It sure was a lot to think about, so Amon would not try to bother the beast again. As the beast had said, this was the Trial of the Mind. Amon would have to find a way to move forward alone.

In silence, he slowly walked away, leaving the clearing and the beast behind. In a daze, he walked between the trees. The direction he followed did not matter anymore. He was stuck in a cycle until he managed to get past the beast. He would always find the treasure trove and then find the beast. There was no way to get around it.

What would be a fair price for him to obtain pa.s.sage? The trove had innumerable treasures, and Amon had no idea of what would catch the beast's eye.

He doubted a cultivation manual would be worth anything for the beast. Weapons would also be useless to it, following this logic. What was left to consider was… a lot. That trove was way too big. Going there and picking something blindly would be simply ridiculous.

"How am I going to deal with this?" Amon muttered as he finally reached another clearing. As he expected, the dark door stood in the center of it, as if waiting for Amon.

The golden token started vibrating again as Amon approached the door, but this time Amon was not bothered by it. He walked with confident steps as the darkness on the door started to wriggle and collapse on itself, retreating towards the boundaries of the door and revealing the treasure trove again.

He took a deep breath as he stood in front of the doorway, and finally took a step forward. A feeling of dizziness took over Amon as he lost all sense of direction for a moment. It was a very similar feeling to when he stepped through the gateway to the h.e.l.lblaze Secret World.

However, the feeling lasted for just a moment, a blink of an eye. Before he realized, he was standing in the treasure trove, and through the doorway behind him, he could see the gra.s.s and trees that covered the forest. As he was looking back, a mechanic voice sounded in his ears.

"You can only choose one treasure in this trove." It spoke with a dispa.s.sionate, cold voice. "Choose wisely."

The voice said no more, and Amon was left alone in the trove, looking at all the countless treasures in front of him. If could only take one treasure out, his choice would truly be of major importance, as he had expected.

Looking around, Amon did not even know where to start. As he looked carefully around, he saw the stands containing medicine.

The tale the beast told him came to mind. Was there a deeper meaning in it? Was the tale actually a hint?

Amon walked towards the jars and bottles, but none of them were labelled and the fragrances were all mixed in the air. He could not identify any of them. Somewhat unsure, he looked around a bit embarra.s.sed as his ears reddened a little.

"Excuse me." He called in a low voice. "Is there a way to identify the medicine?"

"There is." The mechanical voice answered, and soon bright letters condensed out of thin air in front of every bottle, box and jar of medicine in the stand.

Amon started looking carefully at it, not truly sure about what he was looking for. If the tale had been a hint, then there was a chance the characters and situations were references to Amon's predicament.

"Is there any medicine for immortality here?" Amon asked again, his tone firmer as he knew the voice would answer and he was not talking alone.

"We do not have such medicine here." The voice answered again, in the same dispa.s.sionate tone as ever. The answer, however, made Amon very dispirited. Of course such a thing as a medicine for immortality would not exist, but maybe there was a subst.i.tute, a symbol to show the beast that Amon had found the right answer.

Amon looked around again, completely overwhelmed. He could not see the end of the trove, it was truly ma.s.sive. Amon could spend days walking around and not see all of it. Every step he took revealed a whole new section filled with wonderful objects for him to a.n.a.lyze.

"There is no way I'll find the answer like that." He muttered to himself in a low voice, thinking. He did not know what the beast could want to let him pa.s.s, nor did he know the limits of what the trove could offer.

He closed his eyes, sinking into a deep silence as he contemplated. He tried to carefully remember everything the beast had told him in their conversation. Amon was sure that there was a hint there somewhere.

"Fairness… is relative?" Amon opened his eyes after a long time. A glint of excitement showed in their golden color, giving them a brightness that seemed to set them ablaze.

The beast had also said that there were many ways to get past it. For Amon, this meant that there had been no right answer from the start. Nevertheless, a fair price was still important, but there was no way for him to know what the beast would consider fair.

The story of the emperor was the key. Even if the emperor had not realized himself what he held most dear, the way he found his answer gave Amon an idea. What the beast asked, after all, was not what Amon held most dear to him.

The more Amon thought, the more his idea seemed to make sense.

"Is there any limit for what this trove holds?" Amon asked suddenly, raising his voice as he stood up.

"As long as it exists, it can be found here." The mechanical voice answered, as cold as ever. This time, however, its answer made Amon very satisfied.

"In that case, I need you to go find something for me."

---

Amon walked out of the treasure trove with firm steps, not losing time at all as he returned to the forest and walked forward, not even choosing a direction. Soon enough, he saw himself facing the beast.

"You are finally back." The crisp, chilling voice of the beast entered Amon's ears again as it opened its icy eyes and looked at him with no interest at all.

"I have something to trade for my pa.s.sage through this forest." Amon said as he looked at the beast intently with his golden eyes.

"What do you have to offer?" The beast asked, stretching its snake-like neck and approaching Amon.

Amon slowly reached for the insides of his clothes, retrieving a small, golden token and raising it for the beast to see.

"I offer this." He said, keeping a straight face and a neutral voice.

A strange light flashed in the beast's eyes as it looked at the golden token Amon was showing. It opened its mouth, letting its warm and putrid breath over Amon's face as its dagger-like teeth came dangerously close to him.

