Amdirlain’s PoV - Wudang Mountain - Zixiao Palace

  Dark furnishing and decorations were a constant theme as they moved through the palace’s corridors, yet they had a comforting, protective feel rather than being coldly repressive.

  They eventually came to an expansive courtyard with a plain walkway surrounding it, but there wasn’t a single obstruction across its paved space. Sixteen immortals in black silk garb were formed in a four-by-four grid within the courtyard, moving through identical Jai drills in a stop-motion blur. Among them flowed a plain-looking man dressed in dishevelled peasant’s cotton jacket and pants in solid black; the hems around his ankles were badly frayed and his feet were dirty. His attention remained on the students as he tapped ankles and wrists or shifted their shoulders to adjust their motions, continually correcting their drills and making positional changes so fine that they would have required a micrometre. As he continued to move among them, his long hair worked itself partly free from the ties that had restrained it. Her proximity allowed her to hear the roiling energies sweeping through his plain form.

  “Xuan Wu, your guests are here,” announced Jiutian Xuannü. “I can take care of your students if you wish.”

  He moved out of the lines, making last adjustments to the stance of the few immortals he passed. “We’re done for now. Everyone complete those drills a thousand times each before your next lesson. Focus on the feel of the corrections.”

  The students turned and saluted him, only to receive a simple nod in return.

  Heading towards them, he started to re-secure his hair. “Lady Am, my apologies for the youngster being overzealous. Some take their safeguarding of my time too seriously.”

  Amdirlain inclined her head. “Lord Xuan Wu. Hopefully, our meeting is a good use of time for both of us.”

  Jiutian Xuannü tucked her hands inside the opposite sleeves and casually stood with her arms folded across her abdomen. Her relaxed smile was that of a benevolent older sibling amused by her brother’s antics.

  “Lady Am. If you want, you can go through introductions, or is everyone comfortable pretending we did?”

  “You were courteous,” replied Amdirlain. “Do you often upset the officials?”

  “Regularly. My only superior is the Jade Emperor.”

  How does Jiutian Xuannü fit in the hierarchy? She’s got a chilled vibe coming off her.

  “Bai Hu provided the right names with the descriptions this time,” offered Jiutian Xuannü.

  He moved up beside her, motioning to a door across the courtyard as he did. “Good, I don’t have to yank that tiger’s whiskers out. Shall we sit and discuss your journey? Would any of you care for tea?”

  “That would be an honour.”

  Xuan Wu smiled drily and beckoned the group to follow him. He turned away, speaking over his shoulder as he walked. “Did you recognise any of those sword drills?”

  “Only from the techniques Jinfeng uses when I spar with her,” replied Amdirlain.

  He turned to look back at Jinfeng, and he gave her a mysterious smile that Amdirlain found hard to judge. “You did well to break Indra Ka’s weapon, Jinfeng. Would you care to join the junior session tomorrow?”

  “It would be an honour, Lord Xuan Wu.”

  Well, that saves me asking.

  Without glancing back, Jiutian Xuannü spoke. “A servant will show you to the drills before dawn, Jinfeng.”

  The chamber they were led to had a scale model of the mountain covering a large table that dominated the room. She caught slight movements as model trees swayed in time to the wind outside. Across the terrain were markers signalling different battalions and Di Yu legions. While the Shen and Mortal pieces on the board were pieces of simple carved jade, the demonic pieces seethed with the restrained energy of Di Yu.

  “A recent war game with the generals. I should have had them pack the pieces,” noted Xuan Wu.

  Klipyl moved to look over one of the demonic figures jabbing a spear skyward. “This piece looks odd.”

  “A Demon that refused to be bound. He serves a purpose while he reconsiders his decision.”

  “Why did you shrink him this way instead of banishing him back to Di Yu?”

  “He was breaking the rules by staying on the Material Plane. He feared the snake mothers would tear him apart for his failure, and his fear of the same fate kept him from attempting to seek enlightenment.”

