On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Three Hundred And Twenty-Six

“Keep up the assault, kill the Japanese pigs!” a soldier was shouting, as he ordered the Infantry Fighting Vehicle beside him to open fire, the machine guns rattling out a stream of tracer rounds towards the defences arrayed around Kinkaku-ji. The golden temple was truly magnificent in the Boundary, towering high into the sky, golden horns the height of skyscrapers glittering, their weight truly impossible to be supported in the Material. Other soldiers were opening fire with their own weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, which were impacting on the shrinking barrier around the Territory. Flashes of golden energy were launched back from a number of Emplacements, and all around us cries, shouts and explosions were echoing.

Okay, I get it. My mom made sure Aiko and I, Eri too, we had a more balanced view of history than Japanese schools taught, as we studied from some English textbooks at home a well as our Japanese schoolbooks, so I understand that Japan wasn’t exactly… pleasant… during the war. We were hardly alone in that, but still, there’s a lot of justified resentment between us and other Asian countries. Even so, that hardly excuses that sort of hatred. Very few people living now were even born during the War… I was worried that the advent of the Divine Favours was only going to spark further conflict and hatred. Already we had this mess, and the USA kidnapping citizens of other countries for nefarious purposes. That’s why I need power… a lot of power. I have to be in a position to deter war. Surely we have other enemies to fight. Like this golden-eyed creature. And it won’t be the last. Six Princesses. Six events or enemies that threaten the whole world…

My Eye glowed as I observed the vehicles and weapons. In addition to several IFV’s, there were also several artillery pieces, and as they fired, the barrier around Kinkaku-ji finally collapsed, a spray of rainbow energies cascading everywhere. It was pretty, but ominously so. A shell fell inside the perimeter, gouging out a crater in the ground, shredding a Defensive Emplacement, scattering ether. Moments later, a circular hole in space appeared above the troops, and through it I could see a million glimmering stars of energy. Seconds later, the area under the rift was smote by a shining wave of light element. The Chinese soldiers dissolved to ashes, and the artillery pieces shattered, melted metal flying and causing further casualties, before the rift winked out, leaving traces of violet spatial element behind.

I don’t think that Gaze of Avalokiteshvara was a benevolent one… Ignoring the deaths, I continued to observe. It seemed that the ability, the surge of aether, that was attached to the vehicles and modern weapons of the troops was starting to fade, so it was only a matter of time before the items returned to whence they came. At that point, the soldiers would be largely useless. Other than zombies, that is… As if understanding that, the leader of the troops was exhorting his men forwards, even as they were taking fire from inside Kinkaku-ji, the Defensive Emplacements accurately targeting them with orbs of aether.

Looks like it’s being handled, but… Three Candidates were making their own way into Kinkaku-ji, bone blades in hand. They would be my target. But first… I moved, reaching the IFV’s in a blink of an eye. Having switched Might of the Furious Earth back to enhancing my strength, my power was incredible, so I simply slammed one vehicle, metal shearing under the impact. As the side caved in, I channelled flame inside, and it exploded. I leapt onto the second, wrenching off the machine gun, and opened fire. Cries went out from the soldiers, but I hardened my heart and cut them all down. As expected, their bodies twitched, despite their many wounds, beginning to zombify, so I called out a blanket of flame, incinerating them all.

This is what I don’t want Eri and my sis to face. Being honest, my sis… with her Golden Warriors, she probably could have been useful, especially in the defence of Tsukuyomi-jinja, but… even with my sky-high Resilience, I’m going to have nightmares about this. It may be selfish, and I know I can’t protect them from this forever, but… let me have this now, as a big brother and as a lover. I want them both to stay clean as long as they can. Hinata, Motoko and Natsumi, they shouldn’t face this either. Not yet…

Seeing my sudden attack from the rear, the three Candidates panicked. Two turned to face me, a pair of men, while the third, a rather large woman, her gaudy clothing accentuated with a number of tasteless accessories such as chunky rings, thick necklaces and more, let out a dull squawk and ran, deeper into the Territory of Kinkaku-ji, vanishing from view with surprising speed. Maybe I should have taken these out first, but… the soldiers seemed largely unaffected by the devouring slime, unlike the Cultivators and these Candidates, so sending them to their deaths was one thing, but having them be devoured was quite another.

