Divine Awakening

As Ash moved forward, he triggered his Third Eye ability, Lesser Ripple, and pushed it outward. Once past ten feet, his Mental Energy ticked down a percentage every three seconds, and the farther he extended the ability, the faster the Mental Energy dropped.

The sensations swamped Ash, so he adjusted Lesser Ripple to provide less detail. This slowed the drain on his Mental Energy and allowed him to comprehend what came through.

The tunnel stretched ahead of Ash, lit only by the flickering light of ancient, wall-mounted torches. How could torches still exist down here? Who replaced them? They all looked identical, as if they’d just appeared. They cast long shadows across the sandstone walls, which contained faded hieroglyphs and images of long-forgotten beasts.

Dust filled the air, and Ash suppressed a sneeze. With Lesser Ripple, he detected the lingering scent of incense that he guessed originated from the torches. Root and Third Eye didn’t warn him, so he knew it didn't contain poison. Each breath felt dry in his throat, reminding him of the desert sand above.

Ash moved silently, his senses heightened, each step deliberate. Lesser Ripple assured him he was alone in this place, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something here watched him. His Root chakra pulsed with a steady, grounding energy, an anchor in the oppressive atmosphere. He could feel it at the base of his spine, a quiet hum of vitality that promised survival no matter what lay ahead.

Ash’s Third Eye remained wide open, the ocean drop within brimming with power. Currently, he only used a fraction of that ocean’s potential to power his Lesser Ripple. He guessed if he shoved the entire drop outward, it would drain all his Mental Energy in a moment, and he’d collapse.

Lesser Ripple seeped into the walls, ceiling, and floor, allowing him to move with confidence.

Ash’s footfalls created a detectable vibration along with a faint sound on the sand and dust-covered floor. He stopped, summoned his pack, and stowed away his boots and socks before returning the pack to his belt.

Barefoot, Ash now made almost no sound on the stone floor. The techniques of the Bamboo Viper Steps demanded a graceful blend of softness and hardness—he moved like water, each step seamlessly flowing into the next. His muscles remained relaxed yet coiled with potential energy, ready to explode into deadly action. Every movement contained a lifetime of training, calculated and designed to conserve energy while keeping him prepared for the unexpected.

As Ash approached a fork in the tunnel, he paused. Third Eye sent a faint twinge of caution across his forehead as he studied the passages. The one to the left exuded a sense of foreboding. The air felt colder there, the shadows deeper. The one to the right, while seemingly less ominous, still made his Root chakra pulse in warning. Danger lay in both directions, but the right path felt… safer. Barely.

Ash reached out to Nomad with chat. Encountered the first fork. Neither tunnel is safe. Exploring the right one. Hold at fork for my return.

Roger that, Nomad responded.

Ash stepped into the right tunnel. The passageway narrowed as he walked, and the walls lost their smooth, hieroglyph-covered surface, turning rough and more natural. When the width reached eight feet, he felt a pang of concern. He didn’t consider himself claustrophobic, but being in such a tight space when surrounded by danger made him deeply uncomfortable. His Root and Third Eye didn’t react, however, and Lesser Ripple didn’t detect anything within thirty feet.

The Mental Energy bar had reached fifty percent, but Ash pushed Lesser Ripple out another thirty feet while focusing only in front of himself. Narrowing the scope of the ability slowed the pace of the mental drain, even though he’d doubled the distance.

The darkness ahead grew complete, swallowing the weak light from the torches behind Ash. With a thought, he summoned the knife from his Belt of Swans into his hand. The handle felt cool and reassuring in his grip.

Three steps further long, Ash felt a shift. The air grew colder, and the scent of decay drifted down the tunnel, faint but unmistakable. His Third Eye pulsed urgently, and his Root chakra echoed the sensation. He responded instinctively, stopping. Sinking into a low stance, he kept his muscles relaxed but charged, ready to spring.

A low growl bounced down the tunnel, echoing off the walls and distorting into something monstrous. It didn’t sound like an animal, at least not one Ash had ever encountered.

