Spirit (Buryoku Book 9) Read online

  Spirit

  Buryoku

  Book Nine

  Aaron Oster

  For my fans.

  Contents

  Prologue

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  36

  37

  38

  39

  40

  41

  42

  43

  44

  45

  46

  47

  48

  49

  50

  51

  52

  53

  54

  55

  56

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Prologue

  A new, revitalized spirit flowed through Buryoku as the planet’s Soulcore washed out over its surface. The world had been forever changed, and those living below would either adapt or succumb to this harsher environment. Advancement would be made easier, but locking away the majority of the world’s power, then releasing it all at once was bound to have some pretty severe consequences.

  Crimson stood above the world, her fluttering robes reflecting the light of four spiraling beams of light. Their power was immense, to say the least. They were powerful enough to kill anything within a three-mile radius of its release, with the exception of those things that ate said energy instead of being destroyed by it.

  Crimson’s eyes turned, reflecting a beam of twisting black and white. The beam towered all the way into Buryoku’s upper atmosphere, where particles of each separated, spreading out over the world. At the same time, light of the same colors rushed through the underground channels, activating long-forgotten scripts from ancient times and rousing Beasts and monsters that had long been dormant.

  She turned her gaze, her eyes reflecting a beam of twisting red and blue spaced thousands of miles from the previous one.

  She clenched her fists as she spotted one of the Scions, one of this pathetic planet’s most ‘powerful’ Martial Artists, as they appeared on the fringe of said beam. He was an old man with visible musculature and a pair of baggy pants flapping around his waist. He stared at the beam as though it were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

  Crimson knew that to his eyes, it probably would be, as even Scions could not comprehend the true power of the Soulcore. Their power paled in comparison. She watched the pathetic bug for several moments longer before she forcefully pulled her attention from him.

  You’re here for a reason, she reminded herself, thinking about Azure and what fate might befall him for what he had done.

  Her companions would have no mercy when dragging him before their leaders, and their ultimate ruler, who oversaw hundreds of worlds, would have even less. Still, as far as she knew, there was a bit of a soft spot for the man, which was how he’d been able to get away with as much as he had in the past.

  Still, he’d never before crossed the line this much, in a way that fundamentally altered fate. This planet’s future had been set, and Azure had turned it upside down with a single reckless act.

  Crimson turned her head to the paired landmasses of Safaia and the Weeping Darklands. Two more beams twisted into the sky there. The one from the Darklands was brown and green, while the one from Safaia shone gold and silver.

  There were two other beams of light emanating from these two continents, though they were far smaller, a pale imitation of the real thing. It meant that the two Ancient Cavern Beasts, Kira, the Splitter of Heavens, and Furea, the Bringer of Fire, had both awoken.

  The first had woken due to a battle between a Scion and a Spawn. If either of them had survived the seal's release, Crimson would be amazed.

  She had to fight back a feeling of annoyance as she watched people scrambling about, some running in circles as they fell into full-blown panic. Others still abandoned their homes as the landscape began to shift.

  Underlings ran to their superiors, and superiors looked to the heavens. The followers of the Ancient Beasts flocked to their respective masters, not having expected either to rise yet, let alone both.

  Crimson turned her gaze to the salt pans of the Serrated Pass, where a Demon in human form paused to peer back at the twisting tower of energy. She could see the hesitation in its stance before it slowly turned, continuing on its mission.

  Unless someone stopped that creature, an unknown third Ancient Beast would soon be rising, calling forth a cult so ancient that it had not been seen since the times before the planet’s power had been sealed.

  She continued searching, ignoring the first of the Demons as they exited the seal. These would be the very weakest of their kind, either newly born Demons or weaker Spawn. The truly powerful ones would take a bit longer to escape. Azure’s seal would assure that nothing above Core Black would make it out for the next five years, and nothing over Legendary Black would arrive for two years after that.

  Crimson let out a sigh as she finally found what she was looking for – a small group of people gathered outside a cabin in the middle of the woods. They were still alive, which meant that those Azure had chosen for his mission would be able to do their part. And while she could not interfere, she knew of several ways to lend a helping hand.

  After all, she’d been sent here to keep her eye on a particularly slippery fish, which had meant learning how he operated. Crimson never thought that she would one day use those skills.

  “Well,” she muttered to herself. “Here goes nothing.”

  ***

  Doragon twisted in the air, avoiding an acid-green beam and extending a single hand. A wave of freezing blue fire blasted out before him in a wide cone, but the Ghast’s defenses were no joke. A sphere of green flashed around the masked Demon, and the wave of blue fire passed harmlessly over its surface.

  Doragon growled as he dropped to the ground, claws of icy blue extending over his feet and digging into the earth as a sledgehammer made of the same acid-green energy came swinging into him.

  Icy-blue scales rippled and cracked as Doragon held his ground, the force of the blow digging a three-foot trench in the ground around him.

