On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Ninety-Two

“So, what do we do now? I’d really like to investigate what is causing this.” I looked down into the gushing geyser of elemental energies. There was room to clamber down the side of the pit, and I could make out faintly glowing points of red and orange further down that might be more Etherites. It can’t hurt to fill up our coffers, as when the Territory is upgraded we’ll have a LOT of things we’ll need to build, and that all costs ether…

“I find myself curious as well-well.” Shaeula admitted. “The wind may be tainted, yet it also has a remarkable flavour. Perhaps it is a unique wind at the core of this. Obtaining such can only strengthen us greatly.”

“Well, we’ve come this far, braving sandworms and elementals, so turning back now wouldn’t sit right with me.” I mopped sweat from my brow, feeling the strange cold shivers at my core again. Seriously, what is that?

“I’ll go down first then, and you follow.” I said, starting to scale down the series of ledges and jagged outcroppings that made up the side of the pit. Shaeula followed me, and I quickly realised another issue. Every time I looked up at her I could see up her yukata. Such a luxurious problem to have… Since she didn’t seem to have noticed I turned away my flushed face, taking a detour to gather up some more Etherites. After descending perhaps a couple of hundred metres we could see the bottom, a small roughly circular room, filled with crystalline outcroppings and winking Etherites. Rocky creatures and beings of wind were filling it, as well as some flickering flame-beings. Fire elementals, I guess.

“All right then, since we’ve picked up a load of Etherites and I have aether to spare…” I once more imagined the white-hot blaze, this time as a fine rain, and sizzling flames fell in the narrow chamber, quickly cascading destruction down over the area, the air elementals disintegrating violently. I had to crush two orange Etherites and some red ones to keep topped up, which pained my heart, but it was better than getting caught by highly mobile flying enemies while we were stuck climbing.

Sadly I also discovered another problem, as several Etherites below were struck by the falling flames and shattered, their ether content spilling free. I was too far away to grab most of it, so a good chunk of it was wasted.

“Okay, you’re up.” I said, and from above Shaeula chimed her bells, sending down a blast of wind, driving back the earth elementals, though the winds died, consumed, when they made contact with the flaming humanoids. Still, it bought me time to drop down to the ground, aether softening my fall to a mere painful jarring of my legs and back. Releasing the earth energy stored within my batteries I had a brief moment of regret, but quickly shrugged it off. Not like I can use it yet anyway, and there is earth essence at Shirohebizumi anyway…

The room was small, and the centre was occupied by the gushing energies, so I had to quickly deal with the elementals. Darting in I thrust my battery into the nearest fire elemental, while wreathing my arm with ice using aether to protect me from getting burned. Damn this is uncomfortable… A second fire elemental was closing in, so I slammed it with the second battery. Shaeula was keeping the earth elementals at bay with a wall of wind, so I had time to work. Dodging searing hot swings from the foe they burst apart.

You have gained in strength. Your level has increased from twenty-four to twenty-five.

As the message scrolled across my vision I started discharging the fire energies from the batteries. I had practiced with fire before and had almost grasped how to use it, so it only took a little aether to guide it into doing what I wished. Flames gushed over the stony foes who were hemmed in by Shaeula, heating them up and melting their exterior. When they met the colder winds barring their passage they cooled rapidly, starting to crack and splinter.

Not enough. But… channelling ether to aether by grabbing what was being released from the shattering Etherites that were destroyed in our struggle I called forth my own wind, filling it with an arctic chill. Stone exploded, and one after another elementals shattered. More xp for me.

A flash of light left Shaeula’s knife as she landed beside me, severing a fire elemental in half. It halted for a moment before the two sides squirmed together, but in that pause I used my batteries to drain it dry. Finishing off the remaining broken earth elementals, we secured the area, scooping the remaining ether.

“Good fight.” I said dryly, ignoring the numbness in my arms where I had wrapped them in ice, and the many smaller burns that dotted my body. “I’m glad I was good at science at school. Thermal expansion is very effective against stone and metal.”