  “You’re using him as a game marker instead,” noted Klipyl.

  “He has quiet time to consider his choices,” replied Xuan Wu. “At least this way, he sees a little of his surroundings instead of peering at the side of a jar or another Demon’s equally compressed arse. On the upside, he isn’t in Di Yu being a stronger demon’s plaything, while on the downside, his view depends on where we place him, and he can’t hear us if he hoped to spy.”

  Amdirlain caught a rush of amusement from Sarah.

  Having a submissive pick their punishment is something Sarah talked about doing as a dominatrix.

  Jiutian Xuannü flicked her fingers, and the pieces lifted from the model and arrayed themselves on shelves about the room. A black jade tea set floated over to hover in the air beside Xuan Wu, and he nodded towards the chairs.

  “Please take a seat,” said Xuan Wu. “If you’ll share it, I want to hear about your journey.”

  “I’m happy to share some stories,” said Amdirlain, picking a spot to sit.

  “Though you’ve travelled far, I’m most interested in hearing about your findings in the Arctic Circle and your experiences with the mortals of the kingdoms so far,” said Xuan Wu.

  “Then I’ll start from what we saw along the continent’s west coast after we travelled north when the first winter lifted,” said Amdirlain, and she began to describe the green dragons and their territory north of their first winter camp in Spain. Her recount of the green and red dragons’ territories caused his gaze to darken, but he didn’t interrupt with questions.

  When the discussion on their trip finished covering the Di Yu Gate, Xuan Wu grunted unhappily. “You crushed the Black Wind Calamity’s feasting before she could more than sip. Her ferocity will know no bounds when next she emerges.”

  “I’ll see that there is no delay when reports come in,” stated Jiutian Xuannü.

  Xuan Wu clicked his tongue. “We’ll need to hunt her out, not just wait for others to report. The latest news is that several orders are now looking for the Wu Jen. Yet they’ve not found any record of anyone powerful going by that name in recent centuries. This Gate might be a thread from long ago or the start of a longer plan.”

  The thought of an arcanist pulling at threads from the shadows prickled at Amdirlain.

  That Precognition warning felt partly disconnected from this discussion; who else is stirring trouble?

  “Easy enough for someone in his position to change their name,” suggested Klipyl, her finger circling across the lip of her now empty tea cup. “Am did that quite a bit.”

  “True,” allowed Amdirlain.

  Xuan Wu shrugged noncommittally. “What reason would he have had to do so? It’s not like he’d have expected someone to connect him to the Gate by that name. If most people found the site, the only way they’d have gotten his name would have been if the Black Wind Calamity had shared it. Given that, it’s more probable that he is long dead.”

  “We thought that the first Summoner who died trying to call me was an isolated threat,” offered Amdirlain. “Though we tried to find out more about him, some leads were discounted because they seemed unconnected. That was a costly mistake.”

  “We do not yet know the true enemy, which puts us at a disadvantage. Yet we wouldn’t have known to even look without you finding this Gate.”

  “The Jade Emperor wouldn’t foresee it?”

  “The Jade Emperor is careful about what he says. Not only does his foreseeing provide imprecise details in this realm, but he is powerful enough that when he speaks of events, he can cause them to come about. For example, what do you think might happen if he told someone the courts would aid them in dire times?”

  Sour thoughts had Amdirlain purse her lips. “He would effectively sentence them to experience great trouble—that the courts could then help them with—with no certainty that they’d survive the situation.”

  “Exactly, and put many Shen and Immortals in danger without guaranteeing their fate,” added Xuan Wu.

  “Does he always give instructions through koans to avoid influencing the outcome?” asked Sarah.

  “Not always. Sometimes he’ll give precise orders, but their purpose is never what people immediately assume. He has issued more of those recently, but I don’t yet know the purpose they’ll serve. There have been some strange events.”

  Amdirlain tilted her head. “Strange?”

  Is that about what I’ve done since meeting Indra Ka, or something else?

