“Then I guess this is goodbye, for now,” Vir said.
“I suppose it is,” Janani said with a pained expression.
They stood there for a moment, neither saying anything.
“Neel?” Janani finally asked. “I’ve known you what, months now? And yet, I still don’t know who you truly are. You appear out of nowhere. You win us rights we’ve been unable to win for decades. And now, you’ve eliminated the only group who posed us any threat. Who are you? Really? Are you… Are you who I think you are? Are you…”
Vir smirked. “And just who do you think I am?”
“Our guardian angel,” Janani said before flushing furiously. “No, forget I said anything. I apologize.”
“I’m a demon. Just like you. Just like anyone else.”
“You can’t expect me to believe that. After all this…” Janani muttered.
Vir looked off into the distance. “You once told a fable. About a soul long-lost. You said he was still alive.”
“Y-yes?” Janani said, her voice trembling.
“You thought he was biding his time. Out there. Waiting for the right moment to return.”
Janani’s breath grew ragged, and she fumbled for a nearby chair for balance. Her eyes widened as Vir unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a brilliantly white tattoo that contrasted against his pale gray skin.
“Wonder no longer. Your years of suffering are nearly at an end.”
Vir shifted his gaze and met her eyes. Ash prana flared, becoming visible and wreathing him in black flames. Shan flared his own prana, growing far more vicious and regal, before following Vir into the shadow.
Janani cupped her face in her hands and fell to her knees, shaking uncontrollably.
“For the one you thought missing has returned.”
Vir sunk slowly into the shadows, never once breaking his gaze.
Vir slipped into the ground, ashen flames hiding him like the physical incarnation of a living god.
“W-Wait!” Janani blurted. “I—I never even thanked you! For what you did. For Garga. For the orphans…”
“And you will never have to.”
The flames died off, leaving only the sound of Janani’s sobs behind.
70TO ATNU
Vir made poor time to Garrison Atnu—he’d used his powers extensively at Samar Patag, so instead of recovering prana, he actually left the city with less than he previously had.
That state of affairs lasted up until Vir encountered his first Ash Beast. Using the last fumes of his prana, he Leaped at the Shredder, placing his palm on the beast’s back before it could react. Feeling the prana flood back into his body, Vir sucked his foe dry, letting it drop dead on the ground.
From there, he repeated the task a dozen times, using as little prana as possible while draining his enemies. As he ended a Phantomblade, Vir couldn’t help but reflect on how unfair this ability was. For most, Ash Beasts were terrors to be avoided at all costs.
For him, they were akin to a tasty snack.
With his vast reserves only partially replenished, Vir bounded the rest of the way to Garrison Atnu, and while he’d been worried about Shan’s own reserves, the Ash Wolf was surprisingly adept at conserving his prana. Shan rarely had occasion to use his movement arts, and lacked prana-intensive powers like Blade Launch and Haste.
Vir was glad, though he felt that ought to change soon. Between his duties marshaling the army and his Life Chakra practice within the mindscape, Vir had precious little time to study Saunak’s cryptic tome. He desperately wished to find a Thaumaturge to teach him the art of Inscription. Perhaps not for his own body, but for Shan. If Vir could equip the wolf with Bloodline Arts, and if Shan could master them… He’d be a force to be reckoned with.
As for himself, Vir hadn’t yet decided if he’d pursue the Ultimate tattoos. Doing so came at the cost of the regular Bloodline Arts, and after seeing them in action, Vir had to admit they offered significant benefits.
Coming up on Atnu, Vir slowed.
“Stay here,” he ordered Shan. “The last thing we need is a panic.”
Shan grunted and sauntered off, while Vir sank into the shadows. Bounding from shadow to shadow, he rapidly approached the camp, and unless someone happened to notice the brief instant where his body transitioned from one shadow to another—like a salmon jumping upriver—he was completely invisible.
Given that there were only Gargan slaves outside the Garrison walls, and that none of them were particularly interested in keeping watch, Vir’s arrival went unnoticed.
Once within the walls, Vir’s true task began.
Finding one Kothi among a Garrison of nearly a thousand might’ve stymied the ordinary demon, but thanks to Prana Vision, Vir could search for Gunin’s prana signature. And since Dance of the Shadow Demon allowed him to conduct this search from a position of absolute invisibility and invulnerability, it wasn’t long before he located the small-framed failure of a Warrior.
Vir bided his time, observing the Kothi from a nearby shed with Prana Vision, and waited until he was alone. Then he popped up next to Gunin, placing a hand around his mouth.
Sure enough, the monkey flailed his limbs and tried desperately to scream—to no avail.
“Relax!” Vir hissed. “It’s me.”
Gunin’s resistance faded, and Vir slowly removed his hand from the demon’s mouth.
“Neel?” Gunin whispered, turning around. “W-what are you doing here? You went into the Ash! How?”
“Much has happened, friend,” Vir said. “And we have much to discuss. Do you know of a safe place where we can talk?”
Vir searched the demon for any signs of fear or anxiety, but found none.
Can I trust him? The thought lingered at the back of Vir’s mind. In truth, he didn’t know.
“Yes. Yes, of course. I have news for you as well. Wait for me in the warehouse by the outer wall. I shall head there as soon as my shift is over.”
Sensing a pair of prana signatures approaching the door, Vir wrapped up their conversation. “Don’t make me wait too long,” Vir said, walking behind Gunin and sinking into the floor.
Gunin’s eyes shot wide at Vir’s disappearing act, but composed himself just in time to greet the Chitrans who’d just arrived.
Without knowing more about Gunin’s actions and whether he remained loyal to the cause, Vir couldn’t risk revealing his true identity.
Which was why he continued monitoring the demon from the shadows, instead of heading to their appointed location straightaway.
When Gunin finally arrived at the storehouse, Vir was waiting. The warehouse was packed from floor to ceiling with wooden crates, narrow aisles allowing passage between the rows.
Vir had already confirmed there was no one else here.
“Sorry for the delay,” Gunin said. “They have us working to the bone.”
“Us, huh?” Vir asked.
“I mean—you know what I… I see,” Gunin said.
“You’ll forgive me if I’m a little cautious,” Vir replied.
“Of course, of course,” Gunin said, massaging his forehead. “I’ve plied myself day in and day out for your cause, but of course, you have no reason to believe me. Well, how about I tell you all that I’ve learned. Perhaps then, you can be the judge of whether or not I’ve betrayed you.”
Vir nodded, gesturing for the Kothi to proceed.
“First, the situation at these camps is far more tenuous than they’d have us believe. The recent monster outbreak has stretched their forces thin, and every Garrison is operating at limited capacity. Weapons are damaged or destroyed, and are not replaced and repaired quickly enough. Casualties have spiked, placing Panav healers in desperate demand. There are simply not enough of them, and there are too many needing healing. We’ve resorted to non-magical healing arts and those with Aspects with healing properties, but they are even rarer than the Panav.”