“I do not quite get it-it, but perhaps I will check it on my phone tomorrow.” Shaeula said, stepping across the ground which was covered in shattered stone. She bent to pick up one of the few Etherites that had survived. “This one is yellow. Quite the rarity indeed.”

We gathered up the other few ores before finally taking the time to check out why we had come. At the centre of the chamber was a crack in the ground, from which was gushing fiery yellow energies. However wedged in the crack was a green gem-like shard the size of two fists. A green Etherite? No, something different… a plume of wind energy was rising from it, the source of the vortex. Flame energy was being drawn in and carried up out of the rift as well, likely the source of the taint.

So what, did this green meteor fall from the sky and pierce down to the naturally occurring fire energy?

“This is truly fascinating!” Shaeula exclaimed, her mystic eyes appraising the jewel. “This is a manifestation of a unique wind. Yet it is not pure-pure. It must have been here for many, many years. It has taken on some of the properties of the fire it is bathed in. I have heard of such, but to think I could see it-it…”

While Shaeula was eagerly fussing over the wind, I peered below at the flame energy that was rising from the earth. Sure, some of it was tainted, but there was plenty of pure flame to be drawn in. I was so close to a breakthrough before, if I take my fill from here…

“I’m going to use this flame to make a breakthrough. Why don’t you give it a try as well? You’ve been studying, haven’t you?”

Shaeula paused, looking away from me, face pink. “I have-have. But… fire consumes wind, I admit to feeling trepidation at the thought. I would not wish to harm myself… though the potential power… and I did swear to myself…” she trailed off, muttering to herself.

“Well, why not watch me and my network, gain a few extra insights that way. It can’t hurt, right?”

At her agreement I settled down to meditate on the energy, drawing in a steady stream of flame, power moving through me until it reached my solar plexus chakra, where it was absorbed, though some of the yellow energies were also moving towards my Lunar chakra, joining the wind energies that were pooling there. Fire. Flame. It isn’t really a ‘thing’, more a process. Oxidisation. So what does it control… it also has spiritual and magical connotations, a classic element in both Western and Eastern myths… and I know it can feed off wind. Speaking of wind… my gaze went to the tainted energy. It was damaging to me before, but why? Hadn’t I realised that all the elements were connected, as was aether… surely I can use it. Wind strengthens fire…

As Shaeula watched I began to draw in the tainted wind, fanning the flame element within to consume the wind, allowing a vast flood of fiery energy to permeate my network. Shaeula opened her mouth to protest, but as she saw what was happening she remained silent, eyes wide.

Yeah, this is uncomfortable, but I don’t think it’s damaging… In response to the large amount of wind energy entering me and changing to fire, the wall I had been struggling against collapsed, and my heart chakra blazed brightly, gulping down the wind greedily.

Your Skill, Heart Chakra Of Wind has advanced from Rank 3 to Rank 4. Your Heart Chakra now generates significantly more wind energy and is better able to handle variant and unique winds.

Your Skill, Wind Manipulation has advanced from Rank 4 to Rank 5. Your understanding of wind has significantly increased, and you can handle wind with less wastage and greater efficiency.

The messages were welcome, and I could feel the benefits immediately, my control suddenly firmer and effortless. In fact, I believed that with a little more work I might be able to go even further. Still, that was not my aim here. Sweat was running down me, citrine and emerald energy rising from my body in faint wisps of colour. Just one more push… There was something… some power, within the mass of wind and flame. It was trying to force its way within me, my network straining. Smooth the flow. Think of it like a series of tributaries from a stream, or branches of a tree… using aether I directed the flow, and a glowing orb of yellow, flecked with green was pulled inside me. It moved to my blindingly brilliant solar plexus chakra, merging with it.

“Ugh… Oh my god…” the pain was suddenly blinding, as if my very insides were boiling, blood and aether bubbling hot like magma. It started at my solar plexus, and then moved to my lunar chakra as painful energy flowed between them. As I let out an agonised moan silver flared in my vision…

You have gained a skill, Solar Plexus Chakra Of Flame Rank 2. Your Solar Plexus Chakra will generate fire energy and your ability to absorb and utilise it has increased.