  “Do you know the effect your use of yang and yin energies in the lower planes you travel in has had?”

  “Besides blowing up lots of demons?” asked Amdirlain.

  Jiutian Xuannü shook her head. “You’ve gone straight to a topic best discussed without an audience, Xuan Wu.”

  He glanced at Jinfeng and shrugged. “She is far enough along to hear what trouble her Sifu has stirred.”

  “Klipyl’s allegiance isn’t to any of the courts, even if she feels similar to a Shen.”

  “You have a point,” Xuan Wu rose, his attention weighing on Amdirlain alone. “Shall we go speak?”

  We’re too far into his territory if this is trouble, but Precognition is humming with possibilities, not screaming about impending danger.

  Amdirlain gave Sarah’s hand a reassuring squeeze before she stood.

  “If Xuan Wu is stealing Am away for a heart-to-heart, can I pick your brains about Tao Enchanting?” asked Sarah.

  Klipyl perked up. “Can the demons hear?”

  “When we allow it,” replied Jiutian Xuannü.

  “Can I speak to them about choices while you two talk?”

  Xuan Wu laughed and waved Klipyl towards the shelves. “Be our guest.”

  As Klipyl rose, he led Amdirlain along a short corridor to another chamber with a large ring of comfortable chairs in its middle. Silkscreens stood before the dark wood panelling and displayed a variety of coastal scenes. Though he slipped past the chairs nearest the doors, he ignored them and stood at ease in the open space between them.

  “Are you familiar with hot springs? The way the surface bubbles when volcanic gasses emerge?”

  “Yes.”

  Why isn’t he sitting down or offering a seat?

  “Every time you use the yang and yin energies in the lower planes, you are seeding bubbles of energy attuned to the Jade Court to spill through planes out of alignment with our axis.”

  Potential effects sprang to mind, and Amdirlain restrained a wince.

  With his attention fixed on her, Xuan Wu continued. “Your lower planes connect to countless worlds, not just this one where the Jade Court’s centre lies. Though we set up the outpost in the Outlands, it did not draw the effects in, and the energies have flowed out into other worlds, multiplying as they’ve travelled.”

  “How much instability has it caused?”

  “The amount has been manageable so far, but the effects are like a Mortal wiping their hand across a polished cabinet only to find splinters digging into tender flesh,” stated Xuan Wu. “We recently had a fragmented Shen manifest in the Jade Court focused on another world.”

  “Fragmented Shen?”

  “Their enlightened state is odd, partly influenced by their world’s local pantheons and, with no common background, their perspective is problematic. We’ve got scholars working hard to achieve a common ground.”

  “What if I aligned an entire world to the Jade Court? Would that provide a sufficient focus to attract the freely floating energy? I could do that before we head onto the East Wind’s Court.”

  Xuan Wu suppressed a surprise twitch. “I thought I’d have to lead into the issue and negotiate. It might still be insufficient, but it’s one idea we had.”

  “I might have offered it, but there is still going to be a cost involved,” cautioned Amdirlain.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “You contributed to the mess,” Xuan Wu said drily.

  Amdirlain shifted her weight. “Which is why the cost won’t be as significant. I’m merely after information and training.”

  “The first would depend on the information, but given what I’ve heard and sense from you, the training is most certainly the more problematic of the two.”

  “Why?”

  “My normal training routines don’t suit your nature and might require an inventive approach.”

  Do I want to know what he means by that?

  “Neither Bai Hu nor yourself has stopped me from hearing your energies. Is that part of your inventive training?”

  “No, it was an attempt to avoid any misunderstanding about our motivations. You are a focal point with too many concealed strings already tugging at you and untrusting of more.”

  A slight frown creased Amdirlain’s brow. “You’re being strangely blunt.”

  Xuan Wu’s gaze gleamed in amusement. “Master Cyrus cautioned us to be as direct as a stabbing blade.”

  “Oh?”

