Four Hundred And Fifteen_On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Four Hundred And Fifteen

 As Bell and the girls prepared our battle lines, the open cavern giving us more options due to the extra space, I noticed that Haru-san was looking paler than usual, and her expression was dark. Not only that, but the spirit lights of Tsukiko-san and Kinneka were bobbing around restlessly as well, moving erratically. Is it the me here?

 “Are you all right?” I asked Haru-san, and for a moment she looked at me, brown eyes unfocused, before she shook her head, breaking free of her momentary fugue. She immediately cast her new Light Of Muted Emotions, and her eyes became clear again.

 “I think so. Being so close to it… I felt a little niggle when I was on mount Atago, but… it’s worse here. But not unbearable, don’t worry.” She paused, before making a slightly bitter joke. “You take me to all the nicest ces, Akio-kun.” She chuckled grimily. “The concentration of Dark me must be higher here. Do you think…”

 “Can we talk about thister?” Bell advised. She had organised the girls intobat groups, a mixture of ranged support and a blockingbatant, and the enemies had noticed us, a flood of the faster dammed spirits surging towards us, followed by the stone elementals and then the hulking behemoths, slow-moving, amorphous masses of fire and rock, the ground shaking under their steps. “For now, I need you to thin out the pack, Akio, Haru.”

 “Right. Yeah, I’ll run support, prevent us being overwhelmed.” I agreed, still keen on having everyone level up and practice as much as was safely possible. “Before that though… Haru-san, can you see the spirit lights?”

 Haru-san concentrated. She didn’t have special eyes, but being an Onryo, she was far more sensitive to the presence of other spirits, and so was able to pick up on them more often, even when it wasn’t the rare asions they were visible to all. “Yes, I see. It makes sense they would be more affected…. Poor Matsumuro-san…” Haru-san cast her Light over them, and the spirit lights calmed, their erratic and almost deranged motions ceasing, returning to the hovering orbits they usually had around me.

 “Right. That me…” The towering column of the sacred me, tainted by the Lost me, was soaring towards the distant roof of the cavern but never reached it, instead vanishing into a crack in space, purple spatial element scattering weakly. “…I think it’s the root of the me of mount Atago, or one of them at least… I don’t see the Tengu, so… I guess it’s up to us. Watch out though.” The me asionally flickered and bobbed, scattering smaller tongues of Lost me as if expelling poison.

 “Here theye. Thin their numbers!” Bell ordered, and Motoko and Natsumi started loosing the remaining blessed arrows they had, while Haru-san, after gathering herself, began to pierce them with bolts of light, sometimes multiple enemies in in one burst, ether scattering. A rock elemental charged forwards, reminding me of a sort of hulking bear, and Daiyu moved forwards on graceful feet, her Crushing Palms rapidly destroying it, scattering ck rock and me everywhere. She wheeled, water forming and then projected as a spray of bullets, and a number of damned spirits fell.

 “Don’t forget about me!” Kana dered, the ground, which near us was the same ck, smooth rock studded with jagged outcrops as the narrow passageways we had ventured through, shifting and swirling, the ming spirits able to cross them, but the elementals and several of therger behemoths sinking down, getting stuck. “Ksitigarbha’s Favour is perfect for this.” She clenched her fist in satisfaction, and the trapped victims exploded as the earth closed in on them with a thunderous boom.

 That’s a bit odd… As I surveyed the battle, my bullets of Spirit Water and beams of light intervening where necessary, though the girls were acquitting themselves well, Chen Na barely having to call on her barriers, I noticed that closer to the me the rock changed, going from smooth and ssy to rough and dirty. Maybe the heat melts it? The me burped, and Lost me scattered, and some of the ether that neither we or the Territory had absorbed was drawn in, along with the fading debris of the in spirits, and more were birthed, resembling Tengu and animals, wolves and bears most prevalent.

 “It seems that this will not be so easy.” Motoko observed, though her expression was excited. “Though with everyone here we have naught to fear.”

 “That’s right.” Natsumi agreed happily. “More practice, more experience, it’s perfect. But I’m out of arrows.” She looked at me eagerly, and I grinned.

