Chapter 10: Resentful Guard Chou Ferk

“You big oaf! He is an expert at the epitome of the Martial path, not a mortal!” Varinka angrily punched Giant Havreim’s shoulder.

“I know that!” Giant Havreim complained, mildly offended. “I didn’t mean that he got it like a non cultivator. It probably what happened in New Earth that messed him up. I think ... if I’d lost you I would’ve been the same”.

“Have I turned crazy after losing my husband, sons and daughter?!” Lenrah seethed. “Most of us lost everything we held dear, but he who is supposed to be the best of us, the pillar of our world, had dared to so pathetically mentally escape from the suffering, the hate, the vengeance-”

“Enough, Lenrah!” Zechariah scolded. “He isn’t like that!” He lowered his voice. “Something must have happened...”

“Wishful thinking”. Lenrah muttered.

“I saw him that day of the Immortals’ descent ... a child that grew up to the size of giants and then surpassed them”.

The man who interjected had one arm, a blind left eye and half burnt face. When he spoke, silence ensued and when he raised his chin, everyone bowed in respect theirs. It was not about him being the second strongest of the survivors, but who he is ... was, at least to those of New Earth.

“Commander Dan”, Zechariah requested permission to speak.

“Son, the torch is in your hands now. This old man just reminisced aloud”.

“I, then, have something to ask”. A beast with a wolf head, in humanoid form, cut in.

Zechariah looked at the Ravenous Grass Wolf, giving her the stage.

“Zex Zel is not the expert we remember, but from the display we had today, his power is still beyond comprehension, so much that even the fifth level Martial Mortal Guard was powerless against him. With him as our backer we don’t need to worry about the A and Elite ranked prisoners, not unless there are other prisoners as strong as him. But, eventually prisoners aren’t our issue. Guard Chou Ferk is, and the fact that no matter the pain, hatred and desire for vengeance, our jailors are Immortals! What I want to know is ... why are we here instead of mining?”

“Because it’s not pointless as you make it”. Linor answered, shifting her gaze to Zax. “Mortal Enlightenment state ... Do you know what it is, Piershaq?”

“Guard Chou Ferk mentioned it”. The wolf head beast, Piershaq, said.

“So you don’t. Is there someone else who might know?”

There were, but those who knew learned it from the same source as Linor so they stayed quiet.

“The prerequisite to attain Immortality”. Linor’s casual manner struck like a bolt out of the blue.

Piershaq and all the ill informed were palpitating and without reservation they attentively perked their ears to scoop every word from Linor. The concept of Immortality was not foreign to anyone anymore, but to have someone close that attained it, or in the process to, is a blessed opportunity to ask for guidance and broaden the horizon.

“The Supreme Rulers, Zax and many more experts of New Earth or allies to it discovered and shared a lot about the Martial path during the five powers’ recession. The Mortal Enlightenment state was one of those revelations, but to access it cultivators had to meet certain conditions ... In essence, after acquiring a complete understanding of an attribute, in addition to cultivating to the Peak of the Martial Mortal realm the soul and one other aspect, a cultivator will reach the Mortal Enlightenment state and be able to sense the date for the Evolutionary Ascension into Immortality. Zex Zel, as you called him, by the reaction of Guard Chou Ferk and involvement of the Head Guard, is one such expert on the periphery to Immortality”.

It was an exciting news, yet not everyone found it comforting for their situation.

“If they were worried about Zax becoming an Immortal, they would not have let him off”. An aged looking bald man with brown, wrinkled skin and dark round marks in his arms and feet, a beast in human form, commented depressingly. “‘Loved’ and ‘Home’ are two things we lost. Another nobody brought up is ‘Freedom’. We are sitting here now, not because we chose to, but because the Head Guard let us. Zax was left with us, not because he had not yet passed his Evolutionary Ascension, but because even if he will, it isn’t a concern for the Rakmon Penitentiary”.

“You describe a harsh reality, Jiyul Cenler, and yes, it appears to be all we have right now, but what’s wrong with striving for a better future if it only costs a little bit of mining time?” A blond, white man, seemingly in his early twenties, calmly retorted. His name Lurd and he was an eccentric human cultivator in Ercas Mir.

“I’ve asked around”. Zechariah intercepted the conversation before it will get heated. “In the Seventh Post there aren’t Immortal prisoners. Rumors claim that neither the other posts across the planet have them. Our time with Zax is borrowed. Whether any good will come from it, doing nothing will only be a future regret, a ‘What if’ that will haunt for the rest of your lives “. His tone emphasized that he is not willing to be that person and the others could not dispute his argument.

“Fine...” A gloomy voice yielded, Lenrah’s. “What are we to do until he wakes up?”