Vir’s reverie ended the moment he crossed the bridge.
A wall stood in his way. Translucent, yet tinted black. Prana Vision recognized it immediately. It was Ash prana, and it enveloped the city in a bubble.
A barrier of some sort? Vir thought. Perhaps a shield?
Vir reached out, thinking it would stop him.
Instead, his arm passed right through, and the shield disappeared, followed by a series of lights lighting up on the ground, as if to guide him.
Is there someone here? Vir thought. His wonder slowly devolved into panic. Every story from the Age of Gods spoke of beings that wielded absurd powers, who could level entire cities on a whim.
And not only was he walking into a city of theirs, it even seemed like someone was home.
Vir closed his eyes and calmed his breathing. The gods were gone. Dead, according to the Altani, or ascended, if you believed the Kin’jals.
There would be no one here to greet him. His biggest threat was monsters.
“Welcome, Ekavir,” a disembodied voice said, a moment before a great man shrouded in blue-white light appeared in front of Vir, forcing him to Leap back.
No, not just light. Blue and white prana! The man was made of prana.
“Who are you?” Vir whispered in awe.
“You know me as Janak. This is the Prime Imperium outpost Valaka Amara, and you have just doomed yourself to death.”
76GUARANTEED ANNIHILATION
“Janak,” Vir said blankly, addressing the glowing man who stood ten paces tall. White was the word that best described him. From his hair to his long white beard, his flowing white robe with blue-white patterns, he shone like a sun to Vir’s eyes and Prana Vision alike. “As in, the god from the myths?”
“Myths,” Janak said with a chuckle, but there was no happiness in his eyes. Only tragedy. “Yes. I am one and the same.”
Of all the sermons Apramor had ever given, Vir valued Janak’s story the most. A mortal who had ascended to divinity. Who’d triumphed against all odds. And here he was, meeting this god in person…
Vir took a knee.
“Rise, Ekavir, seventh of your line. Janak died millennia ago,” the glowing man said, striding up to him. “Along with the rest of his kind.”
“Apologies, sir, but how do you know my name?” Vir asked before realizing he was talking to a living god. Of course he’d know his name.
“I know much about you. I have observed you since you arrived at Daha.”
Observed? From where? He hadn’t felt like anyone was spying on him. Unless…
Comprehension dawned upon Vir. “From the Vimana.”
“Indeed.” The man offered his hand, which Vir reverently took… but found that his hand passed right through.
“This body is not of flesh and blood. I am merely a faded echo of an age long forgotten. An avatar. But even still, this meeting is both risky and fortuitous. Our time is short so I must be brief. Tell me, how did you reach this place?”
“I honestly don’t know, sir,” Vir replied, averting his eyes. “I messed up an ability of mine and found myself in a cavern. Then I just followed the prana, which led me here.”
“Coincidence?” Janak said, stroking his beard. “Nay. It must be their influence. But do they hope to aid or hamper?”
“Sir, I don’t understand. Of whom do you speak?” Vir didn’t rightly know how to address the avatar of Janak. While he claimed not to be a god, the entity before him was at least related to the god. He deserved Vir’s immense respect.
“There are those in this world who seek to shape the threads of destiny. Beings who predate even my people. Fateweavers, of a sort,” Janak replied. “But there are more important matters to discuss. Come, walk with me.”
“Why? What’s the matter?” Vir asked, following slightly behind the god.
“Beasts lurk in these depths. Ones that survive and thrive off prana. And you have just lit a prana beacon,” he said, pointing up at the city around them. “Ordinarily, such a thing would be impossible. But you are special. You are related to my people in a way that no other living being is. The outpost of Valaka Amara opened itself to you, and you alone.”
Outpost. Not a city, Vir reminded himself. It was small, but it was still the most dazzling sight Vir had ever seen. And special to his people? Vir was giddy to badger the man, but he didn’t want to interrupt him. No doubt, the answers were forthcoming.
“Listen to me, Ekavir. You must seek the Ashen Realm. No doubt your prior incarnations have advised you as such already?”
“T-they have,” Vir replied. “So, they’re not demons then? Ekanai and Shardul.”
“Demons, yes. But not the sort you are imagining. Broken shards of identity, lost to time. Be careful. They mean well, but may pose a danger to you if managed improperly.”
“I’ve seen that.”
If Ekanai’s voice in his head was just a shard of the person he’d once been, then his manic obsession with killing Maiya made a bit more sense.
Janak’s words confirmed the suspicions he’d had for so long but could never prove. “They’ve been threatening me to head there. But to enter the Ashen Realm is suicide.”
“Suicide for humans. Not you.”
When they reached something akin to a central square, Janak swept his arm, causing an enormous image to appear in the air. An image of black volcanoes, thunderclouds, and ash-dyed wastes.
Vir jerked back, nearly falling over. It was like a painting the size of a house, and yet…
“It’s like you?” Vir asked, running his hand through the floating image.
Janak nodded. “This… is the Ashen Realm.”
The painting moved. It showed volcanoes erupting, lightning strikes flaring before dying away, only to be replaced by a dozen more. Thousands of vicious-looking raptors skittered across the landscape, while enormous flying beasts blotted out what little light made it through the thick thunderclouds.
It was a glimpse into another world. A world of nightmares and horror.
“And this,” Janak said, “is Mahādi. The once-capital city of my people.”
The scene shifted to show a… city? But it was unlike any Vir had seen before. Hundreds upon hundreds of pitch-black spires pierced the sky as lightning struck them relentlessly. It looked less like a city and more like a mausoleum.
“At Mahādi, you will find me. The real me. Or whatever is left, at least. But Ekavir, heed my warning. Do not venture there until you are ready. The Ashen Realm is dangerous, yes, but that city exists in its own realm, split off from the rest of the Ash. The Mahādi plane. It is utterly lethal to life. Not even demonkind survives there for long. Every one of your predecessors who has tried has failed.”
“Predecessors… T-then,” Vir gulped, afraid to ask the question that had been on the tip of his tongue. “I’m a demon?”
“Neither are you human, nor demon. You were crafted for a purpose, Ekavir. You are Primordial. A being who transcends all other beings.”
“What do you mean? What’s the purpose of the Primordial? What is this destiny they speak of?”
Janak pursed his lips. “If I told you now, it would only reduce the likelihood of that destiny coming to pass. You… are not yet ready to hear it.”
Vir was about to reply, but Janak held up a hand. “Not your power, though you require far more than you currently possess to venture into the Ash. I mean your maturity. Ekavir, some truths must be experienced. Only then, once your mind has been tempered by trial and toil, will you comprehend its significance. I know this is not what you wanted to hear. And if I could tell you, I rightly would. Please have faith. If not in me, in your ancestors. All shall be revealed in time. Time that has now run out,” Janak said, looking off into the distance.