by Aaron Oster
It was only then that he realized that he was no longer out of control, for which he was grateful. The next thing he felt was a cloying hunger, pulling at his stomach and demanding it be filled.
“So, you’re finally awake.”
Geon’s voice sounded in Roy’s mind as he got to his feet to begin building a small fire.
“And so are you, it seems,” Roy said.
“Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to project your mind to people who normally can’t hear you?” Geon retorted.
“Seeing as it’s literally impossible for me, I’m going to assume it’s hard,” Roy replied, pulling bits of dried fungus from the walls of the safe zone to use as tinder.
“Yes. It was hard,” Geon said. “Apparently, it worked, though. I feel great. Stronger than ever. Ready to go kill the…”
“We’re not going after a Sovereign,” Roy cut him off. “For someone constantly berating me about nearly getting myself killed, you seem awfully eager to do so yourself.”
Geon huffed in annoyance.
“I don’t want to die. I just want him to.”
“Well, we can’t kill a Sovereign, no matter how strong we are.”
“We could if we were a Sovereign,” Geon replied.
“But are we?”
The Dungeon Core didn’t answer that, for which Roy was supremely grateful. The last thing he wanted to do right after waking up was get into a pointless argument over nothing.
“You’re stronger now,” Geon said. “Even though I still seem to be stuck.”
Roy crouched, getting a fire started while he examined himself. Everything shone brighter. His Core and channels seemed more stable than before, and despite the fact that nothing seemed to have deepened or widened, his foundation had solidified to the point where he was pretty sure there was nothing more to be done.
Additionally, he could feel new strength, the likes of which no one at his level should have. Looking down to his Belt, Roy had to resist the urge to sigh. Until he was rejoined with his old power, his advancement had all but come to a halt. He had the strength and the reserves but was missing a single, crucial element — the ability to use that power to its fullest.
He looked over to Aika as she mumbled in her sleep and turned onto her back. His eyebrows shot up as he finally got a look at the hanging ends of her Belt. Where before, there had only been two slashes of Purple, that number had now doubled. The 4th Dan Blue-Belt shone softly in the early-morning light, almost mockingly, as though it were telling him that no matter how hard he tried, he would never reach that point.
Roy knew that he would, so long as he actually made it to the bottom floor and got his old power back. But in order to do that, they would first need to get past the Beast that had left the lines of scars that now graced his right arm.
“Are you ignoring me?” Geon asked, breaking through his distracted thoughts.
“What?” Roy asked, starting as the Core’s voice intruded quite rudely into his silent worrying of the future.
“I’m stuck,” Geon said. “You need to find that other Core so that I can get unstuck. I don’t like being stuck in one place. It feels weird.”
“Weird how?” Roy asked as he placed some of the fresh meat they’d gotten from the chest just a couple of days ago on the fire.
“Like how you humans eat until you’re really full, then feel gross. Only, in my case, I constantly feel that way and I don’t like it.”
Roy could imagine that something like that would be more than a little unpleasant.
“Hopefully once Aika gets up, we’ll be strong enough to make it through the third level.”
“I doubt it,” Geon said. “She’ll probably need to drink all four, then take a couple of days to let it settle before she can go for a test.”
“How can you be so sure?” Roy asked as he turned his gaze on the sleeping Aika.
“Because I’m me,” Geon replied smugly.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see then,” Roy said, turning his attention back to the meat as it sizzled and cooked.
For now, he was hungry and didn’t want to think about anything else.
***
“I told you so.”
Roy resisted the urge to groan as Aika, grinning from ear to ear, stepped through the Purple Torii gate to test for her Belt.
Just as Geon had predicted, it had taken all four of the flasks to get Aika to the peak of Blue, despite the fact that just drinking the first had gotten her to 4th Dan. The entire process had taken over a week and a half as Aika prepared herself for the test, growing her Core, solidifying her foundation and purifying her Qi.
Roy had done much the same. Now that they knew the flasks were safe to drink and wouldn’t kill them, he’d used all four as well. It had made him stronger, though neither his Core nor Belt reflected it. It was why Aika had gotten to take a test while he remained out here, his Belt still a solid Blue.
Now Roy stared at the empty air as the gate vanished along with her, leaving him to the mercy of Geon’s ‘I told you so’s.’
“Yes,” Roy said, trying not to roll his eyes. “You were right. Are you happy now?”
“Yes,” Geon said smugly. “Because I have, once again, proved my superiority to your squishy human brain. Why don’t you just let me take over so you can always be right?”
“What, just let myself cease to exist so that you can drive my body? No thanks,” Roy replied dryly.
Besides, he honestly didn’t even think that was possible.
Geon continued chattering about his superiority, naming every way Roy could be better if he would only listen more. After about five seconds of this, Roy tuned him out, sitting down in a cycling position and working on the only thing he still could — forging Chakra from Qi. By now, he had a good-sized amount of it too, glimmering at the center of his Core.
