Chapter 58: Riyan's Dome Of Powers

Chapter 58: Riyan's Dome Of Powers

The days turned to weeks, which soon blurred together as a month passed, then two. Six months had now passed since Rudvik had died in the Godshollow.

To Vir, it felt just like yesterday. He wondered where the time went.

You have five minutes to complete the course, said the man, handing Vir a blindfold.

Only need three, Vir replied.

He took the black cloth from Riyan and wrapped it slowly around his eyes, his gaze lingering on Maiya and Tanya, who stood at the edge of the training dome. It was his big day, after allthe day he finally proved to everyone that he could finally clear the course. His final examination, of sorts.

Maiya remained expressionless, a sight hed learned to get used to these days.

Ignoring the spectators, he ascended the stairs to the first challenge and awaited Riyan.

Vir shot into motion even before his instructor had finished saying Begin.

With feline grace, he sprinted over the balancing beams. This first obstacle could hardly be called one anymoreit took less than five seconds for him to clear all three beams. Blindfolded.

Riyan had wrongly assumed that Vir was a prodigy whod picked up the Awareness Talent. The truth was far simpler.

Prana Vision had continued to grow in resolution and range until it effectively replaced his sight. It was at a point where, were he to suddenly go blind, hed hardly be inconvenienced. There was scarcely a single thing that was entirely devoid of prana unless one ventured to the Voidlands, and so Prana Vision showed him nearly as much as his eyes. Sometimes even more.

The second obstacle, with blades that rotated on cylindrical posts, had had its wooden swords replaced with real ones. If Vir missed his timing, he could easily lose an arm.

Without breaking stride, he seamlessly rolled and jumped through the blades as if they werent even there, diving headlong into the third obstaclethe series of swinging scythes.

Here again, the wooden scythes had been replaced with iron. With their weight and momentum, a single hit could decapitate him.

Fifteen seconds, Riyan announced when Vir rolled and stood on the other end. Fifteen seconds to do what had once taken him ten minutes or more.

He moved like water, flowing gracefully from one obstacle to the next.

The monkey bars succumbed within seconds as Vir leveraged his toned muscles to hurl himself through the course.

If Rudvik saw him now, the man would be hard-pressed to recognize him. Virs entire body rippled with well-defined muscles. In place of bone and exposed ribs, strong pecs, bulging abs, and thick biceps now bulged proudly.

No one would call Vir large, but a single look at him would make all but the bravest brawlers reconsider fighting him. While compact, he had become lithe and strong.

Vir didnt bother grasping each monkey bar rung. Or even every other rung. With each movement, he bypassed two entire rungs, making short work of the course, throwing himself onto the vertical ladder jump obstacle.

Earlier, hed paused for several moments between rungs, taking great breaths and planning each move with extreme consideration.

Now, he barely even came to a stop before explosively throwing himself upward, carrying the bar in his hands to the next V-shaped notch. Rung after rung notched before his might, and soon, the obstacle was behind him.

Forty-five seconds, Riyan said, looking at his Magic Clock.

The final obstacle was a grid of ropes, three by three, with dozens of deadly swords, spears, and axes suspended above. The blades would drop onto him at random, forcing him to jump from one rope to another to dodge. If he lost his balance, hed fall all the way down, right into the maw of the first rotating blade course.

Vir had memorized the path through long ago, but this time, he didnt bother completing the courseitd have taken too long.

Sending prana to his legs, he Leaped off the first rope and sailed to the finish line even before the deadly overhead blades could deploy.

This was the halfway point. From here, everything became harder. Much, much harder.

Because every obstacle from here required the usage of Talents.

Vir wondered what Riyan wouldve done if hed never manifested them. He somehow doubted the man would ever make the course easier out of consideration.

He High Jumped to the lowest rung of the ladder that hung from the roof of the dome. This was a brutal obstacle, similar to the vertical monkey bar obstacle he had to clear before, except this time, there were two ladders, one in front and another behind Vir. To make his way up, hed have to jump from one ladder to another.

Except, neither ladder had any rungsonly notches. Which meant Vir had to take the bottommost rung up with him, exploding upward, and this time twisting in midair, jumping to the other ladder as well.

It was nearly impossible, especially since any fall from this height could be lethal.

Yet Vir made the impossible possible, jumping up to the next rung, then jumped across to the other ladder, the bar clanging into place.

Anything other than total commitment would be an affront to her parents memory. Now that they were gone, she had to live up to their expectations. Had to. No matter what.

In that way, she shared the same tragedy with Vir, and their responses had been identical.

And tomorrow, for the first time, she would wield the full might of her magic in a duel against Vir. For the first time, they would learn which of them was more powerful. She looked forward to it.

Vir Danced past the whirling blades, and Maiya wished hed seen Riyans jaw drop. She so desperately wanted to save that expression. She would have framed it.

And then, against the next obstacle, Vir did something unfathomable.

Maiya expected Vir to Dance again, sending him to the hanging ropes. Instead, hed High Jumped

To the roof!? She exclaimed, her mouth agape. Why would he do that? Why didnt he just Dance to the ropesoh! Right. No shadows!

Maiya craned her neck to see what harebrained strategy her friend had cooked up this time. Armed with dual katars, Vir used High Jumps momentum to anchor himself to the ceiling. Dangling fifty paces above, he then kicked his boots together, and Maiya saw two deadly blades extend from his toes.

Wrenching his body, Vir drove his boot blades into the ceiling. He resembled a spider, glued upside down to the clay dome.

Is is he crawling? Is he crawling on the ceiling? Tanya exclaimed.

It would appear so, Riyan said, stroking his beard.

Methodically, Vir crawled his way across the dome ceiling, bypassing the penultimate obstaclethe ropesentirely.

That was not what I had intended, Riyan muttered, speaking to himself. But I cannot fault the result. Cunning. Very cunning.

Her friend had just trivially cleared the course. He looked invincible, she whispered, feeling a cold chill run down her spine. Ill have to go all out against him tomorrow.

But then, the unthinkable happened.

When Vir had finally crawled his way past the dangling ropes on the ceiling, he fell. And fell and fell.

Maiyas eyes went wide in horror. Hes going to die!

Her legs were in motion well before her mind had caught up. She was running to him. To where he would fall. As if thatll do him any good. Think, Maiya! Think! What can you do?

She hadnt precharged any of her orbs. There wasnt enough time to charge them before he fell.

Dread overcame her as the horrible truth dawned on her. Theres nothing I can do. Again. Just like Rudvik. Just like with my parents.

Riyan! she cried. But the man simply crossed his arms and stared at Vir as he fell. He made no motion to help her friend.

Maiya watched him fall for an eternity. As if time itself had slowed to a crawl.

Uh, Maiya?

H-huh? She replied, gawking at Vir, currently dusting off his black robe.

What are you doing?

U-u-y-y-you fell.

Vir cocked a brow at her. I let go. Oh, right! he said, snapping his fingers. I learned Light Step recently. Took forever to figure out how to activate it at the last second right before I hit the ground.I, uh, might have forgotten to tell you.

Two minutes, twenty seconds. You pass, Riyan said, but Maiya barely heard him.

She fell to her knees, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Oh Adinat? Oh Janak? Badrak, Vera, Yuma, and Chala? What did I ever do to deserve this?

When her gaze returned to Vir, it had warped into a scowl that pierced the very depths of his soul, forcing him back in terror.

Friend, just you wait till tomorrow. I am going to kill you.

Next time: 59 - Talent vs Orb New novel chapters are published on