On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Four Hundred And Fifty-Two / Side One Hundred And Fifty-Eight – Aiko / Shiro

“You two… uh, three, get back. We’ll handle this!” Aiko corrected herself, not taking her eyes off the man that had attacked them suddenly, the weapon she had been given in her hand. It’s not a bow, but I’m still able to use it. As she gave the order, Constantine and Sophia hurried backwards, while Ginneka was slinking away, pretending to be afraid. “Haru-chan, you good?”

“I can do this.” She promised, and Aiko was struck with admiration for the woman. If I’d have been through what she has, I’d only be terrified right now. Well, I am a little scared, if I’m being honest, just like I was against the Oni, but then… I’m not a close-quarters brawler like my bro, so… The Shiro Golden Sister moved to protect the two bystanders, while the Hyacinth one advanced towards their attacker.

“Besides…” Haru-chan continued. “We don’t have to be afraid of mere physical attacks. And it might be helpful to…” Light flashed, and the assailant jumped backwards, moving at phenomenal speed. “…gather some information.”

Behind them, the other Golden Sisters were engaging the army. Unfortunately they had switched to a rather passive automatic mode, as Aiko couldn’t spare them any of her attention to look at the laptop where the images from their cameras were displayed, so it was only a matter of time before they were defeated. The sound of an explosion could be heard, and despite her better judgement, she glanced over her shoulder, seeing one sister blown clean in half, a close-range hit from a rocket-propelled grenade more than enough. In the Boundary it might have survived that. Ugh…

Leaping to the side without looking, her instincts kicking in, she avoided a thrown projectile, which had been ruthlessly accelerated. It exploded, but instead of a grenade, it seemed to be a glass bottle, full of clear liquid. As droplets scattered, Aiko leapt away, getting a bad feeling. When the sprinklers went off the army went crazy, right?

The man let out a scream of frustration, but that was soon superseded by pain, as Haru-chan burned him with a beam of light. His movements were agile and fast, so he twisted his leg, avoiding taking a hit to the knee, but his thigh was still winged, cloth burning away, flesh searing, and he stumbled. Letting out an impassioned series of bitter words, Aiko and Haru-chan exchanged a complicated glance.

“Sorry, I don’t understand. Japanese? Or English? You. Speak. English?” Aiko tried, annunciating clearly. The only response in return was rapid-fire Korean, accompanied by wild gestures with his hands. He’s favouring the injured leg but doesn’t seem to be paying it much mind. Chosen are all pretty tough.

“I know why bro says we should learn more languages now. I got into the habit of thinking everyone speaks English, so I could always use that when Japanese doesn’t work.” She said bitterly. “All right then, here we go!” Light glimmered, and Aiko unleashed her own lance of light energy, though hers was shimmering with a golden yellow like the sun. The man staggered, speed unable to outpace the beam, and Haru-chan’s crossfire struck him too, fully disabling one leg. The smell of burnt flesh was brutal, so much more vivid than the slightly muted smells of the Boundary, and Aiko gagged. No, can’t look weak here, not when I was going to stand together with everyone now.

“Wait a second.” Aiko was surprised when Constantine ran up. He was pale and sweating, but his eyes were sparkling at the high-speed battle, beams of brilliant light element streaking everywhere. “Do you have a spare earpiece?” he asked, and Aiko nodded, tossing one over.

“Of course we do. We’re prepared for anything… catch… oh wait…”

Another series of glass projectiles were being thrown, and even though the attacker was crippled, it seemed he could still speed them up by moving his arm at blinding speeds, though the effort seemed to be paining him, judging by the horrible tearing and snapping sounds his bones and joints were giving off. It’s just like target practice, only this time our arrows are light. Glass shattered and liquid boiled, only for a rain of droplets to fall down towards Aiko. Whoops. Although…

“Can anyone translate this?” Constantine was asking, holding the earpiece up, as the man ranted in Korean. Behind them, the Golden Sisters that were still standing had been taken down by fire from the tanks and other heavy weapons, but some Hunters had joined the fray, a shimmering wall of ice being called into existence to shield them, sparkling under the pale light of the autumn sun.

