191: Serenity (Patreon)

“Incredible!” Ashani said, her eyes twinkling. “To think they thought it auspicious to build their cities under our Vimana! Fate can truly plot a strange course at times.”

“Why? What are the Vimana?” Vir asked.

He sat on a comfortable chair across from Ashani, high on the rooftop of a nearby building—one so tall, it pierced the curtain of clouds that covered Māhadi. Ashani had set up something of a retreat there, with a chair, table, and awning to block the ashen rain.

It was a novel experience for Vir. He’d always wondered what the world was like above the clouds. He’d envied the birds that soared so high. What did they see from their towering vantage?

Now he knew. Clouds extended to the horizon in every direction, the dead city’s dark skyscrapers piercing them like islands in a stormy sea.

A quiet sea. It was as if a god had slowed time, bringing the ocean to a halt amid a hurricane, allowing only the half-dozen wyrms to slink lazily between them.

The knowledge that everything he beheld, from the towers to the thunderclouds to the wyrms, resulted from a self-induced apocalypse lent an air of melancholy to the scene. It was enough to move a demon to tears.

How could something so terrible be so beautiful? Vir thought.

Even knowing those terrifying beasts roamed the skies, Vir couldn’t believe how the tranquility, witnessing the blighted realm from above. The devastating lightning and the dramatic thunder were muted here, reduced to pops of light and faraway rumble. Even the wyrms blended into the background, adding to the spectacle.

I can see why she likes it up here, Vir thought.

He could hardly believe this beautiful scenery was a part of the Ashen Realm—for while they were above the clouds, they were also below a cloud layer that floated even higher.

Clouds above and clouds below, and only Māhadi’s central spire pierced them both. Vir wished he could capture this image. He was sure his eyes would never behold such an awe-inspiring vista again.

“We used the Vimana for a multitude of purposes,” Ashani said in a wistful voice, her legs crossed as she gazed out at serenity. “They were works of art. They were research vessels, and they also functioned as portable cities. Some of the larger models could hold and house thousands of souls.”

“Did people tour the world in them?” Vir asked, imagining them as the ultimate long-distance skyship.

Ashani pursed her lips. “Not quite. All our Vimana also served as mobile defense platforms. Crime was nonexistent in our time, but the nature of research and experimentation is that it sometimes led to… undesirable results. Be it guardian automata gone rogue, or the creation of new types of lifeforms that got out of hand, there was a need for powerful weapons.”

“What kinds of weapons are we talking about?” Vir asked, thinking of the cities that had been built directly under them.

“Weapons that could eliminate even the strongest of Ash Beasts,” Ashani said.

“Even Prana Swarms?”

“But of course. 

Vir paled.  Ashani read his expression and quickly elaborated. “There is nothing to fear. Those weapons cannot be activated without special Imperium key codes. Though, you're wrong about one thing.”

“What's that?” Vir asked.

“Prana Swarms are not Ash Beasts. It is more accurate to call them Pranite Swarms.”

Vir stared at the goddess blankly, then turned his gaze to the swarm that covered the central spire.

No badrakking way...

“Then...” Vir said, his voice faltering.

“Indeed. Though I know not how, it seems our pranites got loose after the fall of the Imperium. They began to multiply.”

Vir didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified.

“Regardless,” Ashani continued, “the ones who possessed those key codes are all long gone.”

“Maybe,” Vir said darkly.

“Meaning?”

“Just out of pure curiosity… Would Lord Janak have possessed these codes?”

Ashani nodded. “Why, yes, I would imagine so. As the head of the Imperium’s most prestigious pranic research division, his work occasionally resulted in those mishaps I mentioned.”

Oh no.

Vir bit his lip. “Ashani, Janak’s alive.”

Ashani smiled sadly. “Would that it were true.”

“It’s true. Well, almost. Janak is dead. A copy of him still exists. I ran into an avatar of his at Daha—that city I told you about? There was an outpost there, called Valaka Amara.”

Ashani frowned. “Valaka Amara? Meaning the Procession of Immortality. You say it lies in the Human Realm?”

Vir nodded. “Why?”

“I know of it. ‘Twas far from Māhadi. Janak sometimes used it for his research. Though I wonder how it came to reside in your new realm. Apologies. I digress. Please, continue.”

“Truthfully, I wanted to tell you, but something felt off,” Vir said. “In all this time, why hasn’t Janak’s copy contacted you? Knowing what I now know… I think you’d have been a priority for him. Perhaps even his top priority, after Siya.”

Ashani shook her head. “I cannot say. This is… a revelation. Until now, I’d assumed he was gone. All high ranking Imperium citizens had replicas of their minds created, should some tragedy ever befall them. I had simply assumed that they, too, were destroyed.”

