Chapter Ashborn 380: The Shield Chakra

“Enter,” Greesha said, only glancing briefly at the urchin before returning to her work. “What is it? If you’re here to beg forgiveness for some crime you committed, be quick about it. Well?”

The urchin said nothing, instead walking up to Greesha’s desk with bold, purposeful footsteps.

Greesha finally looked up, scrutinizing the young demon. There was a look about him—a fire in his eyes—that unsettled her. Just in case, she reached for the dagger she kept hidden under her desk. While she bore no powers of her own, she’d been in a few fights during her long life. She’d at least be able to defend herself until the two guards could intervene.

“State your business,” Greesha said, ready to instruct her guards to detain the newcomer, but then, he extended his fingers, holding up something between them. A folded note.

“I bring word from a mutual friend.”

Greesha’s brow furrowed. “We’ve never met. Of whom do you speak?”

Saying nothing, the demon walked slowly to her desk and set the note down, eyeing her guards as he did. They eyed them back with equal suspicion.

“The note explains everything,” the demon said curtly. “Now, I must go.”

“Wait!” Greesha called, but it was too late. Faster than a shrike, the demon had already left.

Cursing how demons these days had no manners, Greesha unfolded the note and scanned the text. Each line she read caused her eyes to widen, and each sentence caused her confusion to grow.

The moment she’d read it through, she brought the paper to a candle that burned on her desk. The note lit, and soon, all that remained were ashes.

What is he planning… she wondered. No, she didn’t need to know that. All would become clear in time. Right now, she had a job to do.

“Summon Janani and tell her to gather the urchins. ” she commanded to her guards. “All of them. There is much work to be done.”

For the first time in an eternity, Greesha’s lips curled up into a smile. While faint, she felt the faintest spark of hope.

Our time approaches…

Tara and Balagra worked around the clock to nurse the beleaguered Garga Lavani to health, yet despite their efforts, despite the bountiful nourishment they were fed, and despite their natural demonic vitality, it took a full week to coax them back to something resembling decent health. Such was the extent of their malnourishment that their muscles had all but disappeared.

It took one week more to acclimatize to the prana near the Gate enough for them to venture into even the outermost reaches of the Ash, and another week to actually occupy a base where time did not work against them. Only then did their training begin in earnest.

During that time, Vir had not been idle. His days were packed to the brim with a variety of tasks, all important. All that demanded his attention constantly.

Mostly, it was meetings. Planning meetings to determine where new bases should be placed and how existing bases ought to be expanded. Meetings for everything from training regimens to scouting patrols to updates for procuring food and water. There were even meetings regarding troop morale, which often required Vir to make rounds and chat with the soldiers to see how they were doing.

Ordinarily, Vir would have liked nothing better—to get to know the souls who would fight for his cause was an honor. Except that his other responsibilities ate up all of his time. Such as the expansion of the Gate network deeper and deeper into the Ash. Such as his countless meetings with Saunak, discussing all manner of experiments, from devices that turned soil more fertile—invaluable in the demon realm—to improvements on Saunak’s airship designs, which often required Vir to act as a test pilot, to the modification of Cirayus’ navigation orb.

With Ashani’s help and Saunak’s tower’s archives, it now seemed possible to alter the orb to navigate to the Primordial tablets Vir had encountered. There were eight of them scattered all around the realms, and short of pure dumb luck, Vir had no method of finding them.

Until now. If Saunak could modify the device, Vir could leverage his Gate network to quickly home in on their location.

And this was but one of the inventions Saunak had embarked upon. Should even a fraction of those efforts bear fruit, the Demon Realm would be transformed in a way demonkind could scarcely even imagine.

“You look like death, lad,” Cirayus said, emerging through a portal to the outskirts of Mahādi. Vir had his godfather spend hours near the Gate every day for the past month to acclimatize to the prana here. Not even the Ravager could withstand the prana density, initially.

As for why Vir had holed up inside Janak’s lab? To take advantage of the time shift effects. With the bulk of his forces deep inside the Ash, Vir had fled to Mahādi. Not to fight the mythical beasts that lurked there… But to gain more hours in the day to deal with the paperwork. It was why he’d had Cirayus train. Aside from Ashani, he was the only one who could bring Vir news and papers, and for all her intelligence, Cirayus had far more experience than Ashani in these matters.

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“Today’s reports?” Vir asked. “Anything I need to worry about?”

“Nothing especially pressing,” Cirayus said, dumping the sheet of papers on Janak’s—now Vir’s—desk. “Tara’s asking to build out a series of bases at different depths in the Ash. Medical bases, connected via Gate, to be staffed at all times. Says they’ll be able to tailor treatment better that way, depending on how prana-attuned the patients coming in are. The stronger patients can get treated deeper in the Ash, where the time effects benefit them. The weaker ones will be taken away.”

“That is a great idea,” Vir said. Most ideas that made it to his table tended to be quite solid. That was the problem; he only had two thousand demons. Some projects, no matter how interesting, had to be deprioritized for now. “How many bases does she want?”

“Five,” Cirayus said.

Vir shook his head. “We’d need over a hundred demons to guard those. Two hundred, once we factor in watch schedules. She can have two, for now.”

Cirayus chuckled. “She won’t be happy about that.”

“Well, if she wants more, tell her to get me more demons. Until then, two is all we can manage.”

“I agree, and told her much the same, but alas, she insisted I bring the matter to you.”

Vir smiled. “I’m blessed to have friends who care about their job as much as they do.”