“Whoa, the blade, it wants to taste this guy bad.” one of them said, turning to his companion.

The other, a fairly tall man for an Asian, even overtopping my height, nodded, holding his own bone blade, which was starting to drool clear slime and purple energies. “Yeah. I thought it wanted some food in this gaudy golden shithole, but it seems this guy is the tastiest of all.”

“Guess he must be powerful then? You think we can take him?” the first man asked, his non-descript features hard to describe. He looks so ordinary, like someone you might pass in the street. To think he’s a Candidate…

“With the cursed power we have? I think…” the tall man didn’t finish his sentence, merely letting out a dull roar, an emerald shockwave striking me at the speed of sound. For a moment I was stunned, the pressure intense, my mind aching, but it quickly cleared. Only a moment had passed, but the second Candidate had rushed at me, covering the distance quickly, materialising an ornate suit of crystalline armour, the bone sword in his hand being enlarged, now rather than a single-handed blade, a massive, two-handed, pulsating chunk of bone and crystal nearly seven feet long.

“Too slow.” I said, Body Enhancement thrumming within me, my muscles pounding with energy, and I ducked aside as the bone blade swung down, ripping a great furrow into the ground. Sharp blasts of wind were flying at me, the other Candidate flanking me, and I was forced to deflect them with my own wind.

“You’re fast, bastard. That your blessing?” the armoured swordsman asked, wrenching the blade free and swinging at me again.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Cutting Twilight met the bone sword, and spatial elements clashed violently, nearly jarring the sword from my opponent’s grasp. As he gasped, a typhoon of green surrounded me, trying to hem me in. The insides were sharp and humming quietly, much like Shaeula’s Emerald Wind Prison, but against my tough body the gusts were doing little damage, and I transferred Might of the Furious Earth back to improving my toughness, reducing the cutting gale to nothing.

“Fire beats wind.” I declared, and suddenly I was surrounded by an inferno, the wind consumed. I then hurled the flame out, and the sword-wielder staggered backwards, his armour smouldering, his face burned through the slits of his transparent, glassy helm. This one wasn’t on the list that Yasaka-san gathered. The other must be the wind user that was…

“Shit, my eyes…” he snarled, half-blinded, blade swinging to and fro. I ignored him though, racing towards the taller wind-wielder.

“Fuck! Snake bindings!” he hissed, verdant air energies cloaking him, forming a jade serpent of wind that darted out towards me. I could feel a large amount of aether invested into it, bolstering the winds, but it was useless. Foehn exploded outwards, and the wind burned. Time to use its new tricks.

“Vibration horns!” he screeched out shrilly as Foehn turned itself into a fiery snake, creeping towards him. Two green horns erupted from his brow, and the Foehn scattered, torn apart by intense shockwaves. I was nearly splattered with my own flames, which would have been a very foolish way to get hurt.

Time to end this. Light flashed, and the foe toppled, screaming in pain. Bolts of light energy pierced his knees, and he dropped to the ground, rolling around in agony. Yeah, these two aren’t anywhere near as strong as the last pair Daiyu and I fought. “Stay down.” I advised. “I’ve already removed that damn slime from a few others. I…” darting to the side, I was glad I continued to use aether to widen my vision, as the armoured man rushed at me, blade bisecting the air where my head was just moments before.

“The bastard did something to my legs!” the fallen wind-user cried, before dragging himself to his knees and summoning a massive mass of wind. “Cut him! If we feed him to it, we might live a little longer!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this! We don’t even need that useless fat pig to help us!” the sword-wielder cried. He charged, and I threw out bolts of light to stop him too, but the ornate, crystal armour diffused the bolts in a shower of silver and indigo light. Switching to bullets of rock and water, I pelted him, driving him back, transparent chips scattering, his armour dented. Wind slammed down behind me like a dozen mighty fists, and the ground exploded. My own winds formed a shield around me, and I powered through, clashing my sword against that of my enemy. The blade squealed, acidic slime scattering, but I burned it all to ashes with Foehn before it could reach me, the droplets of Foehn hitting the ground, coalescing, and starting to climb the legs of my foe.

