Ashborn Primordial

Chapter 108: Prana Blade

Prana can do damage, Vir thought. Or rather, prana combined with intent could do damage.

Riyans Blade Projection flung Earth prana from the blade, extending its reach. Kamnas Blade Launch took the concept even further, firing off a concentrated burst of prana that ripped through the ground. And Ash Beasts wreathed their bodies with prana to toughen their hide and sharpen their claws.

Vir had already finished marking the Ash Biters corpse. He looked around the pitch black space, illuminated only by the Magic Lantern that hung around Neels neck.

Most would call him insane for training at the bottom of a dark mine where arcane horrors roamed, but then again, it was the most ideal training ground Vir had ever had. While the prana density wasnt quite what it was at Valaka Amarathe hidden outpost of the gods under Dahait was noticeably greater than at the surface.

If there was any place that would help Vir master the secrets of Prana Blade, it was this place.

Keep an eye out, Neel. If anything comes close, you let me know, he said as he crossed his legs on the cold stone and closed his eyes.

The bandy barked in acknowledgement, slowly patrolling a perimeter around Vir.

Sinking into thought, Vir trained Prana Vision inward. He already knew from prior experiments that launching his bodys Ash Prana outward accomplished littlethe prana merely dissipated the instant it left his body. He also lost control of it the moment it exited, making it quite useless.

And with Ash Prana being such a limited resource, he couldnt afford to waste it inefficiently.

But lately, hed been thinking about ways to counter that. An arrow thrown by hand dealt minimal damage, but when launched by a bow, it became a lethal weapon.

What if I launch prana out of my hand?

Granted, Vir doubted this was how Prana Blade actually worked, but it was the only lead he had to work with.

The only reason this worked was because of his bodys prana saturation. Most creatures existed in equilibrium with their surroundingsAsh Beasts excluded. They seemed to do what he did, though he suspected it came naturally and subconsciously to the beasts.

Most Talent wielders had to channel prana from the ground to fire off a Talent, but with the amount of prana he kept trapped in his body, unleashing his stored up prana as a weapon became viable. Or at least it ought to be. Except for Toughen, all of his existing Talents relied on ground prana to operate.

Vir held out his arm and inhaled. He allowed the prana in his hand to dissipate, but this time, he actively pushed the prana out of his hand.

To no effect. If the prana went any further, he certainly didnt notice.

But as Vir had learned, it was far more effective to allow prana to flow as it wanted, rather than force it to go somewhere. Thinking back to his first experiments with prana, Vir released his hold on the prana in his palmbut only through a tiny opening in the very center. By restricting the size of the opening, prana rushed out at a much faster rate.

This time, he could see the prana shoot forthbut even then, it only extended a handspan away before dissipating.

Vir targeted a nearby rock and launched his prana attack, willing the prana to slice through.

The prana surged out of his hand and into the rock, carving a small line through it.

It worked but as it was, the ability was hardly useful. Even his katar could do as much damage, and the katars blade was longer.

Well, if it was that easy, I wouldve figured it out already.

Feeling like hed overstayed his welcome, Vir stood up. Though no other mercenaries had bothered him, it was only a matter of time. He needed to press on.

Cmon boy.

With Neel leading, they set out deeper into the mine.

As they walked, Vir ruminated over what he was doing wrong. He wondered if it was simply a prana density issuemany Rare Tier Talents like Blink had been off limits to him due to the low Ash prana density. Could it be that? Or was there some fundamental difference between how Ash prana worked that hed overlooked? Hed assumed it operated the same as Earth and Shadow prana since he could use Talents from those affinities, but maybe there was something he was missing.

After seeing how naturally Ash Beasts wreathed their bodies in prana, he had to wonder what prevented him from doing the same. After all, they used the same prana he did, and it wasnt like Ash Beasts were especially intelligentin fact, the Dahan Bestiary claimed the Ashen Realm had broken their minds, making them incapable of higher thought.

Vir wasnt sure if that was true, as the ones hed fought until now showed at least some intelligence, but he was confident they werent using some complicated strategy to pull off their Talents.

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The end of the mining tunnel came sooner than Vir had expected. But instead of a dead-end, it led into a cavernous space, several stories tall and wide enough to fit a half-dozen Ashva. Elaborate carvings decorated the walls, but it was the blue-and-white lighting that gave it away.

This is an Imperium ruin

Once again, memories of Valaka Amara flooded into Virs head. He focused on Prana Vision, searching for a Prana Swarm

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Whatever was out there was large.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Vir braced himself, readying his chakrams.

It wasnt a Prana Swarm that rounded the corner, thumping on its four paws.

Hundreds of obsidian-like spikes covered the beasts back. While not as large as its footfalls had made it seem, Vir identified the Ash Beast instantly.

Phantomblade Alpha.

