WM [76] Reality Bled

The path through the Chaos Lands was going at the fastest pace Tanisha could manage. They had been running for hours to the point that she had to take several stamina potions just to make sure she could keep up with the constant speed Fuyumi was pushing them to travel. Tanisha knew that as soon as she had points to spend she would be putting more into stamina. 

Tanisha had always relied heavily on her Chain Breaker’s Mantle to bolster her physical abilities, but this trial was exposing the gaps in her natural resilience. The recent opening of her Blood Gate was likely the only reason she had any stamina left at all. Power flowed through her now in a way that felt effortless, as though a lifetime of invisible shackles had finally been cast off. She wished she had time to look over her status menus but she barely had time to breathe before the yuki-onna had them running at full tilt. 

The mana hurricane forming overhead was a good motivator to run as fast as possible. Apparently it has gotten to the point where looking directly up at it will cause hallucinations. She and Bjorn had to wear special talismans to keep from going crazy. Or at least that is what Fuyumi said. Whether the talismans would hold under the storm’s intensifying effects was anyone’s guess.

Tanisha also opted to wear her full armor; its resonance with her magic made her able to focus her power greater than any of her other clothing would have. It also had protections that would be useful in the Chaos Lands. Thanks to the connection to her magic it also felt as light as normal clothing as long as her Mantle was active. It did drain more magic but if there was one thing she had a lot of, it was her seiðr.

“We will stop up ahead for a break,” Fuyumi said as she pointed to a spot that was quickly approaching. 

She tossed Tanisha and Aurelius a small bag. “We’ll need to set up the crystals as soon as we stop. I will do the outer ring, Aurelius you will do the middle ring two feet from mine and Tanisha do the inner ring six feet from Aurelius’s.” 

As soon as the got to the location Fuyumi specified they followed Fuyumi’s directions placing the circles of crystals.  Once they were done Fuyumi raised a hand and created a thick canopy of dark ice over the area. 

“To keep us from looking up.” She offered simply. “I will take the first guard, you three sit and rest.”

Bjorn found a spot and layed down as soon as she gave them the okay to do so. His chest rose and fell as heavily as hers did. Aurelius looked equally haggard and gave a thumbs up before finding a spot next to Bjorn and dropped to the ground in a huff. Tanisha soon followed and the trio fell into silence as they individually found their breath. 

***

Tanisha finished her meal, setting her bowl aside before noticing Aurelius once again glancing at her tail, which swayed lazily beside her. She tilted her head, catching his gaze as it darted away. Her eyes flicked to his tail in turn—it was shorter than hers, covered in short brown fur matching his long hair, and adorned with several decorative rings.

“Did you want to ask more questions about my tail?” Tanisha asked.

Aurelius stiffened, his face reddening. “No, sorry it’s nothing.”

Tanisha raised an eyebrow, her head tilting slightly. “With a reaction like that, it doesn’t seem like nothing. What’s on your mind, Speedy.”

“Speedy?” Aurelius questioned.

“Because you are the fastest one in the group.” Tanisha smiled.

Aurelius chuckled nervously but soon sobered.  “I… well, have you ever met an elf before? I have only ever been around humans and demons, dwarves a few times and the harpies are fun but never elves. Since they are sensitive to the chaotic ambient mana they stay away from the chaos lands.”

The question caught her off guard. “Elves? Other than you, I’ve met quite a few, yes. My former family employed many of them at the estate.”

Aurelius lit up at the news. “What were they like? What did they do?”

“Honestly? Pretty normal, I guess.” Tanisha said as she leaned back and looked up at the ice canopy for a minute. “They worked as attendants, gardeners, a few as guards. They didn’t talk much, though. Might’ve been because of their roles. Elves are common enough in Yuhia, but they tend to keep to themselves—kind of aloof.”

“Oh.” He seemed to be struggling with what he was going to say next. He opened and closed his eyes multiple times. “Do you think the elves you met would like me? I mean, I’ve never met another of my kind, and I worry they’d think I’m… I don’t know, different.”

Tanisha considered him for a moment, her tail twitching thoughtfully. “I don’t see why they’d treat you any differently. Though…” She hesitated, recalling her initial reaction to his overwhelming presence. “We might need to work on your aura control. It can come off as, uh… jarring

Aurelius winced, his shoulders tensing. “I know. I’ve heard that before, but this is the best I can do. I can’t control it any more than I already am.”

The silence between them stretched for a moment, both lost in thought. Finally, Tanisha broke it.

“Well, you said you’ve never had a teacher for chaos magic, right?” She motioned toward Bjorn with a nod. “He’s got some chaos magic in him, and he’s pretty smart. Maybe he could help.”

