231: Reunited (Part One)

Vir stared at the shadow where Ekanai had disappeared, his mind a jumbled tangle of shock and disbelief.

What is happening here? Is this real? Ekanai? He’s alive!?

“Is-Is it really you?” Maiya’s voice came hesitant and confused.

Even so, the very sound of her words blew away the maelstrom that was brewing in Vir’s head, leaving his mind empty.

Vir looked her over, taking in her pitiful state. Her feet were bare, and she wore a faded garment that wrapped her body like a bathrobe, but Vir couldn’t make out its color. In fact, Maiya didn’t have much color to her. Her normally fiery hair had washed away, merely a pale imitation of its former luster.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, panicking. “Are you alright?”

The same went for the rest of her body. Through her translucent form, Vir could see the rocky cave behind them, the bioluminescent moss casting an eerie glow through Maiya.

He’d never seen her so frail. So… fragile.

It wasn’t just her appearance, either. Maiya trembled, and before he knew it, he’d Blinked to her and embraced her within his arms.

For a moment, he feared he’d sink right through her skin. That she wasn’t really there. To his relied, his hands found her skin, and he clutched tightly. He felt her press into his chest, allowing herself to be wrapped up in his protective embrace.

“Vir…” she whispered. Tears flowed down her face, but she said nothing more. Neither did he. In that moment, as they rocked gently back and forth, nothing needed to be said. Their feelings came through loud and clear. Vir’s desire to protect her, to feel the warmth of her body, and Maiya, fearful and anxious, basking in his security and love.

Despite every instinct in Vir’s body screaming at him to flee—that Ekanai could strike at any moment—he was unable to move. They both needed this, and if the demon attacked, Vir would protect her as he always had.

They stood that way for several minutes until Maiya’s tears abated.

“Vir?” she whispered with upturned eyes. “What’s happening to me? What is this?” Maiya asked, looking at her own skin. “Am-am I dead?”

He’d never heard her sound so terrified. So forlorn. This wasn’t the strong mejai he’d grown attached to.

Then again, who wouldn’t be terrified in her situation? Even Vir didn’t know what was going on, but at least he wasn’t semitransparent.

“I…” Vir started, but what could he say? What did he know about Maiya’s situation?

Was she dead?

Vir’s heart clenched at the idea, but he forced it from his mind. She was very obviously not dead. And as far as Vir knew, ghosts didn’t exist.

No, something else was going on here. He was just as confused as she was.

But that’s not what she needs to hear, Vir realized. She’s scared. She needs an anchor.

“You are not dead,” he stated emphatically, wiping her tears away. The tears, instead of moistening his hand, disappeared off his fingers as if they were never there. “You’re right here, aren’t you?” Though, even as Vir said those words, Ekanai’s ominous oath blared in his head.

I’ll consume her.

Vir shuddered, and Maiya felt the goosebumps on his skin.

“Vir?”

“No. It’s nothing,” he replied immediately. “Maiya, what’s important right now is that we’re both safe. I… I’ve been doing alright. Er, why don’t I fill you in on all that I’ve been up to? But we should leave this place first.”

Maiya nodded, wiping away her tears, then looked around, as if for the first time.

“Do you know where we are, at least?”

“Yeah…” Vir replied. “Kinda. I think we’re in the Ashen Realm. Deep within it, somewhere. This cave leads out to a volcanic wasteland, and…” Vir paused when he saw Maiya’s bewilderment. “Actually, why don’t I just show you?”

Maiya looked away. “I don’t know if I should be walking much, Vir. To be honest, I feel really weak. Weaker than I’ve felt since… well, since Brij. It’s such an awful feeling. Like I’m naked. Like all the work I’ve spent training myself was for naught.”

“It wasn’t,” Vir said. “Whatever this is, we’ll find a way through. Together.”

Vir proceeded to scoop her up in his arms. Whether it was because her translucent form was lighter than usual, or because of his enormous strength gains, he hardly felt her weight at all.

A part of him still wondered whether this was all real, or merely an elaborate illusion—some trick the realm was playing on him. There were far too many oddities, yet, Maiya felt so… real. The more he saw, the more his confidence waned.

