Vir initially pitied the giant, not having such a place to retreat into. Now, he envied him. Given a choice between total blackness and a beautiful, crisp forest or something analogous, there wasn’t even a contest.
Vir returned to the middle of the pristine meadow and sat cross-legged, allowing his eyes to defocus as he thought about the memories he’d been shown.
He now had a hunch about what triggered it. The key was Ekanai.
For so long, Vir rejected the demon’s existence. As Maiya had somehow known, he’d feared the demon. Feared he’d take over. That he’d harm Maiya. That he’d commit atrocities with Vir’s body, and that Vir would be unable to lift a finger to stop him.
The Ekanai Vir knew was a ruthless killing machine. More at home in the Ashen Realm standing on a pile of corpses than a real, living being with hopes and dreams.
Vir knew now that this couldn’t have been further from the truth. Shardul once said that with each reincarnation, his identity as the Primordial degraded. Memories from past lives became fragmented. Diluted, and also warped.
The Ekanai that made it through that process was a horribly broken, distorted version of the real being.
The demon didn’t shun familial ties because he thought them dead weight—Vir understood that now. He’d felt Ekanai’s thoughts. The demon never allowed himself to grow close to anyone because he knew just how dangerous it’d be for them.
He’d isolated himself to protect them. To shield them from those who’d see harm come to the Akh Nara. Ekanai was—or had been—a gentle soul at his core. Someone who wished to shoulder all the burden of the Akh Nara alone. A demon whose only wish was to find some purpose in his long life. To fulfill his destiny, so he could return to his clan with his head held high.
His course required him to kill, and he took on that burden without complaint. But he never once enjoyed it.
I see…
The Ekanai that had manifested wasn’t real. Whatever contraption transported him to the underground world with its floating islands and its caves had used Vir’s own memories of Ekanai to create a caricature of the demon.
He isn’t real. He’s a figment of my mind. None of it is real.
Vir gulped at that. Then what of Maiya? What of the moments they’d shared together? What of her bravery and sacrifice? Was that also a fabrication? She felt so real!
He didn’t want to believe all of this had been a hallucination. He couldn’t. Even knowing Ekanai wasn’t real didn’t reduce the threat. Vir had bled when attacked. Worse, his very soul had been siphoned. The consequences were real.
Except now, Vir had nothing to fear. For if Ekanai was generated from his mind, then Vir suspected the Ekanai he’d face in light of these revelations would be quite different. Thanks to the new knowledge he’d obtained.
Knowledge he’d gained by restoring his memories of Ekanai with the power of the Foundation Chakra.
Vir stood, leaves crunching softly under him. While his predecessors hadn’t saved him—and wouldn’t, ever again—he’d nonetheless gained something valuable from these memories. He’d understood the person Ekanai was. The person he strove to be. And in the process, Vir understood himself.
Because Vir was Ekanai in a previous life. The demon was as much a part of him as Shardul, Parai, and the others. For the very first time, Vir could accept that. Accept—and embrace.
“You failed so close to your goal. But where you failed, I will succeed. I will learn from your mistakes, and complete your quest. I will honor those who have blazed the trail by seeing it to its completion.”
Vir closed his eyes and exited the mindscape. Not as a scared, panicking demon, but a master of the Foundation Chakra. At peace with himself.
84
THE REAPER’S WISH (PART FOUR)
Vir left his cave the same way he’d arrived—through the shadows. Why Ekanai hadn’t pursued him, he couldn’t say.
All he knew was that he had to end the demon. Both to escape this place and to do right by Ekanai’s memory. The real Ekanai, that was. Vir suspected the demon would be disgusted at the abomination that manifested here.
Vir searched the caves until he found one that suited him. It was a long, narrow tunnel, dimly lit by green bioluminescent moss.
The location favored Vir, the smaller of the two combatants. While they both wielded chakrams and katars, Ekanai’s height and gangly limbs would only get in the way here.
Calling upon the Foundation Chakra, Vir calmed himself and prepared for the battle ahead, though he didn’t sink into his mindscape. He wasn’t sure just how much time passed while he was in there, and until he’d tested the details, he couldn’t risk being caught off guard.
Vir’s strategy would leverage the fact that Ekanai’s physical manifestation was based on Vir’s memories of the demon. With luck, knowing what he knew now, the Ekanai he fought would be different. He might be more reasonable—and hopefully, weaker.
If he wasn’t, Vir was going to have his hands full just staying alive.
He shook off the thought. Maiya wouldn’t have mentioned conquering his fear if it wasn’t critical for this fight. His trust in her was absolute, and so his mind was calm.
Vir didn’t have to wait long. Ekanai appeared some paces away, Artifact chakram and orb in hand, snarling viciously.
“Hello, Ekanai,” Vir said calmly. “How are you feeling?”
The demon smirked. “Never better. Your friend here has made quite the spell. Gave me some trouble, but I managed it. Now I need only test it. And soon,” he said, holding up a second, empty orb, “I will have another. Your body will be the perfect vessel for me, and your soul will be my weapon. With two soul weapons, not even Fate itself can stop us!”
Vir’s hope disappeared the moment the demon started talking. Ekanai was no less vicious than before. He hadn’t changed. And now he had a new, powerful weapon.
No… that’s not quite right, is it?
There was something different about him. The overwhelming, oppressive aura he’d emitted before was gone, and it wasn’t only on account of Vir’s Foundation Chakra protecting him from the demon’s mental attacks.
It’s my fear! It was somehow strengthening him. And Maiya knew…
Logically, it made no sense. Then again, nothing about this place did. If, as Vir suspected, none of it was real, then this fabricated reality was likely bound by a different set of rules. Rules that were obviously impacted by Vir himself.
By vanquishing his fear, he’d robbed Ekanai of a portion of his power. It wasn’t the outcome he’d been hoping for, but it’d have to suffice.
With Haste active, Vir Blinked forth, spearing Ekanai with his katar.
It was only a distraction. The Chakri Barrage he’d simultaneously launched was the real attack. Dozens of the tiny prana disks ripped through the air, filling the entire tunnel.
The demon moved slightly, barely dodging his katar. The chakris, however, were another story.
Clarity was a powerful ability—overwhelmingly so—but it had one flaw. Namely, knowledge of the immediate future was only useful if one could act upon it.
Previously, the demon was able to do exactly that. His strength, speed, and armor had all been impossibly formidable, allowing him to execute mind-bending feats. That was no longer true.
Ekanai moved a smidge slower now. A weakness amplified by the tunnel’s tight confines, turning it into a killing field. With his gangly limbs, Ekanai couldn’t possibly move his body fast enough to avoid them all.