Grinding his teeth, Vir climbed up the steep stairs. There was absolutely nothing he could do for these people—he was utterly powerless.
That thought rested on his shoulders with the weight of a mountain as he returned to Maiya, who’d obviously thrown up at some point. He felt like he wanted to do the same, but for different reasons entirely.
“Where’ve you been?” his friend asked, her face pale and sickly.
Vir took a deep breath, then filled her in on his findings, leaving her even paler than before.
“Are we in danger?”
He shook his head. “Don’t think so. Thought Bakura would kill me for discovering his operation, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. I think… I think this is normal. Trading slaves.”
“That’s… that’s really sad, if it is.”
He nodded. “Say, Maiya?”
“Yeah?” She took several deep breaths to quell her nausea.
“Is the Pagan Order really that bad? Do they really slaughter demons like everyone says they do?”
“I… I want to say no. I really do. But everything I’ve heard about them is bad. None of the demons they kidnap are ever seen again. They’re religious zealots who think it’s their holy mission to exterminate demons. They’re so extreme about it, they’re not even allowed in most countries. I haven’t heard a single good thing about them. Riyan says they live like barbarians in the Voidlands. Says that without prana, their level of advancement is centuries behind.”
Vir could only ball his fists and stare off into the darkness of night. He had thought that with Riyan, he’d found the key to power. He thought that by training diligently, he’d grow strong enough to protect those he cared about. And that he wouldn’t have to witness tragedies unfold before his very eyes, utterly incapable of averting them.
What will it take? he thought. What will it take to access power like that?
He knew the answer. He’d always known.
Prana. The Black Affinity coursing through his body was the key to unlocking great power, he was sure of it.
Until now, he’d been poking around the edges of the mysteries of his body. But it was high time he understood how it worked. Vir sat down on the deck, crossed his legs, and began to meditate.
38TO PLAY WITH PRANA & BLOOD
“You… want me to break your arm?” Maiya asked with a blank expression.
“Well, don’t break my arm, but just hit it hard enough to hurt really bad,” Vir said.
Maiya wrenched her gaze from the waves—now lit by the first rays of dawn—and pushed through her seasickness to embrace Vir. “I know we’ve been through a lot lately. First, we had the pirates, then we were set up and you got so badly injured, and now this ship full of slaves. Just a little longer until we’re home, Vir, okay? Just a little longer.”
“Uh, w-what are you doing?”
“There’s no need to resort to self violence. Just take deep breaths. Here, like this,” she said, taking in one deep breath after another. “It’ll all be over soon.”
“Uhhh… I think you’ve got the wrong idea here. I haven’t gone crazy.”
Maiya nodded knowingly. “I understand. I can only imagine what you’re going through.”
Vir grasped her shoulders and forced her to release him. “For Vera’s sake, Maiya! Just listen to me! I am not insane. This has to do with Prana Vision. The thing I told you about? How I can see prana?”
He simply couldn’t wait any longer. Now that they were out of immediate danger, he wanted to try activating Prana Vision again. He was so close to a breakthrough! He just had to be a bit more cautious and it would all work out.
“Huh?” she said, confused.
“It’s too much to explain right now, but just believe me when I say I’m trying to experiment with my abilities. Just trust me on this, okay?”
“Hmm. You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Really sure?”
“Yes.”
“Really, really sure?”
“Maiya…”
“Alright! I can’t say I’m okay with this, but I’ll believe in you.” She picked up a metal rod tucked neatly in a corner nearby.
Vir wondered why she was being so overly dramatic about this. It wasn’t like he was asking her to kill him or something.
Maiya glanced around to ensure no one was looking, but most of the sailors were still asleep at this hour. Only a few lookouts remained on the main deck in the cold. She’d be sleeping too, if she didn’t immediately puke when she closed her eyes or went belowdecks. Only a few hours remained until the ship would drop anchor near the coastline south of Saran, allowing them off.
Grasping the rod in both hands, she raised it high up in the air.
Vir braced his arm on the ship’s wooden railing and steeled himself.
“Ay!” Maiya squeaked, bringing the rod down, slowly, with one eye closed.
“Maiya… what are you doing?” Vir asked as the rod lightly tapped his arm. He’d barely even felt it.
“Ugh. Fine. Don’t blame me for this, okay?” she said, bracing herself. It was as if she was planning on smacking her arm instead of his. Vir half-expected the girl to repeat the same mistake this time.
“Ow!” He grimaced when Maiya slammed the rod into his arm with enough force to break it.
“Oh, grak! Did I swing too hard?” Maiya cried, dropping the rod. “Just hang on, I’ll grab one of the sailors. There’s gotta be someone with a Life Affinity aboard, right?”
Vir grabbed her arm with his right hand. His entire left arm throbbed painfully. Bruised, but not broken. “Stop,” he said through gritted teeth. “That’ll defeat the purpose. I’m fine. I’ll just… sit down for a sec. Just watch over me, okay?”
Crossing his legs, he turned his vision to the water beneath the boat. Prana Vision had already begun to flare, and what’s more, it was as bright as it’d been when he’d fought the wolf above Riyan’s abode. Not quite as vivid as when he looked through Ekanai’s eyes back in the Godshollow, but he had a theory about that.
When he looked deep into the blue and white prana of the water, he saw a new color: black.
So I was right! he thought, mentally pumping his fists.
He stopped mid-pump, peering deeper. Something was off about this black prana, in a way that he found hard to wrap his mind around. It felt… deeper. More profound. A feeling he could not explain. One thing was for certain, though—the ambient black prana was identical to the prana in his own body.
Which brought up the question of why his ‘regular’ Prana Vision could detect the prana within his own body, but had such a hard time finding prana in the wild—though after casting his gaze far into the ocean, he understood why.
Boosted Prana Vision wasn’t any different from the regular version. It simply had more granularity. It saw farther and gave him a more detailed view of the world. The black prana in his body wasn’t dense, not by any means, but it was much closer than far-off prana under the ground or in the ocean.
Which meant he needed far less detail to see it.
The ability was incredibly useful, but running around or getting badly injured remained the only surefire ways of turning it on. Though, as he’d recently realized, the former method only partially activated the ability.
Back in the Godshollow, he’d not only exerted himself, but he’d also been driven by fear.
It was the same when he’d fought the wolf above Riyan’s abode that night—he’d been driven by fear. He was sure that he’d have seen this new black prana in both instances, if he’d had the presence of mind to look. On both accounts, he’d been rather preoccupied with staying alive.