Ashborn 368: Reckoning  (Patreon)

Well before Cirayus arrived, Tara already knew what she had to do. As the only person present with any meaningful healing capacity, the burden fell upon her shoulders.

And what a burden that was…

“Aida?” Tara said, nearly choking on the words she was about to say. “I’m sorry, but I can’t heal three at once. Especially not someone perhaps on the brink of death.”

For a Panav, withdrawing healing in someone’s time of need, when their life depended on it, was just about the worst possible offense. It went against Tara’s upbringing. It went against everything the Panav held dear.

“It’s… It’s fine,” Aida replied, only just barely holing back her panic. “You can stop healing me. I’ll… I’ll live.”

“No, you won’t,” a voice said.

The fort’s gates opened, and out came, to Tara’s surprise, another Naga, in his half-serpent form.

“Never thought I’d see another Panav here, of all places. Whoever you are, girl, you’re either courageous, or stupid.”

Tara raised an eyebrow. “You… don’t recognize me?”

“Should I?” the demon asked. “Forgive me, but I’ve been a bit estranged from Panav society for some time.”

“Oh…” was all Tara managed before Cirayus arrived, carrying the crippled Vir in his arms.

“Focus on the Akh Nara,” the demon said hurriedly. “I will heal you and the Bairan.”

Tara worked furiously with Cirayus to strip away the Akh Nara’s armor. Armor that had done him no good against such an overwhelming attack. Worse, it had fused together in several places, making the task of removing it far harder, requiring Cirayus to cut it open down the chest and pry it open with his four hands.

“You bear Yuma’s Embrace?” Tara asked, shocked and elated to find someone with the art in this remote place. With a second Ultimate Art, they might actually stand a chance.

“Er, no. Only Yuma’s Touch,” the demon said, somewhat taken aback. “I’ve plenty of experience with it, however. It should suffice to keep you two conscious.

Tara’s hopes came crashing down as swiftly as they had formed. She very much doubted Yuma’s Touch would be enough to undo the damage the ambient prana was doing to Aida and herself, but she didn’t argue, despite her reservations. It would be a painful experience, but she ought to last long enough to at least save the Akh Nara.

As for herself… She tried not to think about that, distracting herself with the task at hand.

Save the Akh Nara… Tara thought, looking at Vaak’s charred body. How?

Yuma’s Embrace could bring a demon back from the brink of death, yes, but not even the Panav knew how to resurrect the dead. Not after they’d lost Ultimate Sacrifice, their second Ultimate Art, so long ago.

Tara began the moment Cirayus had set Vaak upon the ground, as did the Naga. The pain set in immediately. As she’d thought, the Naga proved incapable of fully healing the damage, but she was at least thankful for this. Without it… Would she even have stayed conscious enough to administer healing upon the Akh Nara?

Within seconds of starting, however, she understood just how horrific Vaak’s wounds were.

“Is he alive?” the Ravager asked.

“Barely,” Tara replied through gritted teeth. These moments were the most critical, and despite Tara’s vast talent, she felt herself falter in the fact of this challenge. “Only the faintest trace of life remains.”

“Which means you can heal him, yes?” Cirayus pressed. “The Panav always boast that Yuma’s Embrace can brink anyone back from the brink of death.”

“Ordinarily, yes,” Tara said, fighting to form coherent words despite the pain and the intense concentration required to keep the healing art going. “In these conditions…?”

Tara genuinely did not know if she had what it took. If she failed here and the Akh Nara died… She might just have doomed the realm. She might have altered demonic history. Permanently.

The thought was so horrifying that she nearly seized up.

A hand rested gently upon her shoulder, and to Tara’s immense surprise, it did not belong to Cirayus, but rather the goddess Ashani. 

Tara froze, and very nearly allowed Yuma’s Embrace to fall. When had she arrived? 

“I believe in you,” Ashani said gently. “You will succeed.”

“Why?” Tara whispered. What could this goddess she’s barely even met know about her? Was she actually omniscient?

“Because I have seen you,” Ashani said. “I know you can do this. Vir is not beyond saving. Within his blood runs the same healing pranites present in Shan, his wolf. They will aid the restoration process, so long as you help them along. Watch for them, and do not interfere with their work.”

“N-Noted…” Tara said, realizing these were the first words she’d said to the living deity.

They were only words. Just words, spoken by a woman she’d never met. Someone with fair, pale skin who swore she was not a god.

Tara might have believed that, on some level. That the Prime Imperium were not actually deities. Yet, it was impossible to reconcile this with the vast heights to which they’d soared. And Ashani was living proof.