“So, it’s not the real Janak, then,” Vir said.

“No. If what you say is true, then Lord Janak has indeed perished. I… am grateful that you informed me.”

“Are… you going to look for him?” Vir asked.

“Were this a millennium ago, I might have. Now… I believe I no longer have that luxury,” Ashani said with a smile.

Once more, Vir felt like he wanted to cry.

She can’t go after him. She doesn’t have enough energy.

“Come now,” Ashani said. “Why the long face? Did you not promise to feel sad for my sake? Among my people, promises were sacred things.”

“There must be others out there,” Vir said, his voice cracking. “I refuse to believe your prana cores were the only ones the Imperium had. You’re not telling me something, are you? I mean, how do you survive for four thousand years on a single core? It doesn’t make sense.”

“It would be impossible, yes. Operating continuously, my energy core would have run out within a few years’ time. Far less, if I use my powers extensively. However, my body consumes no power when I lie dormant. Sometimes for years, sometimes decades at a time, arising only when an imminent threat appears.”

Vir wasn’t buying it. “You’re telling me such large threats appear so infrequently? I’d think it’d be a daily occurrence.”

“You are correct. There is little I can do near the center of the city. I simply try to protect the areas I can. Janak’s home, and the surrounding area, mostly. Enough for my people to return to, though after all that you’ve said, I now fear my efforts to have been a waste. Truly… what meaning have my actions had, I wonder?”

“That’s not true. It has had meaning. It has,” Vir said, though even to his ears, he sounded like he was convincing himself.

“Indeed,” Ashani said, firming her resolve. “For I have met you. I shared the tale of my people. Now, you can inform the world of our fate. So that we are not forgotten.

How could I have messed up like that?

He’d destroyed Ashani’s only spent core. Such a precious Artifact, and he’d given no thought to whether his way of charging it had been safe.

“How long?” he asked. “Until your current core runs out?”

“‘Tis only partially full. After I send you back… Around a month of continuous time.”

“A month?”

Ashani reached over to squeeze Vir’s hand. “‘Tis longer than it seems. When stretched, I might even last years.”

“But what life would that be?” Vir asked. “You’d be dormant, sleeping your life away.”

“Please don’t feel that way,” she breathed. “I am but a vestige of an age long past. Of a people who no longer exist. I know that now. I suppose I had always known. My time would have expired one day, anyway. What difference does it make if it happens a few centuries early? I have the answer I have sought for so long. Even if it isn’t the one I hoped for… I can rest peacefully now. All thanks to you.”

“No!” Vir said. “I’m the reason you’re depleting your energy.”

If you didn’t have to send me back, how much longer would your energy last?

Vir couldn’t voice those thoughts. As much as he wanted to help Ashani, he couldn’t linger here forever. His place was with Cirayus. With Maiya.

I shortened her lifespan so much, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it.

Vir felt like curling up in a ball in some dark corner.

“Please, you bear no blame in what happened. That core was spent. You did nothing to worsen the situation.”

As it stood, Vir had no confidence he wouldn’t just break another orb. It hadn’t broken while he’d been filling it; it’d broken after, giving him no inkling why.

I’m going to need several more if I want to figure this out.

“Ashani, please!” Vir said. “I’m begging you. Just tell me where they are.”

The goddess hesitated. “Only if you swear to me you will not seek them.”

“It’s that dangerous?”

“Vir, there is a reason I reside here, in the outermost reaches of Māhadi.”

“The prana density, right?” Vir asked.

“Yes, but also because the beasts closer to the core are far, far more dangerous. Even for me. And…”

The implication was obvious. Vir hadn’t seen the full extent of Ashani’s powers, but there was little doubt she was stronger than him. She could heal mortal wounds, she moved instantly, and could summon lightning on par with A Grade magic from her rod.

He couldn’t compare.

“I understand,” he said. “I swear it.”

Ashani pointed to the central spire, and for a moment, Vir dreaded she was about to tell him they were there. Covered in a Prana Swarm that reached to the sky, Vir didn’t dare tread anywhere near that beast.

As if confirming his fear, the Swarm casually extended a tendril to a passing Wyrm. There were no sounds that Vir could hear from this far away, but when the Swarm pulled away from the wyrm moments later, there was nothing left. It was the least dramatic destruction of a city-ending beast Vir had ever seen. Which made it so much more terrifying.

“Halfway between here and the core of the city lies a vault. One of many, but it is the only one that would have spare prana cores.”

Vir breathed a mental sigh of relief.

“You stay away because of the beasts?” he asked.

“Yes, the vault is protected by an Imperium working. A Yaksha Guardian Automaton.”

“Like you?”

