180: Annihilation (Patreon)

Vir approached the edge of his domain—and stopped. He knew what he was getting into—yet another fight for his life. He’d struggle, he’d risk it all, and hopefully, he’d prevail. For there were no easy fights in this realm.

To cross the boundary was to challenge the vicious bladed beast, which he’d learned from Cirayus was called a Blader. Considering how the beast was covered in lethal metal, it seemed like a fitting monicker.

How does an animal even grow metal? Vir wondered, staring at the beast, currently resting some thirty paces away.

The Domain Lord was well within range of his new long-range weapons. The ones so far had been exceedingly reluctant to leave their domain, which meant that, for the first time in a very long time, Vir could attack with impunity at range.

What to test first?

Katar Blade Launch only traveled around twenty paces, so there wasn’t any way of testing that without stepping into enemy territory. He could, however, test both Chakram Launch variants.

When Vir had stumbled upon the attack by mistiming Launch’s activation, he’d learned he could hurl a prana chakram out in front of him without actually throwing the chakram itself, and Chakram Launch traveled farther than its katar counterpart. But did it do as much damage?

Vir slid two chakrams off his neck, grasping one in each hand. It was time to find out.

“Here goes nothing.”

Two disks of pure energy ripped forth from Vir’s arms, sailing at the Blader. The beast remained motionless, oblivious to the attack… until the last moment.

So it can detect prana, to a degree, Vir observed.

The beast jerked away just before impact, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the attack.

There was no thud or clang, or any sound at all. The prana simply dissipated the moment it touched the Blader’s armor.

At first glance, it seemed to have done nothing.

Then Vir saw it.

“No way,” he whispered.

The Blader’s sword-limb was chipped. Like someone had taken a steel sword and sliced it into an iron one.

The chip wasn’t large, but it was certainly there.

Vir stared at his chakrams.

“No way!”

The Blader roared in confusion, looking this way and that for the enemy who’d harmed it.

“That… can’t be possible, can it?”

It wasn’t that the strikes were especially powerful. But they had penetrated its prana armor. If that was all, the ability would have been nice, but nothing amazing. If Vir could only lob one or two, its utility would be limited.

Vir wasn’t limited to one or two. In fact… he wasn’t limited at all.

An unending barrage of prana disks surged from Vir’s chakrams. His body became a prana conduit, sucking greedily from the earth, from the air, and even from elsewhere within his own body. The source didn’t matter. He just needed more fuel.

The Ashen Realm was happy to oblige.

The Blader whipped around—it couldn’t see his disks of pure prana, but it did see him. Putting two and two together, it ran right for him…

And impaled itself on a barrage of invisible chakrams.

Chips of its bladed limbs and armor flew off, blasted away.

This is insane, Vir thought, unaware of the tears that welled up in his eyes. After spending so long being weaker than his opponents, finally, finally, he now had an edge.

He was battering the most formidable foe he’d fought in the realm… And he was just standing there. Not even moving, aside from the motion of his arms. Not even in danger.

The chakrams continued to sail, a barrage of death that disintegrated flesh and steel. There was no escape—the monster ran around trying to evade, but its erratic motions only delayed the inevitable.

The inevitable, however, never came.

Vir aborted the ability, roaring in pain. His arms burned, as though set alight. He fell to his knees, cradling his arms.

Too much prana. It burns! Is this what prana saturation feels like?

The Blader gave him a wary glance, then limped away to lick its wounds, returning to the farthest edge of its domain—out of range.

That suited Vir just fine. He had his own wounds to treat. Blood moved fast, but the amount of prana he’d channeled was immense. In those few seconds alone, he might have consumed more prana than he had in an entire month in the Human Realm. It was just a guess, but it certainly felt that way to him.

There was a difference from a mejai’s prana saturation, however. When they saturated, it meant they could no longer suck prana from their limbs to form a suction effect. Likely because their body had reached its maximum prana carrying capacity—Vir couldn’t say for certain.

In addition, lesser mejai—the Mejai Sorcars and the Mejai of Ash—didn’t know how to power spells with the prana from their own body, which meant they relied on equilibrium forces to eventually purge the excess prana.

Not so with Vir. With a thought, Vir activated Reverse Channeling, purging his body of prana. It helped, but as he’d suspected, it wasn’t the root cause. His body was just frazzled from moving too much prana.