  “You’re justifiably paranoid about the motivations of others,” notes Xuan Wu. “Your enlightenment is your own concern, and you’d never sit within the hierarchy of the courts. It seems we have three options: benefit from your actions, ignore you, or suffer if you turn your hand against us, as it’s clear you might well become far more than you are now. Your demonstration after defeating Indra Ka showed Nazha has already been colossally stupid, even if you benefit in the long term. A shortened route isn’t always in the traveller’s best interest.”

  “You’re not trying to recruit me?”

  “Has that happened before?”

  Amdirlain smiled slightly. “I had an invitation that I turned down, but that doesn’t answer my question.”

  “I hope for a friendly alliance. Your use of Ki and Jade Court Mana has raised interesting questions, given that you had no contact with us.”

  “The concept of Ki was in stories and games in the realm I came from in my last life,” explained Amdirlain. “When I got here, some of it worked, and while experimenting, I gained the Affinity.”

  Xuan Wu snorted in amusement. “That matches Master Cyrus’s story, and I won’t go into some of the paranoid theories offered when you used the energy in the Abyss.”

  “Were those theories part of why the Jade Emperor invited me to travel around?” asked Amdirlain.

  Xuan Wu shrugged. “You decided his parcel was an invitation, and we received word from Master Cyrus and Livia you were coming. You’re not causing trouble, so you can continue travelling. I don’t know what the puzzle box or its contents mean. It could have multiple purposes, or be a gift to ensure you seek meaning within yourself.“

  Amdirlain gave a wary smile. “Neither of us knows exactly what the Jade Emperor wanted.”

  “Indeed. The important thing is that you felt it invited you to travel the kingdoms, but enlightenment is also a journey. How have you made use of your time?”

  “The early stages of the journey were useful as a quiet time for healing,” replied Amdirlain.

  Until Nazha tossed me in the furnace.

  His plain features lightened with a genuine smile. “It’s good that it has prompted you into a useful endeavour. Healing is important. Perhaps contemplation on the gift will lead you further.”

  The hair tie Xuan Wu had refastened earlier parted with a pop, and long strands came free to drape across his shoulder.

  Xuan Wu gave a frustrated huff.

  “Problem?” asked Amdirlain.

  “Not a problem, only that I’ve spent too much time on the Material Plane lately, so more of my truth is leaking through,” replied Xuan Wu.

  Amdirlain frowned at the clash of multiple translated concepts. “Do you mean True Form?”

  “I don’t have one True Form as you know it. We all found our enlightenment on the Material Plane, and when we remain on it, our state from that event expresses itself,” clarified Xuan Wu.

  “Your tattered clothing and dirty feet?”

  “My moment of enlightenment came on a battlefield, not in conversation with Quan Yin, as some tales say,” said Xuan Wu. “She spoke to me beforehand and then helped me progress afterwards. What do your ‘True Song’ abilities tell you about me?”

  “I hear multiple forms within you, which is very unlike what I heard from Bai Hu.”

  Xuan Wu’s flesh and clothing melted away, leaving behind not one but two figures. A black tortoise and a dark serpent existed in the same space as the man had stood, but slightly out of phase. The pair were battle-scarred, with cracks in their respective scales and shells. The top of his shell was on eye level with Amdirlain, requiring her to look down to meet his gaze.

  “Cute,” noted Amdirlain. “Why do depictions of you show the snake and tortoise separately?”

  “Ugly, not cute,” corrected Xuan Wu, simultaneously echoing from both mouths. “Most find my dual nature in this state unsettling.”

  Was he expecting me to be unsettled?

  “That’s a matter of perspective,” replied Amdirlain. “I’d venture you planned to show me this form from the start.”

  “I did, because it has a lesson to teach you. You have permission to observe in the same fashion as you studied Bai Hu’s technique.”

  “I hope this isn’t because of a vision,” Amdirlain stated.

  The serpent swayed in the negative. “It’s at the request of the one you called Bahamut. We met when he visited the Jade Emperor, and he asked me to let you listen to my nature.”

