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“Begin!” Thaman’s voice thundered, and the race was on.
Having had ample time to prepare, the vast majority of the contestants scrambled madly through the Gate, trampling over one another and hurling prana attacks at each other to be the first to get through.
Vir, Shan, Cirayus, and Tara watched the spectacle with a mixture of shock and pity.
Already, Vir spied broken tablets and knocked out demons—who were then trampled underfoot by the passing horde. A group of nagas were standing by in a medical tent nearby, and the moment the horde had passed, Bairan medics ran to the unconscious demons, put them on stretchers, and hustled them to the nagas for treatment.
Several others had hung back as well—anyone with half a brain could have predicted that stampede, and who’d want to get caught up in that?
Plenty, apparently. Vir counted over twenty demons who were either unconscious or lying groaning in pain.
“Well, that’s two dozen fewer demons we need to deal with,” Vir said as the trio walked through the Ash Gate. “Actually, maybe double that number.”
The demons on the other side weren’t unconscious, though they would soon be, if they weren’t brought out soon.
Most either sat or were on their knees, hugging their bodies and groaning in pain.
“Demons who’ve never stepped foot into the Ash don’t deserve a spot on the roster,” Cirayus said, shaking his head as they passed the others.
Vir had to agree. If they couldn’t stomach this level of prana, they likely weren’t all that powerful. He then forced himself to remember how even the strongest humans struggled to survive in the Ash, and realized his standards had grown considerably. Even an average demon would be a force to be reckoned with in the Human Realm.
Not finding his naga friend beside him, Vir looked back to find Tara flexing her muscles.
“Are you alright?” Vir asked.
“Y’know? I thought it’d be worse,” she replied. “I feel the pressure, don’t get me wrong. But it’s a mild pressure. Like a bandy’s sitting on my chest or something.”
Vir smirked. “That’s good to hear.” Tara’s innate prana density was offsetting the ambient density to a degree. That was good. If she’d collapsed here, he’d have been forced to leave her behind. He’d also have been sorely disappointed, given her skills and confidence.
“Well, lad, may Adinat be with you,” Cirayus said heavily.
“And you as well,” Vir replied, just as Cirayus jumped away, sprinting at top speed. He might not have been able to use Balancer of Scales, but with his stature, physique, and immense prana reserves, the giant could run.
“We’d best make a move ourselves,” Vir said, eyeing the rapidly disappearing mob of demons. The open plain allowed for easy travel, though a thick forest in the distance could undoubtedly complicate matters.
Vir was fine being just behind them to start—he just didn’t want to lose sight of them entirely. “I’m going to be moving quick. If you can’t keep up, do let me know.”
Tara had already transformed into her serpent form, and her leather clothes were nowhere to be seen. How nagas always managed to restore their clothes when they returned to their human form, Vir did not know.
Regardless, he pushed prana into his legs and Leaped, though he kept his bounds short. There wasn’t a single demon who possessed movement arts as strong as Vir’s, and within the Ash, he could maintain his giant bounding leaps indefinitely.
He’d no doubt pass with ease. He’d also earn the attention of the entire Tournament, and with clan Rajas in attendance and only a single tattoo preventing his identity from being leaked, Vir wasn’t about to dare.
Even so, he made good progress catching up with the mob. Shan kept pace without issue, as usual. In fact, he ranged ahead, searching for prey.
A bright light shone into the sky in the distance, marking the first checkpoint. Vir couldn’t see the others, so they must’ve been far.
Checking behind him, expected to see Tara well behind. Instead, he saw her slithering her way through the ash with surprising speed. Certainly faster than any normal snake he’d seen.
Her pace was only slightly slower than his own. If he hadn’t known she was a friend, he would’ve been terrified. With her speed, though, he wouldn’t need to carry her, as he’d been dreading.
Not the act itself, but convincing the headstrong naga that his strategy was in their best interest. Luckily, that was no longer a problem.
Vir caught up with the stragglers of the group and was about to bypass them when a lance of ice came hurtling his way.
Vir pushed prana into his feet, Micro Leaping away, but he didn’t run. Instead, he abruptly changed directions and angled at the caster—an Iksana ghael.
Fighting would be pointless, and though the ghael had hidden his tablet, Prana Vision told Vir exactly where.
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Empowering his arm, Vir accelerated his strike, piercing the tablet on the ghael’s back, before twisting and jumping away before the Iksana could harm him.
The ghael slowly stopped running, falling to his knees. He’d failed, and apparently didn’t feel he had the skills to wrest a tablet from anyone else.
That suited Vir just fine. Linking back up with Tara, who’d continued on, they plunged into the forest together.
Though Vir had no trouble spotting her signature via Prana Vision, Tara lacked the same ability.
That was alright, because she navigated the forest with far greater ease than Vir could dream of. He had to shorten his bounds to where they became Micro Leaps, constantly navigating around flora.
They encountered their first enemy just moments later—an Ash Wolf that Vir didn’t even get the chance to dispatch. Shan swept in, tackling the beast and biting into its neck.
The battle ended before it had even begun, and by the time Tara noticed, Shan had rejoined Vir’s side.
A Shredder popped out moments later, and this time, Vir delivered the lethal strike. If it was Ash Beasts, he didn’t need Prana Blade or Blade Launch. He’d killed so many that he could likely end them without any prana empowerment whatsoever.
“You’re pretty good at thisss,” Tara commented.
Though he didn't know of any reptiles that sweat, Vir thought he saw a sheen of sweat on her snake-like face.
“I’ve had a lot of practice,” Vir said, moving through the forest. “We both have.”
They made good time through the forest with their tablets guiding the way, though not quite as good as the demons who opted to travel along the treetops—jumping from boughs to branches.
