155: Into the Ash (Patreon)

“There she is!” Maiya shouted, pointing at the ground far below.

After searching for a moment, Vir spotted the black, winged beast that was roaming around on the ground, looking lost and insecure.

“Hold on!” Cirayus said as he reached the apex of his jump and began to fall.

The warning was hardly necessary. The giant’s mastery of Balancer of Scales was so great that their descent was idyllic, and their landing soft.

Once again, Vir wondered at the ability’s wealth of uses. Not only would it drastically amplify his strikes, but it’d give him something he sorely lacked right now—range. While his katar attacks had grown deadlier thanks to Prana Blade, he’d never been able to do the same for his chakrams. Based on his current understanding, the feat might very well be impossible.

Which meant that going forward, his discs would be less and less useful. Even in the human realm, against both the Narapazu and the Matron’s Hunters, they did little other than to serve as a distraction. Against Ash Beasts? He wondered if they’d even be worth the added weight to carry them.

Gaining a power like Balancer would even those odds. Multiplying the weight of anyone nearby, especially if applied tactically when the enemy didn’t expect it, would be devastating. It was then that something odd struck him about the ability.

Cirayus said Balancer affected anything he touched… but how can he affect people dozens of paces away?

The answer came to him moments later. Ground prana. He’s got a way of remotely manipulating ground prana!

Not only that, but the ability worked while he was in the air, which made it far more useful than Vir’s Talents.

He made a mental note to study it in detail sometime. Lacking the tattoo, Vir doubted he could reverse engineer it like he had Dance of the Shadow Demon, but perhaps there was some new insight to be gained by analyzing it.

“Frumpy!” Maiya jumped off Cirayus’ shoulder the moment they touched the ground and ran up to her frightened Acira. “I’m so sorry. The scary demon attacked us out of nowhere, didn’t he? You must’ve been terrified!”

She talked to the beast like it was a bandy pup, though Vir could tell she was only trying to act tough. He knew, because so was he.

“That would sound endearing, if that thing didn’t look like it could destroy an entire village,” Vir commented, standing some distance away.

“Aww, Frumpy’s harmless! She won’t harm a soul. Well, not unless they threaten her. Then she might chomp their head off.”

Vir took a slow step back.

“Just kidding! She’s more likely to fly away than lash out. She’s incredibly well trained.”

“We have them in the demon realm as well,” Cirayus said, scratching the black beast’s belly. It seemed only too happy to receive his ministrations. “Legends tell of avian beasts that breathed fire. Many believe them to be the ancestors of modern-day Acira. But it is true. These beasts are quite harmless.”

“I see. But… why’d you have to name it Frumpy, Maiya?”

“Hmm? Well, because she looks kinda derpy, doesn’t she? Besides, Bumpy, Grumpy, and Dumpy were already taken. Not a whole lot of other words that rhyme, yeah?”

Why does it have to rhyme!? Vir thought, desperately trying to forget the goodbye he’d have to say in just a few short moments.

This was the last time he’d see Maiya for what might be a very long time.

His eyes lingered on her back, and he broke his stare only when she caught him looking. Fate truly is cruel.

“Balancer is good for covering ground, but Acira are better still,” Cirayus said, motioning to the beast. “They fly higher, as well. We’d best get on and fly the rest of the way to the Ash Boundary.”

Vir took the spot behind Maiya, with Cirayus riding at the rear.

“How does that work?” Vir asked, mostly to distract himself. “We won’t be in contact with the ground. Won’t you be unable to use Balancer? Actually, how do you even jump so high? I understand you can reduce your weight, but I’ve never heard of a Talent that continues to function even once it’s in the sky.”

Cirayus grinned. “Well observed. Suffice it to say, Balancer of Scales is a bit special. All the Ultimate Bloodline tattoos are.”

Vir expected more of an explanation, but when the giant fell silent, he understood none would be forthcoming.

Does he want me to figure it out on my own? Or is there some other reason he can’t say?

Even after they took off, the tattoo was still very much active, though the rush of prana that had flooded into Cirayus upon activation had died off to nearly nothing. Instead, the Earth prana in Cirayus’ body circulated rapidly, flowing in and out of the tattoo.

Wait! Isn’t this like Parai’s prana channeling technique?

The giant's Earth and Life Affinity prana moved in an unbelievably complex pattern through every limb.

“You’re using your own prana to sustain the ability.”

Cirayus looked impressed. “Did one of your ancestors tell you that, lad?”

Vir shook his head. He’d taken some time to contemplate just how much to trust Cirayus, but as the demon had said himself, if he wanted Vir dead, he could’ve killed him many times already. After everything Vir had heard, there was little doubt the four-armed giant was indeed the same demon who’d brought him over as a baby.