“Fuck, I’m on fire…” he snarled. His armour shattered around his burning legs, scattering the Foehn, before reforming near instantly. He used that moment to rush me again, his speed and strength far in excess of any normal person. But compared to Candidates specialising in such abilities, he might as well be in slow motion. His stats are what… three hundred, maybe? Four hundred tops…

The ground exploded under him, earth element creating a massive crater. As he fell into it, suddenly all sound stopped, and I could see a shimmering green haze around me. For a moment my breathing stopped, chest burning, before I shook my head to clear my mind. I shouldn’t need to breathe here, it’s clearly psychological. Of course, the urge to breathe was such a deep-rooted biological impulse that happened automatically, so my brain was telling me that I was suffocating, a most unpleasant feeling. Separating off one of my Split Thoughts to manage that reflex, I turned away from the fallen knight and headed back towards the wind-wielder.

With my own wind I shattered his vacuum bubble, before more focussed lasers plunged into his body, inflicting numerous deep wounds, blood scattering. “You know, if I just wanted to kill you two, this would be easy…” I complained, surprising myself. I guess I’m becoming desensitised to the slaughter. Ugh, no, I need to feel every death. I can’t shy away from doing what needs to be done, but if I ever get too numb to it, I’ll grow callous.

“You bastard…” he thrashed and writhed in agony. “I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” I asked, deciding to extract his Divine Favour quickly, before the other opponent could get out of the crater. “Don’t forget you are the invader here…”

“Fine.” He slumped to the ground. “You win. But don’t blame me, I had no choice. You don’t know what it’s like, feeling yourself being eaten away, at the mercy of a cruel monster…”

“No, but I’ve heard from others. If you surrender, I’ll at least remove the…” I leapt to the side, Foehn flaring, as the bone sword the man held was catapulted towards me with a massive blast of wind.

“How did that…” I landed on top of him, my feet shattering his ribs, and he vomited blood, the burning sword crashing to the ground behind us. “… miss?” he finished, despondent, eyes squeezed shut.

“Because you just don’t have the skills.” I shook my head. “The ice wielder was far more talented. Besides, I’ve learned to be less careless.” I said, my Eye scanning him.

“Have you?” he managed, face a mask of blood.

“Yes.”  I said, the ground exploding again, this time into a shower of hollow bullets shaped from the earth, propelled by wind and full of Foehn. Crystal shattered, flame scattering, and the armoured Candidate who rushed at me was thrown back, his defences once more shattering. This time, before it could reform, light pierced him, inflicting deep burned holes in his flesh. “I have. I haven’t forgotten I’m up against the two of you.”

“Shit.” The man under my trampling feet spat. “How can you be so strong?”

“Hard work and a lot of luck.” I grinned sourly. “So, care to surrender?”

“Surrender? Surrendering just means I get eaten.”

“Well, I can remove the risk of that.” I said, and he brightened.

“If you can do that, then I‘ll surrender.” He promised. I eyed him warily, before glancing back at the fallen armoured Candidate, who was rolling around in agony. Looks like I have time…

With my Eye, I identified the areas of slime within his body, and it was again largely clustered around the heart and crown chakras, as well as the Divine Favour. I started cutting it away, burning it to ashes, and the man groaned. Even so, his eyes widened as the corruption within him was excised. “You… you can do it!” he muttered, still pained from the many wounds I had blasted into his body.

“Yes, though…” as I was working on him, my Eye picked up a surge of wind element gathering within him. The man continued to praise me greasily, even as he built up his energy. It dodn’t look like an attack, but even so, he wasn’t to be trusted. I continued to purge the slime, though now mostly around his Divine Favour, leaving his crown chakra untouched. It was then an almost invisible surge of wind element left him, and for a moment I coldn’t tell what had happened, before realising the wind wasn’t an attack, but merely revealing something.

“Japanese dog!” the man laughed beneath me, gurgling and spitting blood. “You think I’d keep my word to you? Vengeance… it shall be ours! When you die, Japan will be enraged and war will surely follow…”

I ignored his ramblings, panicked, as what had been revealed was my silver cord, running from me and into the distance. Wind was clinging to it, shimmering, and the fallen Candidate had grabbed his enhanced bone blade and was staggering towards my cord, a few dozen metres distant.

