170: Perilous Ascent (Patreon)

This was a horrible idea, Vir thought as he soared into the air, waiting for that tiny sliver of an instant where his speed slowed enough to let him grab onto the soaring rock cliff that comprised the Colossus’ flank. That was, of course, only if he got lucky.

If he wasn’t, well, it was a long fall back to the ground. Light Step might save him, but he was more worried about the falling boulders. Nowhere was safe, not as long as flora continued dislodging itself from the great beast’s back.

Vir didn’t need the power of hindsight to understand just how dangerous this gambit truly was.

But Cirayus believes in me. He thinks I can handle it.

Unlike Riyan, who thrust Vir into one dangerous situation after another with no concern for his survival, Cirayus cared. Having sacrificed so much for Vir, he cared quite a bit. The demon was busy smashing or deflecting boulders that headed his way, all while keeping his eyes locked on Vir.

Even so, he couldn’t rely on that. Especially when mounds of ash tumbled down the turtle's shell. Vir didn't know when it had last moved, but it seemed to have been some time. The jagged peaks of the mountains naturally kept Ash from building up on their slopes, but the Mahakurma's back was flatter, only tapering at the sides. 

Keeping an eye peeled for incoming projectiles, he searched every possible handhold.

It was only then that he realized his mistake.

The Colossus’ mountainous body was rising as it stood up on its four enormous legs. When Vir reached the apex of his jump, the beast’s body was moving too quickly upward for him to safely latch on. He’d mistimed it. Badly.

Grinding his teeth, Vir plummeted back to the ground, far below.

Light Step would ensure he survived, but only if he got the timing just right—a feat made more difficult and dangerous by the abundance of prana in the ground.

Vir cycled Parai’s technique to his legs to soften the blow, then shunted more prana from other areas, infusing them directly into his muscles to Toughen them.

Envisioning the exact moment of impact, Vir focused on the rapidly approaching ground. Two instants before he hit, Vir concentrated his will on deceleration, sucking prana from his legs.

He knew right away he’d missed by a hair. Thinking quickly, he allowed his legs to buckle, launching into a forward roll to dissipate the impact.

Vir tumbled through the ash, blackening all his clothes and making him gulp involuntary mouthfuls of the horrible flakes, sending him into a fit of coughs.

Bleary-eyed and sputtering, Vir stood up, his legs paining in protest. They hurt, but at least they weren’t t broken.

It was a small comfort when he discovered the Colossus had listed even higher. Its tortoise-like belly now towered a full hundred paces above the ground.

So large was the creature that it cast a shadow upon the land like some dark cloud, turning the day into night.

Vir ignored the pain and poured every bit of prana he could muster into his legs. Such a jump threatened to send him end-over-end, making landings dangerous, but this was his last chance. If he didn’t make it up, Cirayus would have to return to carry.

No way I’m letting that happen, Vir thought, flushing red at the thought.

Prana surged, and with a spark of intent, Vir exploded up, sending a radial cloud rippling in his wake. The oversized turtle blurred before him, just inches away as boulders rained from the sky, buffeting him with their turbulence.

Then it all slowed, and for just an instant, Vir’s upward motion matched the turtle’s own. His eyes scanned the cliff face, finding a sturdy vine. Thankful for the easy handhold, Vir grabbed it.

The vine held, but the added strain of Vir’s weight jostled a large rock above, dislodging it.

I can’t dodge!

Vir’s katar was stowed, and by the time he draw it, the rock would’ve caved his skull in.

Nor did Leap work, dangling as he was.

Grimacing, Vir contemplated letting go, but he hadn’t worked this hard for nothing.

Acting half on instinct, half on a bad idea he’d never tested, Vir spiraled prana in his arm, moving it in a tighter loop than he did with his katar, before allowing it to surge out of his body… and into the rock.

The rock crashed into his fist, but instead of pain and broken bones, his hand passed through, shattering the falling rock into a dozen pieces that fell harmlessly by.

Vir quickly drew his katar, wreathing it with Prana Blade before driving it into the rocky cliff face, anchoring him. Only then did he allow himself to take a breather.

Gazing up, he still couldn’t fathom how such an enormous beast could exist, even here in the Ash. Or how mountains and rocks could grow on top.

“C’mon, lad! You’re not up yet!” Cirayus shouted, hanging from a ledge some distance away.

Vir shook off his wonder and got to work, leveraging his not-insignificant climbing experience to navigate a route up.

The katar gave him good handholds when he needed them, but more often than not, got in the way.

Luckily, he’d just learned something even better.

Prana Fist opened a range of options for him and was something he planned to thoroughly experiment with. It was another ability that only became powerful thanks to the absurd amount of ambient prana and his body’s heightened capacity for it. Prana alone hadn’t been strong enough to do much in the Human Realm, which was why he hadn’t bothered with it until now.