“I’m getting busy over here…” came back the voice of the woman who liked to call herself Violet. “I’m on your network now. Nice gear. Uh… I think he’s shouting that it’s an honour to serve the Queen, and that now she’ll serve too. She? Who’s she? Hey, watch out Two, you’ll get… ugh…” There was a surge of static as a loud noise sounded.

“I think she means Aiko-chan.” Haru-chan said urgently. “He’s been throwing projectiles made from old bottles and jars, filled with liquid. It’s got to be a waterborne ability.” Haru-chan’s head turned towards Aiko, even as she raised one hand to incapacitate their assailant further. “Aiko-chan, how… how are you feeling?”

********

“Fucking hell!” Violet cursed in a very unladylike fashion, which even impressed Shiro, who had a bit of a dirty mouth herself. One of her allies was down, a gaunt, near-starved young boy appearing from beneath a pile of scattered debris, opening fire with an Army issue K2 assault rifle. Fortunately, it seemed to have little ammunition left, but Two still went down, several bullets piercing his body, though the worst of the injuries were mitigated by the water droplets around him, bullets thrown off course, veering off target as they impacted the droplets of water floating in the air. Even as he fell, coughing dark blood, he gestured, and a cloud of gas left his mouth, creeping towards the boy.

“Are you an idiot?” Shiro reacted faster, flames roaring, consuming the gas. As the skeletal boy dropped his now useless gun and pulled out a knife, his arms trembling under the small weight of the blade, Shiro shook her head. “That’s one of the hostages. And he’s in such bad condition he won’t survive whatever the hell that was!”

“He surprised me…” the badly wounded man said, clicking his tongue strangely. “Who would have thought someone could hide in such…” he coughed, dark blood spilling down his mouth. “…a small space?”

“Shit.” Shiro pulled out her own solution, a small pistol, and fired it. The boy looked surprised for a moment, before slumping down, and two more of the scorpions caught him, their looks questioning. “I didn’t kill him. That’s a dart gun. With a fast-acting tranquiliser made from plants Asha cooked up and a bit of alchemy. Way less harmful than chloroform or knocking him out.”

With the wind user, wide-scale use of such is impossible. But… I can perceive him. Nearby. An Ambush. Tan’s warning sounded in Shiro’s mind.

“This all seems so very haphazard.” Shiro replied, drawing an odd look from Violet. “I don’t get the point of playing wargames here.” Looking at the fallen Two, Shiro sighed. “We need someone to escort him out and take care of this hostage. We don’t have the manpower for this.” It’s not time to call on… no, not yet.

“Two will be fine.” Violet said proudly, flourishing her tattooed arm. “He’s my power you know, and I’m pretty proud of him. Plus my little brother and I have worked together to make them better.” With that Two disappeared, and a few moments later he reappeared, now unharmed. “Cool, no? As long as they aren’t killed outright…” She looked at the two who had come back injured from Aki’s foray to the Boundary. “…fine, you pair as well.” They also vanished, and on their return their injuries were healed. “It’s tiring though, so please stop getting hurt, all right?”

Shiro admitted to being mildly impressed, and curious as to how she did it, since the non-humans with Violet were acting similarly to Aiko’s statues, but considering their disappointing performance, that interest quickly faded. Besides, there’s something else on my mind, Tan. “So, one of your guys can take him out then come back. I’m sure Aiko and the others will solve their issues soon and secure the base camp, and then Haru can do her thing. It’s actually better without the army bothering us…” As Shiro spoke, she was communicating inside her mind.

Like I said earlier, this mess is seriously counterproductive. If it was just a matter of increasing strength, with those abilities… just take over a delivery driver and get out into the wider world. It would make more sense than staying in this place. Hell, even if they had to walk it, with the increased stats boost from a Divine Favour, I think they’d be able to reach civilisation… but, with the level of sly contingencies in play here, I don’t think that they wouldn’t have thought of it…

“Five, make haste. But steer clear of the army. Old uncle, reapply the droplet barrier.” At Violet’s words, Si-woo surged with aether and water element, and the barrier was strengthened, which supposedly offered some concealment as well as weak protection against ranged attacks. It’s pretty too. The droplets are sparkling in all the colours of the rainbow when light hits them… no, that’s not important now. What do you think, Tan?

