Crossbow bolts, screams, and stones flew in the still air. Masa huddled behind Dai as the Iona clanner blocked the projectiles. The hissing screams made her flatten her ears over her hair even as she clutched the hilt of her longsword.

“What are you doing? Run!” Anda yelled at both of them.

As soon as they saw the Ahas clanners and the Reviled, he’d jumped back in the tunnel and started shooting. Cheaci was on the ground, swearing up a storm while he cradled his right arm. The crossbow bolt had penetrated his leather armor and from the slight protrusion on the opposite side, the bolt had missed bone and shredded through muscle.

Masa shuddered. The bolt kept Cheaci’s blood inside but his wound effectively eliminated him from the battle. At least as he was now. She wasn’t sure what his Geist was. Maybe it was a transformative one.

She kept a tight rein on her Animus. Her Geist was fresh and weak, fed only with the dribblings she could afford to keep from her previous delve. The snow white kitten patrolled her core, batting the wisps of her Animus that drifted out. The kitten boosted Masa’s agility and flexibility just a bit beyond what she could currently do.

Heeding Anda’s yell, she rolled back and scampered towards the tunnel entrance. Dai, on the other paw, retreated slowly. He intercepted the projectiles as they came but Masa could see a couple of snake men approaching, curved blades held low. They had small targes on their off hands, though she could see one of them holding a small hand crossbow as well. The bolt’s tip glistened suspiciously. Actually, so did the scimitars.

Masa’s eyes darted to Cheaci. The Tigris clanner looked paler than expected. Sweat matted his face. His snout was set into an angry snarl, and his eyes were looking a bit wild.

“Dai, hurry!” Anda yelled.

Masa couldn’t see Hixe anywhere. The full blooded Kutin clanner had already fled, following Anda’s scream.

Masa hesitated. They were outnumbered, and not even the tunnel’s narrow confines would help them. Not when they were already down two people.

“Dai!”

“Just go. Tell the guild.”

The Iona clanner’s voice was calm and even. Masa couldn’t see his face, but his tail swished in agitation. Unlike Tigris and Kutin, Iona clanners’ tails had short hair except for the tip. Otherwise, it would be poofed out like a bottle brush. Masa’s tail was in such a state.

Masa staggered as Anda nudged her from behind. “You’re the fastest, go!”

She looked from her neighbour to the poachers. Half of the dozen were Ahas clanners, and the other half looked human. At least, she assumed they were from the lack of a tail. Oska clanners were similarly tailless, but they were massive. An Oska was nearly three paces tall and had shoulders almost as wide. These humans were covered head to toe in leather and cloth.

She didn’t want to run. She didn’t want to leave Anda behind. But even as she hesitated, the first Ahas started to flank Dai, and the Reviled kept pelting them with bolts and stones.

“Go!”

Masa bolted. She dashed down the tunnel, her Geist glowing with white light, and her limbs mirroring the glow. She ran on all fours, using the natural suppleness and flexibility to propel herself as quickly as she could.

“Stop her!” came the hissing yells.

But she was too fast. Their shouting faded from her hearing. The path back was simple. It was a straight road for the most part. Except when she came out into a cavern something collided with her side. She tumbled and rolled, trying to control her momentum but ended up with her heels over her head. She promptly rolled to the side as the space she’d ended up with got slashed.

A small group of Reviled came from another entry tunnel. One of them got a lucky shot with a sling and the other three were charging her with longswords and hatchets raised. Masa scrambled away, still on all fours. Eyes darted about, and zeroed in on another tunnel. She rushed inside and dodged past more of them who were headed to the cavern.

She ran for what must have been hours. Her sensitive ears directed her to tunnels that had the least amount of noise. Unfortunately, the tunnels she ran to led deeper into the Labyrinth. She’d yet to find one that led back to the surface.

Desperation made her take a risk. She headed up to a tunnel that led upwards and emerged into an area that had a large pit in the middle. Her quick eyes spotted another tunnel across the pit. But she wasn’t alone there.