Its offensive capability was the furthest thing on his mind. Rather, he used it to carve handholds when the rock face turned slick, or when existing handholds couldn’t bear his weight.

An Empowered Prana Fist punch blew out just enough rock to form the perfect holds, and soon, he was ascending at a good pace.

The Mahakurma’s shell truly was like that of a turtle; its slope decreased as he traveled up, with the sides completely vertical. Vir had just cleared the vertical section and had driven his katar onto a sloped, grassy meadow when the world shook.

Or rather, the beast shook. Vir looked down and paled in shock.

It just placed its first step.

The whole time Vir had been climbing, one of its legs had been in the air, slowly placing its next step.

In reality, the Mahakurma was anything but slow. Its leg must have moved incredibly fast. It just looked slow because of its mind-bending size.

Rocks, vegetation, and anything else not firmly rooted on the beast’s back tumbled down into the meadow.

Directly at Vir.

Grakking chal!

Vir nearly despaired. Then he remembered where exactly he was—standing on the back of an Ash Beast that was bursting with Ash prana that was nearly as dense as the ground.

Wait, no. It’s even greater!? That’s absurd!

The Ash prana density in the Mahakurma’s titanic body was higher than that of the ground. Vir hadn’t encountered a single beast with that trait. Until now.

Thankful that Fate had finally thrown him a bone, Vir did what he did best… and sank into his shadow.

From there, a Leap and another invocation of Dance of the Shadow Demon brought him to the top of the turtle’s back—a verdant forest that butted up against a tall, pointy mountain.

“Well done, lad!” Cirayus thundered in his deep baritone. “Figured we were due for some excitement after a boring week of travel, eh?”

Vir didn’t laugh. “Why? Why are we riding this monstrosity? It could end us at any time! There’s a reason it has one of the highest Balar Ranks of all recorded Ash Beasts!”

“Bah, you and your silly ranks. Mahakurma are harmless. Well, unless you happened to be crushed by one.”

Vir narrowed his eyes. “Cirayus, this thing has a Balar Rank around Thirty Thousand. That means it’s as strong as an army of thirty thousand of Kin’jal’s average Balarian footsoldier, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they underestimated. Sure, it could level a village by falling on it, but that hardly seems worthy of such a danger rating. There’s something else to it.”

“Aye, that would be its mouth beam.”

“Sorry? Mouth beam?”

“Never seen it myself, but tales tell of angered Mahakurma firing red beams brighter than the sun itself. Anything in its path simply ceases to be. No one’s ever seen it up close… But well, Our records show entire mountain ranges that have gone missing in their wake. Just a flat, level field of molten rock where they used to be.”

That would do it, Vir thought. The thought of a single attack destroying Daha in moments sent shivers up his spine. Only the knowledge that these beasts didn’t exist in places sentient beings called home gave him a measure of solace.

If they had, there wouldn’t be any cities left.

“Why are we here, though? I’m guessing you have a reason?”

“Aye, though I must admit I’m surprised you’re asking. Can’t you feel it?”

Vir thought for a moment. “The prana? It’s denser in the shell, but—”

No, not just the shell. What is this?

“The air. The prana in the air’s denser, too!”

It wasn’t by all that much, so he’d missed it earlier. But there was no doubt both the air and the ground had denser prana than the surroundings.

“Walk with me,” Cirayus said, motioning Vir to follow through the forest.

They didn’t travel far—despite the Mahakurma’s size, it wasn’t nearly large enough to host an actual forest. They soon arrived at the edge and looked down a saddle in the turtle’s shell. A sort of shallow valley, which several beasts had occupied.

Vir saw it in an instant. The prana density that had been barely noticeable before now flooded Prana Vision, clouding it even more than normal, growing denser and denser toward the center of the valley.

“The ultimate training ground,” Cirayus announced, spreading all four arms. “The denser prana will train your body, and with more prana comes stronger monsters against which you can test your mettle. Monsters representative of the ones we’ll find later, once we’re deeper. Monsters you will need to learn to vanquish.”

“How long do I have?”

“As long as it takes. Weeks, months, even years. Consider this your new home, and by the time we leave, you will be transformed.”

“By fighting a few monsters?”

“Not just any monsters. Lad, to best these creatures, it won’t be enough to hone your prana manipulation. Not even a new Talent or two will help you. Reforge yourself. Only by unlocking your true potential,” Cirayus touched Vir’s chestplate, “only by tapping into the true power of your predecessors, will you emerge victorious. Brace yourself, for the way forth will be fraught with hardship.”

Vir regarded the terrifying creatures that roamed the valley. Even from here, even with all the ambient prana occluding his eyes, he could tell.

The beasts below were in another league entirely.

“It’s never been easy, Cirayus,” Vir said, cracking his neck. “That’s never stopped me before, and it’s not about to stop me now. Where do I start?”