233: Ultimate Sacrifice

Vir didn’t wait for Ekanai to finish his speech. Blinking to the demon, he unleashed a Katar Launch at point-blank range. The disc of pure black prana blazed out, so thick it was visible. Ekanai was far too close to dodge.

Then a raging torrent of Ash prana flowed into the demon’s chest. His tattoo glowed, and Ekanai leaned and twisted slightly away. The blade passed by with less than an inch to spare.

What was that?

Not only had Ekanai dodged a blow that should’ve been impossible, Vir’s chest tattoo had never glowed with prana like that before.

Ekanai showed neither fear nor excitement—his movements had been so casual, so easy, as if it was preordained that Vir’s attack would miss.

Alright, so you dodged one. But what about a dozen?

Blinking to Ekanai’s back, Vir fired a Katar Launch Barrage. Blades of pure black prana erupted from his katar, all bound for Ekanai. Vir even altered his aim, firing several where Ekanai might dodge to.

Except, when the blades reached their target, the ghael was no longer there.

A clang sounded from nearby. Vir whipped his head to find Maiya with daggers raised in an X guard, blocking Ekanai’s strike.

Dance of the Shadow Demon.

Vir’s heart nearly stopped as he shoved prana into his legs, Blinking once again to close the gap.

“Don’t you dare hurt her!” Vir roared. His momentum sent him hurtling right at the demon, but like his previous attacks, Vir missed.

Maiya’s however, did not. Her blade struck his face, drawing a line of red across the demon’s cheek. A superficial wound, but significant nonetheless.

Nice, Mai! So he can be harmed!

Vir’s optimism’s was short-lived. Ekanai's wound healed before his eyes as the warm glow Yuma's Embrace lit up. It was one of the two Panav Ultimate Bloodline Tatttoos Cirayus had told him about, the other being Ultimate Sacrifice.

He watched in horror as Ekanai flew into a rage. His attack slipped past Maiya’s guard and plunged into her abdomen. She wore no armor, but with the prana coating Ekanai's blade, Vir wasn't sure how much it'd have helped.

Maiya didn’t cry out in pain, or even wince. Despite her injury, she swiped again at Ekanai, using the opportunity to strike a blow against him.

Her blade, which Vir was sure would hit again, missed as Ekanai bent his head back at an impossible angle.

Her dagger passed right in front of his throat, drawing just a trickle of blood, but nothing more.

Vir could help the pride he felt bloom in his chest, despite his worry as he rushed to her side.

She really has come far.

Even without her devastating magic, she was capable of fighting—and wounding—a beast like Ekanai.

You once saw her as dead weight. Can you truly say that now?

It made Ekanai’s aggression toward her all the more confusing, but Vir didn’t have time to dwell on that now. He rushed to her side, keeping a wary eye on the demon, who twirled his own Artifact Chakram menacingly in his hands. It was as if his predecessor was telling them he could kill them at any time. That he wasn’t even close to wielding his full potential.

In that moment, Vir understood. Ekanai’s prescient dodges. The glowing chest tattoo. The way he seemed to slip like water around all attacks aimed for him.

Clarity. The Iksana’s Ultimate Bloodline Tattoo. Cirayus had explained it as a limited ability to see the immediate future before it actually happened. He’d also mentioned how nearly impossible it was to fight against someone with that ability. Only the Third Eye Chakra gave a demon a fighting chance. Without it, they were dead meat.

After all, how could anyone fight an enemy that knew what you would do before even you did? It was a truly unfair advantage.

Maiya hurled a dagger at Ekanai, who casually deflected it with his katar.

“Are you alright?” Vir asked, snapped back to reality by her attack. Maiya forced a smile as she pressed on her wound. “It’s not bad. I’m no stranger to pain, as you know. This is nothing compared to—agh!?”

Maiya cried out in pain as her wound bled. There was no blood—instead, a wispy, milk-like substance floated out.

Instead of falling, it traveled through the air as if it weighed nothing at all… To Ekanai. To the object he held in his large, deformed hand.

It was a crystal sphere, the size of an A Grade combat orb, except it was empty and colorless. Transparent.

Maiya’s essence floated into the orb, and entered it. The sphere glowed slightly brighter, its color changing subtly.

“Your... prana?” Vir said, seeing Ice and Wind Affinity prana circulate within it.

Ekanai snarled. “No. It’s something far more precious. It’s her essence. Her soul.”

“What is this nonsense?” Maiya shouted, her indignation laced with fear.

“It’s a rare occasion for a soul to detach from its body,” Ekanai said, casually tossing and catching the sphere in his hand, as if it were a juggling ball. “Even our best Thaumaturges only ever reproduce that feat by accident. I’d be remiss not to harvest you.”

