Which means I’m behind, Vir thought anxiously.
He wondered if every demon he fought would boast such presence. If so, even the children of that realm might be terrifying opponents—a thought that scared him nearly as much as the beasts that roamed the Ash.
“Once the Foundation Chakra has been opened, one may progress to the Life Chakra, which can be thought of as Foundation’s counterpart. It allows attunement to the emotional state of life that forms around you, as well as the ability to manipulate them. It can be wielded as both a weapon and a tool for healing.”
Vir blanched. Forget losing to a child in the Demon Realm… What if they control me instead?
It’d be beyond humiliating.
“Fear not. Only the most talented demons open the second chakra before their twenties.”
Vir rolled his eyes. “So I’ll only become a puppet of adult demons, and not their kids. That’s such a relief.”
“You say that, but I sense the excitement within you. You are eager to learn. To master these arts.”
Vir’s eyes narrowed. “Is the Life Chakra telling you that, too?”
Cirayus chuckled. “I hardly need a chakra for that. But yes, the Life Chakra has such capabilities, once mastered.”
“And all demons can unlock these chakras? Regardless of Bloodline?”
“They most certainly can, and I suspect humans can as well. They simply do not understand how. Either that or those who do have sought to keep it a secret.”
That might actually be possible. Vir thought about all the rumors surrounding the Prime Mejai, head of the Order of Mejai Sorcar.
Then again, meditation wasn’t common in the Human Realm, so it wouldn’t surprise him if they simply never picked it up. “Foundation, Life… What’s the third chakra?”
“Shield,” Cirayus said. “The first half of another pair. While Foundation defends you against chakra attacks to the mind, the Shield defends against chakra-based attacks to the body.”
“And so the fourth is all about attacking with chakra, I’m guessing?”
Cirayus didn’t reply; he just swiped at the air with his poleax, and the air ruptured. Vir didn’t know how else to describe it. It was as if reality was rent apart, leaving an aftershock which shook something that was core to the world.
“The Warrior Chakra. As its name suggests, it imbues your attacks with a metaphysical weight that bypasses physical armor to attack the very soul. It does little against inanimate objects, but against any life form, it can inflict a fate even worse than death.”
Vir’s expression hardened. “Could use that against the beasts we’ll be facing.”
“It would certainly put you on a more even footing.”
“An even footing?” Vir thought, confused. Confusion that swiftly devolved into panic. Wait. No. No-no-no. Don’t tell me. “Are you saying… that Ash Beasts have unlocked chakras?”
Cirayus regarded him with a bemused expression. “Most certainly!”
“Ha ha ha,” Vir choked out. “Of course.”
“Not all, mind you. Only the strongest ones, deep within the Ash.”
Vir shook off the despair, seeing the opportunity buried within. To best such beasts, he’d have to unlock his chakras.
“The fifth chakra is especially important,” Cirayus continued. “The Heart Chakra augments one’s vitality and their ability to heal from metaphysical attacks. As I mentioned, spiritual attacks bypass normal defenses to attack the very soul, crippling you on a level that is difficult to describe.”
“Has… has that happened to you?”
“Never allowed it, thank the gods. Though I know those who have. Living with a fractured soul has been described as a fate worse than death. You live your days alive, yet fundamentally broken. The Heart Chakra can undo such damage, to a degree, but it’s best to avoid the situation if you can. Protect your soul as closely as your own heart, is what I say.”
Vir made a note to do exactly that. “You already mentioned the fifth one, so what are the last two?”
“The sixth chakra is one few ever unlock, though there isn’t a demon alive who doesn’t covet it. ’Tis the chakra of the Third Eye.”
“Third Eye… so it lets you see more?”
“In a sense. Attack me however you please,” Cirayus said, producing a cloth and blindfolding himself. He went a step further, plugging his ears as well.
No matter how experienced the demon was, robbed of his sight and sound, there would be little he could do to defend against Vir. Then again, this was Cirayus, and with an ability called Third Eye, Vir would show no mercy.
Vir sunk into his shadow, leaving one arm out to pass a few seconds to throw the giant off-balance. Then he jumped from the demon’s shadow, sending an Empowered fist at his back.
He never got the chance. Cirayus fluidly twisted his torso, causing Vir’s strike to miss.
He tried again, and again he was foiled. Eventually, Vir resorted to a flurry of fists and kicks, but Cirayus nimbly avoided each one.
It’s almost like…
Vir had Cirayus remove his ear plugs and walked a full forty paces away, then extended fingers behind his back. “How many am I holding up?”
“Three—now two. And now four.”
“H-how?” Vir asked, his voice hoarse. Cirayus lacked Prana Vision—he’d said so himself. At the distance Vir stood, not even that ability could tell him how many fingers someone was holding up.
“The Third Eye boosts intuition,” Cirayus explained, undoing his blindfold, “allowing one to grasp the true flow of reality. When mastered, one detaches themselves from their physical body, witnessing the world from the perspective of a bird, soaring high above. It eliminates blind spots, drastically boosting one’s combat potential. As such, it can be exceedingly difficult to kill anyone who has opened the Third Eye.”
That did sound powerful. Incredibly powerful. Like Prana Vision, except one that allowed him to witness all threats, from any angle. If coupled with Dance of the Shadow Demon, he’d be untouchable, slinking away from threats before they ever hit him.
“And now we come to the seventh and final chakra. The hardest to open, and thus precious few demons wield it. It is also the most abstract of them all, and many question if it might even be the weakest.”
“Is it?”
“You tell me.”
The giant did nothing. He merely stood with one pair of arms crossed, the other pair on his hips. His height hadn’t changed. Nor had he even moved.
Then his aura flared.
Vir collapsed, driving his head to the ground. He didn’t deserve to exist in front of such a godlike presence. He ought to prostrate. To beg forgiveness from this mythological being who stood before him. The avatar of a giant stood behind Cirayus. A being who’d grown so tall, its body nearly touched the skies. A giant among giants. One that could not be seen, but only felt.
The sensation was all-consuming. Against it, Vir was but a reed, destined to sway in the giant’s wind.
Then it was over—the avatar gone without a trace.
“The chakra of the Crown. The apex, and the destination of all those who embark upon this path. It is the manifestation of a spiritual avatar, representing the core essence of who you truly are. Similar to the Warrior Chakra, except instead of imbuing merely an attack with metaphysical weight, it gives your entire existence weight. It projects an aura whose heaviness is limited only by the strength and purity of your soul.”