He pulled energy from his Third Eye chakra into his eyes and the darkness disappeared. The world turned into varying shades of grey. He’d done this hundreds of times in the past, but with this newly Awakened chakra, the details of the tunnel remained shockingly clear. Even though the torchlight had almost completely disappeared here, it still provided plenty of light for his new vision to function. He focused on the area ahead, his senses primed.

Thirty feet away, a creature separated from the shadowed wall as if exiting a door. It filled half the tunnel. Its grotesque form combined multiple animals. Its head vaguely reminded Ash of a jackal, but elongated and twisted, with eyes that glowed a sickly green. Scales covered its humanoid body, and the air around it rippled with heat, distorting the space near it.

Ash’s mind worked quickly, analyzing the threat. From the way it moved, the creature clearly had powerful muscles, and because it lived here, the tunnel’s width wouldn’t constrain its attacks, meaning it likely had a high agility. Hopefully, the scales covering its body weren’t as durable as they looked. The glowing eyes suggested some kind of magical power, which might also explain the odor of decay.

The creature snarled. Without hesitation, it took a few bounding jumps and then lunged.

Ash didn’t flinch but moved with lightning speed. He sidestepped the creature’s attack, his body twisting out of the way with a grace bordering on impossible in such close quarters. As the beast passed, he struck out with the knife, aiming for the base of its skull, where the scales seemed thinner.

The blade connected, but the creature’s tough hide, even with Ash’s unnatural strength, resisted the attack and the knife to skid along the scales with a sharp screech, leaving only a shallow gash. Ash felt the impact reverberate up his arm, but he didn’t allow it to disrupt his flow. He kept the blade away from his body in case the creature’s blood had some toxic effect.

The intense heat radiating off the creature washed over Ash, and it felt like someone had slapped his cheeks. The stubble that had appeared over the last day singed away, filling his nose with the smell of burnt hair.

The monster spun around faster than Ash expected and, at the urging of his Third Eye, he jumped backward.

Jaws snapped at the space Ash left, missing him by inches. A faint green gas hung in the air where the creature had attacked, likely something nasty and magical that he wanted to avoid.

Ash’s mind raced—this mob had speed and it displayed some intelligence as it adapted to his movements.

Despite the unfamiliar surroundings and strange opponent, Ash’s heart rate didn’t increase and his breathing remained steady.

Ash didn't know how often this thing faced humans, but it would soon realize Ash wasn’t like everyone else.

Ash backed away, putting distance between himself and the creature. He needed to change tactics. The knife wouldn’t cut it—not in the literal sense anyway. He considered his options. The 9MM was only a thought away, but he doubted the bullets would penetrate far into the creature’s hide and thick muscle. That left him with his new spell.

Throwing his hand out, Ash stopped himself from yelling the spell’s name. This wasn’t anime, and he couldn’t go around shouting everything he wanted to do. Nothing happened.

The sudden movement caused the creature to pause, unsure what type of attack Ash had cast.

To Ash’s surprise, just over the mob’s shoulder, a translucent box appeared with information.

Name: Burning Jackal of Decay

Type: Necrotic

Level: 2

Domain: First

Description: A combination of a jackal and a fire gecko, this beast is covered in scales that ripple with heat. Avoid contact.

The popup didn’t provide the most information, and Ash hoped that would improve as he leveled. At least now he had a name for the thing.

The Burning Jackal tensed to spring, and Ash mentally called out Spirit Touch, but once again nothing happened. Maybe he did need to yell it out loud.

Probably based on Ash’s expression, coupled with the fact he’d thrown his hand outward again without realizing it, the Burning Jackal leapt to the side to avoid whatever spell Ash had cast.

That was twice Ash had faked out the Burning Jackal. Maybe it wasn’t so smart.

Ash lowered his arm, a little embarrassed, suddenly thankful he could work out these kinks alone.

This time, Ash focused on the spell and searched for the energy to power it within himself. Almost immediately, he sensed the necrotic power he needed for the spell, and his focus caused that energy to coalesce around his body, cold and sinister. A ghostly skeletal hand formed in the air in front of him, clawed fingers dripping with an otherworldly greenish-blue energy.

