On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Four Hundred And Fourteen

“So, a rusty, pitted knife, thrust into a living flame, which swells, expands and explodes. Damn, that’s cryptic.” I managed, after we had gained what little information we could. The Book of Providence found it hard to answer questions about the future, which made sense. It could glean some knowledge, certainly, about more major events. The spirit light of Tsukiko-san in orbit around me flickered, and for a moment I thought I could hear her thoughts. Definite. Already Exists.

“Yes, I think it’s an external threat… oh the kami damn it all, I feel wretched.” Yasaka-san coughed, and there was a little blood in it. Seeing that, I slapped his back gently, allowing a little Ether Healing in.

“At least the damage is still a lot less than previously.” I commiserated him. I don’t know if you can hear my thoughts back, Tsukiko-san, but didn’t we already crush your definite fate? Maybe not perfectly, but it wasn’t bad for my first try. Any future we don’t accept, we’ll change. But… I remembered her talk on the differing weight of events, and it made sense to me, not that I was qualified to question how the abilities of a Goddess such as Minerva worked. But predicting something that is definitely happening has to be easier than something that might…

“Such a consolation.” He flapped his hand weakly at us, looking every bit his age. “Now you’d better go, the Tengu are starting to get restless. I’ll just lie here and drink. It makes us old men feel better.”

“I shall accompany him. Have no fear and go with peace of mind.” The Prince declared, and for a moment I believed he was looking at Tsukiko-san’s spirit light. With that he turned away, and I addressed Tarōbō, as indeed, the Tengu were starting to grow agitated, seeing as their own champions had entered one of the cracks in the mountain, and we had delayed our incursion.

“We’ll be going then. Rest assured, we will succeed.” I promised, determined. With one last look at the blazing flame within the temple, I turned to those accompanying me. “Is everyone ready?” I asked for the final time, and as they all agreed, Haru-san conjuring a number of glowing balls of light that hovered around us like will-o’-the-wisps, we approached the rift we were entering, spatial element leaking out slowly from it, the indigo mixed with other colours, shimmering like oil on water.

“All right,  I’ll lead, Daiyu is behind me. Bell, you take up the rear, Motoko, Natsumi, you support her. Haru-san, you, Kana and Chen Na take the middle.” As everyone agreed and got into formation, Bell nodded approvingly.

“The front and back are the most dangerous positions, while the centre can have a great influence on the battle from relative safety. I think those are good choices.” She turned to Motoko and Natsumi. “Bows at the ready. For now…” She pulled out her short sword that was belted at her waist. “Until we know what we are facing, let your senior handle this, all right?”

As we entered, the feeling of space opening up was felt, only to close back in on us. The outside world could be seen, and a few quick tests showed we could freely pass back out onto the mountain, so my fears were allayed to an extent. Worst case, if I have to go on alone, that’s what I’ll do. But ideally we should all grow stronger if we can…

“The Qi here is abnormal.” Daiyu muttered, looking around. The blessing from Tarōbō seemed to have improved their vision temporarily as well, an indigo gleam in their eyes, and coupled with the glowing light orbs we could see our surroundings. We were in a fairly narrow cave-like passageway, the walls black rock, with jutting obsidian spikes, that were as sharp as razors, further adding to the cramped, claustrophobic atmosphere. And the danger. The ceiling was low, just above my head, and the air was filled with an irregular hot wind, stinking of sulphur, rot and something else I couldn’t quite place, coming and going as if breathing.

“Such a lovely place for a group date…” Kana muttered. “Not the stuff of dreams… oh, sorry Daiyu, you were saying?” Kana apologised for her interruption.

“The Qi is distorted, wrong.” She said, elaborating. “It is a strange jumble, like a knotted rope heaped upon itself.”

I agreed. “Yeah, there’s spatial element, flame, darkness, a trace of wind… and it’s all mixed together.” I let my Eye glow and started drawing in the surrounding elements. “I can separate them out and absorb them, since I have access to them all, but it’s not exactly efficient…”

“Any strength you can replenish is wise.” Bell nodded. “A good warrior always rests when they can, eats when they can, and sleeps when they are able.” As the other girls nodded at the lesson, we started the slow, cautious trudge into the dungeon.