Hed read about it in Dahas library. Balar rank estimated between 150 and 250 in the Ash. He doubted it'd come even to the lower end of that scale here, but even so, it was a fearsome opponent. Resembling an oversized tortoise, it moved rather slowly. Unlike a tortoise, it could shoot the spikes on its back like projectiles, making them highly dangerous. In addition, it wielded prana as a weapon, firing a concentrated beam from its maw.

Vir wondered whether itd be able to use that attack without the prana density of the Ashen Realm, but he wasnt about to take any chances.

One look at its back told him hed be at a disadvantage if this battle ran long. The Phantomblade had nearly a hundred spikes, all of which were potential weapons.

How do I even hurt the thing? Vir wondered. The spikes functioned not only as weapons but as armor, too. It looked incredibly durable.

Neel boldly dove in, running circles around the slow-moving beast. The Phantomblade kept turning to match Neel, but it was no match for the bandys speed.

Growing frustrated, it launched its attackfour blades fired off with far more force than Vir wouldve thought possible. One nearly nicked Neel, making the bandy whimper.

To me, boy, Vir ordered. The bandy obediently returned to his side, tail between his legs.

My turn.

Vir Leaped, putting him behind the beast, but the Phantomblade anticipated his move. It fired off three spikes, forcing Vir to dodge them with micro-Leaps, but he didnt break off his attack.

With another Leap, he closed the distance and plunged his katar into its back. He aimed precisely at the spots where the Phantomblade had fired its spikes.

The katar struck hide and stopped dead in its tracks. It was as if hed struck a rock.

Then it launched a half-dozen spikes at point-blank range. The distance meant Vir had no chance to escapehe barely managed to Toughen his forearms before a spike slammed into his bracers, sending him flying back.

The impact rattled his very bones, stunning him.

Several more spikes followed, but Vir rolled into a shadow and sunk into the Shadow Realm.

This is bad, Vir thought, analyzing the battle. Prana Vision showed him no weaknesses, and his attack had confirmed it. Even if he could last until the Phantomblade exhausted all of its spikes, he still wouldnt have a way of harming the beast.

He considered all options. Virs katar was ineffective, and he feared to Empower it, lest the blade break on impact. Nor could he bring the beast into the Shadow Realmthe beast was far too big and heavy to fit. Neel was a good distraction, but that was it.

Vir reached an arm out of the Shadow Realm, allowing time to proceed at a crawl.

The Phantomblade launched another spike at Neel. Vir wasnt worried; the bandy was already reacting, but there was something about the way the spike flew that intrigued Vir.

It didnt fly straight. Rather, it spun. Like a drill. An air drill.

Its using the spin to make its spikes even more lethal.

Similar to how Vir spun his chakrams, though the axis it spun upon was different.

And that gave him an idea.

If projectiles became more lethal when spun What about prana?

With time still slowed, Vir tested it. He fired his prana blade from earlier, but this time imparted a spin to it, spiraling the prana through his hand before allowing it to leave his body.

And this time, the prana went double the distancenearly a pacebefore dissipating.

I can work with that, Vir thought. While it wasn't the real thing, it felt lethal. More lethal than just an Empowered katar, at least.

Using the precious few seconds he had left within the Shadow Realm, he snaked his hand out from beneath the Phantombladewhere there were no spikesand fired his prana blade.

His prana met little resistance, scything through the Phantomblades hide. Clearly, though its hide appeared tough, it wasnt anywhere near as solid as actual rock.

The Phantomblade roared, attempting to find the perpetrator, but it had no eyes in its belly.

Vir struck again and then his prana ran out. While in the Shadow Realm, it was as if the rest of his body didnt exist. The only prana he had access to was what hed stored within his arm, which wasnt much.

The timer ran out and Vir was ejected from the Shadow Realm, but he wasnt worried.

He now had a means to defeat this monster, and he was going to exploit it.

The best part? There wasnt even a need to place himself in danger to do so. He sunk back into the Shadow Realm, and this time extended his left arm, gouging the Phantomblades belly three times before the prana in his arm ran out.

Luckily, he had two more limbs. He extended his left leg, kicking the Phantomblades belly as he lanced out with his prana discharge.

With his leg being far larger than his arms, the discharge was proportionally larger, skewering deep into the Ash Beast.

He got six strikes from his left leg, and another six from his right.

By the time he exited the Shadow Realm, the Phantomblade lay in a pool of its own inky black blood. The light from its eyes slowly winked out.

Yeesssss! Vir roared, pumping his fists.

Arooo! Neel echoed, as the Ash Beast breathed its final breath.

Vir looked upon the corpse and saw only silvers and brotherhood karma. Refilling his body with prana from the ground, he etched his mark into the beasts hide, claiming it as his own.

Lets go see what else this place has in store for us, he said, cracking his neck.

Then an enormous roar filled the entire ruin. Vir froze in his tracks, filled with fear.

The confidence Vir had just mustered snuffed out like a candle against a hurricane.

Whatever that was it scared him nearly as much as the Prana Swarm.