“Uh, excuse me?” Maiya said, looking like she was about to fly into a rage. “What did you just say?”

Ekanai ignored her and turned to Vir, his snarl widening. “Every wound I inflict on her fills this orb until all of her is in here. When that happens, I’m afraid your friend over there will exist only as prana and chakra. I wonder what sort of spell she’ll become?”

Spell? Become? Vir struggled to make sense of the nonsense Ekanai was spouting.

There was such a deep wrongness to his words. Even more than him wanting to kill her. Ekanai didn’t even see Maiya as a person. He saw her as a tool. Something to be used.

“You’re lying,” Vir spat, feeling like he wanted to vomit. To Ekanai, that was all that people ever were. His blatant disregard of life shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Vir had experienced it on numerous occasions when the demon took over, violated the sanctity of his own body. And yet, it was a surprise.

Vir had never hated anyone as much as he hated Ekanai in that moment. The knowledge that this… creature was a part of him—that he’d been Ekanai in a past life—made it all the worse.

“That’s not possible,” Vir croaked, his voice hoarse. “How can you just… use a soul for spells? You’re just trying to rile me up.”

Ekanai shrugged. “Have you ever wondered about the origins of magic? How the gods devised their first orbs? Or why no one has ever invented new spells since?”

Vir glanced back at Maiya, not quite knowing what to make of that. All he knew for certain was the terror he felt in his heart.

He’s saying magic is the power of the soul? Like chakra? But magic is prana…

Maiya stared daggers at Ekanai, a grim, determined expression set on her face. Vir was initially relieved to see that her wound had stopped leaking, despite not having been treated. And yet, she had certainly paid a price.

Maiya was now noticeably more translucent than she’d been before. Vir could no longer make out some of the details of her clothing—they blended in with the scenery—and her normally fiery hair was barely even visible.

“Maiya, are you—”

“I’m fine, Vir,” she wheezed, breathing heavily. “Just feel like my energy got sapped, but it’s okay. I’m okay. Now come on. We need a plan. Like when we fought Cirayus. He bleeds. He can be killed. We can do this, but only if we work together.”

Vir nodded, feeling his fear abate slightly. It lasted only a moment. Ekanai’s next words drained the blood from his face.

“Oh, don’t worry. She won’t die, per se. From what we’ve seen, the souls continue to exist in the orb. In a way, you could say she’ll become immortal, so long as her crystal remains intact. How does that make you feel, boy? To see your precious loved one turned into a weapon, used by your enemy to kill you?”

Blood roared to Vir’s head and before he knew it, he was attacking the demon recklessly.

“Vir! Stop! Don’t let him goad you!”

Vir couldn’t hear her. All he heard was Ekanai’s laughter as he danced easily away from Vir’s attacks.

I can’t even land a single strike!

He’d never felt as frustrated with himself as he had in that moment.

“Vir!” Maiya shouted again, and finally, Vir regained his senses.

He jumped back, returning to Maiya. Ekanai merely grinned back at him, as if daring him to attack again.

“Isn’t it weird?” Maiya said. “Ekanai was supposed to be a warrior, right? A killer. Not a Thaumaturge. How’s he know all this?”

Vir paused. She had a point. How did Ekanai know of all this? None of it made sense.

Unles…

There was an explanation that fit—that none of this was real—that it was all a figment of his imagination. A dream. That the Maiya that was here wasn’t actually Maiya, and that all of this was for the express purpose of sparking some form of progression within Vir.

“Do you see, boy?” Ekanai snarled. “This is why she is a shackle. She’s a burden who’ll make you sink. I’m just cutting you loose.”

“This burden just injured you. An inch more, and I’ve had your neck. What makes you think I’m just going to lie down and let you?” Maiya said. “I’ll die before I let you use me like that.”

“Oh, please do. You’d only hasten the process. You’re quite vulnerable in that state, girl. More than you seem to think.”

He has to be bluffing. But if he wasn’t… If Vir failed—if he allowed Ekanai to capture Maiya’s essence—she’d suffer a fate worse than death. Doomed to watch as her own power was used to—

Vir purged the thought. Maiya was right. Ekanai was trying to manipulate him. To break him. Maybe this was all real or, or maybe it was just some elaborate illusion. Right now, it didn’t matter.

I won’t let you.

“What do you want from me?” Vir said, doing his best to keep his tone even. He tugged desperately on the Foundation chakra, though he found it barely helped. He’d never felt such fear in his life. “Why are you doing this?”

“I am simply fixing my mistake in the Godshollow, when I allowed the girl to live. You are the last of us, boy. A pathetic, weak bearer of our legacy though you might be, the fact remains. As you are, you will die miserably. Worse—you will fail. My purpose is to ensure that does not happen. If that entails cutting your noose, then so be it.”

Vir had had enough.

