A torrent of emotions assaulted Vir as his predecessor stepped through the Ash Gate into the City of the Gods. Emotions that stemd as much from Ekanai as it from himself.
From Ekanai, Vir felt the elation one can only feel after having finally taken the last step of a decades-long journey, along with the reliefand regretthat accompanies it. He felt longing for the Demon Realm, a faint sliver of hope that, when this was all over, he might be able to return ho. And he felt sad that his journey might soon be at an end.
Virs own emotions took a different turn. The black spires of Mahdi served to remind him of Ashani and his bitter failure. He thought of her cloistered within Janaks ho, hibernating her life away. Did she hold out hope that Vir would co back for her?
How could she? Vir thought. She knew exactly how unlikely that proposition was.
And yet, Vir would find a way. Hed nad Shan to remind him of that promise. Of the great debt hed owed her. It was why Vir was so gutted that Saunak hadnt proven entirely trustworthy. If only he had, they mightve worked together to devise a way back. To allow her to escape that horrible place.
Ekanai took a step. His knees imdiately buckled. Vir knew exactly what he was going through, even though the mory suppressed the pain the demon felt.
Prana Poisoning was one of the worst ways to go. Vir could almost feel the prana overloading Ekanais blood.
And yet, despite the pain, Ekanai soldiered on. He never once considered retreating through the Ash Gate behind him. If he did, hed be forever dood to wander aimlessly upon the realms. Only by progressing could he fulfill his purpose. Or find his purpose, Vir realized.
Its not blind zeal that drives him. Its a desire for his life to have had aning.
Vir understood then, in that mont, that through Ekanais entire life, it was this desire to uncover his purpose that drove him. A desire that was painfully relatable.
It wasnt glory or fa or riches. Ekanai cared nothing for his titles. Hed never exploited his status as the Akh Nara, unlike so whod preceded him.
No, Ekanai cared about one thing and one thing onlythat, when his ti in the realms was over, that hed have found his calling.
The demon fought off Ash Wolves and Phantomblades, squashing dozens at once with Balancer of Scales. With Clarity and Yumas Embrace, it wasnt even a contest. Ekanai would not be hard. Not by beasts, anyway.
Vir watched as the demon fell to his knees. A Blader skewered his chest from behind. Ekanai saw it coming, but allowed it to pierce him. Healing injuries wasnt difficult. Stopping Prana Poisoning was.
Why, though? Surely he knew this would happen? Vir wondered, before the truth dawned upon him.
None of the others ever made it this far
Ekanai had been the first to venture into the Mahdi Realm. Which ant Virs featentering, and survivinghad been far beyond anything theyd managed. Hed relied on them. On their hard-won experiences to survive. Even then, it was only thanks to Ashanis pranites and the collective effort of Ekanai, Shardul, Parai, Jalendra, and Narak that had allowed him to survive.
The realization hit Vir like a raging Garga. Whether or not he despised Ekanai, Vir had benefitted directly from his life experience.
Ekanai struggled to stay conscious, but against the sheer prana density, his sight dimd, and he collapsed.
As the demons vision went dark one final ti, just before the Ash Beasts tore into him, what he felt was not anger, or frustration, or even regret.
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It was a profound, bottomless loneliness, and a sincere, earnest wish to be held by soone in his final monts. To be consoled and loved.
The mory faded, leaving Vir alone in a strange space hed ever seen before. He sat cross-legged in a green grassy adow in the middle of a forest.
Another of Ekanais mories? But no, it wasnt.
Vir recognized it imdiatelyit was the Godshollow.
He was alone, though he knew he was still in his mind. The world possessed a hazy, dreamlike quality to it. He felt comforted by the Godshollows sturdy presence.
Birds chirped rrily, and a gentle breeze ruffled the ferns and shrubs that blanketed the forest floor. Light filtered through an opening in the canopy, its rays playing upon the untouched dirt.
This is my mindscape?No way!
Virs excitent soared at the thought. Cirayus had ntioned that upon fully opening the Foundation Chakra, Vir would gain access to a mindscapea personal sanctuary where one could ditate. A place where hours or sotis even days could pass with only monts passing in the real world.
