Confusion. A curious emotion that seemed to have invaded my mind ever since laying foot into Amorian territory. I was supposed to be on my way to this oh-so-terrible "fifth ring" that had grown men shivering. We were in a massive kitchen. Yes. Kitchen. It was a hubbub of activity, women running hither and thither completing their chores; cooking, cleaning, taking stock and shuffling the required ingredients around. Weirder was that there was not even one guard in sight. From what I had gathered, this wasn't a place that was supposed to be fun and dandy. A section of the floor abruptly lit up creating a vibrant green path on the cold stone floor. I immediately recalled the instructions and the very specific outcome of ignoring them. I looked around. Women, women, women and more women. Unless the women were the so called 'Guardian', I didn't see any potential threat.
"Hahaha! So they were exaggerating," the man laughed.
The man started trodding down the path. Some women just stared at us and shook their heads. As we were making our way through the area is when I started noting the quantities of food being made. It was akin to that of an army. Not only that but the quality seemed to vary quite drastically. From the best pieces of meat, leafy greens, salads and heavenly stew to rotten produce, raw unprocessed intestines and absolutely detestable porridge. That porridge was particularly disturbing. They would just throw stuff in a huge pot and just leave it on the fire. Even beast cores were thrown in. If devoured they'd drive a man to insanity and they'd transform to become an Amazimu, a plagued cannibal. I shuddered. I could only guess that favortism ran rampant in that place.
The path ended on a circular stone slab with symbols ingrained into it. This time it didn't directly co-relate to the Demon King's symbol but that weird circle that healed me before I got my three treasures. Of course the symbols were vastly different but there was a superficial similarity to the two. The man stepped onto it and immediately the stone slab shot down into the earth eager to take us deeper into its bowels. I was nearly blown off the man as I tightly held onto him the air crashing against us and then it abruptly came to a stop. The man collapsed onto his knees dropping to the ground. We were both panting. Honestly, at this point, I should've somewhat expected it.
Abruptly, my ears perked up, heart started racing and my eyes widened. The mood had taken a sharp turn. We were in an absurdly huge hallway that had a distant white star illuminating it casting sharp shadows and reducing the visibility to what was just in front us. However, the concerning part was what I could assume to be cells as I could see some few people poking their heads out of them to stare at us. Their cells were completely open and seemingly dug into the walls that had depictions of, from what I could see, an eternal fire. Nothing to bar them from just getting onto the hallway and running off yet most seemed overly concerned on not even getting near the hallway. There were distant howls, screams and screeches. As silent as a whisper yet distinct and clear. The air being especially chilly combined with the reduced visibility and visible terror of most inmates made me unwillingly convulse and dart my eyes all over the place.
(I can feel it. Somet-)
"Welcome." a deep gutteral voice boomed from all around us as if from the dungeon itself.
"The new prisoner's cell has been prepared and vacated follow me," this voice came from right in front of us. A figure was hidden within the darkness yet close enough for us to sense them but not make out any of their details. Not even their shape. The voice sounded human enough and I had no recollection of a beast that could mimic human voices.
"We don't have much time, follow me," the figure stated as it disappeared into the darkness.
The man grabbed me and followed the figure, always just out of sight. As we walked on, I caught glimpses of the prisoners. Few were titanic battle hardened men and they seemed the most confident in approaching the hallway but just at the edge. As we passed by, some smirked which utterly befuggled me. The other group were girls. Young girls. They were absolutely horrified and had shriveled up deep inside a corner of their cells being barely visible. Some of them were even crying. I gripped onto the man tighter. Soon, there was a junction before us. The path took a hard left yet our guide took a right.
"That path goes deeper into the prison. Sacrifices are kept on this ring, 'The Waiting Room', follow me to his cell," the voice urged.
"Hold on, I was told to follow this path no matter what," the man said.
"Indeed, under normal circumstances but...that thing you have. It isn't normal is it? Follow me."
The man stared at me for a moment.
"We have a special procedure for their kind and we can't keep them with the rest of them. They need to prepared especially well for our Lord just as it says in his texts, 'The Kataraménoi shall be carved up and tortured for their despair shall lubricate my heart for the acceptance of the sacrifice', not so? Follow me."
The man sighed.
"Why did I have to get the special one?"
My hairs stood on edge. I felt it like a sharp pang right in my temples. Killing intent. My heart raced as the man started walking off the path.
(Screw it!)
"Orders are absolute!" I yelled in Amorak.
The man shook from shock. He stared at me confusedly. I stared at him confusedly. He looked around, looked at me again, I looked at him again as if he was stupid, he scratched his head and quickly shook his head but it seems the message had gotten through to him loud and clear.
"I'm sorry but orders are absolute," the man stated.
"What a disappointment,"
A large eye stared down at us. The man instantly clung to the staff he held. The eye become bloodshot as it shifted its gaze from the man to me.
"I'll keep my eye on you," a voice boomed all around us, "proceed to the registration point and drop off the Kataraménoi."
The man visibly shook and quickly hastened his pace, slightly. We quickly reached the registration point a dark and dreary room with very little lighting. A large crystal ball appeared before us and emitted vibrant green text instructing the man to place my arm onto it. He immediately did so and the ball glowed for a moment. It grew brighter and brighter until it started becoming scaldingly hot.
"Error 39_B. Could not gauge prisoner's battle prowess. Manual placement shall be done based on the GUARDIAN'S wisdom.....Granted! Sixth floor! Drop off the prisoner in the transporter."
