The Dawn of the New World

"That much?"

"Yeah. From his birth till this day, I saw everything," Hao Xuan rubbed his eyes and temples. They felt like they were on fire for some reason and his head was pounding like a jackhammer. Maybe it was because of the Educator or maybe it was something else.

"And not only that, everything was just dumped in my mind. Many of the things are out of sequence. If I wasn't a Spirit Realm cultivator there is no way this would have been safe."

"Hmm, perhaps I should have adjusted the output and intensity of the seizure," Baracus mumbled o himself.

"But did you get everything you wanted?"

"Yeah," Hao Xuan nodded, "I know everything he knows."

"Good, as long as it worked!"

Hao Xuan looked at the watch with furrowed brows, trying his best not to take it off and throw it around a few dozen times.

"Yeah, it "worked" alright..." he repeated once again.

"So? What did you find out about this place?"

Hao Xuan leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes to process all the information. The memories started playing back like a movie played at about 50 times the normal speed. But since it was all happening inside his head, it seemed normal.

"Gavrl. His name is Gavril and he has never left this place. Since the day he was born, he has been living in this cave with all the others. But there is something wrong with the people in general."

"How do you mean?"

"They just disappear. Mothers give birth and are never seen again. When someone gets old enough to not being able to carry their own weight, they are sent to a place called 'Tophet' where they live out the rest of their days in peace."

"Tophet? Are you sure?" Baracus asked doubtfully.

Hao Xuan nodded, "Of course. Why?"

"It seems this Ra creature has a strange sense of humor."

"What do you mean? Just speak clearly!" Hao Xuan was getting agitated, and with the booming headache, his patience was running low. Baracus quickly explained.

"Tophet is not a location. Any place where creatures are sacrificed to the old gods through terror-inducing ways like immolation is called Tophet. Its the equivalent of hell in most cultures. So when someone says they are being sent to Tophet, it means they are being sent to hell."

Hao Xuan's brow shot up in both anger and astonishment.

"What a fucking bitchass dragon," he uttered through gritted teeth.

"The sigil on their chests, is there any info about that?" Baracus continued his query.

"Yeah," Hao Xuan shook his head, trying not to think about it any further.

"The black sigil is a 'gift' from Ra and a reminder. Apparently, some time ago, someone went against the orders of this Ra and stood up against him. It seems like Ra killed him and basically enslaved and cursed his entire race."

"There were more than a hundred million of them at one point, but now after all this time, there are only these few thousand people left. Living in this place like rats, worshipping a guy that does god knows what to them. That sigil is his mark. They are all born with it."

"...."

Baracus didn't know what to say. He was hoping for some sort of an explanation but this was unexpected to say the least.

"Is there a way to get out of here then?"

"Not as far as he knows. All he has been doing since he regained his senses is mining this purple crystal that's everywhere. He just moves it from one place to another and then repeats it over the next day."

"Sounds quite dreadful..."

"It is. I just saw him do those things and I wanted to kill myself. I have no idea how these guys to do it every single day for their entire lives."

"Well, they don't know any better. They have been kept in the darkness, in this controlled environment. They only know what Ra wants them to know. To them, this is the norm."

Hao Xuan sighed, "I guess you're right."

A short bout of silence followed after as Baracus gave Hao Xuan time to collect his thoughts.

"What is the plan now?"

"Buse. She is the tribe leader's daughter and is quite close to him. And she is different than the others. She will definitely know a way out."

"Alright. So you're going to kidnap her then?"

Hao Xuan shook his head, "No, too risky. People lie when under pressure, I need her to tell me the truth herself."

"But why would she do that?"

"From what I have seen from Gavril's memories, Buse is quite an opinionated and rational person. She doesn't listen to anyone if she has made up her mind. If I show her the truth, if I show her what's happening to her people isn't normal in any way, there is a good chance she will be on our side."

"....what if she doesn't change sides?"

Hao Xuan was taken aback by Baracus's question but after thinking about it for a few seconds he quickly made up his mind.

"Then I will do what must be done. These people, even though they have been living here for so long, they still cultivate. Although I'm not sure but it seems like those village elders should all have powers equivalent to Profound realm cultivators. Every year they undergo a ritual of some sort where Ra bestows upon them some kind of power. To keep them strong and healthy."

"Alright. I'll tweak the educator to have the same function as a memory globe, albeit much more primitive. I can transfer over some general information about the outside world, its people and places. That should be a good start," Baracus quickly came up with an idea.

Hao Xuan agreed, "Do it." He put the Educator back in the watch's storage space so Baracus could continue tweaking it and picked up Gavril and threw him over his shoulder while mumbling.

"Come on big guy, help me learn more about this guy who fought a motherf*king dragon!"