Chapter 185: The One Who Remembers

Chapter 185: The One Who Remembers

Silence pressed on the room with the weight of ages past. Ashanis brilliant smile shone like the sun, clearing it.

Shes so perfect, Vir thought, unable to wrest his gaze from Ashanis azure eyes. They shone with a depth so deep, he couldve believed they contained an entire realm within them.

In simpler terms, Ashani is a construct of the Prime Imperium.

Vir found his thoughts drifting until he caught them. This was the third or the fourth time it had happened.

What are you even doing? Vir flushed, thinking of Maiya. It truly wasnt like him to have such thoughts. Whats gotten into me? Wait, no. Shes a being of the Prime Imperium. That makes her a living goddess. It makes sense Id feel this way in her presence. Agh! Thats not important right now!

You were constructed? He asked, partially to distract himself. And did you say Janak? Do you mean Lord Janak? A stern, er, person, with a long white beard and long white hair?

Ashani furrowed her brows in confusion. Janak is Janak, Ashani said, turning the palm of her hand up. Above it, a miniature person sprung into existence. It was made purely of Ash prana, so it wouldve been invisible to ordinary eyes, but Ashani clearly expected him to be able to see it.

Er, Lady Ashani? Can you see prana as well?

Of course. Cant everyone?

Er, not quite. I can, though.

The prana image differed substantially from the avatar of Janak, whom Vir had met at Valaka Amara, but the difference was mostly one of age. The image showed a sharp young man sporting short-cropped hair and a full, but trim, beard.

Ashani is a fabricated being, she continued, crafted by the one who lived in this very home.

This is Janaks home!?

Virs head spun. What did this all mean?

For one, it meant he was speaking to a goddess. One of the beings from the Age of Gods. Perhaps the only such being still alive, aside from Janak. Or the copy of Janak, at least.

Vir took a deep, calming breath.

Okay, I have a million questions, but lets start with the basics. How should I address you? Youre from a race of people weer, humansconsider gods. Should I prostrate? I feel like I should prostrate.

Pfft! Deities? How amusing!

Vir dropped to one knee in deference, but Ashani grasped his shoulder, pulling him back up.

Ashani is no god. You may refer to her as Ashani.

Lady Ashani, then, Vir said, not meeting her eyes. Out of respect, and also because he found it impossible to concentrate when he did. It was the best compromise he could make. Do, uh do you all talk that way?

Pardon?

What are you doing, you chal? You cant lecture a goddess about the way she talks!

I mean, referring to yourself in the third person. Its unusual.

And somewhat endearing, too, he didnt add. Vir pictured Maiya speaking that way for a moment, and his heart nearly melted. Gonna have to ask her to do that when I get back. Then again, she'll probably just punch me if I do.

Oh? Is it? Ashani asked, pressing an index finger to her cheek. I can talk like this? Is this any better?

Well, I dont know about better. Please, do whats natural for you. I was just curious.

I just got a goddess to change how she talks! Thats amazing? Presumptuous? Will I be smote for my sins?

After shed modernized her speech, Ashani had come across as casual and approachable. After much internal debate, Vir decided to treat her as he would anyone he was close to, ignoring what she represented. If he didnt, he wouldnt be able to communicate with her at all.

It was not so unusual to refer to ones self in the third person. Twas considered a sign of humility. Speaking in the first person was considered somewhat rude at the time. Then again, it was millennia ago. Tis unsurprising for such customs to have changed.

Its actually the opposite these days, Vir said, hopping off the bench to run through a few stretches. Hed been so caught up with Ashani that hed forgotten about his own bodys state.

May I ask how Im still alive? I feel fine. Great, actually. I thought my leg was crushed, and I was pretty sure I had all sorts of internal wounds.

Ashani tilted her head in confusion. As Ashaas I said, nanopranites have healed you.

Thats the blue liquid you injected into me? I cant say I understand, but Im incredibly grateful!

Aaah! Ashani is frustrated. May I? she asked, placing her hands on Virs temples.

What are you

Foreign prana flooded into Virs body through her hands, and suddenly, Vir was no longer standing in Ashanis home. He was in a research laboratory, wearing a white coat and poring over moving screens that flickered with lightdisplays. He held the metal leads of a measuring device, analyzing the signal traces of an inscription engraved within a magic orb.

Images flickered rapidly through Virs mind. Memories of concepts, terminologies understanding. Words like current, potential difference, vacuum, atoms, and more flooded into him. Nothing completeonly fragments of ideasbut it at least allowed him to understand her words. Like knowledge he'd once learned and then partially forgotten.

Vir nearly collapsed when she took her fingers away moments later, reeling with nausea that threatened to make him retch.

Your physiology is too different from my people, Ashani said with a frown. It seems we are incompatible.

What was that? Vir breathed when hed recovered from the ordeal. That was incredible!

Telepathic transfer. I promise you, I am not normally this bad at thought transference. I feel this was a failure. It is certainly not because I am out of practice, Ashani said, pouting.

No! Not at all, Vir replied, shaking his head vigorously, earning him a satisfied nod from the goddess. I cant tell you about most of what you showed me, but at least I know what you mean now. Those pranitestheyre like tiny bugs, arent they? Theyre flowing through my blood, healing wounds, and doing all sorts of other things?

