Prison Days

Time passed on Cesar, and Jin, Agnethe, and Cesar found jobs to fill their days. Yet, there was a persistent void due to the absence of Al, one of their own.

At night, Ellie concealed herself and one of the other three, embarking on covert missions to locate Al. Meanwhile, Al himself strived to seize a way to contact Kesha, who remained unaware of his presence.

Al shared his quarters with Benjamin, a fellow captive whose reputation among cultivators was tarnished. Many perceived him as a kiss-ass and a traitor.

Nonetheless, Al remained indifferent to the opinions of others. He found himself drawn to Benjamin's unconventional teachings, which urged him to see the world from a completely different perspective.

"Look closely, they are lost without their etheric shells. If they only knew that an etheric shell is simply the husk of their overgrown Will, they wouldn't be so attached to it." Benjamin advised, his gaze sweeping across the imprisoned cultivators. Some were engrossed in games of basketball, while others focused on weightlifting. None of them were focused on cultivation.

Al, searching for guidance, ventured a question, "But, Senior, without our etheric shells, how can we free ourselves?"

Benjamin responded with a hint of disappointment, shaking his head slightly. "What's the difference between a cave and a jail cell to a cultivator? We cultivate our Will through the Dao which is everywhere and in everything. Iron bars or rock walls make no difference to us. I am free so long as I am..."

Al absorbed Benjamin's cryptic words, not immediately grasping their full meaning.

"Don't lend an ear to this old geezer!" A fellow inmate chimed in as he strolled over and took a seat beside Al. "This coward's all about defending those idiotic cults. By the way, names Viktor. I heard you've been on the hunt for a way to contact your cultivation partner."

Al's cheeks tinged with a hint of embarrassment before he replied, "We're just friends, but yeah, her name's Kesha Ambrose. If there's any way you could assist me, I'd be grateful."

Viktor grinned, his nod punctuating his words. "Sure thing, I can get you connected with her. Jot down whatever you want to convey, and when we're back from the yard next time, hand it over to me. Only catch is, I'll need a little favor from you in return."

Al raised an intrigued eyebrow, prompting him to ask, "And what might that entail?"

"Nothing to sweat about right now. We'll fill you in. Meanwhile, I'd like you to meet our mentor," Viktor proposed.

Al rose from his spot and accompanied Viktor, leaving Benjamin to meditate in peace. In a corner where some inmates engaged in a basketball match, a towering figure loomed. He appeared notably younger compared to the other imprisoned cultivators, Al included.

As Al walked alongside Viktor, who had struck a deal with him, he eventually departed, leaving Al to converse with the enigmatic youthful looking man.

"My name is Avilius Cato. I've noticed you've been spending a lot of time with young Benjamin," the seemingly youthful man remarked, piquing Al's curiosity.

Al, genuinely intrigued, responded, "Senior, Benjamin is almost 200 hundred years old he possesses profound knowledge about cultivation. Since you refer to him as 'young,' may I ask how old you yourself might be?"

A sly smirk curled on Avilius's lips at Al's reverence for Benjamin. "What he knows about cultivation will lead you astray, as it has led him astray. I should know; I entered the Immortal Chasm centuries ago and have seen many like him lose themselves in false teachings."

While Al didn't doubt Avilius's claim of his age and high cultivation, he struggled to see where Benjamin had faltered in his teachings.

Avilius, as if sensing Al's thoughts, shifted his focus to a small building beyond the prison yard. Without pointing, he revealed, "They store our etheric shells in that building. They're attempting to study what they perceive as 'dark magic,' though they are all mere pawns of the Light Acolytes. Almost a thousand years ago, we could have extinguished their influence, but we chose not to..."

Avilius's voice took on a soft, contemplative tone, as if he were speaking to himself. Yet, Al began to connect some dots and form a clearer picture of what he believed was unfolding.

Avilius turned to Al, his words carrying a weighty significance. "In two weeks', time, my execution is scheduled. If you do as we say, you might have a chance to enter the Mental Domain. I can sense you're on the verge of a breakthrough."

With that message, Avilius dismissed Al. The yard time eventually drew to a close, and the inmates were summoned back to their prison cells. Benjamin didn't ask about Al's conversation with Avilius, he did the same thing he had every day after they returned from the yard, he immersed himself in reading and prayer.