Indeed, but... there is often meaning in actions. After all, is not that Tree in your man’s Territory a fine example, grown massive by Adherence from a tangled mess? Quite unusual, and not befitting a Territory of that feeble Rank at all. There is much strange here. But… As Five carted off the skeletal, piteous hostage, Shiro clicked her tongue, before feeling a little guilty. We should be happy we’ve saved anyone, but if it was the target we were after, I’d feel better about it. Damn, I’m a cold one sometimes.

Pragmatic. It is why I like you, princess, and thought we could do great things together. We still will. Tan was more active since the wager, perhaps seeing her own goals coming into sharper focus, but Shiro held back her thoughts and a grin. Sorry Tan, we won’t lose. You’ve played into our hands. I’d feel guilty, considering all you’ve done for me, but in the end, you’ll benefit too, even if not in the way you’d imagine.

“Man, that guy doesn’t shup up yapping.” Violet was listening to the ramblings of the man attacking Aiko and Haru, but it seemed to be nonsense. “So, we press on?”

“Carefully.” Shiro nodded. “Make sure your breathing masks are on tight, and your skin is covered as much as possible.” Shiro wasn’t following her own advice, touching her shoulder, where under her armour reassurance lurked. Tan was continuing an explanation, and Shiro found herself intrigued.

If it is indeed Angra Mainyu who has a hand in this, one of his servants, then it makes perfect sense. For chaos is a source of strength. And… the Adherence of this ritual is well established. Chaos does not create, it merely steals from others and perverts, distorts. Have you never wondered why there cannot be two Astral Emperors on a world, or why I would be so eager to secure my own place here, despite being a beautiful, wise and powerful Goddess?

You’ve certainly changed a little Tan, you can even crack jokes now.

How insolent! In any case, to truly push a Territory to the peak, to become an Astral Emperor, more than just ether and time is required. What is… is the inherent Adherence and ****** of a world.

I didn’t catch that, Tan, the word was blurry, or in a language I don’t understand.

It is something I cannot explain and you cannot understand, not yet. For reasons I also cannot explain. But… there can only be one for a world due to this. And it also requires a certain League to tame. But the living beings on worlds such as your Earth, their League is insufficient. Her thoughts paused, sounding rather wry. Though Earth seems unusual, and your man’s growth, even more so. His League now is comparable to those who have Conquered their way through this… Gu Vessel… of a world. He could, if given the opportunity, reach the Rank of Territory required.

Yeah, Aki’s great. Shiro’s instincts were prickling at her, and she remained alert to potential danger. But what does that have to do with what we’ve been talking about… oh, shit. I get it. Is it that the Gu… uh, in Japanese it’d be Kodoku… ritual, has its own Adherence, and so…

Yes, you are correct. This is merely replicating it on a smaller, meaner scale, but the rewards can still be significant, if one has the knowledge. It is ingenious, yet wasteful. Chaos and destruction…

It’s no more wasteful than what you’ve all done here on Earth, even if I get why you might choose that path. One strong winner, rather than a bunch of weaklings. But…

Yes, this has been fruitful, but there is no time!

Violet had noticed too. “All right boys, it’s your time to shine!” she called, as a gentle, almost insignificant breeze was felt, carrying a faint chill, and a slight dampness. The doors to the dormitory rooms around them banged open, and the pitiful figures within surged out, a dozen boys, emaciated and covered in agonising wounds, more dead than alive, and several adults, either teachers or military men, it was hard to tell, their clothing was bloody rags and unidentifiable. They were armed with iron bars, wooden poles and assorted household implements such as kitchen knives, and one was even lugging a fire axe, arms trembling with the effort.

“Take them down gently.” Violet continued, but Shiro was busy scanning the hapless attackers, and one of them seemed out of place, kitchen knife dripping… with water. “Wait, it’s him! The blood berserk kid!” Shiro called out, her dart gun firing. Several of the ragged, starved victims went limp, and a couple of darts struck the boy, as he wavered, legs trembling, pale face somehow even whiter now. “Aki, we’ve got eyes on one of the perpetrators, the one who uses his blood!”

“Great, but I’m kind of busy right now. Can you handle him? Who am I kidding, of course you and Tan can.” His voice came back, loud sounds of gunfire and explosions coming through clearly, as well as screams.

