Balance of Death Read online

  As the day is coming to an end the shadows grow. Asta makes her way to the school in hopes to find her target. None other than Setgaith himself. As she approaches she notices a large group exit; to avoid being recognized she steps behind a cart all packed up with goods. The group exits the building in a hurry. “Quickly, we cannot be late for the congress. Victor was clear he wants all clan members there.” Asta overhears.

  She figures Setgaith must be there, or on his way. She takes the long way going past Setgaith’s house. She moves at great speed through the city; like a gust of wind past the desolate streets as villagers pack up and prepare carts. She arrives at Setgaith’s house.

  She can hear him exiting the building. Just as he begins to step out. “Your contribution will be worth it I promise.” Asta in an instant is behind Setgaith, and sinks her teeth into his skin. She rapidly pulls a significant amount of blood before Setgaith’s chakra emits from his body squeezing her teeth from his skin.

  Setgaith brings the earth up around her and attempts to encase Asta. She performs a Soten and a chakra sphere stops the rocks. “Your noble blood will be put to good use.” Asta says as she closes her eyes and weaves a Soten Setgaith has never seen before. Asta pulls his chakra from him. He feels light headed and his eye’s flutter for a moment before he falls to the ground. An on looker sees this and keeps hidden.

  Asta picks Setgaith up and carries him into his house. After setting him down she can’t help but wonder what has happened since she was last here? She remembers what the group said about the congress the cleric had called. Against her better judgement she decides to attend to sate her curiosity.

  A large group has formed around the main congress hall. The cleric, Victor, stands atop the hall and is addressing the crowd. “So, it is my duty to ensure you no longer take advantage of Thato’s grace.” Asta with a sharp breath in falls to her knees after seeing Victor. Memories of the clerics killing Drekavac, and her being abducted sold to the mines flood through her. Seeing Victor, the man who led the attack on Drekavac, peels the layers time had grown over the memories exposing the raw nerve of emotions.

  “The deaths your clans have endured; Aeshma, Oenopain, THROMB! Will only be the beginning. As we move through this difficult time and into a brighter future, fused more tightly with Thatos, and his glory.” Victor continues. Clan members in the crowd tearing up as they swell with anger unable to avenge their fallen comrades.

  Asta gets to her feet; her knees are weak from the pain of her losses- brought upon her by Victor. She stumbles through the crowd.

  “Thromb had no honor!” Victor declares as the crowd grumbles and they speak amongst themselves. “Enough!” Victor yells before casting a spell and lifts a clan member into the air; her legs kicking as the force around her neck tightens. The crowd silenced. “He would see these losses multiplied by using the clans to fight against your true god, and the only one you should call sage! There will be no more sages; there will only be Thatos, and me his hand.” Victor commands before snapping the girls neck and dropping her body to the crowd. Silence gripping everyone as they stand in fear of this and the times to come.

  Asta made her way to the front she steps out. “You fucking rowach!” She yells. Victor taken back by this.

  “And, who are you?” Victor notices she isn’t wearing clan robes.

  “I’ll show you pain!” Asta screams clenching her fists wind builds up as she charges her chakra. Suddenly blasts of energy shoot out wildly around her.

  “Stand down!” Victor yells

  Asta weaves a Soten. Then shoots blast after blast of chakra at Victor. The ground around her erupting after each blast sending massive shockwaves tossing the crowd as they clear the area. Explosion after explosion destroying the congress hall.

  After awhile dust and debris fog the air. Asta stops for a moment letting the dust settle. Victor floats above angered by the interruption. Victor attempts to lift her with a spell. Asta uses Soten weighing herself down so much that Victor grunts gritting his teeth. He cannot believe how much she increased her weight. Her physical durability is so great she is able to increase to unparalleled levels.

  Asta shoots her hands out dispersing the force from Victor’s spell. Victor is in awe; who is this woman? Asta drops, sinking into the earth as her immense weight crushes the ground. She quickly shoots into the air striking Victor with the momentum of her leap and all her weight sending him flying before crashing down into a building. Asta runs at him with lightning speed her immense weight demolishing the ground. The level she raised her gravity, and the speed she is moving at, is astonishing to the clans as they look on. Victor just starting to get to his feet with no time to react and Asta begins pummeling him with thunderous strikes. She strikes at the chakra around Victor’s body. Each strike sending out an aftershock that decimates the surroundings. Victor’s chakra starts to flicker around his body; he cannot believe her strength.

  He quickly uses a forbidden Soten to split himself. Asta grabs a clone and smiles; “I get to kill you ten times now.” She screams as she tears the clones head from its’ shoulders. Two clones speed over to the crowd and begin harvesting chakra from the crowd corrupting their chakra and converting it into Victor’s.

  Asta continues to kill the clones as Victor casts another forbidden Soten he puts both hands on the ground it cracks all around him. And, a giant stone goliath arm breaks through the earth and plants its hand on the ground as it pulls itself up from below; with Victor on its’ head.

