks, will no longer be impure. The eye of the Moon shall awaken."
Tom's eye turned into a bright white circle simply as if the Moon descended down to earth. He felt his body flying over the city over the Clorks far and near. And once he said the word' Impuro, "A fire rose from within the Clorks and purified them from their curse. However, it seemed that this "Eye of the Moon" wasn't a Panacea because once it awakened. The fire caused many Clorks to die. It seemed that those Clorks were deemed unworthy of purification.
[Pov change 2 (Book)]
As the story came to a close, the little girl sugged deeper under her covers, her eyes filled with fear. She had been so captivated by the tale that the horror of the Clorks became all too real in her mind.
The mother regretted her choices. Reading the story to her daughter was not a good idea. She rubbed her daughter's hair gently, trying to calm her.
"Oh, my little princess," she said with a gentle voice. "It was just a story. The Clorks aren't real. They're just creatures made up by people's imagination."
The little girl still couldn't shake off the fear the story had instilled in her. She buried her face in her mother's warm hug, seeking comfort and solace that the Clorks were nothing more than a dream.
[Pov change 1 (Truth)]
Tom found himself out of the Fog, knowing that he just finished the seventh Trial. He felt a sense of accomplishment wash over him. After that, he noticed that his body had fallen to the ground. It seems that the exhaustion got the better of him.