'You're a slut. How can you stomach joining a healthy and stable relationship with your friends? Isn't it ironic that that's the first huge thing you did the moment you got rid of your curse?'
'And you dare tell yourself that you're not like other girls? Be for fucking real! You're just like them, cut from the same mold, you're no different. You're the worst type of woman, a homewrecker.'
In the middle of a dark and gloomy sky, a lake that consists of a dark and viscous crimson substance could be seen.
From a glance, it is obvious that the lake was hot. Wisps of steam could be seen coming off it. It's even bubbling a bit. Its stench was almost unbearable too. Like that of a sewer that hadn't had any maintenance for at least a decade.
No one in their right mind should have any idea of going into that lake, much less submerging in it.
Yet right now, three people could be seen doing just that.
They soaked at the edges of the lake, not daring to go any further. This isn't just because of the stench, it's because something was stopping them from progressing. Until they confronted the things that are blocking them, they couldn't move an inch closer to the center of the lake, which was the goal, to begin with.
These three people were none other than Blake, Mary, and Alice.
Yesterday, they have tried the Stairway to Heaven, now they're experiencing the effects of the Lake of Blood.
If yesterday, Blake was the one on the lead, this time it was surprisingly Mary.
She's the one who had made a decent amount of progress here. Being ahead of Blake and Alice. She's also the one who has been hearing these, frankly, harsh judgments.
The worst part was that the voices she hears mimic her voice, making it seem like these were her thoughts, to begin with, but it was obviously not.
"My, certainly coming off strong are we?" Mary smiled derisively to herself.
'Isn't it almost poetic? The moment you were freed from your curse, your first instinct was to fuck your friend? Admit it, you are a slut, a whore through and through. You are a sick and pathetic excuse of a woman. I pity you to be completely honest.'
Mary didn't have a choice but to listen to those destructive words. Not even cutting off her hearing would silence these voices since they will pierce her very soul.
And if someone were in her position right now, it wouldn't be a surprise if they are already on the verge of a breakdown.
These words cut deep into someone's psyche. The worst part is that it sounds like their voice, giving the illusion that they're the ones telling these words to themselves.
This was the frightening aspect of the Lake of Blood. It doesn't just temper their physiques, it also tempers their heart and soul through harsh trials like this.
Having said that, Mary wasn't affected that much by these words.
"It almost feels like I'm cheating, to be honest." She mumbled to herself as she completely detached herself from the voices that were ringing in her head.
The mental demons that manifested out of the lake had little to no effect on her, so far at least.
Unlike how it is for Alice and Blake, Mary could clearly distinguish which one was her thoughts and which one was being fed to her by the mental demons. The rest gets easier from there.
Since she knows that it wasn't her telling these hurtful words to herself, it's not causing her to spiral into a mess. She's not being confused and not being carried away by these thoughts, allowing her to ground herself, and keeping her stable.
Additionally, Mary's eyes were weird. She could see things that normal people couldn't. This allowed her to perceive the Lake of Blood differently from others.
Other people might see this place being just a disgusting and undesirable area. It's just a pool of blood in the middle of nowhere, under a dark and gloomy sky. What else was there to see?
But to Mary's eyes, it's more than that. This place contained a unique charm that isn't present in Fantasia, she'd even dare to say that she could see something here that is not present in the Blue Planet.
This lake isn't just filled with a blood-like substance. If anything, in her eyes, it contains a unique system that tied it all up together.
It's like this entire place was built with the purpose of nourishing the Lake of Blood.
And this isn't really blood either. It's something else entirely, unfortunately, Mary has no idea what it was.
The mental demons' manifestations aren't what it seems either. These mental demons aren't trapped souls filled with resentment. They're not creatures who wanted to make everyone else suffer the same fate as them. Hell, they're not creatures at all, period.
They are reflections of a person's thoughts. They're mere constructs born from a person's insecurities and flaws given substance. They were meant to be a reminder, a test, and a cure for whoever was the reason for their birth.
In short, the Lake of Blood is more like an advanced mirror for Ascendants to use for introspection. The more they confronted and realize their shortcomings, the smoother their progress would be in cultivation. If they manage to reach the core of the lake and surmount the final challenge, then that means they achieved their true self.
This was the magic behind the Lake of Blood. And also the reason why Mary's fascination with it was growing more and more as time passed.
Only Mary could see this so far, maybe Ashton as well but she had no way of telling. After all, it would seem like he's mostly unaware of what his creation actually does, which was weird if you ask her but she was not one to pry.
Mary didn't need to endure the hallucinations just yet because frankly, they were ineffective to her right now.
Yes, it feels like she was cheating but she couldn't really help it. Even deliberately impeding her senses made no difference. Her mentality was just that different from other people and that's something that she can't easily undo.
However, Mary knows that this will only take her so far. Eventually, she'll come across something that would bypass her defenses completely, making her suffer the same fate. And she was prepared for that. She's not afraid of being tested.
Mary could've moved on from this point but she couldn't. Unfortunately, even though the mental demons were ineffective against her so far, the physique tempering aspect of the Lake of Blood was completely different.
It's what keeps her from moving forward. Unless her physique improves to the acceptable level that the Lake of Blood requires for the next step, she'd be stuck here for a while.
Her situation was the exact opposite for Blake and Alice though.
In terms of physique, the two of them were clearly way ahead of her. That can't be helped since they were Knights prior to being Ascendants. Their foundations were mostly spent on strengthening their physique as opposed to Mage like her who focused on Mana and knowledge.
However, those two struggled more with mental demons. If Mary were to be completely honest, they seem to be having a lot of trouble actually. She didn't expect them to struggle this badly in here.
Blake was the one who struggled the most. He's still close to the lakeshore and hasn't moved an inch since then.
His eyes were closed in concentration and focus, but he mostly looked as if he was experiencing physical pain.
Mary knows that that's not the case, Blake had the strongest physique out of them, the pain he's feeling is nowhere near physical, it's mental and spiritual.
She has questions...a lot of them actually. But she didn't feel like it was appropriate to ask. In the end, it seems that she just needed to show that if he wants to tell her, then she's ready to listen and give him her full attention.
Mary knows that there are certain things that Blake still keeps from her and she understands why. She promised herself that she was not gonna hound him over those because frankly, she didn't want to be a toxic girlfriend to him.
She's curious, yes. There's no denying that of course. After all, it's normal for her to want to know more about her boyfriend. But what's more important to her was to make sure that he knows that he matters to her and that he's comfortable with this relationship.
If he wants to tell her, he would and she will obviously listen. He can take as much time as he needs. If it never comes down to that, that's fine with her as well.
She doesn't need to know everything about his past to tell that he's a good person deep down. And that dating him wasn't a mistake on her part.
And to further solidify that belief, the voices that she's hearing promptly disappeared.