  Asta blasts kinetic energy from her fingertips at Victor atop the goliath but the giant raises its hand and the energy slaps against the powerful chakra infused earth bouncing off. The giant’s other hand moving with surprising speed grabs Asta. Squeezing so hard its’ own hand begins to crack. Asta’s chakra around her body is waning from the force.

  Two Victor clones jump onto the hand and begin striking Asta’s head with lightning speed. “You’ll die like all the others- you’re pathetic!” The clones taunt.

  Asta closes her eyes and she sees Drekavak’s face. She starts to scream the hand begins to vibrate and the clones stop for a moment, then Asta extends and shatters the hand sending the clones flying. As soon as she lands she speeds towards the Victor atop the golem, but as she scales its chest a hand forms, at the golem’s chest cavity, and reaches out toward Asta she kicks off of it and narrowly escapes its grasp

  Once she lands the golem stomps its foot into the ground. Sending rock railing into the earth, and a hand pops up below Asta again just narrowly missing her. The other clones blast chakra at her she leaps around avoiding the golem’s grasp and blocking the blasts.

  She knows she cannot keep this up; she must think of something fast. She leaps into the air. She breaths in and out deeply before composing a Soten and focusing a colossal amount of chakra at her fingertips. Then a flash of light before her chakra smashes down into the ground erupting the giant plateau. Eviscerating everything for a mile crumbling a portion of the city off of the mountain. She slowly lets herself down sensing Victor still.

  Victor speeds over in front of her hovering. His body covered in light his eyes, and mouth emitting light as it opens and shuts. “I’ve only been forced to use this once before.. Interesting.” Victor using divine chakra Thatos imparts all of his clerics with.

  Asta clenches her fists and tightens her muscles as she does her surroundings quake. The two begin trading blows each one further decimating the ground. It sounds like a thunderstorm. Strike after strike. As they fight a clone pulls from Victor’s body and floats above them. Once again he uses forbidden Soten. This time pulling from every living thing within miles, trees die, animals fall as their chakra is corrupted. Victor has never consumed this much chakra before his breath’s get heavier. With a smile he composes a Soten far above Asta and his other body fighting. He points his fists downward and roars as his chakra focuses some slips away sending shockwave through the air. Finally; “Die!” Victor yells out, as blood drips from his nose, he shoo
ts the blast downward. The heat chars everything in sight, while it is still hundreds of feet in the air rapidly making its’ towards Asta. She knows she must act.

  Asta uses a Soten to shoot deep into the earth. Once the blast hits the ground Asta uses all of her chakra as a sphere around herself. The ten mile plateau, Qilong city sits on, erupts. The divine chakra spreads from the blast point it evaporates the earth in all directions sending giant debris flying for miles. Non-Soten users run pointlessly as inevitably the shockwave and blast catches up with them and turns everything to ash. From 20 miles away in the sky the once monolithic city plateau is reduced to a crater as rocks and debris rain down.

  Victor walking towards what is left of Asta’s chakra. The smoke, still thicker than the air, clouds everything. The heat from the blast still radiates off the landscape. Burning anything not protected by his chakra. Asta’s shield just wears off; her skin welting from the residual heat. She knows she has no other choice than to test Bion’s theory. With setgaith’s chakra in her system she performs a forbidden Ekten not even Setgaith knew his family had.

  Victor sees her partially burnt body and can sense she is nearly out of her chakra. He smiles as he approaches. “I give you credit for surviving that, too bad it was just to die moments later.” Victor gets closer.

  Unexpectedly, Asta’s body starts to convert and turn into chakra. Victor stops in his tracks and is speechless. Suddenly Asta opens her eyes and smiles. “No last words?” Asta remarks Victor filled with fear.

  Asta’s body separates and reforms in front of Victor stabbing her fist through his chest. Victor attempts to perform a Soten, but Asta clenches her chakra fist and stops the flow of his chakra. Victor can’t conceive of this; it isn’t possible. With her other hand Asta grabs Victor's face. “This is for Drekavak!” She burns his body and chakra with her own surging through him. Victor screams out as it feels like his veins are burning. Asta’s chakra begins to fade. She must hold it for moments longer; she must see the end of Victor.

  Daeva and her time with him flashes before her. Then, the years she spent torturing Pródesi working out her anger and confusion. Transitioning to her youth with Drekavak until finally a memory she is unfamiliar with. In the roots of a large tree she can feel her consciousness being molded and an immense energy being fused into her.

  As she thinks about this energy, she screams out and snaps back to reality. A burst of energy flows until there is nothing left of Victor, but smoke to get carried away with the wind. Asta drops to her knees reverting back from the chakra form. The heat from the blast and thick smoke still swirling around.

  A weight has been lifted as she remembers Drekavak and better times. The heat and wind don’t bother her. Asta stands, with a sigh she lets go, and begins walking to carry out her destiny.