“V-Vir!?” Maiya yelped, flushing furiously as her hands around his neck for support. “What are you doing?”

“Well, since you can’t walk, I’ll just have to carry you, won’t I?” Vir said with a smirk.

“I didn’t say I can’t walk! I just said—!?”

Vir bounded down the corridor, retracing his steps. Maiya squirmed in his arms for a moment before accepting her fate and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Just as she was getting used to the sensation, Vir Blinked, eliciting a startled yelp from her.

Her expression went from bewilderment to suspicion, and finally darkened, landing on grim acceptance.

“How can you move so quickly?” she asked. “Blink isn’t supposed to take you this far! This is cheating!”

Vir’s tension eased. Whatever happened to her had spooked her to her core. He was glad to see a bit of her usual demeanor resurface.

They soon reached the magma fields, and the heat hit them in the face.

“This… might actually be worse. Is there anywhere cooler?” she asked.

“Well…” Vir said, looking up.

Maiya followed his eyes and promptly gasped when she found the floating islands.

“Are those…”

“Yep. Don’t ask me how, but they are. And that feeling of wrongness you’re experiencing? It’s because that isn’t a sky up there. We’re underground. This whole… world… is underground.”

Maiya went silent for a moment as her eyes meandered around the stunning scene.

“Are sights like this common in the Ash?” she asked softly.

“‘Not quite like this,” Vir replied. “But I’ve seen some things you wouldn’t believe.”

“I’d like to hear about it. If you don’t mind. But, y’know, maybe after we get out of this oven?”

Maiya gave him a small smile. He knew she was forcing it, but was glad to see it, nonetheless.

Gods… I’ve missed her.

Vir’s heart clenched. What if this was all a deception? What if he was dreaming, and that none of this was real? These moments they were sharing together… Would they remember them after? What did it all mean?

Vir shook off the thought. “Just leave it to me,” he said.

“Look at you! Talking so big. Since when did you become so dependable? Is this the Ash’s doing?”

Vir stared into her eyes, smiling. “I’m not the same person I was when I entered this place, Maiya.”

Maiya, still cradled in his arms, blushed furiously, but she didn’t manage much more than that, because Vir High Jumped to the sky, sending them soaring three hundred paces into the air.

Maiya gulped and tightened her hold around his neck, leaning in closer against his chest, which made Vir feel very… nice.

Can’t get distracted, he thought, his eyes threatening to slip down to Maiya'.

The task at hand required intense concentration, or it’d be a very long drop. The few hundred paces he’d managed, while impressive, was still nowhere near the height of the floating island he’d initially fallen from. Those hung about a mile in the air.

Luckily, there were intermediate islands he could use to bootstrap his way up. Enough of them to allow him to reach each with a single Leap or High Jump.

There was just one issue.

It was why he hadn’t spotted them earlier, and why he couldn’t just rest atop one of these islands—most were tiny. So small, in fact, that they were barely islands at all. More like floating pieces of rock in the sky, hardly wide enough to stand on.

Vir landed on the tiny sliver of rock he’d aimed for, then balanced on one foot, taking a few moments to locate his next target. How the miniscule island didn’t fall from his weight was beyond him, but so was a translucent Maiya. This whole place was one nonsensical thing after another.

Locating his next target, Vir Leaped, aiming precisely so he’d land exactly where he’d intended. The margin of error was small, but he’d had a lot of practice getting used to his abilities in the past year. He wasn’t about to miss.

Maiya stared up at him inquisitively, but kept quiet.

Vir made his way up, leapfrogging off of each rock, sometimes bound for a distant rock that he could only just barely discern with Prana Vision.

They climbed higher and higher, the volcanic basin falling away into the darkness. Eventually, they found themselves atop one of the massive floating islands, and Vir finally set Maiya down.

“We should be safe here for now. We should be able to—!?”

He let her go, but she didn’t. Grasping his arms, Maiya brought her head to his chest and leaned against him.

“I’ve missed you,” she murmured.

With just three, simple words, Vir’s mind went blank.