"Are you sure?" The beast asked him. "You might need to use it later."

Hearing this, Amon gave a slight smile. With his other hand, he reached again to his clothes, fis.h.i.+ng a second golden token. "Not a problem, I still have mine."

The beast's eyes widened for a moment as it showed surprise. It raised its head, and, like in their first conversation, gurgling sounds started echoing from its throat as it laughed nonstop. The flesh of its neck undulated in a strange rhythm as the beast laughed, making Amon feel somewhat strange.

"That is a good deal." The beast finally said after it calmed down. It moved its head even closer to Amon, looking at him with nothing but interest. All of the disdain and scorn in its eyes were gone as he spoke. "I accept."

With surprising care, the beast lowed it head and bit at the token gently, raising it from Amon's hand. The beast then retracted its neck, dropping the token by its ma.s.sive body.

"In this edition of the Trials, this was the best trade so far." The beast spoke with its chilling voice, but Amon somehow managed to feel a tinge of satisfaction in it.

Neither he nor Amon needed to talk about what this trade implied. In the end, Amon had thoroughly understood all of the beast's hints.

Like the emperor, Amon's offering encompa.s.sed all of the things that he could give up.

The token was a key to the treasure trove, where the beast could choose any of the treasures it wanted. Amon had offered the beast a treasure while also not having to make the choice.

The token was also a second life, as Amon could use it to be sent away from the h.e.l.lblaze Secret World if he found himself I a dangerous situation or if he decided to give up.

For the beast, however, the token had a potential third use. Leaving the h.e.l.lblaze Secret World would also mean its freedom.

Because as the beast regretfully spoke about trades and fairness, especially after talking about the emperor of the tale, Amon found it quite pitiful. He doubted it could leave this world on its own. It was most likely bound to it, and, as far as Amon had guessed, it probably involved a trade where he got what he wanted, but paid an unbearable price for, just like the emperor.

Amon had given to the beast everything he guessed the beast could want. At the same time, he was also getting what he wanted and not really losing anything. He still had his token and his belongings. He would leave this Trial the same way he arrive. The cycle would be complete, and balance would have been met.

"You know, so far I was hacked to pieces by a rude guy that got a sword from the treasure trove and used it to 'kill' me, as well as trapped by an array formation by a girl that seemed really annoyed." The beast said, not hiding the annoyance in his eyes.

"The guy in particular, the first time we met he already had the sword. He was not scared at all the first time he found the treasure trove. The moment I saw the sword I knew what kind of trade he would want to make." It grew more and more annoyed as it spoke. "Shows you the kind of cultivators we have nowadays."

"The girl… well, we spoke a little, but she didn't seem like the kind to want to think things through too much. I am actually surprised she showed the consideration to simply restrain me rather than kill me."

"Nevertheless, they were all valid ways to overcome the Trial." The beast sighed, making Amon shudder under the effects of the piercing noise in his mind. "They used what they had in hand, and defeated me in their own ways. The world we live in is like that anyway, so I it is not like I can't see where they are coming from."

"Maybe there is some hope for you, afterall." It finally said, as the look in its eyes eased somewhat. The next moment, however, its eyes turned full of disdain again. "Still, don't let it get over your head. This was not the best approach I have witnessed."

Amon was surprised at first as he heard these words, but soon came to understand. The h.e.l.lblaze Trials had been happening for centuries. It was bound to receive a myriad of dazzling figures and geniuses.

"In that case… what was this best approach someone tried to use to get past you?" Looking at the beast, he couldn't help but ask.

"Many decades back… there was a girl." The beast started speaking while reminiscing. Amon could faintly discern a warm smile in the beast's bizarre face. "She showed no fear at all and approched me wih a smile. We had a long and pleasant conversation, and we got to know each other somewhat after a while."

"She was a really polite girl, and obviously smarter than all the other cultivators so far." The beast said, looking up as if pondering. It then looked at Amon, with that twisted smile on ots face. "That includes you, by the way."

"What did she do?" Amon did not hide his curiosity as he heard the beast speaking with such an expression.

"She looked at me and said 'Mister, could you please allow me to pa.s.s?' " The beast said with wistful eyes. It was certainly a precious memory.

"What?" Amon was taken aback. "Just that?"

"Yes." The beast's answer was simple, as had been the girl's approach.

"Did you accept it?" Amon raised a brow as he looked at the beast. His curiosity was turning too great for him to restrain.

"As if I'd answer that." The beast answered with a sneer, its eyes regaining the previous disdain as it looked at Amon.

"Well, kid, it is a pa.s.s." It said, ending that conversation. "I kinda like you somewhat, so I'll give you one final piece of advice."

Its eyes turned even colder, and Amon knew it was speaking seriously for the first time in a long while.

"There might come a time in your life when you realize that the worst obstacles you ever faced were no obstacles at all." It spoke slowly, and its voice turned graver, drawing Amon in as it echoed in the depths of his mind. "All you needed to do was to look at it another way and see the truth."

"In the end, it is all relative."

"If you look at it again, you might realize there was nothing there in the first place." With a final gurgling sound echoing through its throat as it laughed and a last look of disdain, the beast disappeared, scattering with the breeze blowing towards the mountain range in the distance.