Chapter 105: Chapter – 105 - The Priestess of the Totram Tribe
Once more Beibei crossed over the threshold and entered the temple where she had been wandering just the night before. She looked around. In the light of day, the temple seemed far less intimidating, but the austere aura and solemnness of the surroundings remained. Following in the footsteps of the tribesmen, the three people crossed through the many empty rooms and finally stood before the large closed doors of the last chamber.
The leader of the group knelt down, with his knees far apart. Placing his cupped hands on the ground before him, he bowed down seriously, till his head touched the palm of his hands. He did this bow five times, at the end of which he raised his right hand and knocked on the door five times. All three watched this ritual with varying thoughts and ideas roaming in their heads.
There was a slight pause in the sounds coming from within, after which the door slowly swung open. The leader stood up and shifted one step to the right of the door. Everything seemed to be the same as Beibei had seen the night before. As the door opened completely, the group of tribesmen parted to form lines on both sides of the doorway, gesturing for them to enter.
Beibei glanced at the faces on both sides. Though they had restrained their anger, the guardedness still reflected in their lowered eyes. Breathing deeply, she took the lead, and walked right inside the chamber. Neither servility nor arrogance could be found in her straight back and slightly lowered head. Nanate and Kunwa followed in a similar manner.
There was a woman standing in one corner of the room. Beibei tried to hide the shock when she saw her face. Wasn't this the same woman she had just seen in the toddler's memories? Se squinted, looking at her face closely, realizing that this woman still looked the same as she had seen in the memories. Exactly how old was she?
As soon as the three entered, the doors closed behind them. Kunwa tried to pull at it, and found it was tightly shut. What were these tribesmen planning?!
The woman stood in the same corner, her eyes closed, head bent, each hand holding onto the elbow of the other arm. And she was muttering something continuously....or maybe chanting. For a long time they stood and watched her since there was nothing else to do, and they somehow did not wish to break the woman's concentration. She did not look like an easy person to deal with.
After a very long time, the woman opened her eyes and turned to look at them. Beibei felt another shock. In the memories, the woman had black eyes. But now her entire eyes were blood red in color. As she came closer, her aura hit them before she did, and they felt an unprecedented threat coming from within that aura.
She stood next to each of them, as if staring right into their souls, then finally moved back to give some space.
"Outsiders are not allowed inside the valley. We helped you with your wounds. And in return you stone our most auspicious item. Do you think we cannot retaliate? I will yet give you another chance. Return the item, and leave this place. Never return back again."
The voice was flat and monotonous, as if bereft of any emotions. Yet a great power could be felt hidden behind each word. Nanate and Kunwa stared at her then looked at each other in confusion. Beibei sighed looking at them. She had not had the chance to update them on the events of the prior night due to the chaos. She took a step forward, also trying to hide the other two behind her.
"The thing is with me. But I did not steal it."
"I do not care for your explanations and excuses. Return it and leave. That is the only way you can live."
"I.....can't give it back to you. Even if I want to I can't. It has...."
"Audacious! You dare to trespass inside the Temple of Void and steal our Divine Relic! And now your refusal shall seal your doom!"
"Keep your voice down, you old hag! I am trying to sleep, and you go around screaming at the top of your voice! Tsk! You have become too old, you can't even control your temper anymore!"
A faint turquoise mist floated out of Beibei Glabella, and the little toddler floated out into the air next to Beibei. The woman stared at him in surprise, and the toddler glared back. Beibei almost raised her eyebrows at this silent faceoff. Both of them looked like age old nemesis facing each other!
"You!....You went with her willingly?!"
"Don't be silly. Who in the world can take me if I am not willing?"
"You are constrained by the barriers of this temple. How can you possibly leave the temple vicinity!"
"I made a Soul Contract with the girl."
The old woman looked like she would cough up blood at any moment. Beibei felt pity for her. Too bad having a nonsensical toddler as a nemesis. These 'things' never followed any pattern! The woman glared at her, infuriated but unable to decide how to deal with this sudden complication. Beibei looked down at the ground, wondering if she could use this turn of events to her advantage.
The woman stared at her for a long time, her face slowly turning more and more gloomy. And then the gloom gradually faded into the same cold aloofness of before. But now there was a hint of relief in the aloofness.
"So.....it's finally come, has it. It is finally time for us to move on as well."
She laughed softly, but it sounded sad to Beibei's ears. The woman turned to look at the water falling down the hole and disappearing into the darkness. It was only when the woman started making hand and finger gestures to the toddler, and it was replying back in a combination of different sounds, that the three realized very late.....this woman could speak!