Another squad of Ahas and Reviled were inside, along with another group dressed in drab woolen clothing rather than armour. They were carrying picks and heavy backpacks. The guards saw her and ran. “Don’t move!”

Only a fool would listen to something like that. MAsa darted to the side and dodged under an Ahas’ grasping claw. She kicked off his hip, knocking him off balance. But even as she did, he managed to catch hold of her ankle. She crashed into the dirt, painfully scraping her cheek in the process.

“No!” she groaned, kicking at the snake-man’s face.

Her boot scraped the man’s snout, catching him as his tongue flicked out. Blood spurted from a puncture wound and the Ahas clanner reflexively covered his mouth. Her kick made her bounce a couple of paces forward.

Then pain exploded on her side as one of the other reptilians, a lizard sub-race from the L’tik clan, kicked her across the ribs. She rolled painfully, and in a heartstopping moment, suddenly felt nothing at all beneath her.

The pit!

She screamed as she fell, losing herself in the darkness with only the sound of falling water filling her ears. She bounced against the sides, driving the air out of her lungs. After the second bounce, she managed to twist her body so that she would land on her feet, but the bottom was nowhere in sight. Silently, she fell, and even her screams disappeared from her hearing.

_____

The sled carrying Yuriko’s provisions was made of several branches lashed together with rope and leaves. The runners had to be replaced often, at least once a day, as they wore out in her trek. Yuriko tried making makeshift wheels, but lacked the proper knowledge in axle making to do it. Since most of the time she trekked through dirt and grass, it wasn’t much of an issue.

She pulled it with a set of ropes slung across her shoulders. It would take her less than a heartbeat to shed them should she find herself in a fight. She also let it rest directly on her skin. She was tough enough that the chaffing of the ropes didn’t leave a mark.

As soon as she entered the cave, she realized that her method of travelling wouldn’t work. The ground had become cobblestones and the walls were of smooth stone. The ceiling even had crystalline light panels that reminded her of the tunnels beneath Rumiga City. They flicked on as soon as she entered.

The sled runners would wear out faster, and with the extra sets she had, they wouldn’t last her a few days. She still had a week’s worth of provisions, nearly seventy Jin of dried meat.

“I guess I could just carry this?”

It was easy enough to do so, and equally easy to drop it as needed. Trouble was, she wasn’t sure if she could carry that much over her head and walk the distance she had to. It was just above her body weight after all. She could carry it, but her endurance would be the one tested.

“Well, nothing for it but to try.”

With the meat secure, she snatched the thing over her head and proceeded.

“Maybe I’ll hit my training cap soon.”

It was about time. How long had she been training in the plane? Two Seasons? Almost. She came here in the middle of the Season of Water and it was already nearly halfway through Fire.

The tunnel she followed was wide. Nearly thirty paces across. It was high too, more than ten paces. She kept to the exact middle of the road. The tunnel was soon joined by the other entrance tunnels, and as soon as all four were connected, it spiraled upwards. The slope was gentler than she expected, and there was a canal of running water flowing on one side, wide enough for a river lizard to swim in.

She eyed it warily. The water was a bit murky, with the downhill flow causing bubbles to hide the depths. It was a source of water but she wondered where it came from. The monotony of her climb was far worse than her trek in the desert.

However, she did hit her training cap. That moment when Recovery no longer gave her the same blissful feeling of growing stronger was painful. Still, it meant she could activate Body Forging.

There were alcoves every longstride or so. On the second night, she placed her alarm stones in the perimeter, and settled in the shadowed interior. Now was probably the best time to do it. She hadn’t seen anything else living in her trek.

Do it slowly. Damien’s voice rose from within. You don’t have to rush the circulation. You don’t have to do it all at once. Well, you should, to get the best results, ahaha.

Yuriko arched an eyebrow and snorted. “So which is it?”

Do it all at once. Better just get it over with. Oh, you’d better strip unless you want gunk all over.