Which meant he’d risked his life. If Vir couldn’t trust people who’d sacrificed everything for his sake, he’d have serious issues. “They don’t help me out nearly as much as I’d like. I have Prana Vision; I can see prana. Your technique looks very similar to Parai’s prana channeling.”

Cirayus cocked a brow at his words, regarding Vir appraisingly. “Another Iksana ability. You’ve been blessed, lad. Many demons would kill to have Iksana Sight.”

Vir thought back to the experience that had yielded the ability, back in the Godshollow. He’d nearly lost his life, and Ekanai had nearly killed Maiya.. The ability certainly hadn’t come without its risks.

“It is as you say,” Cirayus continued. “Prana channeling is the very foundation of many demon arts. My ability being one of the most advanced variants. Though even as much as I rely on channeling, it’d hardly suffice on its own. My ability uses both Earth and Life affinities. While Earth may not be available to me in the air, Life certainly is. I combine that with prana channeling to sustain the ability.”

Ordinarily, Vir would’ve peppered the giant with more questions, but he just wasn’t in the mood.

I’m really leaving.

In a way, he felt like he was running away. From Hiranya and Princess Mina… from Tia and Spear’s Edge. Even now, complex feelings roiled in his stomach. He wished for a chance to talk to her again. To show her that demons were just like humans. It felt wrong to leave with so much unresolved.

Nor did it end there. There was everyone he was leaving behind. The Pagan Order, for one. Just when he’d found people to call his own, he’d left, fleeing Cirayus. That threat was now gone, but after learning of his past, Vir knew there was no going back. Not when so much of his history lay in the demon realm.

And then there was Maiya. All the others, he could rationalize. He could get over them.

There was no ‘getting over’ Maiya. For as long as they were apart, he’d never feel right. The hole in his chest would return.

She’d been quiet until now, and while Vir had never minded the silence, this was truly one of the last chances he had to converse with her. To hear her voice one final time.

But when he tried to speak, the words wouldn’t come. It wasn’t just the wind noise that made talking difficult—he just didn’t know what to say. What was there to say? That he’d miss her? That he felt awful leaving? He’d already said all that, and so had she.

In the end, he said nothing, opting instead to tightening his embrace around her waist, squeezing her with just enough pressure to let her know.

Maiya smiled, resting one hand on his when she wasn’t giving Frumpy directions.

Their moment didn’t last long.

The instant they soared over the ramshackle Matali wall, the air changed.

Vir sensed it before the others. Prana saturated the air in quantities unlike anything he’d ever experienced, exerting a heavy pressure, not unlike Balancer of Scales.

And in the distance, a shimmering blue-silver wall pierced the sky, extending to the heavens.

“We’re already so close?” Vir shouted over the wind.

“It’s not that we’re close,” Maiya replied. “Just that the boundary is enormous.”

Vir had read about this phenomenon in the Balindam archives. The Ash Boundary was so tall, it warped people's sense of perspective. There were tales full of those who sought to venture close to it. They thought they were merely hours away, yet found themselves walking even days later.

“At our current speed, it’s still an hour away!” Maiya called.

The Boundary wasn’t the only mesmerizing sight. Ash prana floated in the air.

Tentatively, Vir activated Empower on his arm. Instead of sucking prana through his feet up his body, he pulled it from the air, just as a mejai would. The prana came slower than he was used to; there was simply far less of it in the air than there was in the ground.

But the fact remained. For the first time in his life, he’d drawn in ambient, airborne Ash prana.

It was a small thing, and entirely meaningless. It still filled him with joy.

The shimmering barrier grew steadily larger, and pressure increased, growing uncomfortable.

Vir was about to ask Maiya if she was alright when she directed Frumpy to descend, landing a few dozen paces from the boundary.

Vir hopped off and gazed unsteadily up at the barrier, craning his neck until he nearly fell over. It went on… forever, disappearing into storm clouds high above. The sky had darkened, and thunder roared in the distance. As if the Ash refused to be contained within its realm, and bled slowly into this one.

That might actually be exactly what’s happening, Vir reflected, thinking of the Ash’s relentless expansion.

There wasn’t anything remotely like it in the Known World. It was like an opaque ocean, only flipped on its side. Had it not been so dangerous, Vir might even have called the sight beautiful. 

And also broken, a voice whispered within his head. There was a wrongness to the barrier. An unnaturalness that struck out to him, though he couldn’t begin to explain why.

“How long has the barrier been here?” Vir asked as he retrieved his heavy rucksack off Frumpy.

“Since the Age of the Gods, at least,” Maiya said, looking slightly pale. “No one knows for sure. It might even have existed forever.”

Vir wondered what secrets it kept within its domain.

Within Mahādi. He only hoped he’d gain a glimpse into those mysteries.