You have gained a skill, Flame Manipulation Rank 4… Your ability to…

I’ve done it! And at Rank 2 for generation… now if only I wasn’t in so much pain. Now I could manipulate the fiery energy properly I could see the sheer weight of the unique fire I was trying to take in. Still, if I stopped now it would burst out of control and do devastating damage to me. Shutting my eyes to better concentrate I wiped the glowing sweat from my forehead and gritted my teeth. It was then I felt a soft hand in mine, and a gentle breeze cooled my brow, before a kind wind snaked into my body, swirling around my heart, solar plexus and lunar chakras.

My eyes snapped open, to see Shaeula right in front of my eyes, my hand in hers. Before I could speak she smiled gently.

“Do not reject my energies. Remember how I have assisted you in awakening your lunar chakra and stabilising your network? I have practiced since-since, and I am confident that together we can succeed. Have faith in me.”

She’s practiced since? No, that isn’t important. “Have faith in you? Don’t insult me, I have more faith in you than anyone else you know.” I grinned through the pain.

“You are a hundred years too early to be so cocky with me-me.” Shaeula said, her free hand on my back, on my lunar node. The green gem was starting to shatter, energies consumed by the flames and drawn into me. As they passed through my network they congealed in the lunar node. The pain increased again, but Shaeula intensified her support, and for a moment I was sure I could see some of the energies leaking out of me, to be absorbed by her.

Is that safe? There’s a lot of fire in that energy. She was worried about suffering damage before…

“Shaeula, be careful, there seems to be a lot of fire…”

“Silence now.” She cut me off, her own brow now equally drenched with sweat, her eyes bright with pain. “One final push, no time for hesitation.”

I can feel it… but I can also feel Shaeula through it. We are linked, our lunar nodes pulsing in harmony. “All right then. Here we go…” concentrating all my will to one point I forced the energies inwards. The strange gem of wind shattered, shards sucked inside me, absorbed into the surrounding flames.

“Wait, stop… this isn’t… it… it is penetrating my very soul… I feel… you… my kin-kin!” Shaeula started babbling incoherently as chunks of green energy shimmering with fiery yellow shot through my network and were guided into her own. Still, I had no time to pay attention to her, as everything was burning within me…

Your Skill, Eight Moons Chakra Network has advanced from Rank 2 to Rank 3. Your Chakra network has strengthened, better able to handle aether, and has taken on aspects of the Fae. Your Material and Astral bodies have become more integrated and ???????? ???????? ?????????.

You have gained a skill, Lunar Chakra Of Wind And Flame Rank 1. Your Lunar Chakra has now stabilised and opened fully, resonating with the elements within you. This further increases the aspects of the Fae within your Material and Astral bodies, and it will generate additional elemental energies. It has also ???????? with your bonded Fae, resonating and increasing your ????????.

You have gained a Unique Flame, Foehn, Inextinguishable Blaze. This unique fire has long dwelt within the earth, but it was made impure by the addition of a foreign wind that drifted in from the higher Astral. With unexpected assistance you have purified it and taken it within you, and you can now call upon its fury.

Your Unique Skill, ????????????? has increased from Rank 0 to Rank 1. It has evolved from Kin Restoration to Kin Bonding and Restoration. It ???????? ????????? ???????? ?????????. Resonance has occurred with your Bonded Kin, strengthening her ??????????? and ?????????.

Your Fortune, Majesty, Charm, ??? and Determination has increased. Your Aether has significantly increased.

Your Class, Fae-Bonded, has increased from level 12 to level 15.

Your Fortune and Charm have further increased.

The huge slew of messages flooded through my brain as the pain within my body suddenly vanished, leaving me feeling fantastic, burgeoning with power. I’d never seen so many boosts to me all at once. There were some real shocks, but was this the start of my rise to a true powerhouse OP protagonist? Before I could thank Shaeula for her help she looked at me, eyes wide, then she slumped against me, losing consciousness…

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