Chronicle of Burden

Chapter 13

As the Sage lead the way towards the cave exit, the Captain slowly tagged behind her. There was a near oppressive silence between them, the only sound that could be heard was their steps against the stone. The Captain was more ashamed of his action than afraid that the Sage might be upset that he entered the cave. But there was no trace of anger or disapproval in her eyes, her face was soft and her eyes expressed nothing but patience and a perfect inner balance of peace.
The Sage unfolds her fan and holds it to her chest as she lightly waves it and begins to speak without even glancing back to look at the Captain.

Sage: There is no reason to feel ashamed. Not many can face their fears and emerge unscathed from the trials. The darkest shadows and most terrifying foes we can face are those that lie within our hearts, not the ones we see with our eyes or stand before us. Conquering oneself is an immensely difficult task.

The Captain was surprised to hear the Sage say something like that, he was mostly expecting a good talking to and to get scolded as a certain someone did to him in the past each time he'd truly made a bad mistake. This version of Fu Hua seems a lot different than the one he knew.

Captain: Aren't you going to scold me or get upset I got into so much trouble?

The Sage looks over her right shoulder back at the Captain and says with a smile on her face and a warm voice:

Sage: Of course I am upset. Do I not look upset? Am I not scolding you right now?

Captain: ... It's hard to tell. But it's a good scolding I'd say.

The Sage softly chuckles and folds her fan, snapping loudly as it closes shut. By the time their conversation ended, they emerged out of the cave and were welcomed by a slightly chilly wind and a partly clouded sky, only a few stars could be seen twinkling next to a bright moon that cast its pale light.
The Captain takes one last look behind him, staring into the shadows of the cave before following the Sage up the path towards the building underneath the waterfall.

Sage: Do not worry about your friend. She is strong and will return soon enough.

Captain: You sound so sure about that but when Eri-... or whatever attacked me was so real. I could feel something emanate from within her.

Sage: Indeed. I have not seen one as strong as yours, that is why you must never go back inside. Your friend's shadows aren't as deep as yours, and I have faith in her chances of success.

Captain: Can I ask one more thing? What's inside that cave exactly?

Sage: Truth.

It was a simple and vague answer, it was difficult for the Captain to wrap his head around the Sage's answer but after taking into consideration what she said earlier when she rescued him from almost certain death, the purpose of the cave started to become clearer. Whatever was inside there was able to manifest one's worst fears and give it power on par with the person's guilt, even if the person was facing an illusion there was no telling how powerful it was nor what it was capable of doing.
Without realizing it, the Sage and the Captain have already reached the front entrance. The door gently slides open and the Sage is the first to enter. She steps inside, crosses a small hallway, and enters a room decorated with bookshelves filled with scrolls competing for space with thin hardcover books. In the middle of the room's far end facing the entrance is a large incense altar with three incense sticks still burning in a bowl of sand. The altar is filled with small trinkets of unremarkable quality or value. On a closer inspection, they are, more or less, tokens or keepsakes, their only true value must be sentimental if the Sage kept them. One of the trinkets on the altar is a broken hairpin probably made out of white jade.
As the Captain steps inside the room, he sees a traditional writing table on the far left. It has a paintbrush, an ink cup, and several rolled-up scrolls in a small bundle on it. A plush purple pillow that is probably used for sitting on the other side of the table.
In one corner of the room, on the left side not too far away from the entrance is a sizable ceramic pot with a bonsai tree planted inside. The pot has a spotless color of white with blue lines running across the rim. Considering the size of the pot, you'd probably need four grown men to carry it. The bonsai tree is rather big for something that doesn't grow too much, its trunk is so wide the Captain would need both his hands to grasp it entirely. Given its vibrant color and rich crown, this little tree must have seen a lot of care and attention.
The walls are decorated with long scrolls. Some display a graceful and skilled calligraphic style of writing, other scrolls show a more artistic display such as cranes near a pool of water, or in flight, even beautiful scenes of mountains or rivers. One of these scrolls, the wides and biggest of them all, shows a woman holding an umbrella standing near a small river near a bamboo forest.
The Sage takes her place, sitting down on a plush emerald-colored pillow at one end of a small tea table in the middle of the room. She motions towards the other end of the room, pointing with her fan towards another identical pillow.