Chapter 3 – Passion and Pain, Part I

A.D. 2300

Lan Jinling sat on the rug in the middle of the floor in her dorm at Bathasar University, twiddling her thumbs and fiddling with her homework set. She found the work almost trivially easy. Easy enough to bore her, anyway, and she didn't have to put in much effort to stay at the top of her class. With Samsara Ashtear, of course.

Samsara was out at the library at the moment, so Jinling had the room all to herself. No one to talk to. Jinling stretched out on the floor, resting her head against the tasseled fringes of her rug. She ran her fingers down the length of one, taking the time to feel each strand of material. She counted six of them all together.

An idea took shape in Jinling's head. It came all of a sudden, and it caused her to try to jump to her feet. She tried to, but she hit her head on the wooden floorboards beyond the edge of the rug. Ouch, she thought.

Not one to be daunted, she reached up to her bed, pulled a pillow down to the floor with her, and resolved to do her thinking right where she was. Thinking about Balthasar's lecture.

Samsara will like this.

XXX

Beyond Time

Stalactites hung from the mouth of the cave in front of him like canine teeth, giving Chrono pause. He could only hope that, when he entered Jinling Caverns, the darkness would only swallow him metaphorically and that only the darkness would be swallowing him. The only sounds he could hear came from the Sea of Sorrows behind him, but he could not bring himself to trust either his senses or his reason until he had better experience with the new land. Though his senses didn't warn him of any immediate danger, he still felt nervous.

Something was alive, he could tell. Alive might not be the right word for something in the Realm of Separation, but it was as good a word as any for describing the moss all over the stone floor. If it could survive, then perhaps something else, something more carnivorous, could as well. Disenchantment had described Jinling Caverns as relatively safe, but she hadn't said relative to what.

"I sense that you are afraid, Chrono," Disenchantment told him.

"And why wouldn't I be?" Chrono glared and tapped his foot on the ground.

"Were I you, I would be, as well," said Disenchantment.

Disenchantment began walking toward the entrance to the cave. When Chrono did not follow her, she beckoned to him. He followed, tentatively at first, but faster when his land legs returned to him.

"Dark in there, isn't it?" he said to Disenchantment.

"Just a bit," she replied. "Just a bit. But lo and behold!"

Disenchantment stretched her arms in front of her, chanted something Chrono could not hear, and waved her hands. In front of her, an orb of what looked like blue fire materialized and floated over her head. The fire illuminated the area nicely, light reflecting off some of the cavern walls and passing through some others. The light enticed several of the rocks to emit a pulsating glow.

"Nice," said Chrono. "How many other tricks you got?"

"More than a few," said Disenchantment. She then continued walking deeper into the caves, without saying another word.

Chrono kept minimal distance between himself and Disenchantment in order to stay near the light, but he had considerable leeway. He could actually see a few hundred feet with little trouble. Still, he felt it better to play it safe and not risk overlooking some dark alcove that could easily hide an ambush party. He'd been spelunking a few too many times to discount that possibility.

Jinling Caverns turned out to be anything but linear. Chrono lost track of how many turns he and Disenchantment made. After a while, he doubted if he could even find his way out. Their path could not be defined by any simple rule. Sometimes it would slope downward, sometimes it would angle up, sometimes it would veer left, and sometimes it would turn right. More than once, it broke into a disorienting spiral. Also more than once, Chrono worried quite sincerely that Disenchantment herself didn't know quite where to go.

Finally, he worked up the courage to ask. "You do know the way, don't you?"

Disenchantment's reply did nothing to ease Chrono's spirits. "I have some idea, and that is better than nothing. Why do you ask?"

"I've lost track of where we are. If you don't know the way out, what happens if we get lost?"

"Do no fear, young Chrono," said Disenchantment. "I said I would be your guide, and I do not intend to get us lost."

"You just said you didn't know the way, though," said Chrono. "Do you know how to get back?"

"Not off the top of my head," said Disenchantment.

"Then we're lost!" Chrono's temper flared up.

"Trust me, please," said Disenchantment. She then turned her back on Chrono, effectively ending the discussion.

Chrono growled under his breath. Some guide.

Their trip continued in similar fashion for another half hour before Disenchantment finally spoke again.

"Do you see that, Chrono?"

"See what?"

"You do not, then. Look to our right."

Chrono looked as hard as he could, but all he could make out was the same shiny blue rock he had seen since entering Jinling Caverns. Nothing stood out.

"Move forward a few steps," said Disenchantment. "Then you will see what I see."

Chrono tried that, and he still saw nothing.

Disenchantment turned around to face Chrono. Her face turned fierce, and she stared directly into Chrono's eyes.

"Chrono," she said, her voice a subdued hiss. "Three right, two left. Remember."

"What?" Chrono took three steps to his right, turned to look where Disenchantment had indicated, and still saw nothing. He heard something, though. He heard a loud crack, and he felt something strike him on the back of the head.

He then saw stars, which faded into a surprisingly comfortable dream.