77: To Wake From a Nightmare (Patreon)

Vir dared not linger within these depths longer than necessary. Who knew when the Prana Swarm changed its mind and decided it wanted to snack on him? It was just a matter of time before he met his doom here, to one mythical beast or another.

As much as he wanted to keep his body purged of prana, Prana Vision needed it to function, so he allowed his body to equalize to the ambient prana density. Vir still felt it strange that Ash prana existed down here in higher concentrations. He had to force himself not to stock prana within his body—the habit had grown so ingrained that he now found it more difficult to keep himself dry than full.

Without it, he felt weak again. Like he'd reverted to the weakened boy he'd been for most of his life. Luckily, this time was only temporary.

With the Prana Swarm moving down the tunnel, there was only one direction to go. Vir walked away from the direction it headed, deeper into the tunnel, away from Valaka Amara, the city where he’d met Janak’s avatar.

Once he’d gained some distance from the Prana Swarm, he allowed himself to use his Talents, slowly allowing Prana to refill his body. Every few paces, he’d activate Dance to search for an exit, but he’d been doing that all along and hadn’t found a single one.

The long walk gave him some time to reflect upon the dizzying series of events that had just happened. From finding a lost city—or outpost—of the gods, to meeting Janak, to all the things Janak had said to him, Vir didn’t even know how to begin unraveling it all.

What surprised him most was actually the fact that neither Shardul nor Ekanai had come to his rescue against the Prana Swarm. That was as close to death as he’d ever been. Until now, they’d always rescued him whenever things got too dicey. Now that Maiya was gone, they couldn’t threaten her any longer, a fact Vir had hoped to exploit. He’d hoped Shardul had been bluffing.

But clearly, his prior incarnation meant what he’d said.

So I’m really on my own… for now.

Ekanai, Shardul, and even Janak told him to see the Ashen Realm. Janak wanted him to go even further, to the Demon Realm—a place Vir hadn’t even heard of.

While he hadn’t been able to fully trust the voices in his head, when an avatar of a god spoke those same words… Vir’s resolve started to crumble. Maybe there was a way to survive.

Vir’s boots crunched on the loose rock as he walked—the road had deteriorated rapidly as he progressed away from the city, leaving him walking through an unfinished, rubble-strewn cavern. He kept both eyes peeled, even as he debated his future in his head.

The Ashen Realm had always been a place of myth. Something that may have existed, but that Vir never really thought about. Like a far-off kingdom on the other side of the known world. But now, after his run in with the Prana Swarmed, it had become real, leaving him torn.

No matter how he wracked his mind, he saw no hope of surviving that realm, where monsters even stronger than Prana Swarms roamed. If he was going to even consider it, he’d need information. The bestiary in Daha was a place to start, if he could gain access to some of the restricted records, but he recalled Janak’s words: seek the Pagan Order.

The Pagan Order captured demons, so it made some sense that they might know more about the Demon Realm. The mere thought of interacting with those fanatics made Vir’s skin crawl.

Whatever course he chose, it would have to wait until his affairs in Daha were settled. Until he’d squared up with Riyan—one way or another. And before that, he needed to get out of here.

Vir spent an hour combing the tunnel, activating Dance every few minutes to check for exits, until he came to a dead end. A cave-in blocked the way forward, and Dance’s range wasn’t sufficient to get past it.

Perhaps undercharging the ability might shoot him into an opening somewhere, but given how unpredictable that seemed to be, Vir wasn't going to mess around with that ever again. Better to sacrifice a bit of range if it meant controlling where he'd end up.

There were no other exits or crossroads for him to take, which meant he’d have to double back, possibly risking a confrontation with the Prana Swarm.

In addition to the prospect of certain death, there was one other reason he lingered in this tunnel. The entire time he’d traveled, the road had ascended. He felt like he was as close to the surface as he was when he’d arrived.

Which meant that Dance might just need a small boost. The solution was obvious, and he kicked himself for not thinking of it earlier. Dance could take him through shadows twenty paces, but with the tunnel’s high ceilings, twenty paces barely made it to the roof.

Vir activated Dance of the Shadow Demon and sank into the shadow realm. He kept most of his body inside, and snaked only his arm out—onto the roof. Due to the pitch darkness of the tunnel, he could pop out literally anywhere. It was all shadows.

With an Empowered thrust, he dug his katar into the cavern’s ceiling. This would have been impossible nearer to the lost city, where the road and tunnel were far more intact, but out here, all had eroded away, leaving bare rock. And thankfully, this rock was quite a forgiving one.

With his katar anchored to the ceiling, Vir brought the rest of his body out of the shadow, allowing himself to dangle. He placed his free hand up to the ceiling, and again activated Dance, allowing himself to sink back to the realm of shadows.

Vir peered at all the exits, but came up empty.

So he repeated his trick, moving around the ceiling, hoping to find an exit above close enough for the ability to reach.

It was on his fifth try that he finally struck seric. At the very edge of the ability’s range was a single shadow that lay outside this tunnel network.

Vir took it, easing himself out… into another tunnel. A much smaller tunnel, barely higher than his head and wide enough for a single person. From the cobwebs and the stale air, the place hadn’t seen human traffic in years, if not decades.

Which made him wonder about the world beneath Daha. He hadn’t found a single entrance or exit. Maybe he’d simply missed them, or just maybe there were no entrances. He somehow doubted Dahans would sleep at night knowing the kinds of monsters that lurked just below their city.