  Amdirlain restricted her attention to Xuan Wu alone and took in the themes running of his forms. Every curve of scale or shell shone with yin energy, it was like hearing a cappella: the separate focus of the chords around a single theme reinforced each other and broadened their reach. She could sense the divide between selves and, as with the serpent’s scales, they overlapped and supported each other to add strength where the other was weak. His yin alignment was a constant hurricane of consuming force with a trio of facets entwined within; while it had first sounded like he might fly apart, the very momentum of each kept the others in balance.

  “They’re not fully part of you, but together you’re one.”

  “I had to subjugate them to become whole again,” replied Xuan Wu. “Now that I’ve granted Bahamut’s request, what do you seek from me?”

  “Our travels through the north didn’t originally include meeting with you. After the trouble Nazha’s suffering caused me, I asked Bai Hu to arrange for me to spar with you as an apology since Nazha is his underling. It was more to put an obligation of favour on him rather than wishing something from you.”

  “What was your original plan for travelling through the north?”

  “To seek the Immortal that developed the Ki Blast technique that I learnt,” replied Amdirlain. “Master Cyrus was going to introduce me.”

  Xuan Wu drew his legs in, lowering himself to the floor. The inner eyelids of the tortoise and snake closed, leaving his eyes milky white.

  What game is he playing?

  “Interesting. So why did you choose that obligation to impose on Bai Hu?”

  “You’re the Lord of Martial Arts. I believed I could learn more even if I only observed you,” clarified Amdirlain. “After the officious reception, I almost went straight to Nippon.”

  “Why is that?” asked Xuan Wu. “I wouldn’t have thought that someone overly officious would deter you.”

  “I’ve had people playing enough games of late,” said Amdirlain. “For all I knew, his behaviour was because of your instructions.”

  “Your Ki Body is still unstable, and your martial arts are lacking. You negotiated for information and teaching, but are you sure there is nothing else you wish to ask?”

  Amdirlain sat seiza-style on the stone floor, yet as she eased back on her heels, she found Xuan Wu’s half-lidded eyes again lower. “Why do you ask?”

  Why did he shrink further? By keeping his eyes below mine, isn’t he demeaning himself? Or is he doing this to make me think about my perception of things?

  “You are not whole. There are powers you might benefit from insight into, even if you can’t use them yet.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I am the greater yin. While I can’t properly sense your Soul beneath the Titan’s Seal, I can faintly feel the Buddha’s metal. It nestles against you and tells a revealing tale on its own. I once tore myself in three to cleanse myself of past evil deeds. Yet in doing so, I became greater and lesser for a time and spawned two monstrous beings. Now the three of us are all greater than I was.”

  “Orhêthurin tore herself in two, but some would say I’m the lesser part,” said Amdirlain.

  “When a flower goes to seed, is it lessened or changed?”

  A seed is an interesting analogy for the Lord of Martial Arts.

  “Changed, but some aspects serving the Titan don’t see it that way.”

  “It is only how we see ourselves that is important. I changed myself through what I did. My snake is smarter than me, especially with healing, and the tortoise is more enduring. Yet my snake isn’t interested in healing unless I stir her, and the tortoise will only bunker down and not strike out at what needs to be conquered. He views most attempts to injure him as pitiful.”

  “They’re still separate.”

  “If I had subsumed them, then I would have been no better than the barbarian butcher Quan Yin aided,” replied Xuan Wu. “They have unique opinions on many matters, and we work together. Together, we are greater than the individual I used to be.”

  He transformed back, mirroring her seated posture, his dark gaze meeting hers directly.

  “I’m sure it’s not as simple as you’re making it out.”

  His broad smile had a serpent’s feel to it. “Life is about understanding and living, not simplicity. My serpent doesn’t like the wounds that the material across your Soul shows. You came recently from a world with technology. Did they have ways of seeing injuries to bones, or better yet, scanning organs?”