Although he couldn’t actually use it, and it was taking up space that could otherwise have held Qi, Roy didn’t mind in the slightest. His capacity was so massive at this point, that the relatively small amount of space the Chakra took up wouldn’t really cause much of an issue.
He had no idea how long Aika’s test would take. He had absolutely no doubts that she would succeed and emerge as a Purple-Belt. And once she did, they would be able to move down again and challenge the massive fish-Beast on more even footing. All he had to do was wait.
Wait, and hope that when they moved on, he would be strong enough to keep up.
45
“You’re getting close. I can feel it.”
Hermit let out a long breath, feeling the twisted Reiki within his Core relax and return to its previous flow. He knew he was getting close, could feel it down to his very soul. He didn’t need the Core to tell him that, but this was a big moment for both of them. For over five-hundred years, the two of them had dreamed of nothing else, and while they might have gotten side-tracked for a couple-hundred of those years, the ultimate goal of getting to this point was still at the backs of their minds.
“Another few days,” Hermit said, opening his eyes and staring around the room.
It was made entirely of stone, designed to keep the heat locked in and not allow it to leak into the outside. The entire room glowed a ruddy red-orange, the stone beneath him hot and molten. It dripped down the walls and the ceiling, falling on him in small drops that splattered against his bare shoulders and ran down his chest.
He stood, ignoring the molten stone, and headed toward the exit, his feet splashing through the puddles of scorching slag which had no more effect on him than if the puddles were made of water.
The door had to be forced open, since it was melted shut, but that wasn’t all too hard considering who Hermit was.
“You look hot,” Kaeru said as he walked into the main living area a couple of minutes later.
Though he was no longer trailing molten stone behind him, his skin still had a bit of a reddish tinge, though with his dark complexion, it would be hard to notice unless you
were looking for it.
“Where is everyone else?” Hermit asked, looking around the living room.
He’d been expecting everyone who’d come along with them from the Inu capital to be waiting there.
“They should be here soon enough,” Kaeru said.
“How’s Violet doing?” Hermit asked.
“Better,” Kaeru replied. “Though I don’t think she’ll be getting over our imprisonment anytime soon.”
“And you?” Hermit asked.
“I just do a better job of hiding it.”
Hermit crossed his arms, tapping his index finger again his bicep as he thought.
“What exactly are your goals in joining us?” he finally asked, watching the man carefully. “I mean, you have a clan back in the Crater, people who need you. With Violet by your side, I doubt there would be a single clan who could challenge your strength.”
Kaeru was silent for a few moments, then reached down and placed a hand on his neck, where a long, jagged scar ran down, disappearing into his robes.
“I originally left the Crater because I suspected that my clan was in danger from an outside force. The Beast King all but told me as much, and while I normally might not have believed him, I could see no reason for him to lie when he was so close to death. No one would gain anything by my leaving, as most of the powerful fighters had already been wiped out.
My mission remains the same. I need to discover who was controlling the Beast King and why. What did they stand to gain by starting that war, and why specifically in the Crater? Until I have my answers, I can’t go back.”
“And you think helping us will get you those answers?” Hermit asked.
Kaeru shrugged.
“Maybe. Maybe not. Regardless, they tortured the two of us for weeks on end. If it were just me, I would let it go in favor of returning to my mission. But they tortured Violet as well, and I don’t think she’ll ever be the same after going through something like that. For her sake, I’ll see this through, whether we succeed or fail.”
Before Hermit could say anything, the doors opened, and Itami Ha and Makura Amber strolled in, both chatting animatedly. Herald Marrie followed on their heels, looking very out of place, with Sanshoo Kumo following soon after.
He could understand why Duncan wanted Marrie to attend these meetings, though the girl didn’t seem very comfortable with the idea.
“Do we have any communication?” he asked, looking to Marrie.
The girl jumped, looking between all of the gathered Martial Artists, all of whom were leagues above her in power and centuries more experienced.
“I… Um…” Marrie began, looking squarely at the floor.
“Why don’t you start with something else,” Violet said, walking into the room and placing a hand on her shoulder. “We can talk about that when we’ve gotten all our other business out of the way.”
Hermit shrugged as Violet led Marrie to a seat, the younger girl seeming much more comfortable around her than anyone else, not that it was a surprise. Of all of them, Violet could basically be considered the same age as her. She was halfway through her eighteenth year, and just like Marrie, was a prodigy. They were few and far between, so the two of them got along just fine.
“I guess we should start as we always do, then,” Makura Amber said as she slumped into an overstuffed chair. “Where are you up to?”
All eyes turned to Hermit, waiting for an answer.
“Four days at the most,” Hermit said. “I might be able to make it sooner, but this isn’t a process one would want to rush.”
His eyes flicked to Marrie, who was still looking at the floor, trying not to be noticed.
“What about the Cavern Beast’s encroachment?” Hermit asked, turning to Itami Ha.
“New estimates say he’ll reach the main Inu city within three weeks,” he replied.
“And the other Sovereigns?”
“Lazing around, throwing dinner parties, the usual,” Ha replied. “Or, so my spies tell me. In reality, there’s no way of actually knowing.”