“So, about Yasaka-san’s words…” Haru-san said, her brown eyes constantly roving around, looking for danger, her hands ready to unleash light element.

“I have my suspicions, speculations. But that’s all it is. Speculation.”

“I do too.” she said. “We should share our thoughts. It might help to be prepared.”

“All right then. It could be that there’s something else in here than just the Lost Flame, but… an external threat… living flame…”

“Shungbō, right?” Kana proved she was paying attention. “That arrogant one in red. But I don’t see it. What would he have to gain?”

“I don’t know, but… maybe it isn’t him. The knife…” Natsumi said, thinking, always alert, scanning behind us cautiously. Her bow and an arrow was in hand, but the string was not drawn, as keeping a bowstring taut used a lot of strength and could damage the weapon over time, and she was too experienced for such a mistake.

“Yeah. Something from outside… or… no, there’s no way to know. But when we run into the Tengu again, we should be cautious.” I frowned, and Haru-san poked me in the back with one finger.

“Worried about your new sister?” she said with a smile, and I sighed, troubled.

“About them all. They aren’t our enemies, despite our hostile start. They are simply proud and isolationist, defending their Territory. We need stronger allies, just imagine how much easier it’ll be to defend Kyoto with access to mount Atago on our doorstep. And the flame element will push ahead a lot of Ixitt’s plans too…”

“Look, he’s not admitting it. He’s being cute.” Haru-san giggled to the girls, and as she did so I raised a hand.

“Enough joking around. They’re coming.” My Eye could see further than the others, despite the darkness, distorted space and churning mess of ether and elements. Perhaps a score of flaming creatures were coming, red, yellow and indigo mixed together, forming human-like and animal shapes. As they came into the view of everyone else, tension was rising, but I reassured them with a few words.

“Don’t worry. You all handled yourselves just fine when we met them at the foot of the mountain. Sure, here we have disadvantages…” I glanced at the claustrophobic and spiked walls hemming us in. “…but we also have the buff from Tarōbō. But… safety first as always. I’ll handle this first batch, and then…” I raised my hand, and Spirit Water condensed on my fingertips, easier to produce from water element than ever due to Spiritually Pure Physique improving. “… I’ll watch over you all and let you practise.” The water formed small bullets, and with a puff of wind element, they were launched, rotating to keep them flying straight. The flame creatures were pierced, steam scattering, and one by one the flames died, a little ether scattering, though most of it was sucked away into the dungeon.

“It’s hard to tell. They might be a little stronger…” I mused. “But has anyone noticed the issue?”

Daiyu was the first to speak up. “Unlike the mountain, we are not welcome here. This… this dungeon, it is oppressing us.”

“Yeah, fortunately it’s not a Rank three, from the feel of it. Rank two, I’d say. But that will mean a constant drain of strength, even a little, and make it harder to replenish. But…”

“Chirurgery, right?” Kana said. “But won’t that put a strain on your reserves?”

“I think I can handle it. Besides… even while I’m here, I’ll soon be enjoying a hotel dinner and a relaxing night with Eri. So I’ll be getting plenty of rest.” I joked.

“I doubt it. You’ll be getting a good workout, if I know Eri.” Kana disagreed. “Lucky. When we get out of here, how about some of that for me?” Her face reddened, visible under the orbs of light. “Uh, I mean the hotel date, not the… other thing.”

As there was more laughter, echoing through this grim place, Bell spoke up quietly. “It is good to stay positive, but do not get distracted. A momentary lapse can cost you dearly, or worse… your comrades.” Her face was solemn, and I wondered just how many comrades Bell had lost over her long life. On seeing my expression, her smile was gentle. “Do not look so down, though I appreciate the sentiment. Maybe I will have a place in your heart yet. No warrior can ever expect their life to be free of loss. It is why the most important part of any army is loyalty, a shared cause. For the Seelie Court, for your comrades, for an ideal… without it, everyone is just a selfish, singular warrior.”

“That’s right. That’s why…” Natsumi began, before she flushed.

