Chapter 8: Lashes

The first day they arrived to the Rakmon Penitentiary Star, after getting the approval from Chief Inspector Nazalat and Warden Sil Dong, Sergeant Heyxin traveled the planet, surveying the management in the one hundred and eleven mining posts.

Her opinion of what she saw was divided ... quite a few times she witnessed Guards’ misconduct toward prisoners, while at other times the prisoners got too much free reign, so long as they meet their quota, which resulted in the strong and high ranked taking their frustration out on the weak and low ranked.

One thing she did not saw and was glad for it, was the presence of children and cultivators below the second realm. The Kon Juya Constabulary relied on the Rakmon Penitentiary Star as a place to incarcerate those it determined too dangerous to keep at any other place. It did not make often transfers, but for the one in a few tens of thousands years it paid with discretion, so long as first realm cultivators and children were delivered to hospitable planets.

Neither Warden Sil Dong nor the Rakmon Penitentiary’s shareholders minded the constabulary’s ultimatum. First realm cultivates cannot survive on the Rakmon Penitentiary Star and the only children that can, are those born with a soul and one other aspect at the second realm to a minority of unique Beings.

Traversing the planet, she arrived to her last destination, the place in which her purpose for staying was sent to, the Seventh Post.

“Sergeant Heyxin, I assume”. A short, black haired human woman, Heavenly Immortal greeted. “I am Head Guard Umber of the Seventh Post”.

“Miss Umber”. Sergeant Heyxin nodded.

“I was notified of your estimate time of arrival, but it took you longer than what I was told. I’m afraid the delicacies I’ve prepared have turned cold”. It was not a show of cordiality, but a blunt invitation to leave.

Like the Head Guards of the other posts, Head Guard Umber the “righteous pricks” of the Kon Juya Constabulary.

“I’m not here for pleasantries”. Sergeant Heyxin coolly dismisses. “Take me to the sector where the batch of one hundred and fifty was assigned to work. I want to observe them”.

“Follow me, then”. Regardless how she felt, Head Guard Umber was obligated by the Deputy Warden to entertain all of Sergeant Heyxin’s requests. More importantly, the latter was a Sacred Immortal and not a prisoner. If she will persist with the discourtesy, Sergeant Heyxin might resort to violence to discipline her.

...

In Middle Sector No .131 there is a platform with a thirty meters tall pole.

Punishment Platform.

Right now Zax was tied to the pole for all to see, while Guard Chou Ferk sent orders the A and Elite Ranked prisoner to summon every inmate under his sector.

Zechariah, Yimin, Vimov, Nulivs spectated from various location within the crowd.

Sighting Nulivs with Yimin, Vimov breathe a sigh of relief. She was with a kin from the same planet. His line of sight shifted then to Zax, looking at him confused and distressed.

“What the hell happened?” He murmured.

Flying above the pole, Guard Chou Ferk scanned the gathering prisoners like a wolf a herd of sheep, noting each and every one from Zax’s batch.

“This prisoner”, he pointed at Zax, though it was clear. “Committed the crime of murdering a fellow inmate, no less than on his first day in my sector!”

The crowd was dead silent. No one dared to whisper in front Guard Chou Ferk’s current temper.

“To those who joined today, let the punishment that will soon ensue to engrave this to your souls ... you are the property of the Rakmon Penitentiary! Those to your right, your left, in front and behind are, too, the property of the Rakmon Penitentiary! By killing a fellow inmate, you steal from the Rakmon Penitentiary! By killing someone from my sector, you implicate me, Guard Chou Ferk!”

Retrieving a red candle from his spatial ring, Guard Chou Ferk placed it atop the pole and lit it.

“I sentence the murder with two punishments. The first, a thousand years of bearing the marks of a thousand Flame Lashes! The second is doubling his weekly quota for a thousand years!”

“Flame Lashes” the mere mentioning of the name caused chill to run down the spine of the old veteran prisoners, and that was before their brained registered the amount of marks and period for the punishment.

Guard Chou Ferk took another object from his spatial ring, a lavish, orange metallic handle.

“Rise!” He called. Swinging his hand up with the handle, as if the candle resonated with it, its small flame crackled and enlarged to several meters tall, forming a thousand thongs.

“Fall!” Guard Chou Ferk swiped and a burning thong bore down on Zax in coordination with his motion.

THSSH!

The thong dispersed upon contact with Zax’s torso, but it left a searing, glowing mark on him.

Quiet.

Despite how much he strained his ears, Guard Chou Ferk did not hear a whimper from Zax, not even a change in his heart’s beating rhythm.

It was unexpected, but not out of the ordinary.

The shackles he placed on Zax were similar to the cuffs he wore in the Lunar Splitter’s incarceration vault. It imposed a reduction on the three aspects, forcefully lowering them to a level of a Beginner first level Core Master, all to augment, for as much as possible, the pain from the lashes.

THSSH!

The second thong struck, yet Zax remained impassive while Guard Chou Ferk patient.