“Got it. I’ll…” Shiro began, before with a savage grin the blood-wielding Chosen turned the knife on his own wrist, where there were lines of faint scars. Blood scattered, moving as if alive, and Shiro found her face and body splattered with it.

“You’re a pretty one…” he said with a raspy, croaking voice, speaking English, perhaps having been listening to them talking before. “…reminds me of my fucking sister, that shibseki. Whore who thinks just because she’s beautiful she can do what she wants! But she’s wrong… argh, she’ll regret not finishing me off…” He bit his lip, more blood running down, and his grin was savage. “But maybe… it’s not too late to turn the tables, is it?” With a violent laugh he scattered more blood, and from behind him came an older man, damp wind swirling around him like a visible mist…

********

“Great, but I’m kind of busy right now. Can you handle him?” I shot back, having had to abandon my previous plans on the Material and rush back to aid Lee Jong-su and his forces. They had finally agreed to retreat and help stop the military, but they were surprisingly ill-suited to taking down hostages safely. My sis had held the military up well with her Golden Warriors, but against top-of-the-line military weapons they had come up short. Oh well, she’ll get stronger, and so will her Favour.

“Got it, I’ll…” Shiro shot back, before suddenly she went silent. Doesn’t matter… Shiro and Tan together won’t lose. And if they delay him there, in the Boundary… I swung Storming Moonlight, vivid lightning discharging, and yet another large Dokkaebi fell, cut clean in half. As it disintegrated to ether, its grinning, fang-filled face seemed to sneer at me, amused, and I wondered just what would possess a creature to die with such happiness.

The remaining Dokkaebi pressed in, swinging an assortment of swords, axes, clubs and other melee weapons, but compared to my speed and power they were no threat, not anymore, and soon ether was showering down around me, and I replenished what I could of my stocks. The incoming fire from the remaining Emplacements was diminishing as well, Kang Da, realising his slow, powerful attacks were of little use, had dropped back outside the Territory and was matching them snipe for snipe, and he was winning, though his fire rate had dropped significantly as he exhausted his aether. Even as I watched though, one black, cannonball-like orb slammed home into a distant Building, blasting it into ether.

“I guess he wants to stay outside the Territory and its suppression effect as well.” I muttered, Eye shining. Information was still coming through heavily garbled, my vision filled with an amber jumble of letters, symbols and odd scribbles, but I was still able to recognise the Territory Anchor, not too far from here, surrounded by a number of buildings, pulling ether from both above and below. Material To Boundary Connections, huh? Greedy. We still haven’t fully investigated the effects of long-term exposure to aether depletion in ordinary people, but experiments are ongoing thanks to the Ministry’s efforts. But here, in a school of so many weakened kids… reckless. I gestured back to Kang Da, advising him I was pressing deeper, aiming to finish the first half of the battle once and for all. Take the Anchor and I disable one of the two opponents. I’m not sure which. And time is of the essence, because…

The Material was devolving into a mess. My sister’s group was engaging, as well as Shiro’s group. I was confident with all our preparations, we’d covered all the bases, but that still left communication disrupted with the Inevitable Victory Guild, and the Korean army was closing in fast, the members of Unsheathed Blade, including the wounded Jin-Ae, rushing to meet them. Light flashed as Lee Jong-su drew his sword, space distorting a little, dark purple seen from a brief moment, shading to black, before one of the oncoming trucks lost all its wheels on one side, flipping over and crashing to the stony ground with the screech of metal and the cries of those within.

“Shit.” I cursed out loud. “The soldiers can’t be killed, we’re doing a rescue operation!”

It seemed that Lee Jong-su and his harem were suited to direct battles, other than Hee-Young, which wasn’t what we needed here to subdue the soldiers without causing them fatalities. If we rough them up that’s fine, I can heal them before heading back to Japan. But they aren’t my Kin, there’s no bringing back the dead…

A wall of ice had formed in front of Eunbi and Jin-Ae, and it was repelling the fire from the heavy machine guns on the three tanks, bullets pockmarking the ice with craters, the mystical frozen water harder than steel. But as the main cannons boomed the ice cracked, and the shockwave from the impact wasn’t stopped. Eunbi merely frowned, dodging aside as though she could see it coming, bow raised, but Jin-Ae, who was barely healed, staggered, blood trickling from her mouth, staining her pale face.