 “Fine. Give me your spears and swords.” Motoko and Natsumi handed them over, and I was surprised to see Bell there with her sword too. I called on Spirit Water, bathing them in the blessed element, and with that the three of them joined Daiyu in battle with the renewed horde, while Kana and Daiyu focused on taking out the stronger elementals. Looking at Chen Na, who was watching nervously, wringing her hands, I shrugged.

 “Calm down. This is well within our capabilities.” I had a difficult time being nice to her, seeing as she reminded me of Nie Ling’s situation, but the woman in front of me was far more involved inmitting atrocities, far less… innocent, for want of a better word, as I didn’t feel that Nie Ling was innocent, even if she wasn’t entirely guilty either. Of course, with her having died and being reborn, without the benefit of Haru-san’s Throne, I wasn’t sure whether she would just remain as a spiritual being on the Astral, or simply vanish entirely. And it’s not something I’m eager to test, even on someone like her. If it was Kondou Kazuo, maybe…

 Seeing one of the behemoths looming, I sted it down with a beam of light that seared through it. It wasn’t as effective as it was on the damned spirits, as when the shroud of formless mist around it boiled off, whaty beneath was stone simr to the elementals. Focusing my energies, I managed to shear through, and it shattered, falling apart. As it fell with a loud impact, ground quivering, Chen Na spoke.

 “I… the things you all do seem surprising to me. Back in China, when we were under the Department for Managing Divine Mysteries, before we rebelled… it was simr. But every day we heard tell of someone dying, killed in battle. We feared it, yet… you all seek it out so happily.”

 I opened my mouth to deny that, but Daiyu, having crushed another pair of elementals, their numbers diminishing, beat me to it. “Happily? Opportunities are always to be taken.” Her dark eyes narrowed as she surveyed the others battling their opponents bravely. She cast out a few more water bullets, her performance a touch clumsy, as it wasn’t optimised for Qi unlike her Cultivation techniques, and as a group of damned spirits disintegrated, lessening the pressure on herrades, she continued. “Taking hold of one’s own fate is the choice of all rational people. Otherwise you are a ve to the whims of the strong. We choose…” she looked at me, perhaps remembering her Sect and how we met and what came after. “…to grasp our own fate, and fight those we do not desire to thest breath. And for that we need to risk ourselves, push our limits. Cultivate our strengths. We will not be the pawns of others. Otherwise we will end up where you did.”

 Chen Na looked chagrined at that, her expression downcast. “I see. Was it my ownck of will…”

 “It alles down to the strength of one’s drive.” Daiyu agreed. “You let yourself drift on the tides, moved by others. We… we strive to be in control of the waves.”

 The fighting wasing to an end, the great column of me scattering a small number more smaller creatures of fire. Motoko, Natsumi and Bell handled them with some support from Haru-san, and when we were done, I surveyed the battlefield, gathering the remaining ether and topping up those who needed it with Chirurgery. As Natsumi was thanking me, her face red from my touch, Haru-san called to us, as she had drifted over closer to the me, asionally using her Light on herself.

 “Akio-kun, take a look at this.” She said, a little light element leaping from her hands and striking the ck, lumpy floor, which suddenly steamed, ayer of dirt or perhaps ingrained ash king away, revealing a rusty red and white ground underneath.

 That’s odd. I thought it’d be volcanic stone like everything else here. We went over, careful to avoid the scattered tongues of Lost me which were burning around us, to which my Foehn greedily devoured. I bent down, and used my own light to clear a patch of ground, coughing a little at the scent of ash and burning.

 “Isn’t that bone?” Natsumi said, tapping the white parts of the floor. “It looks like it’s been carved too.”

 “And this should be brick of some sort…” Kana added, kneeling down, a little irritated when ash got on her clothes and the Brigandine beneath. “It’s got some pattern on it too. It looks a bit Japanese, but… not quite?”