“Actually, unlike myself,” Ashani said. “They are highly advanced machines, rather than a living entity like me. The Yaksha can freely shift their shape and freely alter their size. They are built exclusively for defense and combat. They are both ruthless and exceedingly dangerous. You will surely die if you venture near their domain.”

“Domain? It guards the vault?” Vir said, thinking that these Yaksha sounded downright terrifying.

Ashani nodded. “I tried fighting them, once. I lost half my body.”

Vir winced.

“Even if I’d defeated it, the vault’s doors remain firmly shut. So, you see? ‘Tis a pointless endeavor.”

Ashani paused, looking off into the distance. When she spoke again, her voice was calmer, mirroring the melancholy of the scenery.

“Do not grieve for me, Vir. Rather than risking everything to prolong my life, will you not make our final hours together special? Will you not give me a memory that I may fondly cherish for the rest of my days? Please, tell me everything about the outside world. Tell me of the world that has come to exist after the fall of my people. What all has occurred over all of those long, long years? Who walks upon the earth now?”

Tears streamed freely down Vir’s face. “It’s ironic, isn’t it?” he said, wiping them away. “How I feel now? It must be how you felt with Siya. Her condition…”

“All we can do is strive to live our lives without regrets,” Ashani said, smiling gently. “Yet despite our best efforts, we err. The regrets accumulate as the years pass. I can only ask that you try to move on. Remember the good. Forget the bad, for there is already enough strife in our lives. As a being of flesh and blood, you have that luxury.”

“I will never forget you,” Vir rasped. “I’ll spread your name, far and wide. The world will know.”

“That would make me happier than you could know,” the goddess said.

“Come back with me, Ashani. Don’t spend your last days here alone. Maybe you won’t live as long, but you’ll be awake! You’ll see more of the world than you ever have.”

“Perhaps. I may consider it. But that all depends.”

“On?” Vir asked.

“On…” Ashani hesitated. “Why, on the quality of your narration, of course! Have you forgotten? You owe me tales!”

“I have tales, though I make no promises they’ll be interesting,”Vir said with a chuckle. “I’m no good at telling stories. Truthfully, I wish I knew more. I wish I’d seen more. But I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Good! Now, what are these humans you mentioned?”

“Well, they live in the Human Realm. They—”

“How many realms exist? What are they called?”

“Well, there’s the Human Realm, the Ashen Realm, and the Demon Realm. There are some others, like the—”

“Demon realm? What are demons?”

Vir did his best not to roll his eyes.

This is going to be a long day.

— —

Ashani ended up forcing words out of Vir for the better part of a day, leaving his voice ragged and his mind spent. It turned out that even with Vir’s limited knowledge, one day wasn’t nearly sufficient to tell her everything she wanted.

Using the building’s elevator—a lift, but one that ran the length of the preposterously tall building—they returned to Janak’s home. Vir couldn’t believe such a contraption could exist, and riding it had been the thrill of a lifetime.

“Ashani?” Vir asked once they were back inside her home. “I’d like to analyze your core.”

Convincing Ashani to shut down and give him her only core would be an uphill battle, he knew. Why should she trust him? She barely knew him, and he’d broken her spare core. Vir knew it was folly to ask, and yet, he had to do something.

“I…” Ashani hesitated.

“I swear I won’t attempt to charge it. I just want to analyze it. I won’t do anything to jeopardize your life.”

Ashani bit her lip. “Vir, you must understand the danger this poses to me.”

“I absolutely do. I realize what I’m asking for is reckless. It’s imprudent, and you have no good reason to agree. Also… I want to spend the next several weeks acclimating to the Ash. This is an unprecedented opportunity for me. One I can’t afford to waste.”

“I… see. Staying active for a whole month would significantly shorten my lifespan.”

“I know,” Vir said. “You’d be hibernating anyway, right?”

Ashani firmed her expression. “Very well, then. I shall trust you, Vir. ‘Tis Fated, after all.”

“What does that mean?” Vir asked with a frown.

Ashani shook her head, smiling sadly. She then turned and entered her bedroom, where she sat on the edge of an ancient bed.

“Please wake me when you wish to depart. Or if ever danger arises.”

“I will,” Vir said, looking her in the eyes.

The goddess shut her eyes, becoming still. With a hiss, the skin on her back dissolved, revealing the orb nestled within a glowing compartment.

Vir carefully removed it. The lights in the compartment winked out.

Ashani’s life was quite literally now in his hands.

Did she agree because she felt she no longer had anything to live for? Or does she really trust me that much? If so, why?

Vir hadn’t lied—he was planning to expand his prana capacity—as well as some other things.

Rudvik. Apramor. Aliscia. He’d been powerless to prevent their deaths.

Not this time. He’d grown. He was stronger now. But what good was strength if he couldn’t protect those he cared about?

Never again. I’m not going to lose you, Ashani. I’m done losing people.