“Lad, we’d best get a move on. This close to the boundary, there’s no telling when one of us might be snatched up. Just as the boundary deposits monsters, it can pull people into it, too.”

Both Vir and Maiya shot him a stern look.

“Hm. There is much I need to tell the lad before we venture in. But, well, I suppose that can wait a few moments,“ the giant said, looking at Maiya with sympathy. “You’d best say your farewells now.”

The demon moved a dozen paces away to stare at a bush, as if it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

“Please stay?” Maiya blurted, before hastily covering her mouth.

The pain in her eyes nearly made Vir falter.

“No, I didn’t mean to. I don’t know what—!? ”

He didn’t falter. He instead rushed up to her, embracing her in a tight hug before she had a chance to say any more.

“Gods! I’m going to miss you, Vir,” Maiya whispered, tears streaming down her face.

“I know.”

Maiya was sobbing now.

“I’m going to miss you so much.”

“I know.”

“And… after we just found each other again. This is too cruel, Vir. I can’t—”

Vir broke the hug and grasped her shoulders, looking her in the eyes.

“Don’t say you can’t. Because I know you can. You’re strong, Maiya. Look at you, you’re the right hand of a princess! Just a year ago, you were an ordinary village girl. Nobody gets to where you are without being strong.”

Maiya sobbed. Vir wiped her tears away, only to find that his own face had just as many.

“This is just as hard for me as it is for you, y’know?” he said.

“Isn’t there any way I can come?” she asked. “Take me with you.”

Cirayus grimaced from nearby. “I’m sorry, lass. You’d be walking to your own death,” he said softly, but with a firmness that allowed no rebuke. “You're far too young to throw your life away so wastefully.”

“But hey, at least I have your orb, right? With Cirayus around, we can talk whenever we like!”

“I truly don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news, lad,” Cirayus said, “but I do not believe those orbs will work in the Ash.”

“O-oh,” Vir said, desperately wiping his tears before the demon saw. “But they’ll in the demon realm?”

“I cannot say. I merely overheard the mejai I traveled with saying as much. Tis one of the many reasons humans know so little of the Ash; communication is impossible.”

“But can you power them?” Maiya asked, sadness ebbing from her voice.

“My captors never let me try, but I don’t see why not. I possess Life, Earth, and, and Fire affinities, after all.”

“Vir, give him the orb!” Maiya said excitedly, wiping away her tears. “The other one’s back at my room in Kin’jal so it won’t work, but we’ll know if he can turn it on, at least.”

Vir was also curious about that. He hadn’t ever seen a demon power an orb. It should have been possible in Balindam’s Undercity, which wasn’t as prana starved as the rest of the Voidlands, but seeing Cirayus use it in person would prove without a doubt that demons could use human magic.

Vir carefully hefted the oversized orb with both hands, which fit neatly into Cirayus’ palm. Vir focused on Prana Vision, carefully observing the demon… but nothing happened.

“Er, this is rather embarrassing,” Cirayus said, scratching his chin, “but how does one activate these? I’ve never had the opportunity.”

“Do you… create a suction when powering your tattoos?” Vir asked. “Like, do you ‘suck’ the prana into your tattoo somehow?”

“Suck? Ah, the vacuum effect. Yes, basic prana manipulation technique. By creating a pocket of prana suction directly under the tattoo, we draw in ambient prana, powering the mark. I think of it more as ‘pooling’ the prana, but what you describe is analogous.”

Vir’s excitement grew. So tattoos do work like orbs then!

“In that case, try focusing on—oh. You already got it.”

The giant pulled prana from the air, and a few seconds later, the orb glowed faintly.

“Yes!” Maiya shouted. “Yes! It works!”

“Aye. I suspected they might function similarly to our tattoos, but… hmm. They can store a pranic charge, can’t they? How curious.”

That surprised Vir. He’d thought for sure tattoos could be precharged as well.

“Of course,” Maiya answered with excitement. “Mejai practically rely on it. In fact, you don’t even need to be a mejai to use magic if you have a precharged orb. Nearly anyone can activate a combat spell that’s already been charged. Once. After that, you need a mejai to refill it.”

Vir smiled, happy her mood had recovered. So had his. Talking to Maiya gave him something to look forward to. Something precious.

“I see. Demonic tattoos do not work in this manner. They cannot ‘hold a charge,’ as you say.”

Vir wondered what the difference was. Something else to investigate, he thought, smiling at Maiya’s elated expression.

“Looks like we might be able to chat, after all,” Vir said, smiling at her.

“There’s hope, at least,” she said. “I can live with that. Just don’t take too long to get through the Ash, alright? You’ll break my heart.”

“I won’t,” he said gently, hugging her. “I promise.”