 We cleared a wider area, Haru-san and I expending a little light element. Under the shimmering yellow glow of the me, the decorative reliefs were revealed, and Motoko was next to speak. “These seem familiar. I have seen them somewhere, but… I am afraid I cannot ce them. They are traditional, certainly…”

 “It’s a mystery. But I suppose that isn’t our priority right now.” I turned to look at the burning me, taking in some of the scattered spatial element. My Eye glowed as I stepped closer. “If this is the root of the sacred me, where’s the Tengu? Or maybe it’s just one wellspring of the me…” Suddenly the me belched, and a glowing nova of yellow me erupting, heading towards me. I leapt backwards, effortlessly avoiding it, but the spirit lights around me were caught, and suddenly zed with yellow and golden light. Panicked, my Eye glowed and I made ready to intervene, but after a few moments the spirit lights settled, and they wererger and brighter than before, even the aether starved Kinneka looking significantly closer to resurrection. Before I could speak Haru-san was already bathing them with her Light Of Muted Desires. On seeing my grateful look, she smiled.

 “No need to thank me. As fellow ghosts, we have to stick together. It makes me feel a little better about the genocide of my fellow spirits.” Sheughed softly, her expression wry. “Besides, we can’t let anything happen to Matsumuro-san, can we?”

 “No. I was careless. But…” I had noticed something odd, hence why I had drawn closer. My Eye wasn’t able to prate the brilliant glow, but there was something beneath the mes, and the fire itself was flickering, fading slightly then ring stronger on regr intervals. “Do you see that?” I asked, and it was Daiyu who nodded.

 “I do not see it, but with my Qi I can feel it. An irregr rhythm. Like a heartbeat, or no… a breath.” she said, troubled.

 “You’re not blocked by the mes then?” I asked, and Daiyu looked at me proudly.

 “It is quite the challenge, the strong fiery Qi does indeed distort my vision, and there are many other kinds of Qi here as well, all jumbled, including a dark, unpleasant Qiing from what you call the Lost mes, though most of that has vanished for now. But I have excellent control. I can single out what I am searching for. My precision has greatly strengthened since we…” she paused, a faint flush on her cheeks barely visible under the yellow light of the me. “… since we became Dao Compaions, and my improper Dantian was corrected, amongst… other things.”

 “Well done.” At my praise she stood taller. “I’ve been too used to relying on my Eye. And it is powerful, but it’s still sight. Even if obstacles don’t block it, it can still be prevented from working by enough re, it seems. I’ll have to learn Qi Perception.” As Daiyu agreed to teach me, I tried my own version, aether extending out my senses. It was hard and wasteful, but as I entered the me with my expanded will, I felt a rush of heat, ufortable yet somehow soothing. Except…

 “Ugh, that Lost me is unpleasant… I can feel my emotions surging, dark urges rising. Fortunately…” My Resilience was high, and my Spiritually Pure Physique prevented it from being more than some muttered buzzing whispers. Reaching down further, there was another,rger cavern, full of a huge amount of spatial element. “…I’m strong against curses and suchlike. Daiyu, did you find the space below?” This would be easier with Split Thoughts, but there’s no need to ruin Eri’s night yet. This is just an investigation, there’s no danger, I think…

 “I did. It seems there are several more mes such as this one, all connected to the twisted space below. And within…”

 “Yeah.” I agreed, my aethering into contact with a great deal more of the Lost me. “It seems that if it isn’t the source of the Lost me, there’s a ton of it we need to get rid of at least. But there’s also…”

 Daiyu agreed. “I do not know what it is. I do not believe it is alive, for the Qi signature is … bereft of all but fiery Qi. Yet somehow it breathes.”

 “They do say fire breathes, right?” Kana interjected, a little frustrated about not being able to understand what we were talking about. “So, what’s the n?”

 Daiyu and I exchanged nces, before I shrugged. “Yes, they do say that. I think we have to try and find our way to that chamber, so we head down. Although what with the strange, distorted nature of the space in here, heading down might not take us down. Hopefully we can find the Tengu on our way, and cleanse more of the Lost me. Speaking of…” I looked at the stronger spirit lights floating around us. “Haru-san, are you not going to try?”