  “They had both, though examining some organs required material injections.”

  “That is what the headband’s material is acting like, revealing injuries I wouldn’t have been able to see,” explained Xuan Wu. “You’re a greater mess than me, with all the scars I’ve got over my three forms.”

  Amdirlain shrugged noncommittally.

  “I think I like you, Amdirlain,” said Xuan Wu. “Which is dangerous in itself.”

  Do I want to know why being liked by him is dangerous? I hope he doesn’t plan to propose as well.

  “I figured you and some others knew my full name.” Amdirlain smiled warily. “Did you call dibs to save it for a special occasion?”

  “Master Cyrus reported about his travels when he left Limbo, and he didn’t understand the danger of your name being known. We have no interest in using another’s name to bind them. While we use them, it’s only to seal someone away, and while that approach is fine for those who were once within the courts, it would cost us far more than we would gain if done to you.”

  “What sort of people do you seal away?” asked Amdirlain.

  “Those who’ve lost their way and need to be kept from humanity, but who won’t seek solitude,” replied Xuan Wu. “The location and type of seal varies. It might be inside a stone, a fish in a lake, a tree, or as a near-Mortal.”

  “Why is being liked by you dangerous?”

  Xuan smiled sadly. “Because you do not need kindness. It is part of my way: to guide those suitable to achieve their best in ways that suit them. I teach martial arts according to the combatant, not what I feel like teaching them. Summarise the lesson you tried to impart to Indra Ka.”

  “A true master lifts others. Indra Ka crushed others to prove he could stand atop the bodies.”

  “There are lessons to learn even in facing death that can aid one’s next life. Yet that is not the lesson I see you need. While I can’t sense your Soul, I can tell you’ve neglected powers in your flesh that you’d be wise to understand better.” Xuan Wu claimed a nearby chair that he’d ignored until now.

  Do I want to know what he means? What am I opening myself up for by asking?

  Amdirlain moved to sit across from him. “What’s the purpose of the lesson?”

  “A training ground, not a lesson. A visit to a sealed individual might help you understand Ki better, along with other things.”

  She leant forward, attention fixed on Xuan Wu. “What’s the catch?”

  “Lack of explanation and time to decide. One warning: it involves considerable danger since that seems to be the most efficient way for you to learn.”

  “Then I’d better tell Sarah I’m taking your lesson.”

  As soon as Amdirlain sent the Message, she found herself in a rough cavern, with brutal explosions smashing against her ears. The surrounding walls were battered and broken, and she could hear the residual energy of thousands of blows, yet the rock underneath the scarred surface remained intact. Trying to sense deeper still, she found her perceptions rebuffed by wild vortexes of energy set ten metres beyond the cavern’s outer walls. Expanding her reach through the cavern, it turned out that the obstruction was only in the deeper layer of stones. She could freely expand her awareness throughout the cavern and an interconnecting maze of passages. Kilometres away and through the labyrinth, a burly figure resembling a bipedal Sumatran elephant smashed his stumpy forelimbs against a wall. The force of each blow matched Sarah’s orbital drop on Qil Tris, which had flattened a manor and the Eldritch within, yet only a tiny puff of rock dust rose in response. Next to where he stood was an unmarked expanse of rock that he gradually worked along with each blow.

  Yet another maze? Is it that fellow I’ve got to understand or the prison? What exactly is he?

  [Name: Rustam

  Primordial Tier: 3

  Nature: Strength / Aggression / Earth / Fortitude

  Health: 37,982,900

  Defence: 48,862

  Ki: 1,476,990

  Magic: 52,128

  Melee Attack Power: 54,960

  Combat Skills: Muay Thai-Prince [GM] (285), Affinity: Earth

  Details: Originally an animal Shen, he developed over millennia and broke through to the Primordial tiers; unfortunately, after a time, his refinement of aggression threw his enlightenment out of balance. They sealed him away after he rampaged and destroyed a village and temple. Rather than taking the time for contemplation, he’s been rattling the bars of his cage ever since.]