“It is nothing. Thank you for the lesson.” Motoko covered for her, and I was momentarily curious, before my attention was grabbed by more flaming beings coming closer, more damned spirits. These were larger, the flames burning brighter, and several appeared to be tengu, tortured wings of flame trailing behind their ghostly, wraith-like forms.

“All right, there isn’t much room to move, but…” l kicked out, shattering the spikes around us, rock fragments scattering. “Ranged attacks first, I think.”

Haru-san nodded, and her fingertips glowed, and bullets of light, similar to my earlier water ones, soared out and the frontlines burst apart, scattering burning debris everywhere which faded quickly from sight. More came charging towards us, deceptively fast, and then some arrows sailed through the gaps, piercing the flaming creatures. The arrowheads shone, the blessing discharging some of its might, and the flames melted away. Under that bombardment, only a small number reached us, where Daiyu was waiting. She lashed out, her palms wet with Spirit Water, wincing a little as the flames scorched her from proximity, but her blows were effective, the Spirit Water boiling to steam, which destroyed the flaming spirits as if it was acid.

The battle concluded, and I made to heal the slight burns on Daiyu’s hands and face, but she shook her head. “Save your strength. These are nothing, and they shall heal. If I am truly wounded, then I will not be so modest.”

“All right.” I agreed. “But don’t be shy. That goes for all of you. Now… time to press on.”

********

“Earth beats flame!” Kana crowed, as the rocky floor of the dungeon erupted, spikes piercing out and impaling a number of the damned spirits. Their flames flickered, weakening, and those trapped that were strong enough to resist the attack were quickly dispatched by the others, Bell, Motoko, Natsumi and Daiyu using close combat to minimise use of resources. Only Chen Na was keeping out of battle, preserving her shields.

“So far, we have had few problems. But I am still troubled.” Motoko said, as the last of the flames faded. Her face was slicked with sweat, and I channelled a little aether into her body, to which she smiled gratefully. Natsumi was next, as unlike the others, the two of them had little resistance to the constant niggling of the Territory within the warped space. “We have come a long way, and while the numbers grow, we have yet to encounter a true threat.”

“That’s definitely troubling.” Natsumi agreed, thanking me with a smile. “If it’s so simple, why are the Tengu having such troubles?”

“Yes, my Eye has noticed we haven’t seen any Lost Flame yet.” I agreed. “The experience isn’t as good as I hoped, either.” I said.

“Combat skill and awareness are as important, perhaps more so.” Bell said. “Besides, any gain is worthwhile.”

“True.” I had to agree. I wasn’t at my best, due to being on the Material as well, but against enemies such as these, there were few concerns. “So, we press on?”

At everyone’s agreement we continued to traverse the seemingly endless dark corridors. On occasion small pockets of fire element appeared, either gushing from cracks in the black glass floor, or seeping down almost like a liquid from the low ceiling. Those that my Eye identified as pure I left to Motoko and Natsumi to try and absorb, using Haru-san as a bridge between our thoughts to offer guidance, although for now they had shown little success, the second element always far harder to master. If it was impure then I took it myself, filtering it out, and I had almost completely recovered my fire element, and Foehn was ready to go when needed. Although using Foehn in such cramped confines as here would be dangerous if I’m careless…

“The corridor splits…” I said, peering into the distance. “But there’s no way we are going to split up.” As we reached a junction, the path branching into three, one descending, the other curling upwards like a spiral, and the last going straight, I poured aether into my Eye, the orange glow shimmering. “I think we want to go down. There’s a lot of fire element down there, and I think some Lost Flame.”

“Rearguard, stay alert.” Bell said. “With other passageways behind us, an ambush or rear assault is possible.”

As we fell back into position, the temperature started to increase. It was hardly unbearable, but felt like a hot summer day, and soon everyone was dripping silvery sweat. As we descended, a glow could be felt, and suddenly a mob of the damned spirits, a mixture of small, disconnected flames, seeming almost like spirit lights, surrounding a lesser number of blazing tengu and animals.

