[Be Gone] Ch 25 – Hope of Final Victory

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I’d changed Mortus Dius’ Cantrips at Renewal, adding in Holo so I could make better presentations. The korobokru didn’t seem unfamiliar with the process, so I gathered the Tigers did the same thing, and the technique had probably spread. Casual illusions to supplement words were basically hallmarks of easy spellcasting.

            “The best way to picture vivus is that it is the Taint of our own mortal plane.” The korobokru all blinked in astonishment. “Did you think that the Abyssal Realm of the Oni was the only place to have such a thing? Heaven has its purifying Light; Dream has its Mists; Earth has its Crystals and Petrifying; Water has its many Acids and Dissolution; Air has endless Winds and Vapors; and Fire has its primal Flames.

            “Our mortal world has its vivic fire. That is all it is... our world’s equal of Heaven’s Light, demonic Taint, and Elemental Purity.

            “Vivic fire is called such because it brings life on the mortal plane. It consumes that which is unnatural, including the energies of death, and so converts them rapidly to new life, in effect accelerating the natural purification that plant life, light, and soil brings over time.” The Panda Shugenja nodded along solemnly at the image. “The only effect that it has on mortals is that it burns away the dead to a clean white dust in a rather short period of time, like normal fires would eat away good firewood.

            “If it is assisted by other energies, naturally it works much faster.

            “If I may ask, have you felt it yet, General, Okomo-san?” I lowered the crystalline head of Mortus, currently sans Baneskull.

            “I have not.” He beckoned me forward.

I calmly stepped forth, holding up one finger as I first offered the head to the two guards standing ready there. “If you shall permit me.”

            Technically I didn’t need to do that, as their daimyo had just indicated that he would be first, but the guards glanced at him, received nods, and stepped forward to clasp the head of my Staff, one after another. I held the mnecromonics back so they wouldn’t collapse, and they felt the cool unwhite fires misting over their hands and gauntlets, perhaps cleansing them a bit, so they pulled back looking a bit less gritty, a bit more polished.

            The general and his advisor were thus quick to follow suit, seeing no harm come to their guards.

            “You will note that although it will corrode corpses, it is not acting on leather or cloth. This is because such things have been treated to remove the negative energy of death by the crafting process, and as such have their own form of ‘new life’.

            “Nothing natural that lives is harmed by vivus. Topical, shallow Corruption by the likes of Taint can be Cleansed, but if it has set in and truly affected the mind and spirit, it can only Cleanse it all by burning it away, and likely killing the one so afflicted.”

            Such as the hapless Cobra from yesterday.

            Satisfied that it was harmless, the general and daimyo waved me back to my place. “The Tigers seemed very excited about this arrival. The Cleansing effect is priceless to those of us who must fight in the Shadowlands, I agree. Why are they so ecstatic about its arrival?” Hiesetie pressed. “It does not seem so... dangerous.”

            “Well, it is not dangerous to us. It is as dangerous to unnatural creatures as fire is to us, however... and like we find it difficult to resist true Taint, they have no natural resistance to vivus when on the mortal plane.

            “That said, one does not hurl forth blobs of pure vivus, there is simply no way to do so. However, it can ride on other spells and effects, and when death comes, it is there to do its job... feasting on negative energy, death, Taint, and other unnatural stuff, consuming them, and very, very importantly, Feeding them to the Land.”

            I held up a hand to forestall the question coming. “That term is very specific. You have seen part of the effect it has, fostering the return of natural life to Corrupted ground. Another effect is the strengthening of the Veil, the barrier between our world and those beyond... like Jigoku.”

            The Panda Shugenja Okomo took an inadvertent step forward. “This vivus can keep away the oni?” he asked immediately, eagerness clear in his eyes.

            “The sight of vivus is as dangerous to them as normal fire is to us. Being Fed to the Land is very specific... body and soul, outsiders, Soulborn creatures like them, are consumed utterly.

            “They don’t return home, to wait for a chance to regain their strength and find a way back to the mortal realm.

            “In the face of vivus, the oni are totally and completely mortal.

            “They are Food for the Land.”

            Both of the stout and bald short fellows hissed, and even the stoic guards looked a little wide-eyed.

            I swirled up a rough map of the Shadowlands along the course I had taken getting out of there.

            “What you call ‘the Shadowlands’ is nothing more or less than an area of dimensional convergence between Jigoku and the mortal realm. It is perhaps a thousand kilometers across, but I may be wrong. Space can bend inside such places, and what is near is far, and what is far becomes near.

            “Nevertheless, the huge amount of Sin flowing into the realm from the center is, in the face of vivus, nothing more than oil being sprayed into a fire that will only grow in size and hunger, as far as vivus is concerned.

            “As vivus increases, the Veil increases in strength.” The vortex swirling in the middle of the Shadowlands began to grind against a visible barrier, while around the edges of the Shadowlands, vivic flames rose and began to eat at the edges. The vaguely rotating landscape started being chewed apart and shrinking back.

            “The strengthening of the Veil means that for the same amount of force pushing out, the Sin coming in can affect less and less territory, and so the Shadowlands will shrink. As it does, the Sin is concentrated, and becomes easier to burn, and the shrinking accelerates.”

