prologue 1/3

Cold. That's all anyone felt on this gods-forsaken mountain. His bare feet, devoid of warmth, trudged through the freezing sludge and mud. A place devoid of colour, except for greys and blacks. The rags slaves consider clothes were the same colour as the mountainside, and as one would expect of rags, didn't keep our the cold. The sound of iron clanking against stone intermingled with the sounds of screaming, sobbing, pleas for help and the cracking of whips. Every new arrival looked at the scene with the same expression; horror and trepidation. Because they know their fate will be similar.

But Arron looked on with apathetic eyes. He wasn't new, on the contrary, he had probably been a slave the longest, at two years. Almost all slaves die within one year. But whether fortunately or unfortunately, he had cultivation on his side.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sight of the chief walking towards his commander. The chief lived near the top of the quarry, in a cave sheltered from the wind, snow and cold. While a cave for a house might not sound comfy, it was surprisingly well furbished. He knew from experience, as he had once stolen a loaf of bread. He was, unsurprisingly, caught and given 30 lashes of the whip as punishment.

The quarry had a hierarchy system to it where the slaves obeyed anyone of a higher status, then the commanders that had to listen to the chief. The chief then obeyed the master of the quarry.

When the chief arrived, it seemed as though the two were just staring at each other, not a word being physically said. But it fooled no one, as it was common knowledge in this world that as soon as you reached a high enough tier in cultivation, humanoids could communicate telepathically. After five minutes of mentally talking, the chief departed, leaving a row of colours to show where he had been. 'Humph. seems like he hasn't reached a high comprehension of that movement technique yet.' Even after two years of slavery, Arron was still cold and aloof. If anything, he had become even more cold.

And yet even to the cold and aloof figure of Arron, the commanders next words sent pure fear through his body

"Listen up! Today's the day, ladies and gentlemen, where you get to see the fabled coal mines!"