“Feed the beast!” the bastard roared, bringing down the blade, only to cry out as Cutting Twilight pierced through his armour, space tearing. I had hurled it like a javelin, speeding it with wind energies, and the blade was shimmering with my newly-strengthened citrine flame energy. The blade had pierced his heart, flames consuming him, and he dropped to his knees, his own sword falling to the ground near my revealed silver cord. It shrank, the effect of his ability failing as he was dying, his armour shattering like glass. “You… I… don’t want to… be eaten...” were his last words, as the amber letters signifying I had gained a level scrolled across my vision, a surge of purple mist rising from the body and the blade, eating into it. The blade itself was still crawling towards my silver cord, so I grabbed it with air, pulling it away, ignoring the way it was drinking the energies in, before more Foehn bathed it, reducing it to quivering ashes.

Shit, the Divine Favour has crumbled, devoured. Another one lost… well, I couldn’t take any chances. Turning back to the stunned Candidate I had been working on, I shook my head. “Why? Didn’t you see the difference between us? There was no way that was going to work. Your Divine Favours aren’t a good matchup, and you don’t use them that well…” I gave up trying to save him, instead protecting his Favour by clearing the slime around it very carefully, using Chirurgery and Ether Healing to prevent as much damage to the structure as possible.

“What would you know?” he spat at me. “I hate you. Almost as much as I hate those who betrayed us, and the beast that enslaved us!” He gathered wind element, forming the snake tail and horns again, only for me to easily shatter his efforts with my own attack, blades of aether dragging through his network, doing noticeable damage to his heart chakra and the connections to the Divine Favour, collapsing his workings, the horns and serpent dissipating, his whole body spasming, sending further cascades of wild elemental wind through his network, inflicting terrible damage. It’s been a while since I‘ve seen that happen. That takes me back… I cracked a smile, remembering when Shaeula had tried to teach me wind element initially, and the damage it did to my chakras.

“You think… this is funny?” the man howled, and I answered him honestly, gently cutting away the ties that bound the Favour to him. The slime around his heart and crown was exuding purple energy, and he screamed, his body starting to erode, but the Divine Favour was protected by me, gradually slipping free, causing further injury to him.

“Funny? There’s nothing funny about this.” I said. “Ironic? Surely. Pitiful. Definitely. You would have had to face your crimes, but I’d have prevented you being devoured. Instead, you broke your word and tried to kill me not once, but twice after surrendering. Now you have to reap what you’ve… ah, got it.”

The man screamed curses at me as the damage of the forcible removal further ruined his body. He was clearly dying, his Astral body collapsing. Ignoring the racial slurs and other equally unflattering howls of the defeated loser, I examined the prize I had obtained.

Fengbo’s Chimeric Winds: Class: [Imperious] Type: [Principle]. This Divine Favour is made of concentrated adherence, refined ether and ??????????. The Chimeric winds allow one to assume a form representing Fengbo, a god of the winds, and control air and wind energies. Horns that disrupt, tail that binds, body that hides, breath that reveals, legs that leap, the winds of Fengbo offer many abilities to hunt the unworthy, for who can escape the very winds themselves?

“I see. Wind-based, huh?” That was interesting, as breaking it down would likely push my wind abilities past the first bottleneck as well, but since I had actually managed to get it out functionally intact, it could be passed to someone else instead. It was continually trickling Adherence from me, a slow but steady drain, so I wouldn’t be able to wait too long to find a host for it. Well, there are other abilities I want more, but I can hold onto this for now I guess. Luckily the woman Nie Ling was still within my grasp, assuming she hadn’t ran away, but she didn’t seem the sort for that. Casting a glance to the now-silent man, I could see he had died. I didn’t receive any levels, perhaps because he was too weak, or more likely… I stretched out a hand, and Foehn consumed the withered husk and the slime leaking from the corpse.

“All right then. Time to go. Another two down.”

********

“Good to see you, Akio-san.” Saionji-san greeted me, exhaling wearily. “Thanks for your help earlier.”

“You saw, huh?” I shrugged, as Yasaka-san brought me some tea. I quickly swigged it, feeling a little refreshed.