“Keep him occupied,” Vir said. “If he uses Clarity on you, he can’t protect himself from me.”

“That’s more like it!” Maiya said, readying her daggers.

Prana Current cycled faster than ever before, wreathing Vir in flames of black prana as he fired such a deluge of both Chakram Barrage and Katar Barrage that the surroundings grew dark—filled with pitch-black Ash prana.

Vir was no longer merely a demon. He was a vortex of deadly, violent prana. The grass disintegrated beneath his relentless onslaught, and Ekanai was forced to dodge.

Not even Clarity and Dance of the Shadow Demon would help Ekanai now. For there was no safe place, except where Vir willed.

Maiya lunged into action, slicing at Ekanai, who avoided her with fluid-like grace.

Vir monitored Maiya like a hawk, his breath catching every time she attacked or Ekanai defended. Despite his bold words, dread coursed through Vir’s veins. What did Ekanai mean by—

Vir suddenly reeled. Images of Maiya getting skewered by Ekanai flooded into his mind. Vir was forced to watch as her soul essence drifted into Ekanai’s orb. What’s happening to me? Why am I—!?

“Realized it yet?” Ekanai asked, tossing his orb into the air. Each time he did, Vir’s heart clenched.

“Chakra,” Vir whispered as the horrific truth dawned on him.

“It’s your first time being attacked, isn’t it? The Life Chakra is generally difficult to wield due to the defenses bestowed by the Foundation Chakra. But against someone who lacks it? Well…”

“Vir!” Maiya shrieked. “What are you doing?”

A dozen scenes of Vir’s own death played out before him. In some, he watched Maiya die before him, in others, he died protecting her. It was as if he’d been transported to Ashani’s Mahādi simulation. He didn’t merely see these things. He felt them. He experienced the raw emotions. He felt the pain. Over and over again.

When the delusion finally ended, Vir fell to his knees. Though only an instant had passed, to him, it’d felt like months. Months of unending torture.

Several wispy white streams floated midair. Vir stared at them in a daze, his mind blank.

So pretty… he thought, tracing the streams back to their source. To Maiya, who bravely fought against an enemy who could see the future.

Vir’s eyes went wide in panic as the horrific truth dawned on him.

In the moments when Vir had been preoccupied with Ekanai’s mental attack, the demon had changed targets, lunging for him instead.

Maiya fought in front of him like a shield, but protecting someone was far more dangerous than simply defending one’s self. Ekanai had inflicted countless injuries on Maiya. She was now barely even visible.

The orb glowed dazzlingly.

Maiya’s movements slowed. Her arms and legs jerked awkwardly, as if she was no longer able to control them.

Cursing himself, Vir dove into the fray, unleashing a volley of Prana Darts at Ekanai to force him away. Ekanai dodged, of course, but dealing damage wasn’t Vir’s intent. The demon was forced to move away from Maiya.

Vir savagely lashed out with his katar, then amplified its length with Blade Projection, doubling it in an instant.

Ekanai had bent backwards just before Vir finished his strike. The demon moved so quickly, his back would have snapped had he been any ordinary demon.

He’s moving even faster than before! Vir thought in anguish. And he hasn’t even used the Artifact Chakram yet…

Ekanai had so many ways to kill them, it’d be comical if their lives weren’t on the line. Maiya wanted to form a plan, but what plan could defeat an almighty god?

The Ultimate Tattoos are in a league of their own, and even without them, Ekanai has so many advantages. Battle experience, natural ability, Vir’s chakram… the list went on.

Physically, Ekanai wasn’t nearly as strong as Cirayus with Balancer. But his advantages in mobility and battlefield awareness more than made up for that.

In any other situation, Vir would have given up and fled. It was stupidity to fight such an enemy. But there was no fleeing here. Not when Maiya’s life was at risk. Could he even save her, now that so much of her essence had been sapped? How would he go about restoring her, even if they did prevail?

Crushing doom weighed on his mind, and only by drawing on the stability of Foundation Chakra did he keep his mind from cracking entirely.

That’s what he wants. You can’t give in.

Vir fought savagely, his only purpose keeping Ekanai’s attention.

If he’s focused on me, he can’t harm Maiya.

It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was the best he could manage in his current state.

Ekanai exchanged blow after blow with Vir, and the entire time, Vir knew the demon was holding back. He was being played with. Ekanai would show an opening, which Vir wouldn’t take, knowing it to be a trap, right before showing another opening, and another.

Unable to take it any longer, Vir finally lunged, at which point, Ekanai would stab into his armor, piercing it like a knife through jam. Maiya attacked when she could, but the demon effortlessly dodged both of their strikes, often sending Vir crashing into Maiya, forcing her to catch him.