“Aye, you are. But do not forget it was you who arranged that group. As the leader, you have to shoulder the consequences of their shortfalls… But do not forget you get to take credit for their successes as well. One of the few perks of responsibility.”

“I’d never consider it. This was Tara’s idea. The credit goes to her, and her alone. I just keep the ship pointed in the right direction, so to speak.”

Cirayus barked a laugh. “That you do, lad. And a damn fine job, if I do say so myself. Look at you. I can hardly believe you’re the same boy I once fought in the Human Realm, all that time ago.”

Vir smiled. “We’ve all come a long way. But we have far to go. Which is why I want you to defer all reports for the next three days. Three days my time, that is.”

“So, more like six for us, then,” Cirayus replied, stroking his beard. “Your council will not be happy.”

“Can you manage?” Vir asked, lines of worry creasing his brow. Three days might not seem like much, but Vir was the lifeblood of the rebellion.

“Won’t be easy,” Cirayus admitted. “But fret not. I will make it happen. I take it you’re planning something?”

“I am. I’m going to open my Shield Chakra. And then, I’m going to master Balancer of Scales.”

Easier said than done, Vir thought as he crossed his legs on the pristine white floor of Janak’s lab and closed his eyes, sinking into his mindscape.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

First, the scent of the morning forest tickled his nose, followed by the soothing warmth of the sun rejuvenated his skin. The babbling brook—the newest addition to his mindscape—completed the picture, and even before he opened his eyes, Vir was at peace.

Meditating in this space provided a multiplicative benefit. Not only was Vir in Mahādi, where time crawled, his mindscape additionally halved the passage of time. Vir suspected he could spend a month in here with only a few hours passing in the Demon Realm, and thanks to his prana-engorged body, he could easily go weeks without eating or drinking. As for sleep, he required little, and meditating in his mindscape fully replaced the need for sleep.

As such, Vir found himself meditating more and more these days when he had a spare minute—which was, of course, a precious commodity.

Six full days of uninterrupted time… When had Vir had such a luxury? He would need every minute. Progress on Balancer of Scales had been glacial, even under tutelage of the most knowledgeable teacher alive. Cirayus’ knowledge, however, came from decades and centuries of slow, steady perfection.

Vir didn’t have decades. He didn’t even have years. What he needed was a shortcut.

And there was one demon to provide it. His Bairan predecessor—said to be demonkind’s greatest master of the Ultimate Art. Narak the Destroyer.

Narak was the Akh Nara incarnation Vir was least familiar with, having seen only one memory fragment of his, back in the Rani Queendom. Ekanai and Shardul, who both possessed the tattoo, and who had tried to help Vir to limited effect, seemed convinced he could help. Not only because of his status as an Akh Nara, but because he’d been lauded as a genius who had mastered the art seemingly overnight.

For, as Vir was learning, it was one thing to use an ability, and another entirely to master it well enough to share its secrets with another demon.

As for why they were confident Narak would be next… It seemed that every Chakra Vir opened allowed him to commune with the next oldest predecessor. Ekanai was the most recent, followed by Shardul. Narak was next in line.

And so, Vir’s mastery of Balancer of Scales hinged upon opening the Shield Chakra. Not only was the Shield immensely valuable—for the first time, Vir would have a defense against Warrior Chakra attacks—it would also expand his mindscape, further slowing time and making the space even more useful.

Opting not to summon Ekanai and Shardul, Vir focused the entirety of his concentration upon the concept of the Shield, and sunk into his meditation.

Having gone through this process twice now, Vir felt as though he was starting to get the hang of things. Effort and time was a necessary element for every Chakra, but was insufficient on its own, as he’d learned the hard way while trying to unlock his Foundation Chakra within the Ash.

The reason it took most demons decades was not because the effort itself took that long, but because their understanding of the meaning of the Chakra and how it related to them was lacking. Furthermore, even for an individual demon, their compatibility with each Chakra usually varied significantly, with some coming more easily than others.

It was for this reason that, even knowing the recipe, knowledge of opening Chakras could not be taught or passed down from generation to generation. Every demon had to find their own path. Uncover their own meaning for themselves.

Vir had put in the hard work over the past weeks and months, meditating on the concept of the Shield, and specifically, how it related to him. Now, he simply needed to internalize that epiphany.

For the first time in a very long time, it came more easily than he anticipated. The concept of the Shield was near and dear to his heart, after all.

Vir was the protector. Of his loved ones. Of his clan… Of the Realm. He was Sarvaak. The One Who Makes Whole. Defender of the legacy of Demonkind.

The Shield Chakra opened by a hair, and Vir fought not to break his concentration. He was nearly there.

A new feeling rushed into Vir. Awareness of his place in the world. As a guardian and shield. To not just protect life, but happiness. To help every demon maximize their potential for greatness.

To allow all living beings to become the best version of themselves.

Opening his eyes, Vir found the mindscape markedly changed.

For one, the meadow had expanded even farther, now spanning over three hundred yards in diameter. The Godhollows soared even higher, surpassing even Vir’s memory of them.

The changes didn’t stop there. The brook bisecting the meadow widened, becoming a swiftly moving stream. And right beside it sat a small structure. One that Vir recognized instantly and cherished dearly.

It was the log cabin he grew up in. Rudvik’s cabin.

And from out of that cabin, stooping to half his height, a red demon emerged.

Vir’s eyes lit up in recognition. At long last, Vir had summoned Narak the Destroyer. At long last, he could now unravel the secrets behind Balancer of Scales.