To Tara, Ashani was a deity, pure and simple. And, it seemed, quite the benevolent one. if a deity said she could save Vaak’s life, then Tara knew she would.

Purging all thoughts from her mind, she lost herself in the task at hand. First stabilizing his condition, repairing damaged organs and restoring blood flow.

Then, ensuring she didn’t make the mistake of consuming too much of the freely abundant prana, Tara began working on his limbs. While Yuma’s Embrace was perfectly capable of restoring flesh in the blink of an eye when supplied with enough prana, that didn’t mean it would always heal correctly. While Tara had mastered the ability enough to subconsciously heal her own body, administering aid to another was quite another thing entirely, requiring tremendous skill.

Skill she would need to wring every last drop of, given the extent of his injuries.

Only one of Vaak’s arms remained attached. The other arm, and both legs, were all gone. Burned away in the blink of an eye in temperatures Tara couldn’t even begin to imagine. On one hand, that had proven a blessing, as there was no blood. On the other, it had wrought so much havoc on Vir’s body that undoing the damage was perhaps the greatest challenge Tara had faced her whole life.

The lesser Yuma’s Touch was fundamentally incapable of such a feat. It could only heal, not undo incorrect healing. That was a domain reserved for the Panav’s greatest art, and Tara knew well that, if done improperly, she would cause more harm than good.

As Tara immersed herself in her work, time came to have no meaning. Seconds became minutes, which might have turned into hours or even days. She couldn’t be sure. All that mattered was that Vaak was healed. Not just healed, but restored to his original state.

After the initial moments had passed, Tara grew increasingly confident he would live. As Ashani said, his body was working in concert with her own healing arts. She sensed the millions of tiny organisms traveling through his body, tirelessly working to repair the damage.

Seeing them work so relentlessly was in part what gave Tara the motivation to continue, despite her mounting fatigue. They could only heal, however. They could not regrow a limb. 

Yuma’s Embrace was designed to take immense quantities of prana, but there was such a thing as too much. Keeping it active for so long burned the tattoo, and every moment she used it hurt more and more.

Of more concern was how its efficacy decreased the worse the pain became.

Yet, she was nowhere near restoring his limbs. She’d just gotten done with his arm, having completely regrown a new limb from scratch, and had only begun working on his legs—both much larger than the arm had been.

Yet, on she pressed. Hour after hour. What had become of the Guardian? Where was everyone now? Were they still there, watching over her? Or had they returned to sleep?

Tara was tired. She was in pain, and she was so hungry, she could no longer tell whether the pain was from her hunger or from prana poisoning.

All of that felt like a secondary concern, however. Something distant. Something far.

Tara’s mind slowly became numb, and the line between consciousness and unconscious blurred. Vir’s limbs steadily regrew, however, and at last, the process was complete.

She scarcely even noticed when it was done—only when Yuma’s Embrace refused to channel any more prana did she realize the truth. 

Tara had brought Vaak back from death. She, alone, had saved the Akh Nara’s life. 

And though she could not know it then, Tara had changed the future of not just the Demon Realm, but all the realms. Irrevocably, and forever.

— — 

Vir awoke to the pleasant scent of freshly cut timber and distant voices. Something immediately felt off. Like he was a stranger in his own body, wearing a second skin,  though he couldn’t place why.

Tentatively, he moved his arms and wiggled his toes. All seemed normal. Just a bit of soreness—something Vir hadn’t experienced in a long while. 

“You’re up,” someone said from nearby. “Good. Not even last night’s storm could wake you.”

A gruff voice. Familiar, though one Vir couldn’t immediately place. Until he turned on his bed and came face to face with a weathered Naga.

“Balagra?” Vir asked, confused. “So, we won, then? I… Can’t seem to recall what happened.”

Balagra shrugged. “Oh, it was nothing too eventful. Just two Automaton Guardians, which were about to annihilate us before your timely entrance with the Ravager and a mysterious beautiful lady. Several beautiful ladies, in fact. Beautiful and capable.”

Vir frowned. “And the Guardians?”

“They left on their own, though only Adinat knows why. We thought we were doomed.”

While odd, Vir couldn’t especially call it unusual behavior for those giants. Their actions had never made much sense, and whether that was because of some complex plan or simply senility, he couldn’t know.

“Say, Balagra? Why does my body feel so stiff? Was I injured?”

“Were you injured?” Balagra said, brows raised slightly. “My dear Akh Nara, were it not for the miraculous actions of your friend Tara, you would have died.”