“Disgusting,” Sanshoo Kumo muttered. “Hundreds of thousands of my people are dead, and millions more will die, yet they’re busy throwing parties!”
Hermit rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his mind running through dozens of possibilities as to what they might actually be doing but coming up short. Without all of the relevant information, he couldn’t draw any conclusions.
“Alright. What does Duncan have to say?” he asked, turning to Marrie again.
As a member of his direct family, she was the only one he contacted. It was good training for the girl’s future in the clan but more than a little infuriating, considering their current predicament.
“He said he’s ready,” Marrie said, her voice low and barely audible. “He’s been making excuses for the last few days, complaining about a crack in his cultivation when he knows spies are listening. So, when he disappears for a day or two, no one will think much of it.”
Hermit nodded, thinking over their hair-brained scheme to overthrow the leadership of the Seven Great clans. After what they pulled, peace would never again be attainable, not in his lifetime, anyway. Of course, this was all contingent on whether his will was strong enough to stick with it once he advanced. There was still the very real possibility that as soon as he and Duncan passed their tests, they would lose all interest in protecting their clans.
“Is that all?” he asked, looking around the room as Marrie finished with her report.
No one spoke up, so Hermit turned to leave.
“Until tomorrow, then.”
He exited the room without another word, heading into his own space and letting out a long sigh only once the door had closed.
“I don’t understand these daily meetings,” he grumbled. “All they do is distract from our overall goals.”
“If you’re looking for advice, you’re asking the wrong Core,” the Dungeon Core replied. “I still don’t understand you humans sometimes.”
Hermit sighed again, going to fill the tub in the adjacent washroom to get rid of all the rock dust that now clung to his skin.
Just a few more days, he thought.
Just a few more days until he faced the toughest test of his life.
***
Duncan was sitting in his room, his legs folded beneath him and his eyes closed, when he finally got the communication.
Marrie’s voice, sounding more than a little excited, came buzzing through their connection, directly into his mind.
“He says he’s ready!”
Duncan hid a wince at the volume and replied.
“Do you see the gate?”
“Yes,” Marrie answered. “It looks different than the last time I saw it.”
“How so?”
“More solid?” Marrie replied, though she sounded hesitant.
“That’s good enough,” Duncan said. “You have another Gatestone ready?”
“Just like you told me to,” Marrie said, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
“Then wait for my signal,” Duncan said. “And be careful.”
He cut off the communication then and opened his eyes. They flashed silver for a moment as he reached for his Core, imposing his will over the space before him and tearing it wide open. Portals, or tears in space, weren’t something that most Sovereigns could open on their own. Something like that was mostly in the realm of the Scions. But, close as he was, Duncan had managed to open a pocket dimension.
It wasn’t big, no larger than his curled fist, but it had allowed him to sneak in an item that would otherwise have been detected, an item that he now drew out, flooding it with his Weakness Reiki. The gray orb whirled to life, clicking sounds echoing in the room as it spun and unlocked, small invisible joints lighting up with his Reiki as it expanded, opening to reveal four small beads sitting in a tiny compartment hidden within.
Duncan smiled to himself as they floated up and out of the compartment before flying to the corners of the room a
nd hovering there. A line of silver traced from each, streaking through the air and connecting with the one next to it. More lines flowed up to the ceiling and down to the floor, where they spread, encasing him in a box of forged Reiki.
There was a very simple reason why the others wouldn’t have wanted him to bring a portable barrier like this one: It would lock all of the power inside, not even allowing a drop to leak out. While something like this wouldn’t normally be much of a bother, as a Sovereign could smash through it in under a minute, it would become a problem if a Gray Belt on the cusp of advancing wanted to do so without being discovered.
Even if one of the other Sovereigns had detected what he was doing – and that was a big if – there would be absolutely nothing they could do to stop him.
His power flared around him, his Belt materializing around his waist and burning a dark Gray. Eleven Black lines appeared, one after the next, on one of the hanging ends. Just a few seconds later, the Black Torii gate shimmered into view, solidifying over the next thirty seconds as he rose to face the challenge.
No one came bursting into his room even as the Black gate stabilized, offering him a way forward.
Duncan steadied his nerves, fixing in his mind the thought of his clan, his children, and what future they would have if the Ancient Cavern Beast were allowed to run rampant. It was a bleak vision indeed, one that he would not allow to happen.
With those thoughts fixed squarely in his mind, Duncan finally stepped through the Torii gate to begin his test, a test that had not even been attempted in over seven-hundred years.
46
“I knew you could do it,” Roy said, as Aika emerged from the gate, a shining Purple-Belt bound around her waist.
She was beaming from ear to ear as he approached, and when he wrapped his arms around her, he could feel her new strength as she hugged him back. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she’d grown exponentially since passing through the gate, and now, he was confident they could head down to destroy the fish Beast that had nearly killed him before.
“I almost thought I’d failed for a moment there,” Aika said, stepping back and smiling.