“Same strategy as always.” I began, only for the smaller balls of flame to rush at us at a rapid speed, catching us a little off guard. Raising my hand, water bullets flashed, and despite the small, fast-moving targets, most of my bullets landed. This would be easier with more Split Thoughts, but I don’t have that luxury. Although in an emergency…

Back in the Material, Eri and I were having dessert, watching the Tokyo skyline, and the hotel actually wasn’t too far from our planned new home. She had been rather caught off guard by the disaster in bed, my body reacting powerfully to the upgrade of Spiritually Pure Physique, but now her mood had improved. When I told her that I might need to revoke my Material body, she sighed, resigned, but agreed there was no point putting myself or the others in danger over her night out. Finishing her parfait hurriedly, she reached out and took my arm, inviting me to finish what we had started earlier…

Beams of light from Haru-san mowed down the last of the rushing orbs, and as the remnants scattered a little ether, arrows were falling into the middle of the charging spirits, Motoko, Natsumi and Bell all accurately striking them down. Kana was torn between helping or not, when she suddenly frowned. “The ground, it seems… everyone, get back!”

I turned, grabbing Daiyu who was at the front with me, the rest scattering, my Eye showing me the ground acting strangely. Suddenly the dungeon shook, fragments of jagged black stone falling, and the floor split as if an earthquake was striking, cracks spreading, fire element gushing out, this one indeed carrying the Lost Flame.

“Careful…” Kana said. “It’s not over…” Even as she said that, strange, shapeless hands came crawling out of the bottomless splits in the stone, followed by large, lumpy heads, without features except for two eyes burning yellow and black. That was followed by massive arms, ending in hands that were like massive maces, spiked and bulky.

“Elementals, huh?” I recognised them, though they looked quite different to the ones Shaeula and I encountered in Las Vegas. My Eye saw that they were Black Stone And Flame Elemental [Corrupted Elemental], and their strength exceeded that of the damned spirits we had been fighting.

“I don’t remember the Tengu mentioning these…” Haru-san said, dodging a blow from the first of the creatures, which was filling the entire narrow passageway, head scraping the ceiling, snapping off the sharp blades of glassy stone, which were falling like a rain of sharp daggers.

“They have a body though…” Kana said. “So they should be easier to break!” With a gesture, the cracks in the ground started to shut, stone rippling like mud, effort, sweat and ruby elemental energies wrung from her. The cracks snapped closed with a loud roar, and stone shattered, ether rushing into Kana’s body, replenishing her a little. One brutal elemental toppled, leg as thick as a tree trunk shattering, and Daiyu unleashed her Crushing Palms. The impact cracked the beast, one arm falling free at the shoulder, but as it broke, needles of stone tipped with sizzling, impure flame element scattered. Fortunately, I was prepared, and wind element gusted, blowing it away from Daiyu and Kana.

“Chen Na, barrier up.” I said, and she cut off the passageway with a shimmering bubble of force, leaving me and Daiyu outside. Seeing that, Daiyu’s usually taciturn expression softened, as she realised I trusted her to handle herself. She’s got the strongest recovery of anyone barring me, thanks to her Divine Favour, and she’s got skills. She can handle herself…

“Behind us!” Kana cried, and more stony elementals were being born. Another barrier cut them off, and Bell took charge. “Can you lower the barrier allowing only a part of the creature in?” she asked, and Chen Na managed a nod.

“I can, though it will weaken the bubble, and drain me faster.” she said after a moment.

“That should be fine. We will not take long.” Bell promised, and as the barrier behind me dropped a little, the arm, head and torse of one elemental reached through. Motoko and Natsumi, drawing their swords, leapt forwards, and the first blows rang off the stone, numbing their arms.

“We can adapt.” Motoko murmured, and wind element sheathed her blade, similar to some new Tsumura-style moves we had practised. Natsumi was only a moment behind her, and now, blades whirring with wind like a chainsaw, their swords cut deep, rock scattering, as the arm was sliced free. Flame scattered from the open wounds, but Kana was waiting, and she captured it with stone, smothering it. She then had an idea, her eyes lighting up.