  The Ghast vanished in a flash, appearing at his back, its hand – now sporting five wickedly long claws with acid-green light dancing around them – stabbing at the back of his neck.

  Doragon didn’t turn, but a smile stretched his lips.

  Got you! he thought, right before an icy-blue tail flashed out, slamming into the Demon’s chest and shattering its technique.

  He spun on his heel, open palm extended and an almost white-blue bead of power appearing there. The Ghast tried to muster a defense, but the blow it had taken from the tail had left it woozy.

  “See you in hell,” Doragon cackled, then closed his fingers around the small bead and hurled it at the Spirit.

  The small bead flashed and glittered as it spun through the intervening space. Then it smacked into the Demon. For a single, breathless moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, the bead exploded in a conflagration of spinning blue fire.

  Doragon jumped away, already salivating at the thought of this Spirit’s Demonstone. The
stones of Spawn were pathetic but valuable. How much more powerful would the stone of a true Demon be? He could hardly wait to get his hands on it.

  Doragon’s premature celebrations were cut short when a wave of green blasted from within the spinning dome of icy fire. His technique was swallowed instantly as the sky before him turned dark.

  With his teeth clenched in annoyance, Doragon tried to retreat, only to find his progress halted by an iron grip on his arm. Looking up, he saw the Ghast’s mask only inches from his face, the Spirit’s aura raging around it.

  “Are you insane?” Doragon asked, raising a single hand, blue fire flickering across his palm. “Do you want to die?”

  “No,” a voice answered, though it didn’t come from the Ghast.

  Doragon turned his head and found a hideously deformed creature standing behind him. It stood some twelve feet tall, with lumpy, scaly green skin. Its face was flat like a fish, and a row of spiny teeth showed from within its mouth.

  Black-clawed fingers scraped the ground alongside wide, flat feet containing claws of the same color. A pair of bright yellow eyes appraised him, even as its wide mouth stretched up in a grotesque smile.

  “So, you’re the real Ghast,” Doragon growled as the ground before the Demon frothed and boiled.

  “Oh, no, we’re one and the same,” said the masked creature, still holding his arm. “A Ghast’s main advantage is that we have two bodies, one civilized and one monstrous. Of course, we give up the advantage of brutal power that the other Demons have in exchange for this ability, but so long as one of us survives, we cannot be killed.”

  “Thanks for letting me know,” Doragon said, swiveling his hand to face the monstrous form of the Ghast. “If I kill both of you, you won’t be coming back.”

  The monstrous Ghast laughed, an ugly, wet, gurgling sound, then disappeared in a flash. Doragon didn’t see the blow coming, though he felt its impact. His icy scales shattered as the massive fist connected. His body was half-lifted off the ground but was held firmly in place by the first Ghast.

  Pain flared through his body as his ribs buckled, but Doragon wasn’t about to go down so easily. Even as the first Ghast dragged him back down and the second wound up for another punch, his jaw snapped wide open, blue fire kindling in his throat.

  “Nice try,” yelled the monstrous Ghast, his massive fist drilling into Doragon’s chin and forcing his mouth shut.

  His head snapped back, his vision going black for a moment as the taste of copper filled his mouth.

  “Don’t go dying on us just yet,” the first Ghast said, dragging Doragon back down and slamming him into the ground.

  There wasn’t much power behind it, as Doragon had previously discovered. The second Ghast appeared above him, interlacing its fingers and bringing its fists slamming down onto his exposed chest.

  Doragon’s back rebounded off the ground, leaving a small crater in its wake as more of his ribs buckled, blood and spittle flying from between his lips as he gasped for air. He extended a hand, but the monstrous Ghast grabbed it, then forcefully yanked it to one side. A sharp snap echoed, and Doragon screamed as white bone tore through his skin, blood seeping out from the new wound. Blue fire flickered across his other hand, and he punched upward, aiming for the first. Acid-green energy blasted from its hand, eating his technique away.

  “I get it now,” he wheezed as the two stood over his broken body. “One has all the techniques but no physical power, while the other has brute strength but no techniques.”

  “Figured that one out all on your own, did you?” said the first Ghast, sounding pleased.

  “It wasn’t too hard, what with how the two of you seem to fight so differently.”

  If what they said was correct, then that would mean that both forms of a Ghast were only half as strong as an average Martial Artist. Sure, each of them had a powerful ability, but each also lacked a fundamental strength that the other had.

  “Prepare to meet your end, Beast,” the masked one said as the previously summoned wave curled around its back, rising high into the air. “You will make a most delicious meal.”

  Doragon’s hand flashed out, blue fire flickering as he went for the masked one once again. The Demon let out an annoyed sound, sending a wave of green at him, but Doragon spun, slamming his palm into the ground. He swung both legs around in a feat of acrobatics that would have been impossible for a normal person.