Wonder if humans have a name for this. Wonder if they’re even aware. Only Earth affinity prana might’ve been abundant enough for such a phenomenon to manifest in the Human Realm. Even then, Vir doubted many fights involved using Talents in such rapid succession that it caused burnout.

Burnout. That’s a good name for it.

Vir took another look at the monster. Injured, but alive.

“Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back later,” he said. I need to find Cirayus.

— —

It was fully four days later that he was able to try again. Cirayus’ orbs hadn’t had any effect—the orbs weren’t designed for this form of damage. Vir doubted any Life orb was. At Cirayus’ instruction, he confined himself to a regimen of meditation and sleep.

The pain had subsided after the first night, though attempting to use any pranic abilities had still sent Vir doubling over, screaming in agony.

Even now, on the fourth day, using prana was an uncomfortable experience. Ordinarily, he’d rest until he’d recovered fully, but half a month had passed in the Human Realm on account of his mistake. He couldn’t waste any longer.

“Just be careful, lad. Don’t overdo it this time.”

Though he never admitted it, the giant had been eager to see Vir’s new abilities for himself. He’d still tried to force Vir to remain in bed, but Vir wasn’t having any of it, and the giant hadn’t pushed back too hard.

“Don’t plan to,” Vir replied. Bet he’s as excited as I am.

The two stood at the edge of Vir’s domain, facing the Blader. The Domain Lord eyed them back with suspicion—and fear. Though its wounds had partially healed, its metal skin still had several chunks missing.

Chakram Barrage was a luxury Vir couldn’t use this time. He couldn’t afford to waste shots anymore, not when his body protested so much. Vir was no stranger to pain, but even he wasn’t immune to its debilitating effects. And, as Cirayus had warned, overdoing it now would only lengthen his eventual recovery.

“Twenty paces,” Vir said.

“If you promise to rest until you’re fully healed after.”

“I swear upon Rudvik’s name.”

“Then I shall be there, lad.”

Vir turned back to the beast. He didn’t Leap or Blink—he ran.

The Blader wallowed in confusion, its flight instincts warring with fight.

Perhaps thinking Vir incapable of using Chakram Barrage, it chose to fight, rushing to Vir while bellowing a deep roar.

Vir neared to twenty paces and sank into his shadow, forcing extra prana into the activation to get it to activate.

Doing so put an added burden on his body, but Vir dealt with the pain. What he really needed was a portable light source, like Magic Lamp, to generate a strong shadow wherever he was, but for now, he’d have to make do with this limitation.

Vir reappeared within the Blader’s shadow. While not large enough to fully exit from, he didn’t have to worry about that.

Katar Launch fired upward.

The Blader’s massive body jolted a pace into the air from the force. A shockwave boomed, flattening nearby grass.

The Blader didn’t have a belly so much as an armored bottom, but it split open just the same.

The impact of its fall did the rest.

Vir wasn’t done. Slipping back through his shadow, he reappeared in Cirayus’. As part of their bargain, the giant had closed to within twenty paces to give Vir an exit, and he took it happily.

Vir threw his Chakram, activating Chakram Launch, and gritted through the pain. The prana disk layered perfectly onto the steel one, traveling as one.

The Blader saw it coming, but it mattered little. With its belly ruptured and blood spilling out, it was in no shape to move quickly. The prana chakram hit just before the metal one did, decimating the prana armor protecting the beast’s head, and gouging into the metal protecting it.

The metal chakram expanded the incision, penetrating its metal skull, coming to rest inside its skull.

The Blader collapsed instantly—dead.

“Do you believe me now?” Cirayus asked, grinning. “Do you understand what power feels like?”

“I do.”

It’s intoxicating.

— —

Vir spent the next week holed up in the third lord’s domain—now his domain—meditating. Nearly a month had now passed in the Ash. Five months in the Human Realm. Every hour that passed made Vir’s heart clench just a little tighter.

I could’ve been through with this place by now.

Still, it was hard to stay angry with himself. Not when he’d obtained such overwhelming abilities. Blade Launch hadn’t seemed like much, initially. The ability to send his strikes flying forth was powerful, yes, but to this extent?

In hindsight, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Kamna’s Blade Launch had nearly killed him. Here in the Ash, he had access to more prana than even she had, and he had a more potent affinity.