  [Analysis [S] (42->43)]

  It doesn’t tell me his levels, powers, spells, or blessings. He has a magic rating and an affinity but no mana. I’m stronger than I was, but is my Analysis insufficient to learn more, or does it not give the same details on primordials?

  Amdirlain tried to teleport near him, but nothing happened. A quick experiment with more abilities revealed Phoenix’s Symphony wouldn’t come out of its passive mode, though Protean allowed her to shift forms. Through more experiments, she heard the energy buried in the stone rise to block everything but her Ki and psionic powers.

  Did he leave psionics active as a way out, or are their mental origins too similar to Ki?

  She put the matter aside and flung herself along the pathways, Ki Movement speeding her passage through the tunnels. With her senses mapping out all the obstacles ahead, she chose the most efficient route and covered the kilometres in a silent rush.

  With the constant noise, he didn’t notice her approach until the displaced air surged across him, announcing her arrival. Though his brown knee-length tunic looked clean, a ripe musky smell rose from him, his energy clarified why.

  Rustam spun around, his tusks goring at the air, his solid white eyes locking onto Amdirlain as his ears flapped. “Did they get bored with mocking me and send you to entertain me?”

  Amdirlain snorted derisively. “Are you looking to be gelded?”

  His trunk curled upwards, its edge curling. “You’d geld me for striking at you? What sort of warrior are you?”

  “You’re an overly aggressive elephant, and you smell like you’re in musth. What sort of entertainment should I have expected you to seek?”

  “You’re not an elephant.”

  “I’ve dealt with beings that would fuck anything with a hole,” replied Amdirlain.

  “Boring,” Rustam charged.

  The ground rocked underfoot, increasing with every stride; Amdirlain feinted, then spun back on her heel before she lept to the ceiling. Aloft with Ki Flight, Rustam charged beneath, not having bought the feint. His trunk lashed out, trying to snag her ankle, but Amdirlain slipped ahead of the grasping limb. His momentum carried him on, and Amdirlain landed a sharp blow against his back that barely scratched his skin. He pivoted and lashed out with a massive limb, but she lifted her feet in time so it stuck her soles; flexing her knees, she absorbed its force before propelling herself away.

  “Rotten bird.”

  The solid forelimb jabbed forward, and a stone block formed around the Ki core and blasted from his hand. As it crossed the distance to her, it grew into a boulder before Amdirlain’s return Ki Blast, entwined with air, sliced across in a deflecting strike. Even as it spun away the rock grew so large that she still had to dart aside to avoid it clipping her.

  I have to be faster. His Primordial tier matches a Demi-god.

  The explosion of rock shattering against the cavern wall sent a spray of charged rubble across her, smacking violently against her flesh. Their impact sent a flurry of twisting notes across her awareness as the rocks tried to sprout into hooked thorns. Before the debris settled, he thrust both limbs forward, Ki cores growing in head-sized masses.

  I don’t want to kill him, but I’m going to need to hit harder. The details said he’s refined too much aggression. Was his Fortitude or Earth nature stabilising him? How do I get him to refine them instead?

  “Get down here and fight.”

  The words came amid calculations running through Amdirlain’s mind, and she struck as he uttered the last syllable. Twin Ki blasts wrapped with air drilled into the edges of each core while the stone crust formed, his blast coming apart in an explosion of opposing elements. Rustam barely staggered back, and as he raised his trunk and started to inhale, Amdirlain moved.

  What lesson do I have to learn here? Xuan Wu talked about my neglected powers, having a lesson to teach me. Let’s assume this isn’t simply about beating him up. He’s a Primordial, and I can hear him using his powers. The stone in his attacks isn’t from Mana; he’s creating it using a new Power I’ve never heard before. Is that Primordial Will?

  Her disappearance was so quick that Rustam’s triumphant trumpet choked into a strangled protest.