Ashborn Primordial

Chapter 242: The Realm of Demons

Maiya? Maiya can you hear me? Please, say something! Vir said for what must have been the hundredth time.

Might be these orbs dont function across realms, lad, Cirayus said, resting a hand upon Virs shoulder. You cant know.

Cirayus reached down and put the orb back into Vir's black Imperium rucksack, which he'd smothered in ash, hoping to disguise its exotic fabric further.

Vir ground his teeth in frustration. Cirayus had hit on the crux of the issue. They couldnt know. They couldnt know if Maiya was alive and simply unable to communicate, or

No! No, I refuse to believe that. I wont. Not until I have proof.

Cirayus had laid out all of their gear and was checking everything over, inventorying their stock. Vir had brought his white, untearable pack from Mahdi, though hed hardly used it for anything yet. With Balancer of Scales, itd always made sense for Cirayus to carry all of their gear. At least, in the Ashen Realm. Here, where prana was so scarce, the Bairan couldn't use his powers so freely anymore.

Well be needing to resupply soon, Cirayus said. Plants dont grow nearly as well here, in the Demon Realm. Especially this far east. Away from the Ash Boundary.

Vir only half heard him as he stared blankly at the sunset-dyed desert, feeling empty. It was always sunset here, which meant the Demon Realm was perpetually cast in shades of red, orange, and yellow near the sun, and the blues of dusk on the other end of the sky.

Good for Dance of the Shadow Demon. Not so good for ones mental health.

Vir never knew how something so pretty when it occurred only a few minutes a day could look so warped when it became permanent.

The Demon Realm was not right, though it was broken in a different manner than the Ashen Realm'. The sun hung eternally in the same position, half of it hidden, half peeking just over the horizon. Never quite day, though never quite dusk, either.

At first glance, the Human Realm appeared the least broken of them all until Vir recalled it lacked the moon that was supposed to hang in the sky at night.

Theyd been here only a day, and already, Vir felt out of place. The near-total lack of prana only made it worse. Having grown used to the Ashen Realm, Vir felt like a fish out of water.

Having grown so used to Micro Leaping everywhere, it took real discipline to walk normally. It felt awful. Like hed just lost his legs and was hobbling around on crutches.

This, despite his muscles absolutely rippling with power. Far more than they ever had throughout his life. He had to put in effort to explosively jump via his muscles. Prana, however, was effortless.

Once again, Vir had to conserve his prana usage, and once again, he had to wear face paint to disguise himself. The only difference was that the color was now red instead of cream, and that he no longer had to change his eye color. Most demons had red eyes.

And yet, all of those paled next to his worry for Maiya.

We need to go back, Vir said at last. I need to know if Maiyas safe.

Cirayus, who was on all sixes packing the gear back into his oversized rucksack, paused to regard Vir.

I know how you feel, lad. Youre in a foreign land. Natural to miss the lass. Youre worried. But going back will take as long as it took to come here. You know these communication orbs do not function in the Ashen Realm. What if shes simply away from her orb? What if she tries to get in touch with you while youre in the Ash?

Vir was sure the demon would scold him for even thinking of going back. He thought Cirayus would blame Vir for turning his back on the Demon Realm. But he did none of that. He used something far more potentreason.

Thats fair, Vir conceded. Going back wont solve anything, would it?

Like Ashani, Maiyas fate was something that would linger in Virs thoughtsexcept this was much worse. Could he even be functional without knowing she was safe?

Based on the Chitran activity, I think its safe to say were in Chit lands. Or more accurately, Gargan lands that they've usurped. And, judging from the ambient prana levels, Id say in the far eastern reaches of the territory, at that. Samar Patag ought to be to our west. Which is both lucky and unfortunate.

How is that unfortunate? Didnt you hope wed end up in Garga? Vir asked, darkening at the thought of the monkey people. Hed assumed the command the Chitran had over him had been a Chakra ability, but it wasnt. It was a Chitran Bloodline ArtCoercion. The ability to subtly influence the thoughts of others.

The worst part was how insidious it was. By the time one detected they were under the influence, it was usually too late.

Ill have to keep an eye out for the prana signature of their tattoo, Vir thought, regarding the miserable landscape around him.

He found it hard to believe people really lived in these infertile, prana-starved lands.It made him wonder how any culture could survive in such a barren climate. Let alone prosper.

Aye, though Id hoped we would start anywhere else. This is hostile territory for us. Well have to keep a low profile wherever we go, but well have to be extra cautious here. At least, in Baira, I couldve shown myself.

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So, whats the plan? Vir asked.

The plan is for you to get us some supplies. And I think Ive found just the place.

Having grown up in a village, Vir thought he knew better than most what a village was. One or two main roadsusually dirt-pavedwith dozens of smaller streets surrounding them. A temple, a dozen or so shops, and a hundred or so homes.

As Vir walked through the deserted roadscalling them roads was too generous, for they were no different from the cracked clay outside the villageVir understood what an actual village looked like.

Thatched yurtssome round, some rectangular, sat haphazardly around a circular plaza, though there was nothing within the plaza to indicate it as such. There couldn't have been more than a couple dozen of these yurts comprising the whole village. Not more than sixty or seventy people couldve lived there. It was as though demons built a village with the criteria it be finished in a single day, using as little effort as possible.

As he walked, the familiar scents of the village assaulted his nostrils. Not the least of which was dung, though whether it was Ashva or demonic, he couldnt say. Rag-clad barefoot demon children ran around, shrieking and shouting, happily frolicking without a care in the world.

Vir looked out for anything that might resemble a trader or provisioners shop, though, in a village as small as this one, he didnt hold much hope.