The path relit again directing us to another one of those stone slabs. The man dropped me off and quickly turned and desperately but slowly waddled out of the room. The transporter activated. Railings abruptly appeared around it as the wall behind it opened up. The transporter instantly shot past it knocking me back onto the railing with a painful thud yet it was speeding up more and more. I gripped onto the railing, trying my best not to be blown off and become paste in the hallways of this forsaken dungeon. It took seemingly forever travelling at those insane speeds just for us to even be remotely close as it started slowing down and finally came to a stop. I dropped off the railing and was panting excessively. My lungs were on fire! My body was cold, shivering and begging for all this to finally come to an end. I didn't know it would be that harrowing just to get to my cell! What a brilliant introduction to my new life!
The platform, disrespectfully, threw me off it right into the cell. I crashed onto the backwall as it zoomed off to yank some more prisoners. I laid on the ground for a long while just glad the cogs that had been driving me up a wall had finally stopped. It was then I realized that the only presence around me was a chilling silence. I got up and got closer to the cell's entrance. I looked around at all the other cells. Empty yet the stench of faeces emanated from buckets within the cells. They were definately there until just recently. I sighed and sat on the wooden plank of wood etched into the wall. I couldn't be bothered to think further than that I had bigger things I had to worry and think about it.
"Oi, aren't you going to start cultivating?" a voice rang in my head making me nearly jump out of my skin.
"I need to remember the process first,"
I tried remembering the contents of what I had memorized. The content had a lot of holes and I couldn't even find the definition of cultivation but I at least got the gist of it. If most people depended on Ki in their surrounding to fuel themselves then cultivators used the Ki within themselves to do so. However, this came at the price of never being able to use Ki from your surroundings and they also had to nurture the Ki within them for the amount they had access to was abysmal compared to other people if not properly done so. I then tried to remember the procedure but I could only remember it in patches.
"Open your first limiter, it helps,"
Well, at least it was getting less creepy. I opened my first limiter. Instantly, the information flooded my mind as if from a subconscious ocean. I was amazed but I had to get this done quickly. There were two main methods. However, both started at the same point: The formation of a core called a datian. They both differed from the formation of this core. One depended on taking in as much refined Ki as possible and using that to form the best core possible. Honestly, it had some major issues. Firstly, I didn't know what "refined Ki" was. Moreover, the biggest issue was that I could feel no Ki in that prison. Honestly, it made sense as it would keep the prisoners weak. That left me with my second option which was the most confusing. Just sit and meditate. Apparently, there was something called a subtle body. The meditation acted as an exercise for this body and a core would be formed upon introspection of myself and a core desire thus the body itself will make the core for me, one most suited for it. Again, there was no explanation for what a subtle body was. The texts were too ruined. Moreover, what was I supposed to introspect about?
"Don't act dumb, it's about time,"
"..."
"It's about time you went back, no?"
"What're you talking about? I'm perfectly fine!"
"Ah, so you do know what I'm talking about,"
"..."
"...I am fused to your body and I can access your memories except ,for some reason, from when you were five."
"...It could just be a coi-"
"No it's not. You don't have to hide it now. Ergon, he's dead. No one's going to save you now. No one's going to mercy ki-"
"Shut up! What do you know!"
"I know enough to surmise that you need to go back and face it,"
"..."
"You've forgotten haven't you? Or is it that you don't want to remember?"
"..."
"Well then. You've forced my hand."
Abruptly, a wave of savage pain tore across my entire body. I screamed and rolled on the floor feeling my body heat up to painstaking levels. My organs coagulated inside my body sending pangs of monstrous pain rushing through my entire body. The light was fading away.
"Go fix yourself."
***
The wind thrashed against me in a near deafening cacophony as I struggled to catch my breath in the abrupt descent from who knows where. Before I could even pull myself together, I had crashed right into the ground. Strangely, it wasn't painful at all. Well not as much as I expected. Nothing was broken. I quickly got up and looked around.
(Just where did she drop me into?)
The land was sterile, the waters black mixed with a stench of death, seemingly thorns growing out of the land and hauntingly dark jagged mountains in the distance. However, when I looked up, I was utterly baffled. The was a massive bright, luminescent green star raining its radiance upon the land and the clouds seemingly moved apart to beautifully portray the heavens. I couldn't even fathom what I was looking at nor where I am. That's when I heard it.
A deep grumble from the depths of the waters shook the entire land. The waters thrashed and crashed against the land; it started swallowing all the land violently. Shivers ran down my spine, I jumped to my feet and started running for higher ground. Abruptly, chains erupted out of the waters and tied me down making me crash onto my knees. It started dragging me deeper into the ravenous waters. I yelped, terrified of the sudden turn of events. As if sensing my fear, it dragged me with immense strength. I stumbled and tried to regain my footing, desperately opposing the chains. I tried circulating Ki into my legs but the sky abruptly shook and what looked like a dull metallic-grey mist descended from the stars and engulfed my legs. I was perplexed but I had to survive. I kicked the earth with much renewed vigor and managed to wrestle the intiative of the push pull from the chains into my own hands. Abruptly, the chains were dead. No force were being exerted from them. I waggled myself out of the chains and booked it to the jagged mountains in the distance.
Before I could even make it anywhere near them, a titanic emaciated and bony hand erupted from the depths of the waters and slammed its palm right into me like a man swatting an insect. I wasn't dead, again, but I couldn't breath. It grabbed me and brutally dragged me straight into the rapidly approaching waters. The cold shock from the waters had me dazed for a moment before I could open my eyes.
(?!)
What I saw baffled me beyond belief. White hair and a brilliant blue light emanating deep within the eye sockets. Face clearly drained of all its fat. It was skeletal. It was at the bottom of what I presumed to be a lake, chained there with a demonic red tattoo on its chest and causing it to grunt with every pulse. Before I could even make heads or tails of what was happening it opened its mouth and a powerful suction force dragged me in. I tried swimming away from its jaws but the force was too powerful and I was forced into the dark abyss of its guts.
~END~