 She nced at the me, shaking her head. “No, I’ll pass, Akio-kun. It seems that Matsumuro-san was fortunate, the fire that she absorbed was the pure one. But you see…” she pointed, and I nodded. The Lost me was still seeping into the fires, and we had no easy way to remove it. It’s not like I can burn it all up with Foehn, if this is one of the wellsprings of the Sacred me, destroying it would at best weaken it, and at worst, the whole thing might disappear. I remember when I found Foehn…

 “I still think you could manage, but I agree, it’s not worth the risk. When it’s purified though, I think it would very much suit you, Haru-san. So for now, we should press on.”

 “Yes, while rest is important, due to the oppression of this ce, it only weakens you, Akio.” Bell spoke for the girls. “We should make measured haste.”

 Yeah, I used a bit more aether than I wanted probing what lies below. But… whatever it is, the mystery won’t solve itself… With onest look back at the golden me, tainted by red and ck, I sighed, leading us towards the nearest exit that sloped downwards, hoping it would lead us to where we needed to be…

 ********

 “Another wave, just great…” Kana sighed, the ground in front of us turning into a rippling liquid, and the ming spirits tumbled in, only to be smothered by the rising flowing stone, before it solidified, the once-smooth, ssy floor now lumpy and misshapen. “…it seems like we’ve been here for days. My only constion is my control is improving. When I get out of here, I want to go somewhere nice. You did it for Eri, right?” she said to me, half-using.

 “I did.” I agreed. “It was quite the nice night.”

 She made a noise of frustration while the othersughed. “Oh, damn Akio, I know you are doing that on purpose! I thought you’d stop teasing me this way when we started going out!”

 “Says the girl who was teasing me during the earlier challenges.” I reminded her yfully. “Besides, Eri’s sleeping now. She’s emotionally drained after the shock of her healing, she’s still not quitee to terms with the relief yet. It’ll take a few more days I’m sure.”

 “I still can’t believe you were busy making out with Eri while in this ce.” Kana puffed out her cheeks. “So, what are you doing? Curled up in her embrace, having a good time?”

 “Yes.” I admitted. “But I’m also doing research on my phone and sending a few emails and messages. No rest for the wicked, so my mom would say.”

 “And you are most certainly wicked.” Haru-san said, amused. “But Kana-chan, it’s only been hours, I assure you. Though it is hard to keep track of the time in here. So cramped and dingy… and we have to be careful every step we take.”

 “It seems you can be more rxed.” Motoko pointed out correctly as Haru-san walked through an outcropping of jagged, obsidian des jutting from one wall, passing through them harmlessly.

 “Oops, you caught me.” She said cheerfully, though I could tell being closer to the source of the Lost me was troubling her, as she was using her light more and more, and was having to use it on the spirit lights too. Fortunately it doesn’t seem to take much of her strength, and the blessing from Tarōbō haspensated for a lot of the drain…

 “It’s all right, I know it’s hard, but you’ve all done well, Motoko, Natsumi, Kana. And you’ve all gained a number of levels.”

 “Why are you not praising us?” Bell said, looking at Daiyu with a smile. “We will feel left out.”

 “It is because he knows we have fought many hard battles before. It is a mark of respect.”

 “That’s right.” Natsumi agreed. “Motoko and I did do some fighting in London, but it was a training exercise, there was no real danger, not like now.”

 “I don’t know. It feels pretty safe here.” Kana disagreed. “When Akio has to, he can show off.”

 “Like in the second chamber. I see.” Natsumi agreed. She turned to me, eyes sparkling. “That was impressive. Hundreds of spirits gone in an instant.”

 “I felt a bit bad robbing you all of the experience, but the chamber was crawling with them. We needed to break in.” I said, remembering. After a number of false starts, reaching dead ends or twisting crossroads, we had reached the second source of the Sacred me, another pir of yellow fire soaring from and into twisted space. The chamber was thronged with damned spirits, and more were being created even as we watched, and they were shuffling towards the many exits of the cavern. Since the numbers were so overwhelming, I unleashed a great beam of light element, sting an opening, purifying many, and after that the battle had been fierce, though manageable.