Vir decided against doing the same. Partly because Tara would have difficulties up there, but mostly because there were dangers in the Ash. Aerial threats that could swoop in at a moment’s notice and pluck unsuspecting demons high into the air.
Only fools and the inexperienced would forego the natural protection the forest floor brought.
A few more minutes of travel made it apparent that the first checkpoint was within the forest itself. Yet before they entered the clearing where the checkpoint sat, a barrage of projectiles blurred from nearby.
Vir twisted his body, wrenching himself out of the way just in time.
Tara wasn’t so lucky.
“Oww!” she hissed as several icicles buried themselves in her hide.
“Are you hurt?” Vir called out as he searched the foliage for enemies. The abundance of life in the forest thwarted Prana Vision, so Vir opened his Life Chakra.
It, too, ran into the same issue, though its feedback was more nuanced than that of Prana Vision. Vir felt the will of the one in the bushes, and though he didn’t know exactly where, he knew enough to sic Shan upon them.
“Shan, left.”
The wolf bounded away, following his command, as Vir approached from the right. Whoever they were, they concealed themselves well. Even with regular affinity prana standing in stark contrast to Ash prana, Vir couldn’t see them.
Which meant they’d hidden themselves in a bush or some other foliage. As for any that could be in range…
Vir met Shan’s gaze, then gestured with his head.
The Ashfire wolf’s reaction was instant. He pounced upon the bush, and only a split-second before he collided with it did the demon hiding inside show his presence.
Though not in the way Vir had expected.
Cursing, Vir whirled as a dagger blade came surging out of his own shadow.
So that’s how it feels, Vir thought as he narrowly avoided a lethal strike.
He wasn’t fast enough. The dagger nicked his forearm, drawing blood. Worse, Vir immediately sensed it was poisonous.
Halting the blood flow to that part of his arm, Vir stopped the venom from spreading. He’d have to rely on his pranites to eventually cure the wound.
Unfortunately, stopping the blood flow also robbed him of dexterity in that arm, though that was hardly his biggest concern.
The arm holding the dagger retracted and attacked again.
There was no running from one’s shadow, after all.
So Vir didn’t even try. He crouched and surged into the air. For while there may have been no running from a shadow, Vir was acutely aware of Dance of the Shadow Demon’s weakness.
If the exit shadow disappeared, so too did the limb that was using it.
Unfortunately, by the time Vir landed, he saw no trace of a severed limb. The enemy was Iksana. Of course they’d be aware of that weakness.
Scanning the area, Vir found no sign of the attacker. This was the true danger of the ability. One could never know if their attacker had moved on or was simply biding their time. The best way to deal with it was to get out of range as soon as possible, forcing the wielder to move.
Easier said than done when their tattoo was boosted by the ambient prana density.
“Let’s go,” Vir said with some urgency.
“You don’t have to tell me twice. Who was that?”
“Iksana,” Vir replied. “Dance of the Shadow Demon.”
“Then we really ought to move. Forests like these are one of the worst places to deal with that ability.”
“You’re right about that,” Vir said, wondering who it was. Were they part of the group that had seen Vir with Cirayus? Or was he dealing with some other entity here?
As if the Ash wasn’t enough, they now had to deal with opportunists and haters.
“Show me your arm,” Tara said. “I’ll treat your injury as we go.”
Vir raised a brow. “You saw that?”
Tara grinned as they took off. “Panav.”
Vir snorted, allowing her to touch his arm. They moved through the forest as quickly as they could manage while she administered aid.
It didn’t take long.
“Done,” Tara announced, just a few seconds later.
“That fast, huh?” Vir asked, taking his arm back.
“Panav,” Tara said, shifting to her half-human half-naga form to grin at him.
Vir stepped into the clearing with Tara and predictably found mayhem.
Spells fired off in each direction as each party vied to be the first to the shining pillar of light that served as a beacon.
“Getting caught in that is a surefire way to lose,” Tara said, biting her serpent lip—an oddly humanoid gesture for a snake.
“Give me your tablet,” Vir said, extending a hand. “I’ll dart in and come back out.”
Tara hesitated, looking Vir in the eyes.
“You can trust—”
“Take it,” Tara said, shifting back into her half-demon half-naga form and handing him the tablet.
“Right,” Vir replied. “You trust me?”
“Would I be with you if I didn’t?”
“Right,” Vir repeated. “Silly question. I’ll be right back. Shan? With me.”
Vir crouched low and Blinked.
The chaos of the nearby battles served as the perfect camouflage as Vir moved near-instantaneously with short, zigzagging steps. This movement art was one several demons had, and so Vir used it generously.
Demons who saw him were either rammed by Shan’s snout, or punched, tripped, and kicked by Vir.
He never slowed, dodging, ducking, and weaving through the combatants even as spells flew his way. Some aimed, others incidental.
Those he couldn’t avoid, he tanked with Prana Armor, though he had to remain careful about replenishing his prana from the atmosphere, lest an Iksana Ghael see it.
Luckily, Vir had plenty, and Blink consumed little.
He broke through the innermost ring of demons and reached the central pillar of light, expecting to see some pedestal or gadget. There was none, so Vir simply sailed through the pillar, finding that both tablets had updated and pointed to the next checkpoint.
Losing no time, Vir Blinked back to Tara, pummeling a demon who happened to be in the way.
“Not as bad as I thought,” he said, handing Tara’s tablet back to her. “Now, what do you say we get a jump on these morons duking it out?”
Tara grinned. “Sounds like a fine plan to me.”
The trio took off, leaving the fighting demons in the dust.
They were off to a good start, but was it good enough? Vir couldn’t shake the feeling that they hadn’t seen the last of that Iksana who’d stalked them.