The Wheel Of Samsara

"You all know the rules." Borgin said with a cold voice as he looked at each one of the young cultivators present. "Break any of them and you will be disqualified. We will all be watching."

He sustained his look over Amon for a long time, his gaze so intense that made Amon feel uncomfortable.

"Whatever you get in the Hellblaze Trials will belong to you alone." Borgin held his hands behind his back as he spoke, taking sluggish steps as he walked to the Ashen Heart Tree. He looked at the curtain of light in the gateway with cold eyes before he turned around, facing the young cultivators again.

With a wave of his hands, fifty golden tokens appeared out of thin air and flew to each one of the cultivators undertaking the Trials.

"If you find yourselves in danger, crush this token and the Guardian will safely send you back here." Borgin's face was indifferent as ever as he looked at their dumbfounded faces.

Amon looked at the golden token hovering in front of him with hesitation as he extended his hands to it. It was the size of a fist and had a smooth surface, where red runes of the Divine Language seemed to float. It felt cold to the touch when Amon grasped it firmly and put it in his clothes.

Jake had a serious look in his eyes as he carefully put the golden token away. He couldn't help but look at his surroundings. No matter how he looked, however, nothing caught his attention.

Even so, he felt an almost palpable tension in the air. In the surface, everything seemed normal, but he could feel that underneath that superficial calm there was something hiding, like a beast lurking as it prepared to strike.

Amon did not pay attention to his surroundings at all. It was as if a shroud had been clouding his thoughts. He stared at that red curtain of light with a dazed look on his face, as if he could not take his eyes away.

Amon was jolted awake by a pat on his back. He looked around and saw Daniel looking at him with a worried face.

"Are you okay?" He asked while not hiding his concern at all.

"I… I'm fine." Amon said after hesitating. "I just have a bad feeling."

Daniel gave him an understanding nod. He suddenly looked very tired. There was no way Amon would not have a bad feeling. Even if Rebecca hadn't told him about how the situation would turn out after the Trials, telling Amon about Lloyd was enough.

"I am sure it will be fine." Daniel said with a forced smile. Amon, however, was not fooled. He could see the hesitation in Daniel's eyes

"Thank you." Amon said in a heartfelt manner. He knew Daniel was trying to cheer him up, and he was truly grateful for it.

"You may begin." Borgin said in an indifferent voice. The red light shining on his face gave him a sinister appearance as he scrutinized every one of the fifty participants with his cold gaze.

The members of the Five Sacred Sects formed five lines, standing side by side as they approached the gateway together. Every step closer to the gateway made Amon sweat more as the heat intensified. A loud rumbling sound came from the gateway and the ground started quaking as the curtain of light rippled like water.

All of the remaining cultivators followed suit, being devoured by the hellish light as they crossed the gateway. When Amon's turn came, he could help but tremble.

As he approached the red light, he looked back once. He did not know for certain why he did that, but he locked eyes with Lars Borgin. They stared at each other for but a heartbeat, but it seemed to be an eternity.

All Amon could see in those clear eyes was a deep, cold ruthlessness that made his hair stand on end. Before any of them could say anything or even show a change of expression, the red light enveloped Amon.

It was a bizarre sensation. Amon felt as if he had been immersed in a pool of a viscous liquid. He had nothing supporting him, but he didn't feel as if he was falling. Apparently, there was something holding him in place.

The air seemed to hold him back, almost stick to his limbs as the red light turned into a terrifying darkness. Motes of light floated around Amon before they started spinning madly in a circle, forming lines of a pale light.

Amon felt dizziness as the lines of light distorted and started overlapping and twisting around each other, as if someone was kneading them in a messy bundle. Amon felt nauseous as he lost all sense of direction. He was not sure if it was the lines of light or him that were being distorted as he tunneled through space.

When he felt he would not be able to hold on anymore, the lines of light seemed to untwine, returning to their original appearances of neat circles. The lines then broke up in motes of light again, and the darkness gave way to a red gloom.

---

"Sir, are you sure this is alright?" Richard asked in a low voice as he approached Lars Borgin in a respectful manner. His expression was full of worry, making his wrinkles stand out even more.

"His question is not out of place, Nemeus." Borgin transmitted his voice as he lightly tapped the crimson sword he was carrying.

"It is a strange occurrence indeed, but it should not change our plans too much." Nemeus answered with his hoarse voice. "The Third and Fourth Protectors should be more than enough to handle a spirit beast outbreak and a class 7 Blackhorn Serpent."

"Still... the timing is too coincidental." Borgin commented, showing uneasiness on his voice.

"It is. But delaying the Hellblaze Trials for an unknown amount of time right after the participants arrived would not fare well with the other Sacred Sects, especially after we canceled the prior Trials without further notice and didn't give them a proper explanation." Nemeus said, frowning slightly. "It will be even worse if we disclose the reason and our intentions to wait for the Protectors to return. They will suspect we expect something to happen, and that would also not be acceptable."

"Maybe it would be safer to accept those consequences and delay-" Borgin suggested.

"No." Nemeus did not let him finish. "We will go ahead as planned."

"I don't understand it. Why are you making such a senseless choice?" Borgin"Is it truly worth to risk it all for a single piece of information?"

"Yes." Nemeus gave a simple answer and ended the conversation. Borgin would never understand, and Nemeus did not trust him enough to tell him the truth.

Any and all sacrifices were worth if it meant they would have anything to use against Dale Loray.

Suddenly, Amon felt solid ground beneath his feet. His senses were a mess, so he could not avoid falling to the ground. All he managed to do was fight back against the urge to puke due to the nausea.

When he finally managed to recover, he stood up. The dark ground beneath his feet seemed to be made of rock, but it had a glossy sheen to it. It was incredibly smooth, even if uneven.

"Is this vitrified rock?" He couldn't help but ask as he looked at the ground dumbstruck.

A terrifying heat was being emitted from it, and all Amon could do was to make the Qi around him spin, moving the air and artificially creating a wind. It did not help much, though, as even the air itself seemed to be scalding hot. In a matter of seconds, Amon's clothes were already drenched in sweat.

His breath was rough as he looked around. The sky was dark, but there were no stars nor a moon in it. The only source of light Amon could see coming from it were ominous red clouds that glowed with a sinister light. The faint light was not enough to properly illuminate Amon's surroundings, immersing them in a reddish gloom.

No matter where he looked at, all he could see was a vast expanse of the vitrified ground below and red clouds above. The visage made him shiver. He had no idea which direction to follow, and he was completely alone.

"Where are the others?" He asked in a loud voice, even if he did not expect anyone to answer.

He was turning more and more nervous and his feeling of anxiousness only got worse as time passed.

"Lya, are you there?" He called for her in a worried voice, clearly agitated. His face was pale, and the gloom made it seem sickly.

There could only be three reasons for Lya to not answer his call.

One, she couldn't hear him.

Two, she couldn't answer to him.

Three, she did not want to answer him.

No matter the real reason behind her silence, Amon knew the cause. Whether he liked it or not, the Trials had started.

Amon chose a direction and started moving forward. He had no guide nor anyone to talk to. He did not know which direction to follow and he did not know where he wanted to go.

For the first time since Daniel threw him in that raft during the Scavenging, Amon was truly alone, completely lost.

In the Hellblaze Trials, he would not be able to count on anyone but himself.