Clearing cobwebs with his katar, Vir slowly made his way through the passage, only to run into a dead end a few paces away. He turned and headed the other way, eventually coming to another cave in.

He activated Dance again, and this time found an exit in what looked like a basement cellar, near the edge of his range.

Though pitch dark, the cellar was well maintained, clean, and free of cobwebs. A staircase in a corner led to a locked door. Locked from the other side.

But doors had long since stopped posing issues for Vir, thanks again to Dance.

This time, he exited outside the house the cellar belonged to, finally finding cool night air.

Vir collapsed to his knees in the garden that bordered the house, feeling like he’d just escaped the Ashen Realm itself. A weight that had been weighing on his shoulders suddenly lifted, allowing him to breathe deeply.

Fresh air! The outdoors!

If Vir hadn’t already wept away his tears after surviving the Prana Swarm, he’d be bawling his eyes out right now.

As it was, he realized he was quite visible, and dressed in his smelly rags, didn’t fit with the scenery at all.

Vir Danced to a nearby rooftop and stripped off his clothes. Then he brought out some herbal anesthetics and applied them to his left shoulder. Thanks to Toughen and Light Step, he'd avoided any serious injuries under Daha, but the bruises still throbbed. The anesthetic herbs would keep him going until he returned home, and after that, a good night's sleep would be all he'd need.

With the herbs applied, he gazed out at the city, and only then did he realize where he was.

The wide, dirt-free cobblestone roads, the oversized tall stone buildings, and the ornate arches, carvings, and gold inlays all pointed to one location.

The District of Internal Affairs.

He’d found a way from the Commons into the District. It’d only taken him traveling through ancient tunnels to a lost outpost of the gods, a run in with a prana swarm, a horned Ash’va, and nearly losing his life to do it.

Yeah… Definitely not going that way again.

As he gazed upon the silent district, with its fancy homes all lit up by far too many Magic Lanterns, he pondered his next course of action.

By luck or fate, he’d arrived here. He could easily get back to the Commons—the guards never bothered anyone leaving Internal Affairs—but he had no way of getting back.

Which presented a unique opportunity for him. An opportunity to check out the royal castle, and possibly even infiltrate it.

Brimming with excitement, Vir started toward the tall walls of the castle, then immediately stopped.

What do I hope to accomplish there?

Was he going to assassinate Mina? If he did, and if he did it with no witnesses, then there wouldn’t even be a downside for him. He could complete Riyan’s task and be free.

And yet, his body rejected that violently. He’d only ever heard Riyan’s side of the story. Param and his wife held the princess in high regard, and his run in with her had only corroborated that image. Was she truly evil? Evil enough to die?

Vir had to admit, he didn’t know. And he wasn’t about to commit murder unless they absolutely needed to die.

And yet, squandering this chance seemed wasteful, so he came to a compromise.

I’ll infiltrate and map out the castle.

If he could find a direct way from the Commons to the Castle Grounds, it would open new doors for him.

And if I see Mina… He paused again. What should he do if he saw her? Should he present her hair clip and try to chat with her? He could easily picture what would happen. She’d scream and call for her guards, and Vir would be forced to run.

Well, he’d cross that bridge if he ever got to it. For now, he needed a way into the castle.

The buildings of the District of Internal Affairs were both larger, taller, and more spread out than the buildings of the Commons, which shared walls more often than not.

Finely manicured hedges rimmed the roads, and Vir got a glimpse into what Daha might have been like, decades or centuries ago. Today, its wealth only existed in this small district of the city.

Leap was out of the question—too visible. Once more, Dance proved to be his ideal tool for moving around undetected. Not only did it allow him to slip out of the world entirely, becoming effectively invisible, but he could scope out each exit carefully before appearing. It drastically reduced any chance of him being detected. Not to mention that handy ability to travel through walls.

Soon, Vir found himself at the nearest building to the Castle Ground walls. A gap of forty paces lay between him and the walls, where guards patrolled atop its ramparts. Far too many to risk sneaking across, even at this late hour.

They sure like to build big walls, Vir reflected.

The smart option would be to turn around and head back to his inn. Back to Neel, who was no doubt anxiously awaiting him.

The less smart option would be to create some diversion that distracted the guards, allowing him time to scale the wall.

And the least wise option was, of course, to Dance halfway to the wall, then Leap the remaining distance to the wall, then scale as much of it as he could before Dancing through the wall onto the other side. If it worked, he’d be in, and he’d be undetected. If it failed… well, he could always use his Talents to get away before anyone found him.

It turned out that his last option actually ended up being his best one when a runner appeared on the ramparts and hurriedly communicated some message Vir couldn’t hear. Then the soldiers all followed the messenger off, leaving a scant handful left to man the wall.

Vir thanked Janak for whatever crisis they were forced to attend to and readied himself.

But first, he dropped his rucksack and changed his clothes and makeup. The clothes Mina had given him made for a perfect disguise. If only she knew he’d be using them to infiltrate her home. A sewer rat had no business in the castle. But a Sawai ‘risto? Well, they’d at least think twice before attacking him.

With his face altered and his dirty clothes thrown under a nearby bush, Vir planted his palms on the grass. He crouched his knees and prepared to Leap.