The two continued their conversation for a long time. Sometimes the woman would turn to glance at Beibei, surprise and wonderment gleaming in her red eyes, but otherwise both of them ignored them. The three too sat down on the ground, waiting for them to finish a conversation beyond their comprehension.
"Why are you searching for the Hidden Families?"
The woman had turned back once more, but her expression and voice were far more gentle as compared to before. Even her aura seemed more approachable and soft. Beibei gave the toddler a look before facing the woman once more.
"There are strange sightings being reported from the Ancient Sand Runes and Last Boundaries End-Point."
"Hmph! Has the Sect lost all its cultivators that they are now seeking the Hidden Families? Don't you know that they are all dead?"
"The Sect did not send us. We came here on our own. The End Points had always been under the supervision of the Guardian Families. But then something happened, and those families disappeared. I believe that whatever is happening now is related to what happened many thousands of years ago, when the Guardian Families gave up and decided to go into hiding. If we don not know what happened before, we can't possibly tackle what is happening now."
"You could have approached your own Sect for this matter. It is they who have been supervising the end Points since the Guardian Families disappeared."
"The Sect distributed the tasks to free mercenary groups and lone cultivators. How can they be beat the same weight as the Guardian Families. The Sect higher ups know what is happening, they are keeping a tight lid on everything. Many disciples of the Sect, as well as mercenary groups have disappeared. If the Sect is not answering, then it is our duty to find out what is happening from elsewhere."
"The Guardian Families are dead."
The woman looked at Beibei expressionlessly, making a statement which would completely cut off all other paths for this conversation. Beibei looked at her for a long time, weighing in her mind the pros and cons of what she was about to say.
"I have made a soul contract with him. You know that means I already have access to most of his memories. I know that the Guardian Families are not dead. I also know that some of them went to the outside, whilst the others went into hiding."
Beibei and the woman were both staring at each other, both trying to read the others mind. Finally the woman heaved a sigh.
"Just as well. Perhaps it also time for them to come out again, just as it is time for us to leave. Perhaps everything is a part of a greater destiny. Fine. I will show you the path those people from the Guardian Families took. But let me remind you - thousands of years have already passed. Even I have no idea whether they are still there or have moved on or have wholly perished. I cannot make any promises, not even for your life. Are you certain you still want to go after them?"
Beibei looked down, pondering over her words. She still wanted to go....but she wasn't sure if taking the two boys along was a good thing. She had almost lost them in the Visionless Path. She herself wasn't strong enough to bear the weight of others.
"Of course we are going. And don't think of dusting us off on the way! We started this mission together. If we return without you, Lunaeri will finish us off. Also, we can't keep staying here waiting in anxiety. If you don't take us along, we'll follow you anyway."
Beibei glanced at them, then silently nodded her head to answer the Woman.
"Fine. My name is Monmona. I am the Divinator and Priestess of the Totram Tribe. If...if you do meet with the current heirs of the Guardian Families, tell them that my Totram Tribe has kept its word. We have held on to the fort for the past thousand of years awaiting the return of the Masters. Now we can no longer stay in this place. So we are handing back the authority bestowed upon us by our masters. May they live in peace, may they prosper, may they hold up the flames of these lands."
Monmona sat down before the platform, kneeling with her knees spread wide, and hands placed one upon the other on her lap. She closed her eyes, muttering unintelligible words and sounds. After a long while she raised one of her hands and made deep scratches at the corner of both her eyes. And just as she had seen in the memory, she took a drop of blood and sprayed it over the three columns of light on top of the platform.
The three bars vibrated, slowly turning into deep blood red light bars, then returned back into the slab of stone. Beyond it the tiny void, with swirling blue light re-emerged, looking just as she had seen it.
Monmona stood up and walked onto the platform. This void was divided into two. One remains here, the other followed the Guardian Families into the depths of the earth. When you enter this void, it will straightaway take you to the place the Guardian Family had first settled thousands of years back. I do not know if they are still there. I hope this will make your search for them easier."
The three of them looked at each other, then Beibei glanced at the toddler still floating in the air.
"What bout you? Do you wish stay here and wait, or are you going to follow?"
"What a ridiculous question. Did I make a soul contract with you to stay here? Of course I have to come. I haven't been out of this stupid place in so long that I feel like hanging myself!"
Beibei felt her lips twitch. This toddler was more apt to get others to hang themselves, simply by infuriating them to death! She looked at the others and nodded, then walked right into the middle of the void.
Immediately a sense of weightlessness hit her, and before she could even blink her eyes, the whole world seemed to turn upside down, and the room, with all the people and beasts, completely disappeared from her sight.
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