  His knees pulled in and then out, extending both legs in an explosive double-kick. The Demon, unprepared to take this attack, was sent flying, the power of Doragon’s Reiki-infused kick being too much for the physically weaker Ghast.

  The monstrous one threw itself at him with a roar, but seeing as it only had a single avenue of attack, Doragon had already placed his trap there. With the hand still pressed to the ground, he unleashed an icy blast.

  Burning cold engulfed them both as lances of fire tore into the monstrous Ghast, tearing through its scaly arms and chest before freezing it in place. Doragon then shoved himself back, leaping over the Spirit and landing on both legs, then spinning and taking off at a dead run.

  His body ached with the pain of his wounds, and Doragon knew what he’d just done wouldn’t be enough. But he’d hopefully be able to escape and pay that Demon back once he’d recovered. Now that he knew how to deal with it, he would just need to…

  An ocean of acid-green appeared before him, and Doragon skidded to a halt, turned hard to his right, and took off again, only to run right into a monstrously massive fist. His nose shattered, blood spraying across his face. He went blind for a moment as agony shot through his skull.

  He didn’t feel the pain in his spine as it slammed into the ground. However, he did feel it when the powerful sledgehammer slammed into his chest, forming a five-foot crater with his body. His ribs were now nothing more than pulped fragments, and his chest visibly showed the indentation of the hammer’s impact.

  Doragon stared up, his breath rattling in his lungs as the two forms of the Ghast appeared at the lip of the crater. The masked one’s hair was disheveled and its suit was damaged, while the monstrous one sported several deep cuts along its body. Still, they were on their feet and apparently more than strong enough to stomp him into the ground.

  “That was a nice try, Beast,” the masked one snarled, “but ultimately an effort in futility. Now, if you would just—”

  The Ghast cut off again, though it had nothing to do with Doragon attacking him this time. No, he stopped talking due to the towering pillar of twisting black and white that rose in the distance. An instant later, Doragon felt the backwash as it spread out, and pain the likes of which he had never felt shot through his brain, lancing down into his very soul.

  Doragon screamed, the power of his voice shattering nearby stones right before his vocal cords gave out. The taste of copper coated his throat as he thrashed about within the crater, ignoring the pain of his injuries as he sought to escape the mind-numbing, soul-crushing agony.

  He felt himself slipping, losing control of the body, which terrified him more than anything. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The seal was supposed to remain active for a while yet. He should have had more time.

  Those thoughts were the last to go through his mind before the world vanished from his sight forever.

  ***

  “…he’s not dead yet. Just tear his Core out, and we can finally get something to eat.”

  “But he doesn’t look right. Are you sure it’s safe?”

  Doragon’s mind slowly pulled itself back from the deepest, darkest corners of his consciousness to hear a pair of bickering voices.

  “You’re a Demon!” the smoother-sounding voice said, the exasperation in his voice clear. “You can eat anything!”

  “Didn’t you see how his body went all twisty?” asked the rougher-sounding voice. “I don’t like it.”

  Doragon hid a wince as his fractured mind began pulling itself back together. Piece by agonizing piece, the sickness that haunt
ed him for decades faded to the back of his mind, leaving him with the combined experience of his various lives – though not their Paths or power.

  “This is why I hate bringing you along,” said the smooth voice, its exasperation turning to annoyance. “You always do this! If you weren’t such a picky eater, we’d be in the Ideal stages for sure.”

  Doragon remained where he was. The previous mind controlling his body told him that a Demon made of two forms stood above him. Their power – separated – was in the mid-Perfect Black stage. Together, he estimated them to be at the very peak of that stage.

  It was no wonder his previous self had been so badly beaten by these two. The difference between Dans was far more pronounced at this level of power. Someone at 7th Dan versus someone at 13th was a big difference, especially when you were outnumbered and didn’t know the enemy’s strength.

  “I am not picky,” the gruff voice said, and Doragon felt the ground shake a bit – likely due to the owner of said voice stomping down.

  Doragon’s splitting headache faded completely, and he took a deep breath, feeling the newly awakened Soulcore energy flow into him.

  One might think that it would take a while for the power of his particular Path – which had been sealed away on Safaia – to reach him. But, at the release of the seals, the power spread throughout the world in an instant.

  The cause of the pillars was the overflow, the dammed-up energy of thousands of years escaping into the atmosphere, soaking into the ground and warping reality in certain places. Doragon was sure that by the time those twisting pillars vanished, Buryoku would be unrecognizable — a different planet in its entirety.

  “Yes,” said the smooth voice, which Doragon now knew belonged to the masked Ghast. “You are picky.”

  “I am not,” the monstrous form of the Ghast shot back. “And I’ll prove it to you!”

  Doragon felt the ground shudder as the monster landed next to him, reaching down with one of its oversized hands to grab him. Doragon wasn’t completely back to himself, but he was more than strong enough to handle these two.