216: Arch Thaumaturge

Important edit note!

I've updated the ordering and meaning of some of the later chakras. The summary of the new version is below. I feel this makes the system a bit more cohesive, and also fits better with the plot/story to come. Nothing material has changed thus far, other than the chapter where Cirayus explains the order and purpose of each one to Vir.

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When Vir stepped into his private quarters, he immediately concluded it was the most lavish lodging he’d ever experienced. But more than the lavish two story room, more than the plush, exotic furnishings, Vir stood transfixed by the view.

The floor to ceiling wall-to-wall window—which Saunak promised was actually Imperium metal made to resemble a window—offered a breathtaking view of the Ashen Realm beyond. Like the windows on the higher dining room floor, it too had a magnification feature, allowing Vir to zoom in on distant peaks and beasts if he concentrated, but these windows overlooked an entirely different side of the Ash. From here, Vir saw an endless expanse of volcanic mountains, with innumerable valleys between them, stretching off all the way to the horizon. The many peaks spewed ash and magma into the clouds, but from this distance, the violent chaos appeared calm, almost serene.

The room itself was a two-story loft with a lounging area and bathroom on the first floor, and the bed on the second. The bed stood on a balcony with low railings, overlooking the first floor and the view.

Shan circled a spot near the window a few times before lying down, stretching himself, while Vir made his way to the bathing facilities. He wondered if Saunak had retrofitted them, or if they’d come with the tower, for baths were conspicuously absent in Janak’s home in Mahādi. Vir had concluded at the time that the gods simply had other ways of keeping clean.

The shower was not unlike the one Riyan had installed at his abode, allowing Vir to quickly grasp their method of operation.

He stripped and stood under the water spigot which automatically began pouring fresh, hot water on him. It felt almost transformative to him, as if the shower was not only washing off the grime of several months, but was also purifying him in some way.

He stood there for many minutes, reveling in the fact that Riyan wasn’t present to scold him for indulging in such luxury.

Finally satisfied, he took a moment to look over his body, which was reflected in the floor-to-ceiling mirror that walled the shower.

Gone was the scrawny youth he’d been just over a year ago. Now, sleek muscles bulged from his arms to his legs, and well-defined abs decorated his torso. His body had grown significantly, not just in height, but in breadth as well.

His gains had undone all the damage of his youth, growing up undernourished and prana-deficient, and no trace of the previously scrawny boy remained. He was a good three inches taller now, and while covered in muscles, he lacked even an ounce of fat.

It was a body that ripped with prana. So much so that it appeared like a black abyss to Prana Vision, and Vir had to exert extra effort to keep it from escaping back into the less-dense atmosphere, lest the prana burst into flames that covered him.

A nice trick—but quite inconvenient when he didn’t want to destroy nearby objects from his mere presence alone.

Vir reluctantly shut off the tap and stepped into the air blast as Saunak had instructed. The Imperium contraption comprised an array of tiny holes embedded into a semicircular wall of steel that surrounded him on three sides.

The moment he did, jets of frigid air hit him, ruffling his hair, drying his skin in moments, and making every hair on his body stand up straight on end. It didn’t feel bad, though. After the hot shower, the cold blast soothed him.

I should get Maiya to learn how to do this with her Wind and Ice magic. She’s practically perfect for this kind of thing, Vir idly thought, suddenly missing his dear friend.

Just when he started to feel like the air was getting too much for him, it switched to a warm gust, soothing him like a blanket that had been heated next to a fire.

He departed the bathing facility clean, warm, and tired. With heavy steps, he plodded up the spiral metal staircase to the bed on the second floor and plopped down, staring at the ornamented ceiling, taking a moment to reflect on all that had happened recently.

Fighting against Cirayus beside Maiya. His decision to leave her for the Ash. His time in this blighted realm.

The land that had nearly killed him months ago now felt normal. Familiar. The beasts that had terrified him previously haunted him no longer.

No, but I still do…

Vir jolted, scanning the area, but there was no one around. It was only then he realized the voice had come from within his head.

His blood ran cold.

Ekanai? Is that you?

There was no response. Vir waited, tense, for several moments, but when no further voices came, he fell back onto the bed.

What in Yuma’s name was that?

It’d been ages since he’d heard the demon’s voice in his head. Hadn’t Shardul said Ekanai was gone? That they’d sacrificed themselves to save him in Mahādi?

He’s right… though, Vir reflected. He wasn’t overly worried the crazy demon would take over his body—Ekanai hadn’t managed that in a very long time, after all—but it was true. Vir feared Prana Swarms. He feared Wyrms and the other city ender Ash Beasts. And he feared Ekanai.

Was he stronger than his prior incarnation now? Or would he lose if they fought?

He might never know. While there did seem to be something of Ekanai left, Vir honestly wasn’t sure whether he ought to rejoice or cry.

Who was Ekanai, really? Was he as maniacal as he’d seemed? Or had only the worst of him survived the reincarnation? Had he been a different person in his past life? And what secrets had he discovered about the world?