He set down his pack and rummaged around. Perhaps he had some offering he could give as a gift to someone to earn their favor. That was always the custom back at Brij.

Am I really going to find supplies here? He asked, half to himself, half to the orb he fondled in his pocket. It was foolish, but he constantly imagined the orb lighting up and Maiyas voice suddenly coming through. Vir had insisted on taking it with him, despite Cirayus warnings.

While the demon had precharged the orb, as deficient as the surroundings were, Vir could visibly see the charge dissipate. Itd only be a few hours before Cirayus had to top it off again. Though it was of another tier entirely, it was, at its core, a utility orb like Magic Lamp and Magic Lock. Which meant Vir couldnt power it with his Ash prana.

Vir gave up looking for offeringsprecious little in the Ash could be used as a gift, and gift-giving wasnt high on Virs mind.

The deficient prana hit Vir almost as much as the dry heat as he walked. Earlier, hed tested out several of his abilities. The results, while unsurprising, werent easy to stomach.

With Prana Current cycling as quickly as he could manage, it took a minute to restore all the prana Leap consumed. That was both not very long, and an eternity, depending on whether or not Vir was in a battle. Luckily, he could easily bank a hundred or more Leaps in his body, so that wasnt an immediate worry.

Dance of the Shadow Demon consumed about five times the prana, and thus took substantially longer to recover from. Not that he could use that ability without compromising his identity, so the point was moot.

The core issue lay in Blade Launch and Launch Barrage. Those consumed prana with reckless abandon. He could only manage a handful of those. The exact number varied depending on whether he was firing Chakram Launch, Katar Launch, or Chakri Launch. Chakri Launch used by far the least prana of them all, while Katar Launch used the most.

As for Prana Blade, Vir found he could sustain about thirty seconds of continuous usage at full power before he ran out, and once his body had been fully drained of prana, he suspected itd take a day or more for him to recover. The issue was he had to keep moving to new areas to sustain the recharge rate, or itd drop to a trickle.

Still, Vir had tested using his Talents without Prana Current and found that he could barely invoke a single Leap before depleting the prana in the area. Current allowed him to pull prana from a much wider areahe genuinely pitied the demons here who lacked it. It was why the Chitrans had seemed so weak to him before.

The other major downside of the Demon Realm was that Prana Armor now took forever to form. Previously, itd taken a few minutes for it to coalesce back to its original strength. Now, Vir doubted very much he could ever get it to the same density as he had before, and when lost, itd take days, if not a week, to reform. His armor directly competed with his body for the scarce prana. Hed either have to prioritize either armor or his own pranic reserves.

It was ironic. When Vir first entered the Ash, he felt like he was drowning from the oppressive density. Now, he felt like he was suffocating from the lack of it.

Despite all of this, Vir felt he held an overwhelming advantage over his fellow demons. An advantage that ought to scale to more prana-dense regions as well. The only unknown was the effect of tattoos, but after seeing how much less potent Balancer of Scales had become, Vir wasnt overly worried. At least, not against unaffiliated tattoos. Weakened though it may be, Cirayus Ultimate was still extremely formidable.

Vir approached a yurt, hesitated, and finally called out.

Um, hello? Is anybody home? Vir shouted, careful to emulate the accent and dialect he'd heard the Chitrans use.

Other than the dozen demonic kids, who all gave him suspicious looks, he hadnt spotted a single person outside.

At least the face paint is working. Vir had never disguised himself as a red demon before, but reds were far more common than grays, and so it made sense. It helped that Shan wasnt around, either. The wolf, though small compared to his brothers and sisters, was still larger than any prana wolf Vir had ever seen. He also attracted attention, though unlike Neel, Shan was quite proficient at remaining out of sight when he wanted to.

Prana Vision clearly showed that most of the yurts were filled to the brim with people. While he occasionally heard chatter and sounds of shuffling, no one had come outside until now.

Vir waited a long moment. He began to wonder if the three individuals inside were ignoring him when one rose from a chair and trundled over to the entrance. All their prana signatures were incredibly dim, but Vir saw enough to see she walked with a limp.

We dont get many outsiders here. Whatdya want? the middle-aged woman snapped, a look of suspicion on her face.

I, uh Vir stared at her for a moment, before deciding to take a gamble. Im Gargan. Looking for some supplies.

The womans eyes narrowed. You speak odd. You with the rebellion?

Why would you ask that? Vir asked.

The woman shrugged. They're always recruiting demons from all over. So I just figured...

Vir considered his next words carefully, sizing the woman. She wasn't a kothi. She lived in a poor village in the middle of nowhere, and she was clearly old enough to have lived through the sacking of Samar Patag. That, and her casual demeanor when discussing such a dangerous topic allowed Vir to guess a few things.

And if I am? he replied, leaving all emotion off his face.

The woman burst out grinning. Well, then I'd tell ya to come in, come in! Youll be needing food and shelter, ye?

Uh, no, actually Id just appreciate it if you could tell me where to find some supplies, Vir said in relief.

Ash dung! the woman barked.

Does she mean Ashva dung?

Yer stayin with us. Warrior like yous gotta eat. Keep those mean muscles you got packed on, yeah? Whered you bulk up so much, anyway? Youve got the arms and legs of an Ashva!

Vir flushed at her comment. He wasnt that big. Next to Cirayus, he was nothing. Rather, his body contained not even an ounce of fat. It made his dense, toned muscles look more prominent than they were.

I

I wont take no for an answer, young man! Youre comin in and thats that.

The woman grabbed his wrist and pulled him along with more force than Vir had thought possible.

Resigning himself, he allowed the woman to pull him along.

Maiya What have I gotten myself into?