            The korobokru watched the image of the Shadowlands begin to erode away, grinding against a reinforced Veil, spellbound by the potential before them.

            “Having vivus here means that you are no longer engaged in a holding action against a foe with infinite numbers, always returning from Jigoku to bedevil you once again, only able to endure while their realm gnaws at our own.

            “Now, they are food for the Land, a repast for an endless appetite.

            “This fight is now a war that you can win!”

            They stared at me, rather dazed at how I had explained things, and the sheer fact that this fight was now something that might one day end... and at their own hands and will!

            “The demons know this, and that is why they are coming here. I cut a burning path of vivus across the Shadowlands on my way here, including setting the entire Black Plains aflame.”

            Behind me, the image of the entire horizon blazing with vivic-charged flame exploding in fireswirls and twisters over the dark grasses blazed up behind me, blazing Elemental Spirits racing about gleefully and turning the entire unclean landscape into a somehow holy and purified wasteland.

            “I can absolutely guarantee you that the outer ring of the Shadowlands has withdrawn somewhat after the Plains burned. Perhaps only a hundred paces... but that is something mere force of arms and slaughtering unclean beasts cannot do.

            “The Land is stirring, vivus is setting a table, and now we ready to set Her a true feast in grandest style!”

            My grim glee was infectious, and General Hiesetie smacked his large hand into his other one, staring at the sight before him, too vivid and real to be something fanciful and made up.

            “Word has come that a great demon has emerged from the depths of the Shadowlands to lead this attack, Master Aelryinth!” the general informed me. “One of the three Oni-Su, the one styling itself the Bearer of Terror!”

            I was too used to visual accompaniment, and almost frowned when there wasn’t any. “A great Oni of Fear, is it? Does it have a mortal anchor?”

            My completely blasé acceptance of the fact did more to encourage them than any brave puffery. “Aye, a fallen samurai of the Horse, who fell to twisted enlightenment of the power and nature of the Dark.” He obviously did not want to speak the fellow’s name.

            My smirk and the shake of my head were unfeigned. “One little demonic incursion and he thinks he knows what power and Dread is. Should have brought something of Greed or Wrath or something useful...”

            The casual way I said it had them all looking at me, doubting I actually knew what I was talking about.

            “Ah, yes, one more thing. Daimyo Korbald indicated that these would be best delivered to you. I gained them from the lair of a thing in the Shadowlands.”

            The image of the creature in its hole out there, and then Feature roasting it alive, played out behind me, and they all paled despite themselves.

            “A Fleshcrawler! And of such size!” Okomo blurted out in awe.

            My Disk unfurled next to me, and I calmly set down the Helm on it, gleaming and polished, subjected to vivus. Next to it I drew out the short-hafted, broad-bladed Axe wrought of jade gleaming golden, its Wakizashi twin, and as the korobokru all gasped, sent them floating up to the general, who finally rose to his feet to receive them.

            “Prince Hontono...” the general breathed in shock, staring at the skull inside the Helm, and the singular Axe and its follower.

            “They are Purified. You may touch them,” I informed them.

            He reached out a trembling hand to touch the worn steel of the Helm, trace the broken horn, and then slowly turned the Disk to bring the Axe to his touch.

            It audibly thrummed when he laid a hand upon it.

            “Mianmian,” he murmured, bowing his head. “You have returned a great Weapon of our people to us, Master Aelryinth,” he acknowledged softly. “We had thought it lost forever when Prince Hotono swore to retrace the route the Tigers took coming out of the Shadowlands and see the Hell at its heart for his own, and what had become of our ancient homelands...”

            That sounded absurdly stupid to me, but I said nothing. Societies built around some concept of honor tended to be absolutely ridiculous about some things, but they likely considered us mad for trying to reach for the ephemeral benefits of the Good.

            Well, whatever. His punishment was dying alone and far away from home on an honorable fool’s errand, and given his rank, he was probably manipulated into it by someone preying on his honor code.

            It was not my job to avenge his foolishness, and given Korbald’s complicated expression when he had looked at the Axe, I assumed there’d been some shadowplay in the events leading up to it.

---------

            The return of The Axe Unbroken basically put an end to the audience, but word was spreading out of the hall faster than I left it about what had happened. I assumed Korbald had quietly spread word and the Tigers were talking about it with the korobokru, who would definitely have their own thoughts on a random human coming in from the Shadowlands bearing the skull and Axe of one of their own heroes as a passing trophy of battle.

            I passed one of the mounds of jade pieces that were undergoing vivic rebirth, mist spilling down the green and white ornamental rocks as the Taint they’d protected their bearers from was burned away by the vivic flames coming from a half-dozen Tiger’s Weapons buried under them.

            They were collapsing down into jade dust, which could treated with purified oils and used to anoint Weapons against the oni, or Stone Shaped into new chunks of jade.

            Good downtime use of Vivic Weapon there.

            The other things the Tigers were doing was Writing out spells for their own books of spells, and Energizing things.

            Energize was a downtime spell. None of them had it in memory on the day of the Fall, save a few Artificers who had it as an Infusion. As a result, save by gaining Artificer Levels, the Tigers had no way to Energize their own stuff to create both foundation Gear and easy goldweight.

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