It was primarily useful for ditation, contemplation, and, upon opening the later chakras, even training. Each Chakra expanded the mindscape, allowing for increasingly complex scenarios.
Vir stood up and walked to the edge of the adow. As he neared the ancient trunks, he felt a pressure push back on him, preventing him from venturing into the forest, which he intuitively understood wasnt actually there. This was all an illusion, and his mindscape couldnt support anymore.
That was all well. Vir gazed up at the enormous trees, wondering in amazent. How much had he yearned for this breakthrough, these past months?
It occurred to him now that he mightve had an easier ti opening the Foundation Chakra if hed used the Godshollow as the basis for stability instead of the mountains as Cirayus had taught him. It was much closer and more real to him than any peak had ever been. That the mindscape took the form of the Godshollow only proved it.
Was this how Cirayus maintained his sanity? Was he escaping into a mindscape of his own, similar to how I fled into the Shadow Realm?
Vir had initially pitied the giant, not having such a place to retreat into. Now, however, he envied him. Given a choice between total blackness and a beautiful, crisp forest or sothing analogous, there wasnt even a contest.
Vir returned to the middle of the pristine adow and sat crosslegged, allowing his eyes to defocus as he thought about the mories hed been shown.
He now had a hunch about what had triggered it. The key was Ekanai.
For so long, Vir had rejected the demons existence. As Maiya had sohow known, hed feared the demon. Feared that hed take over. That hed harm Maiya. That hed commit atrocities with Virs body, and that Vir would be unable to lift a finger to stop him.
The Ekanai Vir knew was a ruthless killing machine. More at ho in the Ashen Realm standing on a pile of corpses than a real, living being with hopes and dreams.
Vir knew now that this couldnt have been further from the truth. Shardul had once said that with each reincarnation, his identity as the Primordial degraded. mories from past lives beca fragnted. Diluted, but also warped.
The Ekanai that had made it through that process was a horribly broken, distorted version of the real being.
The demon didnt shun familial ties because he thought them dead weightVir knew that now. Hed felt Ekanais thoughts. The demon had never allowed himself to grow close to anyone because he knew just how dangerous itd be for them.
Hed isolated himself to protect them. To shield them from those whod see harm co to the Akh Nara. Ekanai wasor had beena gentle soul at his core. Soone who wished to shoulder all the burden of the Akh Nara alone. A demon whose only wish was to find so purpose in his long life. To fulfill his destiny, so he could return to his clan with his head held up high.
His course required him to kill, and he took on that burden without complaint. But he never once enjoyed it.
I see
The Ekanai that had manifested wasnt real. Whatever contraption had transported him to the underground world with its floating islands and its caves had used Virs own mories of Ekanai to create a caricature of the demon.
He isnt real. Hes a fignt of my mind. None of it is real.
Vir gulped at that. Then what of Maiya? What of the monts theyd shared together? What of her bravery and sacrifice? Was that also a fabrication? She felt so real!
He didnt want to believe all of this had been a hallucination. He couldnt. Even knowing Ekanai wasnt real didnt reduce the threat. Vir had bled when attacked. Worse, his very soul had been siphoned. The consequences were real.
Except now, Vir knew he had nothing to fear. For if Ekanai was generated from his mind, then Vir suspected the Ekanai hed face in light of these revelations would be quite different. Thanks to the new knowledge hed obtained.
Knowledge hed gained by restoring his mories of Ekanai with the power of the Foundation Chakra.
Vir stood, leaves crunching softly under him. While his predecessors hadnt saved himand wouldnt, ever againhed nonetheless gained sothing valuable from these mories. Hed understood the person Ekanai was. The person he strove to be. And in the process, Vir understood himself.
Because Vir was Ekanai in a previous life. The demon was as much a part of him as Shardul, Parai, and the others. For the very first ti, Vir could accept that. Acceptand embrace.
You failed so close to your goal. But where you failed, I will succeed. I will learn from your mistakes, and I will complete your quest. I will honor those who have blazed the trail by seeing it to its completion.
Vir closed his eyes and exited the mindscape. Not as a scared, panicking demon, but a master of the Foundation Chakra. At peace with himself.
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