Sorry Riyan, but a goddess just casually claimed all of your vast skills in subterfuge amounted to ‘not much.’
Her skin, from head-to-toe, had turned demonic red. Her eyes were red, and her previously white hair was now jet-black. She’d even altered her one-piece dress to become black armor, and instead of slippers, she wore metal boots. In her hands was a helmet, which she donned.
She looked every bit like a demonic warrior woman. The only thing that hadn’t changed was her white lightning rod, but Vir doubted anyone would question that too much, what with the variety of exotic weapons that were so common among demons.
“I’m speechless, honestly,” Vir admitted. “Do you know how many times I would’ve killed to have a disguise like this? To do in a moment what takes me hours… And for the result to be so incomparably better… This is cheating.”
“Why, thank you,” Ashani replied with a curtsy, which she somehow pulled off, even in heavy plate armor.
Vir rolled his eyes. “Just… Is there anything you can do about your face?”
Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “Are you implying that I’m not pretty? Because in my society, that is quite a rude thing to say to a woman, you know?”
“No, actually,” Vir said, scratching his nose and averting his eyes. “The problem is you’re too pretty. Drop-dead gorgeous, actually. You’ll have no end of suitors. Is there any way to make yourself, um… less attractive?”
Ashani gave Vir a deadpan look, her hands on her hips. “I’m afraid not,” was her perfectly even-toned reply.
“Right, then,” Vir said, quickly realizing this was one matter he’d be better off not pursuing. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Vir wondered when he’d become so scared of that voice. It was a recent thing. After he’d grown intimate with Maiya.
He shuddered. Angry Maiya was a terrifying thing.
It wasn’t until they actually arrived at the enormous Gate that Vir understood how wrong he was about Ashani’s reticence.
Ashani wasn’t bored. She was anxious. Here was a being who could put down most living beings on her own. Who possessed the knowledge of long-dead gods. And who fretted over taking a single step across a stable Ash Gate.
“The Ashen Realm is one thing,” she muttered, barely more than a whisper. “For millennia, I have spied upon it. Its lands, while I had never set foot in it until today, were at least somewhat known to me. This…” She gazed deeply into the portal, regarding the deeply crimson land on the other side as if it were poison. “This is neither the world I once knew, nor the one I have come to know. It is new.”
Vir stepped across the barrier and, with a comforting smile, extended his hand back to Ashani. “I’ll be here every step of the way. This, I promise you. I am not abandoning you ever again.”
As if in support, Shan circled Ashani, then jumped through the Gate and looked back, earning him the attention of the guards, who currently stood on the demon side. Upon seeing this, the wolves howled up at Ashani, as if to inform her all was safe.
“I know,” she whispered, slowly extending her hand. “I know this. It just feels a little unreal, if you know what I mean.”
Vir smiled warmly. “As unreal as stumbling into a city made by gods? As unreal as,” he lowered his voice, “as meeting a living, breathing goddess?”
“Well, I don’t really breathe.”
Vir rolled his eyes, hand still extended. “Come along, Ashani. I have so much to show you.”
Ashani took a deep breath, then clasped Vir’s hand and stepped through.
For the first time in her life of four thousand years, a being from the Age of Gods had stepped foot in the world that came after.
They are definitely not ready for her, Vir thought, groaning inwardly.
He’d thought her incredible disguise would be sufficient. Sure, returning from the Ash with a woman in tow would cause some rumors, but there were already so many around him. What was one more?
He’d just never expected the first Bairan to lay eyes on her to propose to her…
“Clan Baira, nay—my progeny—will benefit immensely when their mother is such an esteemed Warrior. Please, fair maiden, take my hand in marriage!”
The Bairan—who ought to have been guarding the Ash Gate, not making proposals—was on one knee, and Vir felt the man would have prostrated if Ashani asked him to.
As it was, the goddess stood stock still, though whether she was surprised at his proposal or his size, Vir couldn’t be sure.
“Ah, come on,” another Bairan guard said, smashing his oversized poleax into the ground. “At least be honest. Warrior, yes, but have you sorry lads ever laid eyes on such a beauty?”
This one appeared to be the leader, and thankfully, he stopped short of making a proposal, though the same couldn’t be said for another two or three guards who joined the first. In fact, they were so distracted, not one among them noticed the Ash Wolves that bounded speedily through the massive Gate, leaping off into the distance to stay out of sight.
Vir met Ashani’s eyes with an ‘I told you so’ look. She glanced away, blushing.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Vir said. “Lady Ashani isn’t accepting suitors at the moment, so if you’ll let us be, we’ll be on our way.”
The kneeling demon threw Vir a look of pure wrath, and Vir knew what would come next. He’d see Vir as a threat and might even challenge him to a duel.
“How dare you—”
“Sorry, but I have no time for this.” Vir scooped Ashani up in his arms, flowing prana through his body when he remembered just how heavy the Automaton was, and Blinked away.
“Won’t that cause problems for you?” Ashani asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Let them talk,” Vir replied. “I have more important things to do right now than to appease random demons who propose to strangers on first sight.”
“Oho? Such as?”
Vir grinned. “Such as beating the pulp out of a monkey.”
When he’d entered the Ash, Vir had fretted over his upcoming match. Now? Now, he tired of hiding his potential in the hopes of making his opponents lower their guard.
Good thing he no longer had to. Should he defeat Annas, his next opponent was Cirayus.
It was time to let loose. It was time to utterly destroy this Kothi.
How could he put forth anything less in front of a goddess?
113RETRIBUTION
When Vir stepped onto the stage, it was not with the crippling fear over Shan’s health he’d felt prior to his trip into the Ash. Nor did he feel hot anger toward Annas for hurting his cherished friend—anger that had nearly blinded him before. To be sure, those feelings were still present, though now, they burned steadily, like a bed of coals at the back of his mind.
Mostly, what Vir felt as he faced off against Shan’s would-be assassin was determination, and the understanding that the opponent before him was but a stepping stone along the path to victory.
“Not often that two katar wielders face off against one another,” Annas said, raising his dual katars. “I’d like to say this will be a good fight, but against one so green, I have to wonder…”
His eyes traveled from Vir’s head to his boots before shaking his head in disappointment.
Vir ignored the Chitran.
Ashani’s return had instilled fresh perspective into his mind—where he had once fretted over the results of this duel, it was clear now that this was just one of the many trials that lay before him. Nor was it the hardest. The realization might’ve disheartened others, but to Vir, it brought a sense of calmness.
Even with two hands tied behind his back, Vir knew he had what it took to win.
“Cocky, aren’t we?” the Kothi snarled from across the stage. “Smug looks like that are reserved for the victor, and I’m sorry to say I’m the only one who’ll be winning today.”