“Ah, yeah.”

Yuriko took off her clothes and laid over her sled. She settled into a seated meditative pose and began the process. With her stronger Anima, it was a surprisingly smooth process. Sweat and other strange fluids came out of her pores as heat filled her body.

Once she was done, nearly all of her Animus reserves were gone and she felt a hole gnawing in her middle. She trotted to the canal and rinsed herself off, even going so far as to scrub mud on her skin to get the gunk out. She kept her Anima flared the entire time.

The canal was nearly four paces deep, she kept a firm hand on the edge when she took a dip. When she was done, she ran her fingers across her skin. The strands of Body Forging focused deeper within her this time. The first time around, she felt it on her muscles and skin. The second, it focused deeper, her ligaments and tendons, she thought. Now, it focused on her bones. At least, that’s what it showed when she monitored the process by envisioning her Anima at the time.

The last forging makes your body more resilient. You’ll find that you’ll heal quicker from wounds even without using Recovery. You’ll find that most mundane poisons and diseases won’t take hold, and only the strongest of blows have a chance of breaking bone.

Damien’s mental voice held an edge of gleeful satisfaction.

Ahh, you’ve finally reached the starting point.

“What do you mean?” Yuriko asked.

Try touching the Radiant energy.

“After I get dressed,” she said drily.

What? Nobody’s looking.

“Hmph!”

Once she had her clothes back on, she returned to a seated meditation pose.

Grrgl!

“After I eat.”

Before she knew it, the entire contents of the sled, all fifty Jin left in one sitting.

“Urp! Oh, excuse me.”

She sighed happily.

Well, come on, use the Radiance!

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered. “What would it do anyway?”

Well, not much now. But you can infuse it into your body. Body Forging won’t work anymore but that’s the next step.

“Uhm, sure. What would that do though?”

At this stage in your Anima strength? Nothing. But when you achieve Actualisation and beyond…Yuriko could feel the smirk in his voice...then it’s everything.

“Hmm. Alright. What do you want me to do?”

Envision your Anima then gather a strand of Radiant energy. You should be able to do it easily now. Then guide that strand into your heart. Your physical heart, not the core. Let it seep in. You’ll waste more than a bit of it, but some will be absorbed. Do so until no more radiance can enter. Then do the same with your other organs, muscles, skin, and bones.

“Bad timing to do it here,” Yuriko mumbled, “there’s no sun.”

True. Would you like to head back outside and do that? It should take you a year, maybe, to saturate your body.

“No, I can do that after I leave this plane,” Yuriko said firmly.

Your loss. At least here you have the solitude necessary to complete your foundations.

“I don’t want solitude,” Yuriko replied fiercely.

It’s something you’ll have to deal with, eventually. Damien sighed. No matter. Give it a try now so I can direct you. Your Radiant energy reserves dwindle the longer we speak.

“Then shush,” Yuriko smiled, trying to take the bite off her words. Damien only grunted in response.

Before, she couldn’t even touch the glowing reserves in the middle of her Facet without using Pure Animus, now it seemed as if it was eager to bow to her every whim. That felt odd to her. Body Forging only touched her body, and not her Anima. Still, she proceeded to do what Damien instructed her to.

The heat of it sunk into her heart. Her pulse slowed as she felt warm. The strand she manipulated was directly absorbed, with nothing spilling out, contrary to what Damien said. Delighted, she proceeded to empty her reserve. Even after doing so, her heart wasn’t saturated yet. She felt no strain, just a quiet pleasure akin to one she would feel after eating a delicious meal. Or having those chocolate truffles.

Done, she waited for Damien to comment, but there was only silence.

“Oh, yeah. No Radiant energy, no pervy grandpa in my head.” Yuriko pursed her lips then smiled. “Yeah, that’s fine too. Ehehehe.”

She picked up her backpack and started back on the path. The makeshift sled was left behind without a second thought. It no longer served any purpose.