With a heavy sigh, Vir turned his head to look at the falling Ash outside. He supposed he’d find out… once he obtained the Foundation Chakra.

Most would write this realm off as a wasteland. A place only fools would venture to. Fools like Ekanai, perhaps. And my father…

But Maion Garga had seen something different. He’d seen the same thing Vir did.

A land full of opportunity. A land lush with prana, and ripe with challenge beasts against which to test one’s mettle.

Despite knowing just how far he had to go to attain the heights Cirayus spoke of, Vir was still proud of all that he’d achieved. He’d gained innumerable abilities. He’d met a living goddess and had worked with her to craft his own personal Artifact. And he’d multiplied his body’s prana capacity. Though it still only allowed him one, perhaps two Talents outside the Ashen Realm, he suspected it was far beyond anything anyone had accomplished before. Plus, there was still room to grow. More prana to store inside his body.

Then there was Prana Current. While he’d obtained a powerful ability, he’d only just begun to scratch the surface of its applications. What were its optimal uses? How could he better integrate his Artifact Chakram with this new ability? And how should he shift his fighting style, now that he had access to powerful ranged weapons?

These thoughts lingered on Vir’s mind as he drifted asleep, eyes pinned on the horrific—yet majestic—landscape in the distance.

— —

Vir awoke to the soft chiming of a bell. At first, he wondered who might’ve been playing such a melodic tune for him, before realizing it was the door bell.

“Coming!” he yelled, though he doubted he’d be heard. Imperium metal walls muffled sound perfectly. Along with just about everything else. Nothing got through.

Vir hurried to don his robe before answering the door. He was surprised to find both Cirayus and Saunak waiting.

“Well? It’s been four hours!” Saunak said.

Four hours!? Was it really that long? Vir thought, panicking, glancing at Cirayus. But the giant merely crossed his four arms and looked back guiltily.

Granted, he was tired, and the bed had felt like he’d been sleeping on air… Even so, he couldn’t believe so much time had passed. The toll of the recent battles must have truly been creeping up on him. That, and the endless twilight and incessant danger meant that sleep never came peacefully in this realm.

In fact, hadn’t he dreamed of exactly this? Hadn’t he wished for a safe haven within the Ash? Now that he’d finally found it… He found himself reluctant to leave. Not just because of the luxury and the safety.

How much could I learn from Saunak? From his century of research into who-knew-what?

Vir wouldn’t complain even if they spent a month with the old demon, though he knew it was a fool’s hope, with his four-armed giant guardian around.

“How about a tour?” Saunak asked, grinning like a child about to show his friends his secret hideout.

Which, Vir supposed, was exactly what this tower was.

“Let’s go,” Vir replied, trying to keep the happiness off his face. For Cirayus’ sake, of course.

Vir was about to call out to Shan, but the wolf was fast asleep by the window. Recognizing that the journey had its toll on his new friend, Vir let him continue sleeping.

With a spring in his step, Saunak led them back to the central elevator shaft and activated the lift, lowering them.

“We’re not stopping to see your experiments?” Vir asked as the platform sped by a half dozen laboratory levels.

“Bah! I run my more mundane experiments on these  floors. I doubt you’d find the physiology of avian Ash Beasts interesting.”

Actually… Vir thought, but was interrupted by Cirayus.

“Damned bloody waste of time, if you ask me,” the four-armed demon grumbled. “Saunak, I’m warning you. Try anything, and your head separates from your neck.”

“Yes, yes. I’m glad to see you haven’t changed one bit in the past one hundred years,” the white-robed thaumaturge replied. “Truly the same musclehead you’ve always been.”

“What? And you have?” Cirayus asked, his voice dripping with suspicion.

Saunak slammed a button on the elevator, bringing it to a jerking halt. He turned, staring Cirayus in the eyes.

“What is this?” Cirayus asked, immediately on guard. “What tricks are you up to now, Saunak?”

“You’ll find a century alone does a lot of things to a demon, Cirayus." Plenty of time to think, you see? And meditate.” Saunak fell silent, then continued in a lower voice. “I’ve… reflected upon some of the actions I took back then. I suspect I would not repeat those experiments now. There are other ways. Better ways. Slower, perhaps, but only in the short term. It’s the long term that truly matters, in the end.”

“You want me to forgive you!” Cirayus said incredulously.

“Nothing of the sort,” Saunak replied, a hair too quickly. “I just…”

“Don’t tell me you think that repenting at this point does anything for you? I know you’re not that naïve. If you think for an instant, it’ll erase the atrocities you’ve committed…”

“I don’t,” Saunak replied flatly. “No one can change the past, Cirayus. You know this better than most.”

“Aye. Aye, that I do. And I also know what too little too late looks like, Saunak. I’m staring at it.”

“I… don’t know what all he did,” Vir ventured, “but isn’t it good that he’s changed?”

“Lad, don’t let him deceive you. This demon has killed hundreds in the name of research.”