Vir clutched her tightly, hoping the weight of his feelings would bleed into her the longer they held each other. Seeing how fiercely she clung back, he knew she felt the same.

“I, erm,” Maiya said eventually, staring at her feet. “I guess… this is it, then? I’ll be honest, Vir. I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to say goodbye.”

“Then don’t,” he whispered. “Don’t say goodbye. This isn’t farewell. I will return. So will you wait for me?”

Maiya pulled back to look him in the eyes, allowing their foreheads to touch. “I already said I… Actually, no. I won’t wait, Vir,” she said, pausing just long enough for the look of shock on Vir’s face.

“I-uh, t-that’s fair. I don’t—”

“I won’t wait, because I’ll grow stronger. So I can be as strong as you when you return. Maybe even surpass you. I’m gonna work my ass off. So that you don’t leave me behind.”

Vir stood with his mouth open for a long moment, then chuckled. “That’s the spirit. Guess I’ll have to make sure I don’t slack off in there,” he said, thumbing to the Ash Boundary.

“Not like you can. You’ll die if you do.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Vir chuckled.

They fell silent.

“Don’t take unnecessary risks. It’s dangerous enough as it is.”

“I won’t.”

“Keep your head on your shoulders.”

“I will.”

Each time Maiya spoke, her words were accompanied by more and more water welling up in the corners of her eyes.

She’d just stopped crying, too…

“And listen to Cirayus! Don’t ever stray far from him.”

“I swear it.”

The dam burst, and she broke down sobbing.

There were no words that would console her, so Vir didn’t bother with any. Instead, he leaned in… and kissed her on the lips. It was only a quick, short peck, but it was enough.

Her tears in their tracks, leaving her flushed and gaping in shock.

“I’ll see you on the other side,” Vir said, turned away before Maiya could see his flushed cheeks. Before he could reconsider, he grabbed Cirayus’ arm and strode through the boundary without a hint of fear.

At least he hoped it looked that way. He hoped she’d see the back of a warrior, stepping boldly into the unknown, and not his wobbly legs.

He didn’t hear her words as she stared holes into his back. “Not fair,” she breathed.

Then he was gone. Into the Ash. To the Realm of myth and legend. To his destiny.

- -

Princess Mina Hiranya paced around her chambers, biting her nails. Her bedraggled appearance mirrored that of her room, where black hair littered the floor and splinters of smashed cabinetry lay strewn about.

The hunt for her would-be assassin had consumed her every waking thought. The princess’ dress was soiled and torn, and she hadn’t bathed in days.

“Where is he? Where is he!?“ she shrieked at her Kamna. Her bodyguard knelt and lowered her head, avoiding the princess’ stare. Both out of respect, and a desire not to look upon the soiled and shredded clothes the princess wore.

“I’m afraid he’s betrayed us, your highness.“

“How!? He wore the subjugation collar! How did he escape? Gatik. He must have betrayed us. I’ll have his family killed for this!“

Kamna shirked back under the princess’ hysterical words. “All the mercenaries in the area claim Gatik died fighting to the last, princess. They say the giant crushed the collar with his bare hands.“

“Where was the last sighting? When?“

“The latest report from our spies was two hours ago. They are working with the mercenaries to find them.“

“Have them work harder! Double our payment. We have to find them!“

Mina’s face was twisted in rage, confusion... and fear. This was her last chance. If she failed here...

Three quick knocks sounded on the chamber’s door.

“Your highness, permission to enter? I bring news from our spies.“

Mina nodded, and Kamna showed the runner in.

The runner paled and took a shaky knee.

“What word?“

“I-I’m afraid the giant and the target have fled.“

“Where? To Kin’jal? It matters not. Send more troops.“

“No, your highness. To the Ash.“

Mina froze. “Say that again.“

“They crossed the boundary. They fled to the Ashen Realm.“

Mina whirled in rage, unleashing an Arc spell at the runner.

Kamna Blinked to defend the unarmed runner, taking the spell to her armor. Her body convulsed for several moments, but the lightning rods embedded into her cuirass absorbed most of the damage.

“Out! Get out! NOW!“

The runner fled, but Kamna refused to budge.

“You too. Leave me.“

Her bodyguard nodded and limped away, casting a forlorn glance at the princess despite the pure loathing Mina leveled at her.

Mina crumpled to her knees the moment the door closed. This was it. Her final chance. And now it was gone. She’d failed.

Her brothers had already stripped her of power-a task made easy owing to her hysterical behavior of late. Her connections had been severed, her influence shredded.

This was her last chance to kill the assassin. To capture Savar. She’d failed, and now she was doomed. Destined to fade to obscurity, or worse.

“Why...“ Mina sobbed, holding her face in her hands. “Why?“