Vir held out his arm and inhaled. He allowed the prana in his hand to dissipate, but this time, he actively pushed the prana out of his hand.
To no effect. If the prana went any farther, he certainly didn’t notice.
But as Vir had learned, it was far more effective to allow prana to flow as it wanted, rather than force it to go somewhere. Thinking back to his first experiments, Vir released his hold on the prana in his palm—but only through a tiny opening in the very center. By restricting the size of the opening, prana rushed out at a much faster rate.
This time, he could see the prana shoot forth—but even then, it only extended a handspan away before dissipating.
Vir targeted a nearby rock and launched his prana attack, willing the prana to slice through.
The prana surged out of his hand and into the rock, carving a small line through it.
It worked… but as it was, the ability was hardly useful. Even his katar could do as much damage, and the katar’s blade was longer.
Well, if it was that easy, I would’ve figured it out already.
Feeling like he’d overstayed his welcome, Vir stood up. Though no other mercenaries had bothered him, it was only a matter of time. He needed to press on.
“C’mon, boy.”
With Neel leading, they set out deeper into the mine.
As they walked, Vir ruminated over what he was doing wrong. He wondered if it was simply a prana density issue—many Rare Tier Talents like Blink had been off limits to him due to the low Ash prana density. Could it be that? Or was there some fundamental difference between how Ash prana worked that he’d overlooked? He’d assumed it operated the same as Earth and Shadow prana since he could use Talents from those affinities, but maybe there was something he was missing.
After seeing how naturally Ash Beasts wreathed their bodies in prana, he had to wonder what prevented him from doing the same. After all, they used the same prana he did, and it wasn’t like Ash Beasts were especially intelligent—in fact, the Dahan Bestiary claimed the Ashen Realm had broken their minds, making them incapable of higher thought.
Vir wasn’t sure if that was true, as the ones he’d fought until now showed at least some intelligence, but he was confident they weren’t using some complicated strategy to pull off their Talents.
The end of the mining tunnel came sooner than Vir expected. Instead of a dead-end though, it led into a cavernous space, several stories tall and wide enough to fit a half dozen Ash’va. Elaborate carvings decorated the walls, but it was the blue-and-white lighting that gave it away.
This is an Imperium ruin…
Once again, memories of Valaka Amara flooded into Vir’s head. He focused on Prana Vision, searching for a Prana Swarm…
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Whatever was out there was large.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Vir braced himself, readying his chakrams.
It wasn’t a Prana Swarm that rounded the corner, thumping on its four paws.
Hundreds of obsidian-like spikes covered the beast’s back. While not as large as its footfalls made it seem, Vir identified the Ash Beast instantly.
Phantomblade Alpha.
He’d read about it in Daha’s library. Balar Rank estimated between 150 and 250 in the Ash. He doubted it’d come even to the lower end of that scale here, but even so, it was a fearsome opponent. Resembling an oversized tortoise, it moved rather slowly. Unlike a tortoise, it could shoot the spikes on its back like projectiles, making them highly dangerous. In addition, it wielded prana as a weapon, firing a concentrated beam from its maw.
Vir wondered whether it’d be able to use that attack without the prana density of the Ashen Realm, but he wasn’t about to take any chances.
One look at its back told him he’d be at a disadvantage if this battle ran long. The Phantomblade had nearly a hundred spikes, all of which were potential weapons.
How do I even hurt the thing? Vir wondered. The spikes functioned not only as weapons but as armor, too. It looked incredibly durable.
Neel boldly dove in, running circles around the slow-moving beast. The Phantomblade kept turning to match Neel, but it was no match for the bandy’s speed.
Growing frustrated, it launched its attack—four blades fired off with far more force than Vir would’ve thought possible. One nearly nicked Neel, making the bandy whimper.
“To me, boy,” Vir ordered. The bandy obediently returned to his side, tail between his legs.
“My turn.”
Vir Leaped, putting him behind the beast. The Phantomblade anticipated his move. It fired off three spikes, forcing Vir to dodge with Micro Leaps, but he didn’t break off his attack.
With another Leap, he closed the distance and plunged his katar into its back. He aimed precisely at the spots where the Phantomblade had fired its spikes.
The katar struck hide… and stopped dead in its tracks. It was as if he’d hit a rock.
Then it launched a half dozen spikes at point-blank range. The distance meant Vir had no chance to escape—he barely managed to Toughen his forearms before a spike slammed into his bracers, sending him flying back.
The impact rattled his very bones, stunning him.
Several more spikes followed, but Vir rolled into a shadow and sunk into the shadow realm.
This is bad, Vir thought, analyzing the battle. Prana Vision showed him no weaknesses, and his attack confirmed it. Even if he could last until the Phantomblade exhausted all of its spikes, he still wouldn’t have a way of harming the beast.
He considered all options. Vir’s katar was ineffective, and he feared to Empower it, lest the blade break on impact. Nor could he bring the beast into the shadow realm—the beast was far too big and heavy to fit. Neel was a good distraction, but that was it.
Vir reached an arm out of the shadow realm, allowing time to proceed at a crawl.
The Phantomblade launched another spike at Neel. Vir wasn’t worried. The bandy was already reacting, but there was something about the way the spike flew that intrigued Vir.
It didn’t fly straight. Rather, it spun. Like a drill. An air drill.
It’s using the spin to make its spikes even more lethal.
Similar to how Vir spun his chakrams, though the axis it spun upon was different.
And that gave him an idea.
If projectiles became more lethal when spun… What about prana?
With time still slowed, Vir tested it. He fired his Prana Blade from earlier, but this time imparted a spin to it, spiraling the prana through his hand before allowing it to leave his body.
And this time, the prana went double the distance—nearly a pace—before dissipating.
I can work with that, Vir thought. While it wasn’t the real thing, it felt lethal. More lethal than just an Empowered katar, at least.
Using the precious few seconds he had left within the shadow realm, he snaked his hand out beneath the Phantomblade—where there were no spikes—and fired his Prana Blade.
His prana met little resistance, scything through the Phantomblade’s hide. Clearly, though its hide appeared tough, it wasn’t anywhere near as solid as actual rock.
The Phantomblade roared, attempting to find the perpetrator, but it had no eyes in its belly.
Vir struck again… and then his prana ran out. While in the shadow realm, it was as if the rest of his body didn’t exist. The only prana he had access to was what he’d stored within his arm, which wasn’t much.