On seeing me watching, she managed a smile, before raising her halberd in trembling hands. She was saying something in Korean, but as she hoisted her halberd high, lightning flashed and wind energy boiled, a localised storm only covering a few dozen metres around her surging forwards, heavy, driving rain blinding the oncoming soldiers, several of their grenades going wide, while others exploded against the icy wall. One rocket-propelled one pierced through, and would have struck Hee-Young, only for Eunbi to be there, pushing her aside, before loosing her bow, another invisible arrow striking one of the tanks, blasting the machine gun to scrap metal, denting the armour. Lee Jong-su seemed torn, blade in hand, as to whether to rush the soldiers, or to stay and help, as Jin-Ae collapsed to the ground, the storm dying out, even as several more bolts of lightning fell between the clashing forces, blowing small craters in the ground.

I get it, having your comrades, your lovers, fight on the battlefield is worrying, but at some point you have to trust them… “Shit. There’s no time, but…” I pulled the heavy grenade launcher-type weapon off my shoulder, and decided it was my moment to act. With a trickle of flame element, I triggered the explosive powders Ixitt’s Mortal Engineers had blended, and in a puff of acrid smoke, a large shell the size of a small can was launched in a high arc. I shouted over to Hee-Young, who at least spoke some tiny amount of broken English. “Cover your ears and eyes!” I yelled, miming the actions. Her eyes widened, but Eunbi was already moving, shielding her own and Jin-Ae’s. Moments later there was a soundless explosion and a brilliant flash of light, the bluesteel powder within releasing all the stored wind and light elemental energies, creating a powerful stunning effect.

“Neutralisation is the aim of the game.” I muttered, popping off several more canisters. The soldiers who were exposed in the open quickly collapsed one after another, but the tanks and several trucks were still oncoming, and the turrets were swivelling to aim at me now, seeming to move in slow motion as I concentrated.

“Nope. Sorry, but…” I fired five more of the stun grenades, and Lee Jong-su was shouting something at me I didn’t understand, waving at the tanks, even as bullets fell around us. Several struck me, and I winced at the pain, though such weapons did little more than bruise me nowadays. If it’s not a direct sniper rifle hit somewhere vulnerable, there’s no need to worry… and speaking of no need to worry…

Waving my hand, I called upon Void Motion, and in a shower of violet particles, the grenades vanished. Huh, it reminds me of Lee Jong-su’s attack. Must be a spatial one, that’s how he cuts things… Light flared from the windscreens of the two trucks, which careered wildly, drivers knocked out, but at least they didn’t overturn, though one did smash into Hee-Young’s icy barrier, shattering it but coming to an abrupt stop. The thick armour of the tanks hid the shockwave, but inside it must have been brutally intense, the effect amplified by the enclosed, cramped environment, and the soldiers were likely injured, perhaps deafened or blinded permanently. But that’s better than dying. We can fix it.

Narrowing my Eye I could see faint traces of ether leaking out of seemingly nowhere where I had shifted the grenades, as well as along the axis Lee Jing-su had cut earlier. It’s like I feared. Spatial element isn’t good for the integrity of the Material and the Boundary. But since it’s local, the damage is much less than Saionji-san’s Divine Favour. Well, it’s going to get worse, before it gets better…

In the Boundary, I had approached the Anchor, stopping to destroy some Ether Spires and the Connections, Storming Moonlight effortlessly reducing them to wreckage as I attacked. The pressure of the Territory was increasing as I approached the centre, and up ahead the Anchor towered some ten or so metres into the air, a pillar that was made of stone and crystal as red as blood. Right, one blow to finish it and… Even as I moved to attack it, my Eye flared with pain, momentarily blinding me, and I felt an onslaught of something dark trying to enter my mind, shatter my will.

Fuck… ugh… shit… I vomited silver and red, my armour stained, dropping to one knee, using my sword to prop me up. On the Material, I staggered, but the insulation from the effect left me still mostly clear-headed, and I switched my Split Thoughts to the Material body. As a consequence my ability to fight dropped somewhat in the Boundary, but it kept the punishing waves of distorted information that was hammering my mind there compartmentalised as best I could, allowing me to function.