“This thing is made of rock, right? So…” She gestured, and ruby energy flowed from her. The elemental shuddered, and then exploded, chunks of rock piercing through the golem-like elementals behind it as well, leaving them full of ragged holes like a honeycomb, several collapsing entirely.

Daiyu and I could spare little attention for that, our own battle fierce. I was providing cover for her, and as she attacked, her small stature giving her the advantage as the hulking elementals were restricted by their size, her small fists pounded them to pieces, showing her strength. When one cracked and flame gushed out, she used water element to douse it, and I noticed that each strike released Qi into the stone, weakening it, so every further blow did more damage.

“Let me try…” I said, engaging one of the last of our surprise attackers. Behind them were the flaming spirits, their bodies starting to morph and shift, flowing through the gaps in the barricade of elementals, so I quickly released a flashing burst of light element after shouting for everyone to close their eyes. Like a flashbang, a brilliant glow filled the hallway, and the flaming spirits melted away, purified. The elemental merely steamed a little, rock shimmering, but my next blow, light, but containing earth element, staggered it. The second created a magnifying effect, and the third shattered it, despite a surprising lack of force.

“I see.” Daiyu’s small smile grew. She was a quick study and could sense the elemental energy with her Qi Perception. Taking her cue from me, she slightly modified her own approach, and soon the last of the elementals fell apart, and we were left amidst rubble, ether and some burning flames.

“Careful.” I warned, looking at the tiny tongues of flame burning on the ground. “It’s Lost Flame.” My Eye flared, and I analysis it in more detail.

Lost Flame Of Naraka – This Unique Flame Element is a purifying Flame, burning away negative Karma, curses and impurity. However, it seems to have undergone some change, corrupted by a mixture of Spatial Element and lingering ???????? too powerful for it to purify, which has led to it becoming a Flame that attracts strands of both spiritual energy, emotions and Elements, burning them in a manner that fills, rather than empties.

“I see. That explains the damned spirits.” In fact, with my heightened senses I could feel a minute pull even from these small fires. “But I have a way to deal with this. Foehn!” A trickle of my own hungry fires engulfed the thin flames, and soon only Foehn was left. I felt a small measure of feedback, Foehn within me trembling, but soon that was gone, my Spiritually Pure Physique easily handling any leftover curses or grudges. Behind us, the battle had finished, and I went and devoured the remaining Lost Flame, including the ones captured in earth by Kana.

“A good fight.” Motoko said cheerfully. “Tsumura Arts truly is meant to be used with elemental energies. It explains the strange angle of the fourth slashing strike in the standard stances. I did wonder why the angle seemed wrong, but when one assumes it will be used to slice through heavy armour without using the edge of the blade…”

“That’s right!” Natsumi agreed. “And the footwork takes into account the possibility of debris being thrown off by the churning winds, leading to easy avoidance, while keeping poised to move as needed. Your ancestors truly were visionaries!”

I let them gush for a bit, before gathering everyone up. I took in the little ether left behind, before offering Motoko and Natsumi a recharge. Seeing Kana look envious, I stifled a laugh. “When you run low, you’ll get yours too.” I promised. “For now…”

“Yes, the flame.” Haru-san agreed. We continued downwards towards the steadily increasing glow, attacked by dozens, then scores of damned spirits. Motoko and Natsumi levelled up, and though their stock of blessed arrows were running low, I could always use Spirit Water to approximate more for them. Though that does make me worry for the Tengu…

As we reached the bottom, the narrow, dark pathways opened up, and Kana let out a low whistle. I get it. Yeah, that’s quite the sight. Flame element was gushing upwards from a massive crack in the ground, and my eye identified it as the Sacred Flame Of Mount Atago, yet it was heavily mixed with Lost Flame. It was surrounded by many hundreds of damned spirits, some shapeless behemoths multiple metres tall, and a number of the black stone elementals. As I watched closely, my Eye caught something moving deep within the crack, though even my Eye couldn’t break through the blinding glare of the torrent of spiritual flame. As the fire shuddered, sparks scattering, landing and forming more flaming creatures, the surrounding ether being drawn in, I frowned. Just what is that?