84th of Season of Fire, 57th year of the 32nd cycle
The Chamber of Punishment was bare. It looked like the base model all other Chamber buildings used for their layout before filling it with furniture and life. All furniture in the Chamber of Punishment was sculpted out of the same material as the walls, then Newt realized it was fused with the walls. It was impossible to move or reposition anything.
“Those visiting the Chamber of Punishment rarely deserve comfort.” The old woman’s voice was even and calm, her statement matter-of-factly. She led the way through the well-lit corridors, taking a seemingly random door, and holding it open for Newt.
“Take a seat.” Inside the chamber was a large table with three sets of identical seats on either side. Newt took the closest one, and the old woman sat across from him.
“This is your third noteworthy incident this season. Any comments?”
The tiny old woman with droopy eyes, struggling not to yawn, suddenly loomed over Newt. His sense of danger screamed at him in a manner he had never experienced. Crossing that granny meant death.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sure you are, but that’s not what I’m here to hear. What happened? How did you get separated from your friends, how did you get out?”
Newt said everything. Every thought he remembered, every action he remembered, everything save for things involving Magmin and his dragon core. The disciplinary venerable listened carefully. She dissected him with her eyes, and he felt the pressure of her gaze as it hammered against his danger sense in some way. He wondered how she was doing what she did, but he dared not utter a word outside what she asked for.
Newt had no clue where the menace came from. The disciplinary venerable sat still like a statue, not even breathing as she listened to his account.
“I see.” She steepled his fingers hours later, once his telling was done. “You have developed precognition, sometimes called pre-sense, or intuition.”
The old woman nodded. “You shan’t breathe a word of it to anyone below the eighth realm.”
She pierced him with her gaze until Newt nodded. “Yes, Elder.”
“I will not obstruct your growth and development. If you need someone to discuss your newfound sense, if you have any questions, or need instruction, you will come to me. I have sharpened my intuition long before you or any of your still-living relatives were born. If you have questions to which I don’t know the answer, I will point you towards someone more accomplished than myself.”
The disciplinary venerable’s voice suddenly turned steely and sharp like a sword.
“You will explain everything you know about the Blood Cult.”
If the old woman was a menace to his danger sense before, her piercing gaze became a cataclysm with that statement.
Newt gulped, the presence pressing down on him making his bones creak.
“I had a vision during the summer solstice. In it, I was a dragon assaulted by a large number of human-like creatures made of blood…” The vision was fragmented. Newt recalled moments of pain, the blood-men hurting him, but it had become a blur, a fever dream he suffered from as the sun tried to scorch him.
“I see,” the disciplinary venerable said again, re-assuming her contemplative pose. She either had a habit or she practiced it ages ago until it became a habit.
“Demonic cults are taboo. You shan’t discuss them with anyone until your realm is high enough. Once that happens you will enter the draft list, and other things will happen, but that is irrelevant for your current circumstances.”
The woman stood from her chair. “Any questions? If not, you are dismissed.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
It was obvious she expected no questions, but Newt surprised her.
“Esteemed Elder, I have some questions. Which parts of my wandering through the Valley of the Lost may I share? When can I come to discuss intuition with you?”
The latter question made the woman open her eyes just a tad.
“Regarding your first question, you may tell them everything except for the parts regarding how you developed your intuition, the steps you took, and how it helped you. As for discussing intuition with me, you will have to make an appointment at the front desk. Is that all?”
“Yes, Esteemed Elder.” Newt nodded, and the disciplinary venerable vanished after opening the cramped room’s door.
Newt felt a surge of relief. He was back at the sect, an old monster brought him to the Chamber of Punishment, and nothing bad happened to him. He even found someone he could discuss his ideas with and who might offer him guidance.
Newt left the featureless building, coming face to face with his master.
“I want to know everything you can tell me.”
And so, on their way back to her residence, Newt retold his master a much shorter and less detailed version of what he had told the disciplinary venerable.
Does she even have a name?
Newt decided not to ask, answering Elder Alabaster’s questions instead. By the time they returned to the white palace, he had mostly explained what happened, how many spirit beasts he slew, and what he had learned about his techniques and cultivation.
“And what do you think your next steps should be?”
“I’m torn between advancing my skill with spell formations and reading. Spell formations may prove invaluable if I find myself in situations similar to what happened in the Valley of the lost, and as for reading, there are a lot of mundane questions I have.”
That came out wrong.
Newt gathered his thoughts before continuing. “The more I read and experience, the more I understand how little I know. Is that strange?”
Elder Alabaster’s stern face softened. “That’s perfectly normal. I’m much older than you, and yet I find the world full of mysteries beyond my ability to understand. Even the sect master, who is at the tenth realm and wields incomprehensible power, is merely a human. He neither knows nor understands everything. In fact, he might be the one most confused, since he sees the most.”
His master’s words did not help Newt one bit. All they told him was that no matter how high he climbed, how far he reached, there would still exist questions beyond him.
“I’ll answer some of your questions. Just this once, as a reward for doing exceptionally well on your mission.”
Newt jumped at the opportunity. He could have asked about tracing, about spiritual sense, and a host of other subjects, but as soon as those topics came to mind, he decided against them. Those were the challenges his master had given him. Asking her for answers was no different from surrender.
“I was wondering about two things. Is it possible to create ever-burning flames inside my realm and are there different kinds of fires with different properties? Like more powerful flames, more explosive, gentler, hotter, colder, stuff like that.”
“The first question is simple, and you can find the answer in the library with a bit of effort, but I will answer it. Yes, you can make ever-burning flames, perpetual waterfalls, everlasting landslides, never-ending storms, and many other things. However, those require spiritual energy to maintain, not much, unless you have vast expanses of them, but large enough quantities of them will impact the rate of your realm’s expansion.”
Elder Alabaster paused for a moment and Newt considered the implication. He doubted Dandelion gave him a clue which would harm him. That meant making ever-burning flames were not what the man had in mind when designing his realm.
“If a cultivator has a particularly important concept they wish to manifest in their realm, the loss is acceptable. Especially if it will greatly increase your power. Otherwise, it’s not worth the bother.”
She motioned him to enter.
“Are you hungry? If you are, I could have Elder Freshshine bring you some food.”
“No thank you, Master. I have too many things to do, and I just ate the other day.”
Elder Alabaster nodded, a proud smile on her lips.
“Regarding your other question, I will talk with Elder Flameax. Fire is his attribute, and he should offer better advice than I ever could.”
She was about to close the door and paused when they were still cracked open.
“Where do you intend to go now?”
“I think I will head to the Chamber of Runes to practice.”
“I figured it would be something like that.” Elder Alabaster opened the door to fully see Newt’s face. “You know, your teammates came running over to my home as soon as they returned from their mission. I bet they are worried sick about you, and would really appreciate it if you went back to your apartment and told them everything was all right.”
Newt had completely forgotten about his new friends and teammates. He had wandered the mist for weeks, longer than he had been with the group, and he was used to being alone.
“Yes, Master, thank you, Master.”
He turned around and went to his apartment, Elder Alabaster staring at his departing back before closing the door and retiring for the night.
“What a season.” The woman shook her head and went to her study.