“Of course, the compassionate gaze of Avalokiteshvara sees all.” he said piously. “The wrathful gaze too, alas.” He paused. “I did manage to slay an enemy Chosen earlier, before we were forced back to Kinkaku-ji by weight of numbers. I’ve been using my blessing, despite your warnings…”

I waved that away. “I said it was fine in life-or-death situations. And this certainly is that. Besides, I think just the presence of these Chinese Candidates and Cultivators is already damaging the Boundary. So anyway, you got one too, huh?”

“I expect you’ve done better.” He grinned slyly, and I nodded.

“Well, I’ve been involved with six. Strength, Ice, Mirror Reflection…” Yasaka-san shuddered at that, remembering the rather baleful description of her powers, which to be honest, didn’t do her justice. “… and the two outside, wind, and one we didn’t know about, some sort of summoned armour and weapon enhancement. They’re all dead now.” I sighed.

“Well, you didn’t set out looking for violence, Akio-san, did you? You were merely defending our citizens. Wait, that’s only five, you said six.”

I nodded, allowing him to console me. “Yes, I also ran into one who could pull or send ordinary people to the Boundary…” I told him the story of Nie Ling, and at the end he was horrified.

“So many innocent people dead. These bastards…” Saionji-san declared, enraged. “Death is too good for them, even if they were forced by this golden-eyed creature. Are you sure you should have let her go?”

“No.” I admitted. “It’s a gamble, but a calculated one. Her Divine Favour, I’d very much like to find someone compatible, and taking it then and there was too risky.”

“I can’t believe you can remove and transplant those abilities. I’d keep that a secret known only to a select few.” He warbled, and I agreed.

“Yes, that’s the plan. Only the upper echelons of the Ministry, and those that receive the abilities, should know. The last thing we want is a worldwide hunt for Candidates. It’ll be bad enough without that, there’s still too much incentive for us to prey on each other for strength…” It’s why I haven’t told you about taking Yamato-san’s favour, or that my sister has it now. Gu Vessel or not, I’ll not allow it to end up like a ‘there can only be one’ situation. Too many people I care about would have to die.

“So, what’s next? The area here seems stable, thanks to your aid.” Saionji-san mused.

“Not exactly. There’s one issue left…” I said, remembering that fat woman who scurried off deeper into the Territory. “I think a rat has crept in.”

“Really?” Saionji-san asked, and I nodded, smiling at Yasaka-san.

“So, time to get out the Book of Providence. I’d like to know how many of our enemies remain, anyway.” I grinned at his expression, patting him on the back. “Don’t worry, after all this is sorted, you can join me back in my Territory for more hard grinding. Maybe we’ll even have time for a trip to the lands of the Fae.”

“Fine.” He sighed. “Let me ask…”

********

“So, there’s already ten of them dead. The five you killed, the one I killed, and four others.” Saionji-san mused. “If you count out the girl who retreated after meeting you, that leaves twelve. We’re still on the back foot here.”

I nodded. “Yes, but we also know that Haru-san’s Territory is currently safe, as is Tsukuyomi-jinja. It’s a shame some of them seem to be untraceable, and I’m worried by this Judge of Death… but fancy finding out our fat little rat has the ability to move items between the Boundary and the Material.” I found myself excited, clenching my fist. What could Ixitt do with access to that? It would advance our plans by weeks, maybe even months.

“Right. But if she’s in here, where could she be? And what’s her objective?”

“Well, if I had to guess, maybe she’s after your Anchor? Destroying that might give her the chance to steal your Favour, and even if it doesn’t, it’ll destroy the Territory. But aren’t your Defensive Emplacements triggering?” That had been brothering me. Kinkaku-ji was one of the stronger Territories in Kyoto, and Saionji-san had not been lax in prioritising defences, as I had seen briefly during my earlier engagement with the Chinese soldiers.

“No, they haven’t been, it’s strange. Well, the Anchor is here…” he looked at the golden column behind us, shimmering with iridescent energies. “… so if she comes for it, then she’s done for, right?”

I agreed. “Yes. So, just what is she up to?” I looked at Yasaka-san again, who groaned.

“Fine.” He wiped a little blood from his nose. “But I want a holiday after this.”

“If I get that Divine Favour, I’ll make sure you are given enough rewards to enjoy a fantastic break.” I laughed. “Now, ask your book, where is this woman, and what the hell is she up to?”