If he could sustain Launch Barrage, few enemies would pose a threat. Against that kind of firepower, he would win every time if the fight dragged on long enough.

Vir could imagine it now—no longer eeking past his fights, struggling through each time. He’d dominate his foes, just as he had the Blader. That wasn’t a fight. It was annihilation.

For now, though, he sat with his legs crossed, and he meditated, not even leaving for food and water. Cirayus brought those over, providing Vir his meals.

Vir even slept in his domain, using every moment of the day to acclimate to its unbelievable prana density. It had to have been ten times what it was in the Human Realm. Ten times the amount of prana in his blood.

“You’ve come too far, too quickly, lad. Your body isn’t ready to handle this prana load.”

“I know,” Vir said. “If I let my prana dam go, my blood might actually burst.”

“I feel you should move back to a lower domain. I can eliminate the lords for you.”

Vir glanced back at the domains he’d taken out. Within hours of moving away, two Ash Wolves had jumped in, claiming it as their own. He’d worried he would have to fight his way out every time he wanted to leave the domain, but there was an unspoken rule amongst the lords—none of the lesser lords attacked him when he crossed theirs.

They growled and howled, but they left him alone.

Still, Vir couldn’t accept. “I didn’t take down this lord just to sit still. I need to progress. Half a year, Cirayus. It’s been almost half a year for Maiya. I can’t do this to her. I have to get in touch.”

The giant sighed. “I understand your feelings, lad. I truly do. Which is why I’ve played along thus far. But there is a line between ambition and recklessness. You are teetering on the very edge.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Cirayus grunted. “You’ll sleep in an hour. You’ve had a long day.”

“Two hours? I can definitely go for another two,” Vir begged. “I’ll meditate on the Foundation Chakra. That’s relaxing, right?”

“Do you consider being crushed by the weight of a mountain relaxing?”

“Uh, well, it’s not real, right?”

Cirayus looked up at the stormy skies. “Do you see this, Maion? Your son is just like you.”

“Really!?”

“I’ll hear none of this, lad. The agreement was for you to fight the Blader in exchange for following my instructions to the word. Meditate if you must, but no more than an hour.”

Vir hung his head. “Fiiine.”

“I shall fetch some food and water.”

The giant bounded lightly away, disappearing into the forest in the distance.

Vir began the process of purging his thoughts, but there were many, and they were loud.

I’m stronger now—can’t we just train deeper inside the Ash? Why’s it taking so long to unlock the Foundation Chakra, anyway? This progress is too slow! When am I gonna get my first Ultimate Tattoo? Why won’t Shardul and Ekanai help me?

Vir sighed, frustrated.

Why’s it so windy, anyway? Another storm?

He’d been so frustrated that he’d failed to notice the breeze that nipped his nose.

Should still have some time before it gets too bad. Gotta wrap up meditating before then.

It was only then that Vir noticed the breeze had grown in strength.

He opened his eyes and gasped.

Cracks appeared before him. Cracks in reality. They spread like a mirror shattering in slow motion, growing longer and deeper.

Then suddenly, Ash prana emerged from within. Just a tendril—like a drop of a vast ocean.

Vir’s heart nearly seized. His body went into shock.

The Ash Tear? No. What is this?

It was prana so dense, it manifested to his normal sight. Not as a wispy cloud, but as a solid. Solid prana. Just being near it made him dry retch, sending him onto his knees.

Then the blackness expanded, like a beast clawing its way out, wrestling the cracks wider. Tearing reality like a fabric.

That’s no ordinary tear, Vir thought dazedly. That’s a full on Ash Gate!

The infinite void spun and spiraled, and then it was gone. In its place was an image—a looking glass into a place far, far away. A dangerous place.

Vir backed away. Or he tried to back away. He found his body frozen. Transfixed by the prana. The Tear had never done this before. He’d almost thought it benign.

But when an Ash Wolf bounded through, Vir knew he’d been wrong.

Before he could react, the beast was at his side, biting his leg off…

Or not?

It bit into his leg, but not so deeply that it penetrated his armor. The beast moved so quickly, Vir hadn’t been able to react. His head hit the ground, making him see stars.

No! Stop!

Vir fought his body with every shred of willpower he had, but he could do nothing as the wolf dragged him back with terrifying speed.

“Get away from him!” Cirayus roared.

But the demon had arrived too late.

Vir had already been sucked through.