Chapter 7: Fire

When Adriana came to, the first thing she realized was the pain was gone; both the pain of ascension and pain from the mountain falling on her. Everything was fine now. Better than fine. From the moment she opened her eyes and took her first breath as a Hero level warrior, she breathed in the world and laughed with delight.

She stood and stretched, and felt better than she had in her life. Her body had been enhanced and remade, and there was something else in the back of her mind. Almost like an itch she could scratch by thinking about it. It was there she understood. She had thirteen percent Divinity, and she instinctively went through the changes granted to her.

The previously dark cave was now as clear as day to her, though the darkness lingered at the edges of her vision. Every tiny crack and protrusion in the stone jumped out at her, like she could feel the texture with her eyes. As Adriana scanned the cave, she realized she could see further and more clearly. The first level of ascension had enhanced her sight past human limits.

She had been healed, and her body felt hardy and everlasting. She couldn’t see herself, but she knew her appearance had probably changed, smoothed out and became herself but more. The second level of ascension brought her body to its peak, and prepared her for exceeding it later. It made her want to push her new strength to the test. Then she remembered.

There was nothing left of Hessius, other than golden ichor on the rocks. His sword had disappeared with him. All that remained of the God was in Adriana and others with slivers of his Divinity. With him gone, what would happen to the sun? Would it fade in power, or would someone else step up into its place?

The God’s dying words echoed in her heart. Go to the Sun Temple in Hessiopolis. Bring news of his death, and help the people defeat the Maw. It was a lot to ask of a random warrior, and Adriana didn’t know if she could really join up.

“First thing’s first,” Adriana said, mostly to break the silence. “Gotta get out of this damned cave and regroup with the others.” She could play around with whatever powers she acquired once she got to safety.

With the cave more clear than it would ever be, it wasn’t hard to find and follow a path through the mountain. More than a couple of times she had to squeeze through an opening, or climb up a wall. The act was easier than ever, and became pure joy each time she hefted herself over an edge and kept moving.

It was hard to tell whether or not she was going in the right direction, but she knew staying put wouldn’t help at all. She doubted Synto and the others were looking for her, although Davos could be. It was thoughts of him that drove her on. He was the closest thing to family she had, although he was a lazy coward at the best of times.

Her eyesight had been improved the most, but all of her senses were still heightened. She noticed when the smell changed from mildew and stone to something musky and strong: the scent of beasts. At first she recoiled, unsure of whether it was wise to pick a fight when she was unarmed and alone. Then she realized that a creature of some kind likely meant a way out.

It wasn’t long before the claustrophobic paths and gaps between rocks opened up and Adriana saw the way out. She leaped five feet up the next ledge and wriggled through an opening barely big enough to not scrape herself. Then she was in the lair of the beast, and the mouth of the cave was visible dozens of feet ahead.

No beast, though. Adriana grinned and ran ahead, startled at just how much faster she was now. She’d still not beat Davos in a race, but she’d make him work for it. She blazed through until she could see how the cave mouth and into the night sky, its dark blues lightening as it approached the horizon.

“Hroooaaarng!” The cave amplified the roar until it felt like it came right from Adriana’s chest. Near the mouth of the cave was a huddled mass of flesh and fur. As Adriana approached, it stirred, then charged at her.

It was a bear, or had been, at one point. It was bigger now, longer in body, tooth, and claw. New features from whatever Bestia it had consumed twisted its shape, giving it wide, tined antlers and a long, snakelike tail. Yellow eyes blazed with the rage that only came from waking up to find something in your home. The bear-thing charged her.

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Adriana was unarmed, but stronger than she’d ever been. More than that, there were four more itches in her mind, just begging to be used. She could feel how intense they were, what it would cost her, and roughly what it would do. One in particular stood out to her as meant for her specifically. She held out her hands and let it happen. Her hands were engulfed in sullen, dark flames, dripping something viscous to the floor. It burned, but it didn’t hurt. These were her fires now, and they would obey her.

She waited until the bear’s final bound before pushing off of the wall with her new strength. It sent her dashing the other way as the bear crashed into the wall. Adriana gathered her blackened flames and flung them at the bear’s exposed ass.

It didn’t explode in an inferno, or leave a little burn and fade. There was weight to the fire that hadn’t been there before. Instead, a slow burning, sticky substance splattered against the bear’s backside. Smoldersap, something in her mind whispered. The bear roared once more and whirled around. It chased its own fire for a few seconds before it slammed itself against the wall.

Adriana looked at her blackened hands with excitement. This was way better than anything Synto or the others had. Davos could throw the wind around, but that just knocked people over and propelled their boat. This was real offensive power, and it wasn’t the only one.

She looked up in time to see the bear had mostly managed to scrape it off, and it went for her once more. Adriana felt for the second of four abilities, and it was even less draining than her new smoldersap. She held out her hand and used the power.

Her entire body glowed. She had enough time to realize it was not going to be a helpful ability, then the bear crashed into her.

Getting tackled by a bear, as it turned out, hurt. Adriana barely managed to grab hold of its antlers in time to hold it back while it snapped. Her newly enhanced strength was put to the test as she held it inches away from her face. The bear dug into the ground for leverage as it chomped.

So Adriana grinned and let Smoldersap gather in her hands once more. She never expected how naturally it would come, to just do it. It drained at a reservoir of energy deep inside her, but smoldersap was like a simple drink, something she could do again and again. Now the sticky sap covered the bear’s antlers and dripped onto its face.

The bear yelped in pain and drew back. Adriana clung to the antlers when the bear shook from side to side, eventually sending her flying back towards the depths of the cave. She hit the floor rolling until she collided with the wall. It didn’t hurt too badly, so she was immediately on her feet.

The bear clawed the smoldersap off, which just got it all over its massive paws. Adriana felt for the third of four abilities and activated it. Much like the Smoldersap, fire erupted in her hands. This time she knew instinctively how it would work and projected it as a jet of flames belching forth from her spread hands, engulfing the bear.

This was a lot more draining, though her gut told her it didn’t have to be. She only kept the Flamespitter up for a few seconds until the bear caught on fire and scrambled to get away. This time, Adriana chased after it.

She reached for the fourth and final ability. Her heart sang with joy at the power, at being able to unleash it and be more than she was before. She held out her hand again and pushed. A full quarter of her reservoir drained, leaving her with just under half left.

A small, bright blue flame the size of her fist floated through the air, like a stone gently lobbed at the bear. It looked like it would hit right on the head, when the bear twisted at the last second. The small flame collided with its shoulder, then flashed a white so bright it hurt to look at it.

The bear yelped and then collapsed. Its leg was severed where the flame burned straight through it. It still burned, and this was apparently enough for it to call it quits. It stumbled deeper into the cave on three legs, stumbling.

Adriana laughed maniacally, drunk off her own power. She alone had faced the monster and driven it off. If she wanted, she could chase it down and kill it, but what was the point? She’d won!

“Adriana?”

She looked up from her gloating. Davos stared at her with his jaw dropped. Before she knew it he ran over and scooped her up in a hug. She pushed her way off of him and said, “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. Even better…I found something.”

Davos looked her up and down, frowning. “I can see that. Then you won’t be angry about Synto taking your Warmaster Divinity?”

Adriana’s hands erupted in flames. “He did what!?”