Beings of pure prana that consumed all dense prana sources, adding that power to their cloud.
The cloud surrounding Mina expanded.
To confront one was to die. Riyan moved away, circling Mina’s slowly-expanding Swarm. But of course, she didn’t let him. The Prana Swarm relentlessly attacked her, though it failed to penetrate the Artifact’s defenses. Which meant it followed the princess wherever she went, acting as her personal shield of death.
Knowing she was now nigh-untouchable, she charged Riyan, and for the first time in their duel, he was on the back foot.
Riyan dodged, Blinking away from Mina whenever she approached. The princess, knowing he would, timed her magic and fired Arc spells the moment he reappeared. Even with his deft footwork and vast experience, the odds caught up to him. He dodged half a dozen lightning bolts, but the seventh struck him, sending him to the ground, spasming violently.
A warrior like Riyan wouldn’t die from a single Arc spell. However, being on the ground made him vulnerable and exposed, and his opponent relentlessly exploited that weakness.
Water Dart fired, penetrating Riyan’s robes. He never wore armor, preferring mobility to defense, and with his mobility gone, only Toughen protected him from Mina’s magic. It wasn’t enough. Her magical darts lanced into his body, piercing flesh.
Instinct saved Riyan. A lifetime of combat had burned his weak points into his muscle memory. His body moved just enough to avoid lethal wounds. His Life orb began healing his wounds the moment they opened.
The warrior understood that the duel could not go on like this. Avoiding the Prana Swarm was not an option. There was only one choice. Only one path to victory.
Riyan steeled himself and Blinked in, gritting himself for the searing pain. He activated Haste. He activated Blade Projection. He powered his Life Affinity orb. And he slashed with all the strength he could muster, right at Mina’s exposed neck.
This was it. His final attack.
The Prana Swarm ate away at his body, consuming him, debilitating him with acid-washed pain. His legs refused to move the way he wanted, and he knew his aim wouldn’t be true. At the very last moment, he willed his muscles to change course. Just slightly. Just enough to cleave through another target.
The Artifact warred with the weight of Riyan’s strike, but this attack was different. Because not only did Mina’s pendant have to counter Riyan’s enhanced blade, it had to negate the damage the Prana Swarm dealt to Mina.
Because, as Mina had said, they resembled forces of nature more than any living organism. And one controlled mother nature.
The Artifact buckled, and Mina’s arm went sailing into the distance. Crimson painted the ground as the princess blinked in shock. His attack had not been without cost. Riyan’s skin burned and his flesh melted.
He ignored it and touched the ground, Blinking back toward Mina for another strike.
Healing magic worked wonders. It could restart pierced hearts, and bring those back who were thought dead. To kill Mina, he’d have to decapitate her. Because, for all its power, not even the highest Grade Life orb could regrow a limb.
His next Blade Projected strike removed her left leg, just above the knee.
Each foray into the Prana Swarm cost Riyan, and by the time he left the cloud, the skin on his face had sheared off entirely, leaving his visage hideous and ruined.
The princess’ guards had not been idle. Despite the danger, and despite the debilitating pain, they formed a ring around their liege, protecting her even at the cost of their own lives.
“Fools!” Riyan roared. “You protect a monster. But a crippled one.”
With a genuine smile on his face, Riyan Blinked to Mina’s severed limbs and scooped them up.
He’d come here knowing full well he might not end the princess’ life. He was more than willing to sacrifice his own to do so. For Arya. For Meera. His dead wife and daughter. For Hiranya.
“You once took everything from me. You took my wife. My precious daughter. But robbing you of your family would only please you, wouldn’t it? You have never once cared for another. No, the only one you love is yourself. You think yourself above all others. For someone like you, there is no greater insult than this. Consider that karma you sowed so long ago returned.”
Without her limbs to reattach, Mina would live as a cripple for the rest of her days. A stark reminder of her failure. Never again would Mina be the shining symbol of perfection she so thoroughly believed she was.
“Now, you will never be queen!” Riyan shouted, gloating through his pain. “You will not bring this country to ruin.”
“Kill him!” Mina screamed.
But her troops remained frozen, as if captured by Riyan’s overwhelming aura.
“You will wander this world crippled, maimed, and broken. Let them know. Let the world know. Here walks Mina, the blight who thought herself untouchable!”
Despite their poverty and corruption, Hiranyans valued a stately and strong ruler. Both in demeanor and appearance. They would never accept a cripple as their monarch.
A fact Mina understood all too well.
By robbing Mina of her arm and leg, Riyan ensured she’d never ascend the throne. And in so doing, reduced the odds that Mina killed off her siblings.
“KILL HIM!”
Broken from their spell at last, her knights gave chase, but Riyan was untouchable, even nearly blinded as he was. He Blinked away, seeking only to escape. To live. To fight another day.
But as he fled, he risked one look back. At his mortal enemy. At Mina.
And when he saw her tragic state… For the first time in years, he found peace.
It was a small satisfaction, one he would have to live with. Until he returned to finish the job.
92TO FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE (EPILOGUE)
It was not Riyan’s hidden sanctuary that greeted Vir, but burning rubble, soot, and ash.
Nothing of the abode remained. The ceiling had collapsed, leaving a blackened gouge in the hill’s side where the once magnificent home stood.
Vir had Bumpy stop a thousand paces away and scanned the horizon for any signs of life.
Prana Vision became blurry at such distances, but against the contrast of night on an open desert with no obstructions, it showed him that no one was around.
Whatever fire had burned the home had burned itself out long ago, its perpetrators long gone. The site was empty.
Vir snapped his fingers, signaling Neel to accompany him. Together, they crossed the dunes to where Riyan’s front door used to be. Now, only blackened char remained.
What could have happened here?
The obvious conclusion was that Mina decided to settle her feud with Riyan. But the timing indicated that these events transpired before Vir’s assassination attempt on her life. Had she planned this all along? Or had she taken preemptive action? Kamna said someone had been tailing him since he’d entered the city, after all.
Vir’s boots sank into the soot. The house was unrecognizable. Not even a trace of their original rooms remained. Only an enormous yawning cavity that carved out half the dune. Only now did Vir realize just how enormous the home was.
And it was gone, along with Riyan.
Vir had used every trick he knew to throw off any would-be pursuers, but there had been none. His disguise ensured it.
Looking back, he never should have confronted Princess Mina when he’d first arrived at Daha. She’d discovered him right away, leading to the events that resulted in his botched assassination.