Vir felt like an unskilled villager again. Like he’d been when they’d first started training at Riyan’s. Such was the disparity in their skills—both Vir and Maiya were now highly trained, accomplished fighters, and Ekanai still made them look like amateurs.

Unlike Maiya, Vir did bleed. And worse—his own essence began drifting into the air, and Vir understood just what crushing pain Maiya must have gone through.

How she dealt with it without blacking out—let along fighting—was beyond him. It was pain unlike anything he’d ever felt.

Vir’s essence drifted directly into Ekanai’s body, as if strengthening him.

It wasn’t long before Vir was covered in injuries and his movement slowed.

In one final move, Ekanai severed Vir’s Achilles’ tendons, sending him falling to his knees.

“Disappointing,” Ekanai spat, looming over him like an executioner.

“You won’t kill me,” Vir said, though unlike when he’d fought against Cirayus in Kin’jal, he held no confidence in that statement.

“Won’t I?” Ekanai asked, squatting to Vir’s eye level.

Ekanai was very much the type of person who would kill Vir.

“I’m the last hope you have. You said it yourself.”

“Ordinarily, yes. But see, this place is special. Here, I don’t need your mind. Only your body. You forget, I’m in you already. I only need your mind to break, and then I can take over. I’d hoped you might’ve grown strong enough to fulfill your destiny on your own, but fear not. I shall succeed where you failed. I will fulfill our destiny in our stead.”

Vir glared at the demon and spat in his face. “Eat Ash, chal!”

Ekanai’s brow twitched as he wiped the spit from his face. “So be it, failure.”

The demon drove his katar at Vir, aiming for his heart.

Vir didn’t even have the time to think, let alone react.

Yet instead of the pain he expected, Vir felt something else. Something warm and soft.

It was the comfort of Maiya’s embrace.

Even as Ekanai’s katar plunged into her back, she kept quiet, enduring the pain in silence.

Vir wailed, calling her name.

“It’s okay,” Maiya said, hushing him, gently embracing his head as what was left of her began to fade away. “Look at you, still relying on me to protect you from the bullies,” she said with a wry smile.

“Maiya, no. Nononono,” Vir shouted. “I can’t—”

“Don’t worry about—” Maiya suddenly frowned in concentration. “What is this? Ekanai…?” she asked. Her eyes widened in realization. Her expression went from one of resignation to confusion, to surprise, and finally to sympathy. But the sympathy wasn’t directed at Vir. “I see,” she said with a wry smile. “So this was your plan.”

Vir didn’t understand a single one of the emotions that flit across her face. Her expression and her tone were no longer that of someone about to meet their death, which only confused him further.

“What are you doing?” Ekanai rasped, and for the first time, there was fear in his voice. “Stop this! You shouldn’t be able to even talk as you are!”

Maiya turned her neck, smiling defiantly. Her hostility was mostly gone, replaced by a familiarity that made no sense to Vir. “If you think I won’t help him, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Turning back to Vir, she spoke hurriedly. “There isn’t much time. Vir, listen to me. It’s fear. You must learn to control your fear. It’s the only way to win. To get out of this place. It will kill you if you let it.”

It? Maiya clearly wasn’t referring to Ekanai. But if not him, then what?

“Stop! You’ll ruin everything!” Ekanai roared, thrusting his orb onto Maiya’s back. Her essence flowed away faster, and she winced in pain. Vir could barely even make out her outline now—she was so faint.

“Maiya, what—”

“There is a way. You can do this, Vir. Remember, you must overcome your fear!”

“What’s going to happen to you?” Vir asked, tears flowing freely down his face.

There was a brilliant flash of white, and what was left of Maiya’s body began to disintegrate, turning into white motes of prana, starting with her feet and moving up.

Maiya held Vir’s face in her transparent hands and touched her forehead against his. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay, Vir. I’ll be okay.”

Her hands vanished, turning into motes of prana. She gave him one final smile, and then she was gone.

Vir stared blankly as the last of her floated back to Ekanai’s orb, settling within it. The crystal now blazed dazzlingly with Maiya’s Ice and Wind prana. Ekanai tossed it high into the air before catching it again.

Vir felt sick. If he drops the orb…

The demon grinned wickedly. “And now, I have two things you value greatly. Your Artifact, and your friend. I truly did not believe it would be so easy to consume her.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Vir said. It wasn’t a threat. He was simply stating a fact. Inside, he felt nothing. Not anger, not even sadness. Just a hollow empty, the likes of which he’d never experienced. Not when he’d assassinated the slumlord Ravin. Not even when he’d taken Head Priest Harak’s life.

“I’m going to end you,” he repeated.

“You will no doubt try,” Ekanai said, already slipping into a shadow. “But you cannot kill me. Not as you are.”

And with that, Ekanai disappeared, taking with him the most precious person in Vir’s life.