Ashanis face lit up. Yes! Excellent.

Do you know how long they last? Something like this would be incredibly useful for me.

Feels wrong to call them Ash Wolves, Vir thought. Based on their prana signature and the way they fought, Vir wouldnt be surprised if they came to Balar One Hundred each.

Ashfire Wolf. Thats a good name. The prana that burned off their hides looked like black flame.

Vir approached one, but it loped away, clearly unwilling to be pet by the likes of him.

Please dont mind his reaction. Theyve known only me until now. Theyre simply shy.

Felt more like indignation than shyness, Vir thought, but he didnt press the issue.

I didnt even know ash beasts could be trained, he said.

Most cannot, not without erasing their minds, Ashani replied. Ash Wolves are one of the few beasts with both the right disposition and intellect to be trained. Though all beasts in this realm go mad shortly after birth, Im afraid.

Did you help them out? Vir asked, imagining a day when he might have a wolf as a companion himself. Hed missed Neel dearly. Nothing could replace Neel, of course, but having an Ash Beast at his side would be of tremendous help in battle.

While he had to be careful sending Neel into danger, hed have to worry more for his enemies, rather than an Ash Wolf. Besides, Vir could scarcely imagine the sheer presence an Ash Wolf pet would command, in either the Human or Demon Realms.

People would piss their pants! Vir thought giddily.

I did, Ashani said. I happened upon a litter some time ago. I administered a similar treatment to the one I gave you. You could say I raised them.

The avian beasts corpse had been disposed ofthere wasnt even a trace of their battle. No damaged buildings, no blood. Nothing.

Lightning cracked in the skies above. A soul-shattering roar shook the world.

Vir looked up.

Is that

A Wyrm. She has been here from the very beginning.

She? Vir asked.

Ashani pointed up, to the top of a nearby building. There. Follow me.

She moved near-instantaneously, disappearing from sight.

Vir craned his neck to see where shed gone. All the nearby buildings soared to dizzying heights, making for a bizarre environment unlike any city Vir had ever experienced. Humans simply didnt have the magic to create such impossibly tall structures. They loomed over the street like sentinels, casting long shadows upon the ground.

Vir Leaped up, grabbing onto a protrusion on the side of the building that contained Janaks home. It took several more Leaps to make it to the roof, but he got there easily enough.

When he did, Vir nearly stumbled when he took in the scenery, and it wasnt on account of the stiff breeze. For the first time since setting foot in this realm, his eyes took in the whole city. Mahdi.

Hundreds of great black spires speared up, piercing the sky. Lightning raked them constantly, but the buildings were so far away, the booms barely reached them.

Buildings extended for miles in every direction, deep roads intertwining them. The deep streets remained free of soot despite the continuous ashen rain, looking as pristine as the day they were abandoned, millennia ago.

A colossal Wyrm floated lazily in the sky, high above. Parts of its body disappeared into the black clouds, revealing only sections of its tremendous length. Somehow, that only made the beast even scarier.

Desolate though the city was, Vir saw the vestiges of greatness. Faded gold lined everything, contrasting against the deep black. All the mines in the Known World might not have enough gold to match the Imperiums creations. The result was not ostentatious, but grand. Or it would have been, had the city not been a lifeless corpse.

Virs eyes returned to the Wyrm and the writhing mass it circled. It took him a few moments to register what he was actually looking at. It was a creature invisible to the eye.

When he registered its true nature, his knees shook, and he wailed in despair. Tears flowed and terror seized his muscles.

Why is that thing here!?

The Prana Swarm never leaves the central spire, Ashani said quietly. Else, life in this realm would have perished ages ago.

The wave passed over him and he regained his senses to a degree.

The central spire? Vir asked, forcing his breaths to slow. Ashani pointed, and then he saw it. To Prana Vision, the tower that stood above them all was no tower at all. It was a writhing mass of pitch-black.

The gargantuan Swarm perfectly contoured the building, taking its shape, wrapping it in a layer of prana.

Its enclosure was absolutebeginning at the broad towers base and climbing high into the sky. There were no clouds above this building, for a vortex had formed. A perfectly circular gap through which the spire pierced. It was as if the clouds themselves had fled from the Swarm. It had to have been at least three thousand paces in height.

Thats no ordinary Swarm, Vir whispered.

No, Ashani replied. No it isnt. Tis the oldest of the Swarms. The most powerful.

Vir didnt doubt it. And yet, even millennia later, the Imperium's building stood, seemingly impervious to the colossal being of pure energy. More than anything else, it was a testament to the level of Imperium advancement.

In my realm, theres a group who worships a Prana Swarm, Vir said. A very particular Swarm. I think I just found it.

Ashani said nothing, instead looking off into the distance with melancholy.

Lady Ashani,what happened here? What terrible curse turned Mahdi into this? Vir asked, gesturing to the blighted scenery.

Some things cannot be told. They must be shown. Felt. Would you like to see?

What would that entail? Vir asked cautiously.

A virtual projection of the events leading to the end. Brace yourself, for there are no happy endings here. No forever afters. Only tragedy, suffering, and death. It is a tale of dazzling dreams and crippling regret. It is our story.

Vir made his resolution.

Show me.