While Al held deep gratitude for Benjamin's teachings, what Avilius had told him made him begin to doubt. "Senior, there's a stark contrast between our imprisonment and self-imposed isolation in a cave. Here, we're oppressed and destined for execution," Al remarked, seeking clarity.

Benjamin responded with a serene smile, "Oppression and death? Freedom and life? We often reject the bitter elixir, yearning for the sweeter nectar. But it's the bitter tasting liquid that inebriates the spirit and liberates the mind from its inhibitions."

Al absorbed Benjamin's perspective, yet it left him questioning the man who seemed to say he was chasing after his own death. After that conversation, Al refrained from seeking further guidance or advice from Benjamin on cultivation.

The next day, Al adhered to his instructions, diligently composing a letter to Kesha.

Writing the letter to Kesha proved far more emotionally taxing than Al had anticipated. Much of it was filled with heartfelt apologies and pleas for forgiveness. Following this, he delved into his thoughts about a potential escape plan that could liberate them both.

In a matter of days, Al received a handwritten response from Kesha. She began by reassuring him that he bore no blame, explaining that she could have easily concealed her awakened Will.

However, witnessing the church, including her own parents, vilify Al and Cesar for what had occurred all those years ago made her begin to resent the church. After the end of the world, she had saved her parents from the wreckage of their home.

The church then extended its helping hand to her parents, she made the difficult choice to join them, on the condition of renouncing her awakened Will and cultivation. Years passed in this way until her and a group of cultivators were caught secretly cultivating. Her parent's after learning what had happened denounced her.

Kesha went on to mention a fateful encounter with a woman who served as Avilius Cato's right-hand, leading her to become a disciple of their group.

As their correspondence deepened and the days passed, the looming execution date of Avilius Cato drew nearer, casting a shadow of uncertainty over their plans.

On a particular night, Al lay on his prison bed when a sudden impact startled him. A rock had struck his head, followed by the fading sound of footsteps moving away. Al swiftly rose, clutching the very tangible rock that had hit him. He scanned the surroundings, finding no one present.

Tied to the rock was a note, which he promptly untied and read. "You have one month to find Kesha and prepare her for our escape. - Love, Cesar, Ellie, Jin, and Agnethe." The heartfelt message brought a warm smile to Al's face.

He had unjustly doubted his friends, yet their unwavering determination to help him was evident.

The following morning, Benjamin inquired, "Was that your friend last night?" Al feigned ignorance, not revealing the source of the mysterious note.

However, a few moments later, as they went through their morning routine, Benjamin halted Al and looked at Al with the same compassionate eyes he had stared at him with when he first arrived.

"Al, if there's one thing, I hope you remember after we part, it's this: the one is always three, and five is its perfection. There are seven perfections in total. When you seek the light, pay attention to these."

Al felt thoroughly bewildered; they had never broached the subject of numbers before. Nonetheless, he committed Benjamin's enigmatic words to memory.

As Al mingled with fellow inmates in the prison yard, he received a summons from Avilius. "Only 5 more days until they attempt to execute me," Avilius remarked somberly. "Victor will brief you on what we'll need from you." A fleeting thought crossed Al's mind, considering whether to confide in the Immortal Avilius about Al's own Phantom Seeds plan to break him and Kesha pout. However, he chose to remain silent.

When yard time concluded, Benjamin was conspicuously absent and nowhere to be seen. Later that night, Al found himself alone in his jail cell, thinking about where the Benjamin could be, the man went nowhere without his holy book yet there it was neatly laying on his bed.

Suddenly, a low rumbling sound seized his attention, followed by a deafening explosion, as if a bomb had detonated nearby. Through the small window of his cell, Al glimpsed brilliant flashes of light, accompanied by thunderous blasts. An alarm blared, resonating through the prison.

After a few intense minutes, the chaos subsided. Moments later, Al's cell was subjected to a thorough search, but all they found was their own holy book which belonged to Benjamin, they seized it. It was evident that they had been specifically targeting Benjamin. The head guard fixed his gaze on Al and declared, "You're coming with me!"

Al endured a grueling interrogation, with guards and a priest pressing him to divulge every detail he knew about Benjamin and everything the man had told him. Al chose to obfuscate the information, making Benjamin's cryptic teachings even more enigmatic than they already were. Following the interrogation, they released him leaving Al to ponder the identity of Benjamin.