“And I acknowledge that,” Saunak shot back. “But you cannot ridicule me without also acknowledging the many thousands—nay, tens of thousands of lives—my inventions have saved. Who brought pranic tablets to the Demon Realm? Who helped the Panav tap into their true healing potential? Who educated the realm of the weak points of the dozens of Ash Beasts? Have you ever once considered that, to this day, Demonkind happily uses the fruits of my labor, all while reviling me as evil?”

Saunak stepped back, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Do you not see the hypocrisy?”

“No. It matters not,” he continued, activating the lift again. “I have never worked for fame or glory. Hate me all you want. I know what I’ve contributed to my people. And I know it is more than any other demon alive.”

Cirayus’ expression remained grim, but he said nothing. Did he perhaps agree with Saunak’s words?

Vir could understand the complexity of the situation. On the one hand, Saunak had quite obviously committed atrocities against demons. He’d admitted to it himself, after all. Yet those very atrocities had brought about benefits that might have saved innumerable lives. How was he to be judged, then? Was he a hero? Or a criminal?

Vir couldn’t decide. But he did know one thing—if the Demon Realm truly considered him a criminal, then why hadn’t they also ceased using his inventions? Wasn’t he right? Wasn’t that a form of hypocrisy?

These questions lingered in Vir’s mind as the lift descended below the entrance hall, continuing underground, and plunging them into near-darkness. Only a single red light ring shone above them, casting a menacing glow upon the lift.

The floors ceased, replaced by bare rock and metal framing that surrounded the shaft.

“As you can see, this part of the compound is even more secure than the tower.”

“More secure?” Vir asked. “Have you even had any security issues during your time here?”

“None,” Saunak announced proudly. “No Ash Beast has found its way inside. But why should that matter? One can never be too safe.”

“Paranoia,” Cirayus scoffed.

“And what’s wrong with that?” Saunak countered. “Only the paranoid survive. Perhaps Shari and Maion would have, had they shared my sentiment.”

Vir bit his lip. He suspected no amount of paranoia would’ve saved them. Certainly not his mother, he felt.

After descending several hundred feet underground, the lift slowed, and more brightly lit floors revealed themselves.

“Welcome… to my lab,” Saunak said theatrically, stepping proudly off the lift into a dazzlingly white room.

Vir didn’t even know where to rest his eyes. Every square inch of the lab was filled. Either by tables with book, tables with beakers, tables with suspicious instruments that looked like implements of torture, or worse.

On the walls in the distance, packed from floor to ceiling, were cages. Innumerable, and of identical sizes, many contained Ash Beasts of all sorts. In them, Vir saw several of the foes he’d fought in the Ash, along with some he’d never seen.

But unlike their wild brethren, these made no noise. In fact, they barely moved at all.

“Harmless, I assure you,” Saunak said. “They’re boisterous in the beginning, of course, but the months and years of imprisonment beat the resistance out of them.”

“And you say you’ve changed,” Cirayus spat. “Still up to the same antics as when you were Arch Thaumaturge for the Garga. Still violating the sovereign rights of other beings. How is this any different to the vile research that led to your banishment?”

He’s Gargan? Vir thought. Cirayus had never mentioned that fact. Probably because he found the very thought distasteful. That’s interesting, though. I wonder if he harbors any lingering attachment for his people.

“Your eyes fail you in your old age, Cirayus. It is different,” Saunak said, holding up a finger. “It is nothing alike. These are Ash Beasts, not demons. Beings that have lost their minds long ago. My work here involves trying to restore some semblance of sanity to these poor creatures. To see if we might cure Ash Beasts—and thus, unfortunate demons—who lose themselves to prana poisoning.”

“What about those?” Vir asked, pointing to some animals sporting mechanical limbs instead of their natural ones.

“Eh.” Saunak shrugged. “Just some other experiments.”

Uh, right…

Vir’s eyes landed on a table filled with schematics. Walking over for a closer look, he frowned. They showed a… contraption, though it didn’t resemble any Vir had seen before. It looked vaguely like the Altani’s fast attack airships, though it was smaller. Much smaller.

“These are airship designs, aren’t they?”

Saunak clapped in joy. “Right you are, boy! A result of five years of effort. A dead end, sadly.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

The mad thaumaturge threw his hands up in defeat. “They need far too much prana to operate, I’m afraid. Tricky to control, too. And how am I going to test it? I only have one life, and as compliant as my Ash Beast friends are, they make for awful pilots.”

“We’d best move on,” Cirayus suggested, two of his hands idly grasping Sikandar’s hilt. The enormous weapon lay draped across his back, which made navigating around the clutter-filled room somewhat problematic for the giant.

“Don’t you dare knock anything over,” Saunak said, eliciting a scoff from Cirayus.

“Please. I’m not some child, only a few decades old.”

A few decades? Vir balked. Did all demons think along similar time horizons? Or was it just Cirayus?

“Fine,” Saunak spat, before turning to Vir. “Tell me, boy. Do you have anyone close to you?”

What kind of question is—

“Do you wish you could see them?”

“Uh, yes? Who wouldn’t?”

Saunak grinned devilishly. “Then allow old uncle Saunak to make your wish come true. Follow me.”