“Ujh utdt icv msuii jp tqpi ncjrnlpcknnxte qthc.” “Tjh utat icv luuii jn tqpi mcjrnlpcknnxtt qthy.”

“Tje ttat ics lurii jn tqpe majrilpcknnxtt qtey.” “Tje trat ias lurid jn sqpe magrilpckncett ptey.”

“Tje trat ias lurid jn sqme magrifickncent ptey.”

A series of sibilant whispers, scratching at my mind like knives, could be heard. It was repeating nonsense, a jumble that made no sense, though as it was repeated, unearthly sounds that couldn’t easily be spoken by mortal throats started resolving into words that could be comprehended at the edges of consciousness, becoming clearer, until finally…

“The trap has lured in some magnificent prey.” The words were spoken by the being who had risen from the ground in front of me. It was a massive hand, separated from some greater whole, perhaps three metres from wrist to fingertips, and the flesh was a pure white, an unnatural tone. The stump was raw, black bone visible within, and instead of blood a shadowy mist was drizzling from the gaping wound. The palm faced me, and a great eye opened, skin splitting in a jagged gash, revealing the orb within, which shone blue in a manner that was strangely soothing, almost hypnotic…

No, I’ve been through this! I could feel my Resilience and Determination fighting a sudden lethargy, as the hand moved towards me surprisingly swiftly, the fingers opening and closing, ivory nails like great sabres curved like elephant tusks. I leapt backwards, holding up Storming Moonlight in arms that trembled, making me smile bitterly as I remembered Jin-Ae, who even now was being carried by Hee-Young on her back, as they waited for my orders on how to deal with the neutralised soldiers.

I think I’ll get some stats from this at least… As my Eye flared amber, to check and also examine my opponent, I was suddenly overwhelmed by dizziness, the words I usually would have seen endlessly repeating screeds of nonsense, many of the characters in foreign scripts or even numbers and symbols that made no sense. The pain nearly shattered me, only the fact I had a Material body as well, and the multiple Split Thoughts, keeping me from collapsing. Shutting off my Eye, I flared my League as high as I could, and my thoughts stabilised, even as the hand swatted down, trying to grab me. I evaded, and tusk-like talons raked the ground, slicing it as easy as it was paper.

Words were said, repeating a number of times and eventually resolving into sneering mockery. “Your knowledge, it is not your own. Give it to me! I shall make better use of it than you ever could!”

My knowledge? I touched my Eye reflexively, and the blue eye blinked, a lid of bloody flesh closing over it for a moment. On seeing my gesture, the mental voice came again from the hand, and I sorted through the static to find meaning, my nose trickling blood, silver and ruby smears on my cheek, chin and neck. “I was merely sifting these beings here, to find a worthy one. And I did. The Great Lord Of Chaos will be delighted to have her, and I shall be reunited with myself once again. Whole and perfect, as only those who embrace the truth of Chaos can be. But you… you are an unexpected harvest. An unexpected harvest indeed. Your knowledge is false, it shall not serve you. All that is true is false, and the false true. Your thoughts are false. Why did you come here? To protect, or to take? To save, no, to kill! To see, yet you are blind…”

As the onslaught of words continued, I tried to let it wash over me, as the hand was speaking nonsense, but back in the Material, the situation was heating up too. My gaze took in the Anchor behind the hand, and I swallowed, tasting blood. Shit. There’s always something unexpected. Though… we did plan for what would happen if we ran into any powerful being such as Nurarihyon or the like here, as unexpected as that was, so… Squeezing shut my eyes, I gathered my wits. “Oh shut up. I know why I came here. I don’t need you to tell me. As for knowledge… it may come from elsewhere, but when someone knows something, that means it’s their knowledge now, right? It’s not some unique thing that only belongs to the finder, like a work of art…”

At my harsh words the hand paused, blinking lazily, and as the fingertips trembled, I smiled savagely, knowing I had irritated it. “Fine then. It seems that you are at fault for some of this, whoever you are, so… it’s time for a reckoning!”