C2 The Punishment of the Thvelond!
Under the deep cloak of night, amidst the golden and resplendent cluster of buildings, over thirty Thvelond disciples had cornered the mouse. Their intentions? The mouse was clueless, but surely they were up to no good.
"Victoria!" The mouse whispered the name, trembling as he gazed upon the woman standing amidst the crowd on the white jade steps.
Her figure was slender and, though she was merely seventeen, she possessed a captivating charm. Her oval face, almond-shaped eyes, and delicate features were set off by a fiery red dress that hugged her curves like a second skin.
The girl radiated a pure innocence, yet there was a playful liveliness about her. This blend of qualities made her the center of attention.
Indeed, over the past three years of training, she had consistently been the focal point. However, there was a time, a distant memory of one month, when a fragile young man eclipsed her light, overshadowing the brilliance of all the Thvelond disciples.
During that month, he had shone like the sun.
Beauties are drawn to heroes, and naturally, heroes aren't foolish enough to fall for the unattractive. Ratty had once been smitten with this girl; her presence in Thvelond, one of the most formidable sects of the nine continents, was like a Flower of Immortality, perpetually exuding an intoxicating scent that stirred the passions of young men.
He had been head over heels for her, tormented by the bittersweet taste of unrequited love. Yet, Ratty had to admit, her allure was irresistible to him.
Back when he first joined Thvelond, during that month when he shone brightly, he and the girl were the best of friends; Ratty was aware that she held him in high regard.
Deep down, Ratty had vowed that once he became a true mage, breaking through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians to reach the One-Mountain level, he would confess his feelings to her. They would then become partners and live a peaceful life together in Thvelond.
The dream was bright, but reality was harsh.
On the most radiant day of his life, he managed to break through the Baihui point, the most challenging of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and became a true mage, ascending to the legendary One-Mountain.
He declared his love to the girl, and with a blush, she accepted. In that moment, Ratty felt the joy of happiness for the very first time.
Upon awakening, he plummeted into a personal hell. His powers had vanished, and the Baihui point he had so painstakingly unsealed was now closed again. He was utterly powerless.
From that moment on, the girl never spoke to him again. He guessed this must be what legends call a breakup.
The once radiant aura and the glory of being a prodigy were now things of the past, completely disconnected from him.
He had descended into hell.
"How many times do I have to say it? I don't know him!" The response was always the same, delivered in a crisp voice, with a slight frown on her mythically beautiful face.
The laughter that erupted was thunderous, turning Mouse's face a bright red, as if he were a monkey's behind.
With every eye upon him and amidst the unabashed scorn, sweat beaded on Mouse's forehead, quickly soaking his dark hair and amplifying his distress.
His teeth were gritted, his fists clenched, as an unprecedented sense of humiliation engulfed him.
The girl he had loved, who had vowed to love him in return, now looked on with indifference. Her pale, beautiful face wore an icy, merciless expression, slicing through the young man's fragile heart like a knife.
The mocking laughter of the crowd was like countless arrows, piercing what little dignity he had left, leaving him wounded and scarred.
"Alright, Terpsichore is mine, so let's stop with the jokes!" Judas declared, laughing heartily as he wrapped his arms around Victoria's delicate form. His gaze on Mouse was filled with undisguised derision.
"Why?" In the midst of the overwhelming laughter, a furious roar cut through, startling everyone.
It was Mouse, his fists so tight that his nails drew blood, the crimson droplets falling steadily from his hands.
"For three years, a full three years, why? Why can't you just leave me be?" Mouse's eyes were wild with rage, his grotesque face contorted as he bellowed at the onlookers, his presence more pitiful than intimidating.
The laughter boomed once more across Thvelond Mount. As the crowd continued their relentless mockery, Mouse stood with fists clenched and tears welling in his eyes, filled with hatred and an unwillingness to yield, his slight frame trembling with emotion.
"Bam!"
Out of nowhere, a beam of light sliced through the night, heralding Judas's fist connecting with Ratty's cheek.
"Puchi!"
Blood gushed forth in a torrent, and amidst the excruciating pain, Ratty's slight frame was sent hurtling through the air, crashing down onto the white jade steps with a thunderous roar.
"Bam!"
Judas's foot, clad in an exquisite pair of purple shoes, came down hard on Ratty's face.
"Why? Does a tiger need a reason to crush an ant? Does it?" he sneered, grinding his shoe into Ratty's face with relentless force.
Amidst the agony, Ratty's features were obliterated, his blood painting his grotesque and twisted visage a stark red.
"Junior Brothers, 500 of our Thvelond disciples went to battle demons, and only he returned. What does that tell us?" Judas loomed over Ratty, bellowing to the onlookers behind him.