The Burning Jackal hesitated, its glowing eyes narrowing as it witnessed the spell forming. There had to be a faster way to do this, Ash thought. Assuming this even worked in the first place.

The Burning Jackal leapt at Ash, trying to disrupt the cast.

Ash thrust his hand forward, sending the Spirit Touch toward the creature. The ghostly hand shot forward, its movements fast and eerily smooth . The spell stretched to account for the jackal-like head as it caught the beast in midair, latching onto the creature’s face.

A small ghostly hand symbol appeared under Ash’s Profile icon in the upper left corner of his vision. The hand had four dots under it: three greenish-blue and a fourth grey one. Those would be his spell charges. He guessed that grey one would slowly grow brighter over the next fifteen minutes. A thirty-second timer counted down next to the small ghostly hand, displaying how much time remained on the Health regen debuff.

The Burning Jackal landed awkwardly as it tried desperately to claw off the ghost-hand covering its face. The scene reminded Ash of that Alien movie, which made him a little uncomfortable. Those things had scared the hell out of him, and he really didn’t like the idea of casting ghost hands that latched onto faces like that.

The frantic Burning Jackal completely lost its focus. Nobody likes having a hand smothering their face.

Ash casually slammed the dagger into the Burning Jackal’s small ear hole.

The creature reared back, a horrid guttural scream tore from its throat as the necrotic energy of the spell seeped into its flesh.

Ash stepped back in case it exploded, or some other horrible thing happened as it died. He watched life drain from the Jackal’s body as Spirit Touch and knife induced brain damage combined to seal its fate.

The scales of the Burning Jackal of Decay turned grey and brittle. The creature thrashed, slamming into the walls of the tunnel in a desperate attempt to dislodge the spectral hand. Ash didn’t think the jackal even realized it had a dagger in its brain.

The Spirit Touch clung to the beast, preventing its regeneration vitality with every passing second. Ash watched the creature weakening, its movements sluggish and erratic.

As if suddenly realizing it was about to die, the Burning Jackal, in a desperate surge of strength, lunged at Ash, its arms wide open, aiming to crush him in a scorching embrace.

Ash saw it coming—his Third Eye warning him before the creature even switched focus. Briefly concentrating on the knife touching his leg, he used the Belt of Swans to recall the knife lodged in the Burning Jackal’s ear.

Ash leaped back, reacting automatically to the messages from his chakras.

The creature’s arms snapped shut on empty air.

The Burning Jackal stumbled, its strength giving out. Ash stepped forward, his hands acting independently. His left fist slammed into the creature’s neck, shattering the windpipe while his right thrust the dagger through the half-open jaws, pushing the blade through the top of the mouth and into the brain once again.

The light in the creature’s eyes dimmed, and it collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. Ash watched it carefully, ready to strike again if it showed any sign of life, but it remained still.

The tunnel turned silent once more, the only sound the faint crackling of the torches in the distance. Ash let out a slow breath, releasing the extra energy that had coiled in his muscles. He had won, but he knew this was only the beginning.

Spirit Touch dissipated, leaving a faint trace of cold in the air. Ash’s Root chakra hummed with a subtle unease, as if recognizing the energy for what it was: dangerous.

Ash leaped back as the body moved. A moment later, he understood what was happening and studied it with interest.

The Burning Jackal of Decay slowly sank into the stone of the floor. In just seconds, it disappeared along with the blood that had coated the tunnel walls.

Ash’s dagger lay on the ground, clean of any blood. There was nothing left to indicate a fight had even occurred. He summoned the dagger back into his Belt of Swans.

A surge of energy passed from the floor into Ash’s feet, filling him with a pleasant warmth. It lasted for three seconds, slowly dissipating as if an empty container within him consumed the relaxing sensation.

Then the sand on the tunnel floor where the creature had disappeared swirled in a tiny tornado. In a blink, items appeared on the floor.

Ash’s loot had arrived.