Judah lead him down the back of the Dojo, to a small shrine carved into the side of the stone wall. Incense burned softly in the dark, Thaqib saw small statues of ancient deities in the shadows of the shrine. They didn’t stop there however, they went around the side of it. Thaqib was surprised to discover a passage leading to a set of stairs. They descended them into the dark.

“What’s down here?” Thaqib asked.

“You’ll see,” Judah replied.

They came to a small bridge that passed over a body of stagnant water. Thaqib looked over the edge and saw human hands—sculpted from rock—reaching out of the water. He noticed depictions of spider webs carved into the bridge.

The air was becoming stale and cold. Judah pulled out a light-stick as they descended into the shadows. The light illuminated strange sculptures that lined the walls going down, evil looking faces, depictions of strange creatures and flames, of punishment and torture.

“Man—this is grim,” Thaqib said. Judah did not reply. They continued down, the sculptures became more grisly and terrifying the deeper they went. At the bottom of the stairs they came to a door surrounded by a frame of sculpted fire.

“You must step through the fire if you are to see what truly lies within you,” Judah said, stopping before it.

The green glow of the light stick gave an ominous and eerie atmosphere to the chamber. Thaqib felt a chill go up his spine. Judah opened a rusty steel door. The sound filled Thaqib with unease.

“You want me to go—in there?” Thaqib asked.

“Yes,” Judah replied.

“What’s in there?” Thaqib asked, eyes wide, a concerned look on his face.

“Only what you take with you.”

“Huh?” Thaqib said.

Judah gestured toward the door. “You’ve had a taste of the path, but if you truly wish to walk it, you must commit to it. Now, you must make a choice. You can go through this door, or head back up the steps.”

“But what am I supposed to do in there?” Thaqib asked.

“Find your way out,” Judah replied.

Timidly, Thaqib looked through the door frame and then stepped inside. He felt a chill in the air as he stepped into the dark chamber within.

Inside, it was completely silent, he could hear his own heart beating. The steel door closed behind him and he was left in pitch darkness. A sudden surge of panic overcame him, he turned, trying to open the door, but it was no use—it was secured shut. He had a terrifying thought that there was no exit here, that he’d just been locked in this chamber never to see the light again.

He faced the darkness timidly, he couldn’t see anything. He made his way into the chamber using his hands to feel for obstacles. He began to lose his sense of direction and lost the way he’d come from.

It wasn’t long before he started to feel intimidated by the dark, he became acutely aware of the silence. Every step he took seemed to echo like thunder, bouncing off unseen walls. He started to wonder if those steps were echoes or if there was someone else in the chamber with him?

With each movement he heard another, and slowly but surely he convinced himself that there really was someone in there with him. He started to grow anxious, moving quickly in the dark. Suddenly he turned and felt something creeping close. Something brushed by him.

Unbridled fear and panic began to set in. “Who’s there? Hey!” he yelled out. His own voice echoed back to him, dissipating, rebounding in the dark. Aside from his own echo, nothing responded.

He heard a scraping sound coming from his left, he spun. “Who’s there, I said!?” he called out, again his own voice was the only reply. He began to panic, the sound was coming closer he started backing away, not knowing whether to face the noise and keep his guard up or to turn and run. He settled halfway, stumbling backward as fast as he could. He got caught up in his own feet and tripped, falling to the ground.

“Ah!” he yelled, as he landed. Pain shot up his spine and hand as he reached out to break his fall. He thought he heard something not far and froze, halting even his own breathing, trying desperately to hear. The throbbing in his head and his own pumping heart filled his ears. Then he heard it again, the scraping, sliding sound.

His breath quickened, panic crept over his body as he imagined something slithering in the dark toward him. He remembered the black, formless shape of the creature that had attacked the barge.

Terror gripped him. He backed up, stumbling over his own feet as the sound became louder, coming straight for him, he turned and ran despite being completely blind, his arms flailing before him in a vain attempt to warn of obstacles.

WHACK

Something slammed into him, sending him flying backwards to the ground. He felt warm liquid dripping down his forehead, he stumbled around, tying to get up, dizzy. He heard the sound again, backed up and felt a solid wall behind him. The sound was approaching quickly and he had no where to run. He heard a sound like rushing water and in an instant he was taken by the darkness.

A blinding light washed over him. As his vision cleared, he was met by a view that terrified him.

He was sitting in a large chamber. Large stone blocks made up the walls and roof, but what terrified him was the fact that the room was completely empty aside from two doors on opposing sides. Judah appeared beside him and he felt the sudden pang of shame. He realized he’d imagined it all. He touched his forehead and saw blood on his fingers.

“I’m an idiot,” Thaqib said under his breath, unable to look Judah in the eye.

“Don’t be ashamed. You are not the only one to panic in this chamber. That is its purpose after all. It’s here to communicate to you the most important lesson in cultivation. What we hold inside affects the perception of our external reality. That cut on your head is real yes? Real blood flows from the wound. You feel physical pain. Yet the thing that caused it was but an illusion created within your own mind.”

Thaqib sat up, his head was throbbing. Judah helped him against the wall.

“Your internal state dictates what you perceive. It makes you see things that are not there and hides things that are. We can notice a slight from a stranger but miss their kindness. These erroneous perceptions taint us internally, building into a fabrication, a distorted lens through which we see the world around us. Cultivation requires that you remove that lens and see the world unfiltered,” Judah continued.

Thaqib got to his feet. “But it seemed so real—I must be crazy.”

“We’re all crazy Thaqib, until we master what’s going on within us.”

“But how? I had no control over it, it just grabbed me and-”

“And you gave into fear,” Judah replied.

“This is what Rast was trying to get through to me? It seems so obvious.”

“Sometimes what’s obvious can go unnoticed until something brings it to our attention. Now that you’ve realized these fundamentals of cultivation, your real training can begin. If that’s what you want?” Judah asked.

Thaqib wiped the blood from his forehead. “Yeah. I want to do what I saw those students out there doing. I want to have the power to fight for something.”

“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Judah replied. “Let’s head back, I think you’ve earned a hot meal.”

Thaqib’s eyes widened, he realized he hadn’t eaten for the whole day.

Judah laughed and led him from the chamber into the light.