 “Their numbers are certainly increasing, and since they are troublesome to deal with, I can see why the Tengu struggle. Individually I would say a goblin is more dangerous than the half-formed ones, though the ones that resemble people or Tengu are more of a threat. But a goblin that cannot be harmed by mundane weapons and abilities… that can bring down an unprepared warrior. Ten such, a hundred such, a thousand such… it would be a massacre if they stormed the Tengu vige atop the mountain, and a problem if they enter your Territory, Haru.” Bell pointed out with her own experiences of battles and skirmishes.

 “Yes, the barrier should keep them out, and I could always set up Hands Of Forgiveness on the border, but I’d rather stop them at the source.” She said, distracted, twitching a little.

 “Are you all right?” I asked her, and she grimaced.

 “I’m just a little ufortable. I think we are getting close to the next source of the me. And this one seems more contaminated. It’s… it’s nothing.” She promised. “I just… it brings out the worst in me. But…” She forced a smile, bathing herself and the spirit lights in more soothing elemental energy. “… it was good timing to get this ability. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I’d have been all right with just a quick jaunt down here, but Tarōbō certainly was helpful…”

 “In that case, we should carry on. We’ve finished up here.” Around us the remaining fragments of ether were absorbed, and we pushed on. It was a few minutester that Bell called out, her keen eyes spotting something.

 “Wait. There!” she pointed, and following her finger, I could see several arrows on the ground, their fletching scorched, the light on their arrowheads having faded, now just cold metal and stone.

 “Not ours.” Motoko said, picking it up and inspecting it. “Though…” she pulled one of the shafts she had been given by the Tengu. “It is a match. And…” she touched the burned feathers. “Still warm. I doubt it has been lying here long…”

 “There’s more. Blood, and some feathers.” Natsumi spotted them. Dabbing a finger in gingerly to the red liquid, a silver mist rising, she frowned. “Also still warm. I’d say we are no more than ten minutes behind them.”

 “I see. Hopefully that means that they’ve sessfully cleansed a lot of the Lost me and are heading for the sources like we are. We’ll join up with them, and then hopefully…”

 “What lies beneath.” Daiyu said, her tone ominous, and I nodded.

 “That’s right. What lies beneath, and possibly the source of the Lost me…” As we picked up the pace, still keeping cautious, as there were many dangers, I shattered the des of obsidian on the walls and ceilings with wind and earth element as I took the lead, Chen Na expending a little energy to prevent the shrapnel from injuring anyone. Soon we could see the passageway ahead opening up, and could hear the sounds of fighting. A faint, icy mist was creeping around our feet, and the temperature that was climbing a little had dropped.

 “Haanōbō…” I remarked, seeing the residual water element. Then we heard a great, angry bellow, and we all nced at each other. “And Arangbō, it seems. We’ve found them. Come, on, let’s go…” We moved as quickly as we dared, and soon we were looking into a cavern much like the others, a great me burning at the centre, though this one had copsed much of the ground around it, white bone and reddish brick visible amidst the darkness of the pit it had caused. The ground was wet and frozen, a dozen Tengu battling valiantly against damned spirits and earth elementals. A giant one was lying broken, Arangbō on top of it shouting a roar of victory, while even as we watched the red-robed Shungbō unleashed a surge of fiery energy, and several more of the obsidian monsters melted, the fragments of Lost me they exuded likewise boiling away, the power of Tarōbō’s blessing purifying them.

 And there’s Haanōbō and Fungbō… Seeing that all the Four Directions were safe, I breathed a sigh of relief. Several of the Tengu at the rear spotted us, calling out, and as Shungbō turned to us, mes still streaming from his hands and wings, I nodded at him politely. Yasaka-san’s warnings from the Book… we’ll need to keep our guard up. But first… The dark pit was suddenly filled with a number of huge elementals, ck jagged stone paws mming into the ground, huge, faceless heads looking animalistic and feral peering over the lip of the crater. …I think we need to send those back to their rest…

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Four Hundred And Fifteen