The Punishment

"Yu Chen..."

"Yu Chen!"

A powerful slap descended upon the fifteen years old boy's cheek and a massive palm imprint was engraved. There was a moment of silence before the person who had slapped him came to view. 

It was a lady.

She looked enraged that Yu Chen gulped instantly forgetting about the slap. He had a very bad premonition.

'I hope she hadn't found out!'

But his heart sank the moment her tone rose.

"Abison told me that it was you? Can you still deny it?" The lady's voice sounded very harsh that Yu Chen trembled. 

This lady is one of the seven Saints of Dukkha. They had unimaginable power and she was just the sixth. Yu Chen himself believed that he was fortunate enough to have someone of that caliber as master. Yu Chen just had to be submissive. 

"I'm sorry master." 

The lady's eyes burned with anger and malice. Eventually, she passed a judgement that shook Yu Chen terribly.

"You'll serve your punishment in the seventh depth of the Cauldron."

Yu Chen's eyes widened in horror.

"No master, please. Anything but the seven depths please."

Suddenly there was a deafening thunderclap and the lady shouted.

"You still dare to dictate your own punishment? How brazen of you." 

Yu Chen was already filled with horror at her voice. In fact, the seven depths of the Cauldron is one of the worst depth to be in. 

The Cauldron is just a measure of testing 'The Limitless.' That is, those that has awakened special abilities and had abandoned mortality. 

Only those that did not abandon mortality would be limited, no matter how powerful the person turns out to become. 

Yu Chen had not awakened any ability. 

Plus, he had not abandoned mortality... 

If he as much as even a little steps into the first depth of the Cauldron, he would without doubt die. Not to talk of the seventh depth. The thought of it alone caused Yu Chen to shiver.

The first depth is the depth of fear.

Fear is something that weakens human willingness to fight. It devours the willpower and renders innocent humans powerless in it's annihilating gaze.

The second depth is the depth of sorrow and misery.

This one subdues human emotions completely and eats them up from the inside out.

The third depth is the depth of misfortune.

The fourth depth is the depth of crisis.

The fifth depth is the depth of darkness.

The sixth depth is the depth of heat and cold.

The seventh depth is the depth of death.

Each depth has it's own flaw, power, disadvantages and advantages, so to conquer the depths, one have to find cues and clues to exploit. Yu Chen himself had not reached the stage that allows him to exploit flaws, he lacked power so, Yu Chen was horrified by all depths, plus his master had said, his punishment is in the seventh depth of the Cauldron. 

The seventh depth is death.

Yu Chen knelt down, his hands jammed together as he pleaded. "Master please forgive me." 

But she went straight to the point.

"You released otek. Now that scoundrel will go about possessing people's souls. You do not know the gravity of what you've done."

The lady responded with a gritted teeth. 

Yu Chen's face was blank. 

Had Otek deceived him? That's unlikely. 

Everyone believed that Otek is a bad spirit that possesses one's soul causing them to go against their humanity. However, Otek is just a messenger from the underworld whom humans had trapped, mistaking it for evil spirit.

Yu Chen tried to remain calm, but his facade was wavering. 

His body trembled once again. 

He cannot convince humans to disbelieve what they already believe in. That's human nature, it's either they take it the way it is or they just leave it that way.

"I haven't awakened master. I might die in the first depth of the Cauldron." 

But his master's next choice of word shocked him that he was almost choked.

"You should die!" 

Yu Chen's body froze at his masters repulsive word. He should die? I should die?

"Yes, maybe you'd find your worth in the great beyond. You know what, you're the first person I have discipled that can not awaken. Your bloodline is useless, You cannot awaken which is by the way. And it means that all your struggles would be meaningless."

Yu Chen was shocked.

Is this true?

He could not awaken? But how is that possible?

Why and how? Questions were asked and left unanswered.

Shiver crawled down his spine.

"Don't tell me..." Yu Chen muttered while glaring at the lady, that was his master.

"You choose one! Either you die in the Cauldron or I kill you." 

She pointed a finger and the void warped. 

Yu Chen's expression sank. 

"I'm a..." 

She completed the statement for him...

"You're a useless seed. Face it! You are unteachable. You can never improve, you cannot awaken..." 

Yu Chen saw despair. 

He saw hopelessness. 

But then resolve appeared in eyes. He would not die in her hand. He would not allow her to be the cause of his death. Hatred kindled and burned like flames in the depth of his eyes.

Immediately he said:

"The seven depths of the Cauldron!"

The lady smiled that it was piercing. 

"Good choice."

Being a member of one of the Seven Saints of Dukkha came with it's own benefits and perks. Which is, they had the key to open up the seven depths. 

The lady slammed her palm to the ground and made a grabbing motion with her hand. Black mist suddenly appeared and spread, sweeping through the room in a deafening sound. 

Tangled roots manifested like a visualization and the room shook while the ground fractured. 

"I'll meet you in the afterlife. And maybe,You'll pay the dept of this broken room..." The walls instantly shattered and Yu Chen's pupils shrank. 

Then, Yu Chen saw an all-comsuming vortex and the force swept him into it. The last thing he heard from the lady is:

"Death is the only choice to realign. Either you take this path or die forever!"