It was as if his muscle memory had been imprinted by someone who’d perfected the art. Reaper Ekanai. His skill had bled into Vir.
Bet you didn’t expect that to happen, did you?
It was a cosmic irony that the more Ekanai controlled his body, the stronger Vir grew. And yet, doing so came at a cost of endangering those he cherished and loved.
Vir attempted an aerial flip, trying to replicate the incredible acrobatic feat he’d executed perfectly only moments before.
Instead, he faceplanted onto the sand and collapsed in a sprawling heap.
Guess not everything transferred. Maybe he hadn’t received all of Ekanai’s skills. And maybe it was like how he’d obtained Prana Vision in the Godshollow. Maybe it took a lot of practice to get right. He didn’t care.
He’d just gained a powerful new ability. One that cost him sovereignty of his own body, but also promised to make him a master of the chakram arts, if only he put in the effort. Just like in the forest, his memories of Ekanai’s superhuman feats had already begun to fade.
Except this time, he knew exactly what he had to do to keep those memories. He should have returned to Riyan and reported everything. He should have sought medical treatment for his wounds. He did neither. Vir tore his shirt and bandaged his wounds, then he picked up his weapons. He didn’t know how to stop these demons from possessing his body… But he did know there was power to be gained here. Great power. And at least focusing on that helped take his mind off Ekanai.
The night is still young. There’s training to be done…
23RIYAN’S DOME OF HORRORS
To both Vir and Maiya, the past week had felt like an idyllic dream. With Riyan holed up in the training dome, they had the vast abode to themselves, and Vir greatly enjoyed the experience.
He’d never felt that way when Rudvik left him alone to go on lumberjacking expeditions into the Godshollow for days at a time… Maybe it had to do with the size and opulence of Riyan’s home.
Plus, there was just something undeniably special about hidden underground homes.
Riyan had patched up Vir’s wounds with his Life magic before disposing the wolf corpse. Both found it odd that a lone wolf would venture all the way out here. Given its emaciated state, it must have been separated from its pack and then wandered for days. Even if it hadn’t fought Vir, the wolf would have died of dehydration soon after.
Their instructor had locked himself within the training dome, sawing, hammering, and doing who-knew-what all day, every day. At night, he’d retreat straight to his room. The two went entire days without spotting him, and they wondered whether the man even ate, since they never saw him in the kitchen either. That didn’t mean they slacked off on their training. They knew full well what would happen if Riyan discovered they’d taken things easy, so they practiced diligently under the heat of the desert sun outside, each and every day. When the stifling heat became unbearable, they retreated to the living room—the one with the sandy floor—shuffling sofas around to give them enough space to duel.
Neel had initially watched each fight with rapt enthusiasm, but he’d grown bored with the spectacle. The bandy now napped happily on a sofa nearby.
Their duels followed a pattern, where Maiya won less and less often these days. Her rate of progress simply couldn’t compare to Vir’s. Realizing that stamina was his weakness, Vir had developed several tactics to quickly bring their duels to a close.
When he’d started winning consistently, Maiya became dejected, putting less and less effort into each fight. Which, of course, only made Vir’s victories even easier. At one point, their battles devolved into entirely one-sided affairs.
Easy fights were of no use to Vir or Maiya, so Vir agreed to use handicaps. The duel had to last five minutes or it’d be Vir’s loss, or Vir would use only his left hand. The list went on. Vir found it exhilarating, and Maiya won often enough to boost her morale, so their battles once again became ferocious and competitive.
“My win!” Maiya proudly proclaimed as she stood above Vir in Riyan’s sandy living room, her foot on his chest, katar aimed at his throat. Their latest fight had some pretty brutal restrictions for Vir. With his right hand tied behind his back and the duel’s minimum time set to ten minutes, it was little wonder he’d lost.
“Your win,” Vir echoed, gasping for air. The beautiful sunset bathed the earthen room with a gorgeous orange light. “That was great, Maiya. Nice work. Now let’s go get washed off.”
The best part of the day was always the hot showers and grotto pool soaks that followed their intense battles. But the massages afterward came a close second, in Vir’s mind.
“Who said you were done? Your day is not yet over,” Riyan proclaimed with arms crossed, his hands blackened and dirty.
His thundering voice startled Vir and Maiya—neither had noticed the man’s approach.
“How long have you been standing there?” Maiya said.
The tall man cracked a grin. “Since the start of your last duel. I see that these fights have become too easy for you. Good. I have something that will challenge you both.”
Their instructor looked as fierce as usual, but Vir thought he spied a bit of pride as well.
“Come with me,” he said, walking away at his usual brisk pace.
Vir exchanged a glance with Maiya. What’s he up to?
They followed. Curiosity spurred them as much as their fear of punishment did.
Vir’s excitement grew when Riyan led them to the training dome. Maiya flashed him a smile.
We’re finally gonna see what he’s been up to!
Riyan stopped in front of the training dome’s doors before throwing them open and stepping inside.
Vir followed immediately, and the first thing he noticed upon entering was the lack of light. Or rather, the light from the myriad of Magic Candles was being occluded and reflected by…
Vir’s jaw hit the floor at the same time as Maiya’s did.
“What is this?” he said in awe.
The massive wooden structure Riyan had built spanned almost the entire width of the dome and reached up to its very ceiling. It stood over five stories tall. Vir couldn’t make out what its purpose was.
“This is your new training room. From now on, you will spend your days navigating this obstacle course. You must cross the balancing beams and brave the rotating poles. You must dodge the swinging scythes and jump across the great gaps. This course is specifically designed to foster Talents. Apply yourselves diligently, and if you are capable of learning Talents, this course will help you manifest them.”
Vir grew excited, but his instructor’s next words killed any anticipation he had.
“Should you fall, ensure that you fall early in the course, while you are still close to the ground,” Riyan said, gazing up at the tallest part of the obstacle course. “Because I cannot guarantee your lives if you break your neck falling from the roof.”
“This is barbaric!” Maiya objected. “No way. No way you’re subjecting Vir to this. We’d rather leave than go through this torture. You’re going to kill him!”
Riyan glanced across his shoulder at Maiya. “Oho? And what makes you think this is just for the boy? You think I spent my effort building this contraption to benefit only him? No. You will also take part.”
Color drained from Maiya’s face.
Vir knew exactly how she felt, because he felt the same way. This was a death trap.
The array of swinging scythes—while made of wood—would surely hurt them. The posts with the rapidly rotating wooden swords would be disastrous to get through. He couldn’t even see a safe path through them from down here, let alone chart a route through. And then there was the height. The floor of the dome may have been deep sand, but a fall from five stories above?