A cold dread settled in Ratty's heart as his worst fears materialized.
"A coward, a disgrace to our kind, a traitor feigning death!"
The crowd erupted, their fury palpable as they closed in on Ratty like a pack of wild beasts, intent on his demise.
In a mere moment, Ratty's frail body was engulfed by the throng. The relentless pounding was deafening; blood sprayed, bones shattered with chilling clarity as countless fists and boots showed no mercy upon him.
In that instant, Ratty curled up, clenching his bloodied teeth. He vowed a bitter oath to repay his tormentors with a cruelty tenfold, a hundredfold greater, ensuring those who had mocked him for three years would endure this world's torments eternally.
"Go, bind this rat and bring him before Senior Brother Hephaistos!"
Half an hour later, Judas's command caused Ratty's eyes to bulge, his pupils to shrink, his body to quake uncontrollably.
"No!"
Ratty's roar was futile as he was bound with iron chains by the crowd, powerless to resist or flee.
His body bore the marks of their shoes, his face a mangled mess, with over a dozen broken bones, he lay there, gravely wounded.
He roared in agony as Judas dragged him across the ground with an iron chain, leaving a long, bloody trail in his wake.
His roars, filled with unwillingness and fury, were heart-wrenchingly sorrowful. He was merely a mouse that had been tormented until he was covered in wounds, yet these experienced cats still refused to release their grip on him.
Within the grandeur of the Ancient Temple's spacious hall, the mouse once again laid eyes on the towering figure that struck terror deep into his soul.
A figure sat regally upon the Supreme Throne.
This figure possessed a body akin to a Demon God, draped in a golden robe, with golden hair that fluttered like flames, even his eyelashes shimmered like gold; he resembled a miniature sun.
His stature was imposing, exuding an aura of awe-inspiring authority. His broad brows and large eyes, set in a resolute face chiseled like stone, radiated a fierce temperament.
His skin was the color of burnished bronze, his frame as sturdy as iron and steel; his presence was ferocious, reminiscent of a Demon God who had emerged from the depths of hell, instilling sheer terror.
Hephaistos, son of Kenway, the Lord of Thvelond Sect, was once the prodigy of his generation within the Sect. He had vied with Ratty's senior brother for the title of Supreme Prodigy, but after a crushing defeat, he secluded himself, dedicating his life to mastering divine techniques.
"What's the matter?" Hephaistos, seated on the Lord's throne, surveyed the disciples gathered in the hall, his resonant voice laden with an intimidating force.
"Lord, a month ago, our Thvelond Sect dispatched five hundred disciples to the border to thwart a demon invasion. Now, only Clements's sole disciple has returned alive. We suspect this individual feigned death on the battlefield to escape the ordeal. It's possible he's a spy sent by the demons to bring down our Thvelond Sect!" Judas stood forthright, delivering his report to Hephaistos with a sense of righteous indignation.
"Hmph, a deserter on the battlefield, by the iron laws of the Thvelond Sect, must be executed!" Hephaistos bellowed, his voice a holy sound that reverberated through the heavens and earth, overwhelming all who heard it.
"No, my master has not yet returned, and you, having been away for a century, are merely an interim Lord. You do not possess the authority to condemn me to death!" Facing his end, Ratty could no longer maintain his composure. He bellowed back at Hephaistos, eyes nearly bursting with desperation, as the iron chains that bound him rattled loudly.
Clements, as the foremost of the three great elders of the Thvelond Sect, has granted you this reprieve. In light of his standing, I will spare you this time," Hephaistos declared after much contemplation.
"Yet, while the death sentence may be waived, the crime of desertion cannot go unpunished. You dared to flee, bringing shame upon the Thvelond Sect. Take him away and cast him into the Heart Refining Path for five days!" Hephaistos issued his final command.
"No!" The mouse bellowed, terror and shock gripping his heart. To be thrown into the Heart Refining Path for five days was a fate worse than death.
He howled in protest, but Judas, with a sly grin, forcefully dragged him from the Lord's Hall.
The Heart Refining Path lay hidden within a mysterious cave of the Thvelond Sect.
This desolate place was the Sect's chosen ground for disciplining their disciples, where survival was a rare feat—fortunate was the one in a hundred who emerged alive.
The cavern's gaping maw loomed like a demon's jaws, ready to consume all.
"Fly, Pikachu!"
Judas bellowed with excitement, his face beet-red. He delivered a kick to the mouse's body, the sickening crunch of bones echoing alongside the mouse's anguished howls, as silence enveloped the world.
Judas, turning away, wrapped an arm around the quiet Victoria and, with his rowdy companions, set off toward Thvelond Mount.
Behind them, from the depths of the Heart Refining Path, the mouse's pained screams continued to resonate.
