Helplessness and pathetic fear was all that occupied my mind as I watched Sen’o struggle against the overbearing spectral woman. My terrified gaze was the only thing that could move as I watched them trade blows, Sen’o coming across as far inferior.

Cultivation thus far had seemed to me peaceful, meditative and spiritually empowering. What I was watching now was primal force and unbridled violence that was deeply disturbing. Sen’o struggled and for a minute there was a glimmer of hope as he clocked the spectre in the face.

It quickly derailed and once more Sen’o was on the back foot, then he was flying through the air. An almighty crack that even I could hear echoed out, sending shivers down my spine. My heart was in my throat as Sen’o was once more set upon, he latched ahold of her leg then tried another futile attack that cracked his shin, snapping as it bent in an unnatural and excruciating way.

Beyond that I could not see through the panic induced tears and befuddlement. The lack of noise eventually broke me out of my stupor, I saw Sen’o standing precariously on one leg as he held the spectre. I saw what I thought to be qi rush from her body and into his own, although I had no idea if that was a good or a bad thing.

Eventually the spectral nightmare disappeared entirely and I became aware of my erratic breathing. I tried to calm myself before inching towards Sen’o, I wanted to hold him up, provide him the support he needed to not collapse. I wanted to check his wounds and tend to them. I wanted to help, but, just coming near him caused unfettered dread to overwhelm me, taking everything I had just to keep it at bay.

I opened my mouth and asked the stupidest question I’d ever asked. “Are you alright?” I muttered meekly. He looked at me, exhaustion evident on his face, then he fell. I shot my hands out in panic but when it came to actually catching him I stumbled backwards, still incapable of touching him

I watched him crumple to the ground, I could not even wipe my tears that were falling from my face like a mountain stream. I hated it. I hated how despite my proclamations, my faux confidence and my eagerness to join him on his journey, I was utterly useless. I could not join him in battle nor aid him after it.

I stood there dumbly, working up the courage to at least drag him into a more comfortable position then finding myself unable to. I fell to the floor myself, completely surrendering to my pathetic state. I wallowed in self pity as I looked at the physically broken man before me in dire need of help that I could easily administer.

An indistinguishable amount of time passed when suddenly the room shifted, the familiar sensation brought us back to the room we had started in. An out of breath Teteli came in through one of the doors. I noticed that out of the eight closed doors within the crypt, five of them were now open.

She did not even speak as she saw the state Sen’o was in and directly rushed to his side. Some sort of pill appeared in her hand which she forced him to swallow by pinching his nose shut and clamping his mouth. She then grabbed his broken leg and pulled it back into position, completely ignoring his unconscious moans.

There were no direct changes to his outward appearance and his back gash was still open and steadily bleeding. “What did you give him?” I suddenly asked in panic.

“Shut the fuck up,” said Teteli who looked at me with indignation. I took her cue and watched as she gently rolled him to a more comfortable position and began stitching his skin closed. I had no idea where she had got the equipment, it could only have come from a dimensional treasure; something I’d only ever read about.

After finishing with his back she administered another pill. This change was far more visible, the cuts across his body began to close, the large wounds on his back helped along by the stitches. The bruises on his chest and leg started to disappear as well.

Finally, she sat back from him. Checking once more to make sure she had not missed anything then looked at me. “Do you have something fucking wrong with you? Were you planning on just watching him die?” she asked, trying hard to restrain herself from shouting.

I opened my mouth with the intention to protest but nothing came out. “Got nothing to fucking say for yourself?” she asked, looking for a good reason for my uselessness. I stared at the floor, wishing it swallowed me into that dark void once again.

Teteli calmed down, I could tell because her breathing which was rapid was starting to slow down. She reached her hand towards my leg and rested it on my leg. “Sorry,” she said. “I was really worked up, can you tell me what happened?” she finally said. Her touch calmed me down, I crawled out of the mental hole I’d dug for myself and explained what had happened to put Sen’o in such a miserable state.

“The Matriarch must have implemented measures in case those not belonging to the sect managed to get into the crypt,” said Teteli after some thought.

“But how could she know?” I asked.

“Anyone who carries this,” she showed me a mark that showed the Broken Doors sect emblem. “Is safe, those that don’t are not.” I nodded in understanding.

“How did you get us out?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

“I broke the array, then I had to find the dimensional treasure that it had sent you to. I think that breaking the array allowed Sen’o to win his fight, although I’m annoyed that I could not break it quicker,” she said. “Then I had to open all these doors,” she continued gesturing to the five open doors. “To find that dimensional treasure, which also took a considerable amount of time.”

I could vaguely remember the spectral construct suddenly losing control which allowed Sen’o to drain it’s qi, that must have been when Teteli broke the array. Then the long wait afterwards was while she was searching for the dimensional treasure.

“Come on, let’s go and look around while he recovers, I didn’t get a proper look before,” said Teteli. As she stood up she held her hand out to me. I shook my head and wiped a fresh tear from my eye.

“I think I’ll stay here,” I said. I looked at his peaceful sleeping face and for the first time rather than fear or dread, I felt something else.