No matter how much he wracked his brain, Vir saw no solution. No way he could’ve saved both himself and Maiya. Nor even a way to save Maiya at the expense of his own life. Against an opponent who could see the future, who wielded such almighty power, what chance did he have?
Excuses won’t bring Maiya back, a voice rang in his head.
The worst part was, Vir didn’t know what had become of Maiya. Was she still alive? Was there a way to save her? To think she’d ended up that way protecting him… The emotions threatened to make his heart explode. They consumed him, preventing him from thinking about anything else.
Vir began to hyperventilate, and his vision blurred. Desperate, he tugged hard on the Foundation Chakra, or at least, what little of it he could draw upon with his limited mastery.
The violent storm of emotions quietened… slightly. For some reason, it was not a mountain he thought of, but the Godshollow. What was a lost battle to those eternal trees? They had weathered worse and would weather this, too.
Except, Vir didn’t want to simply weather it. He wanted to fix it. To undo the wrongs he’d wrought.
In typical Maiya style, she’d fought to the bitter end. Even if he held no feelings for her, even if she wasn’t the most precious person in his life, he’d do anything to repay that debt.
With his body healed enough to move again, Vir sat up inside the cave.
Overcome your fear, she’d said, indicating it was the key to defeating Ekanai.
That didn’t make any sense, though. How would that save Maiya?
No. I can’t save Maiya on my own. I have to accept that.
Vir didn’t have an inkling as to the true nature of what was going on. He didn’t even know if this entire cavern with its floating islands was real, or some elaborate fake. Though, as time went on, he found it harder to believe it was a deception. No matter how advanced the Gods were, how could they create such a perfect facsimile of Maiya?
He’d seen Ashani craft a perfect illusion, but he doubted even she could pull people from Vir’s own mind. Admitting he couldn’t save her was easier said than done. Every instinct and emotion he had urged him to try. That perhaps, like with Ashani’s orbs, he could find a way.
There’s a better way, though. Ekanai. The gangly ghael had the answers. He clearly knew what he was doing when he captured Maiya, though Vir found it odd that a warrior such as him had such advanced thaumaturge knowledge. It was as if Ekanai and Saunak had somehow melded together.
Nevertheless, the path forward was simple. Vir simply had to defeat Ekanai, and then force him to restore Maiya. Vir had seen her prana himself—she wasn’t dead. The process could be reversed.
He would believe that until his dying breath. He had to.
Maiya had not only saved his life, she’d given him what she believed to be the key.
Fear. It was true, Vir felt many things toward Ekanai. Spite, confusion, but above all else, fear.
Hadn’t it always been that way? Of all his predecessors, only Ekanai had commandeered Vir’s body to assert his own will.
Vir thought back to when Ekanai had first taken over in the Godshollow. He’d nearly died fighting the Knight Scout’s bandies until Ekanai intervened. The demon saved Vir, killing the bandies… And then, he’d sworn to kill Maiya, labeling her as dead weight.
The memory made Vir’s blood boiled. Despite the erosion of two years of time, he recalled the details as clearly as if it’d happened only yesterday.
The experience certainly scared Vir, though he’d been more confused than anything. He’d managed to stop Ekanai back then. He’d thought he could control the demons in his head.
Then, at Riyan’s place, Ekanai had taken over again. Vir realized it was then that his fear of the demon solidified. Being forced to watch as Ekanai commandeered his body and marched to their bedchamber—intent on slitting Maiya’s throat as she slept—was too much for Vir to bear.
It was why, when Riyan had sent Vir on his mission to Daha alone, he’d almost been thankful. That way, he wouldn’t have posed a threat to Maiya. Because at that moment, he knew he wasn’t in control.
That’s it, isn’t it? Vir thought. I can’t grow past the person I was until I confront him. Until I vanquish him.
Vir had entered the Ashen Realm as a moderately capable warrior, but as someone who remained unsure of his identity. Unsure of his calling.
He’d since grown past that. Both in strength and as a person. Yet Ekanai loomed over him like a dark shadow. How could he help the Garga—who was he to save others—when he couldn’t even vanquish the demons in his own head?
Until he defeated Ekanai, there would be no progress.
Not like Ekanai will be taking over again, Vir thought in an attempt to lessen the dread that grew within his chest. Not after what Shardul said at Mahādi. It’s why he’s going to such lengths, isn’t it?
Ekanai’s presence was the single most glaring piece of evidence Vir had that none of this was real. Maiya’s presence, unfortunately, served as a perfect counterpoint.
Vir found his mind drifting once more, and so he tugged on the Foundation Chakra to refocus. Likely because he hadn’t fully mastered the chakra, it was only limitedly helpful for that purpose.
How exactly does one get over a fear, though? Vir wondered.
There was, after all, a very good reason behind that fear.
Like all other fears, I suppose. By confronting it, a voice chimed in his head. It was Maiya’s voice.
Except that was impossible. Maiya saw that battle. As a capable warrior and mejai, she knew how impossible it was. No tactic or strategy in the world could overcome that vast chasm of power.
Had she been mistaken?
Vir rejected that idea immediately. She would never have been so sure of herself if there was even a chance of that. No, her words must’ve contained some other, hidden meaning.
If I only knew what.
A wave of fatigue hit Vir. The endless days of fighting already had him running dry, and now, after all this, he wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and sleep for a century.
His mind drifted off, thinking of Ekanai, and, almost unconsciously, he reached out to the Foundation Chakra.
A surge of energy erupted from the base of his spine. Right before Vir blacked out.
82
THE REAPER’S WISH (PART TWO)
Vir found himself sitting on a stone bench. A long hearth fire burned a few paces away, its smoke rising to a circular hole cut in the top of the thatched yurt. The warm glow filled the dwelling with a sense of peace and security, something so foreign, Vir had nearly forgotten what it felt like.
A precious luxury, soon to be missed, Vir thought. The thought was not his own but rather came from somewhere else.
Vir tried to move… and found couldn’t. He had no motor control, nor could he breathe or even choose where to look.
Oddly, panic did not well within him. The opposite, actually. There was a certain calm serenity to the whole scene. Vir felt warm, happy, and content. And a little anxious, though it was the anxiousness one felt when dreading the future.
Vir looked—or rather, was forced to look—up to find the room full of demons. All ghaels.
Displayed across the far wall was a flag. A gray-bordered purple flag with an icon of a white eye and a brown iris at the very center.
The flag of Clan Iksana. While Vir had never seen it before, he understood it as such. It was knowledge the person in the vision possessed.