“Can he talk?” Aurelius asked.

“He can write and I can translate.” She turned to Bjorn, “What do you think, Big Man?”

Bjorn’s heads all turned toward the pair, two of them appearing to exchange silent communication while the others swiveled in random directions. Occasionally, one head would bob up and down, as if nodding. Tanisha found herself distracted, wondering if each head had a different personality. Should she name them? She shook the thought away and refocused as Bjorn began scratching something into the ground with a claw.

She leaned down to read his message. “His core is pure primana, not corrupted mana. He can change his aura into regular mana if he focuses.”

“Primana?” Aurelius repeated, the word foreign to him. “What’s that?”

Bjorn’s leftmost head opened its mouth, revealing a contained flame. The heat radiating from it carried a chaotic intensity, similar to Aurelius’s own magic. Slowly, the flame shifted, its nature changing as though the very threads of its essence were being rewoven. It transformed into regular mana, then aether, and finally blended seamlessly with the ambient mana around them.

Tanisha translated, “Primordial mana, or primana, can adapt to suit the wielder. We were touched by it but not corrupted, so now we can control it.”

Aurelius’s eyes widened in astonishment, and he leaped to his feet. 

“So I’m not cursed?” Aurelius said as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders. “I am not cursed. Bjorn, Tanisha, thank you! Bjorn, can you show me how you did that?”

Before the hydra could respond, Fuyumi stepped under the icy canopy, her serene presence breaking the moment. 

“It’ll have to wait, Aurelius. It’s time to move.” Fuyumi said.

It took only moments for the group to gather their belongings and press onward with the same relentless pace as before. Tanisha felt as though she’d been transported back to the grueling early days of her training under Joha, lugging an oversized bag behind the caravan while her muscles screamed in protest. She couldn’t help but reflect on those simpler times.

Back then, she wasn’t a princess, nor the follower of a newly emerged True, let alone a demigoddess trudging through a realm where reality and magic melted together into a chaotic, cosmic soup. Strange that those times which at the time were definitely troublesome now felt, if not easy, then at least manageable. Now, everything seemed immeasurably vast, like a puzzle she didn’t have all the pieces to solve.

With effort, Tanisha refocused on the uneven path ahead, determined not to let her gaze drift upward to the ever-shifting sky, where patterns of color and light danced unnervingly. She had a mission: find Joha, bring him back to his senses, and set the foundation for whatever strength she would need in the years to come. The details could come later. For now, she had a plan—a rough one, sure, but it was something.

Naturally, the universe decided this was the perfect moment to upend her fragile resolve.

A bolt of pure corrupted mana slammed into the ground just ahead of them with a deafening crack, halting the group in their tracks.

Tanisha froze, her instincts screaming at her to run, yet her eyes were drawn irresistibly to the phenomenon before her. The bolt didn’t resemble lightning as she knew it—it was far too thick and jagged, its edges shimmering and distorting as if caught in the act of defying time itself. It burned and froze simultaneously, a searing tear in reality where the world began to bleed. It actually bled.

Her vision tunneled, locking on the mana as her surroundings fell away. The air around the bolt seemed alive with wailing, spectral cries, voices from beyond the veil of this world and whatever was beyond, clawed at her mind. She could see streams of information pouring from it, lines of shimmering code unraveling the essence of the world itself, flooding her consciousness faster than she could process. It whispered to her, promising answers—truths she didn’t even know she craved.

All she had to do was let it in. Let the crawling fingers wrap around her thoughts, her soul. She felt her essence blistering under the unbearable weight of it all, and yet, a desperate part of her clung to the promise. Just a moment longer, and she’d have it—all the answers, the power, the clarity she had been chasing for so long. Nothing else mattered. What else did she live for than for this moment?

“No, don’t look at it!” Aurelius’s voice cut through the torrent of whispers.

He collided with her, tackling her to the ground and forcing her gaze away from the blinding maelstrom of mana. Tanisha gasped as the world rushed back into focus—her pounding heart, the cold press of the ground, the chaotic sounds of their surroundings. She saw Bjorn a few paces away, using his massive bulk to shield Fuyumi, his heads angled away from the bolt.

The world around them was awash in searing light and a deafening hum that seemed to reverberate in her bones. Bjorn let out a guttural sound and began to move, signaling the others to follow. The hydra broke into a run, and the group fell in behind him, their pace frantic and uneven as they fled the corrupted lightning still suspended in its frozen state.

As they ran, Tanisha caught glimpses of other creatures, monsters drawn irresistibly to the unnatural phenomenon. They hurled themselves toward the bolt with abandon, their forms incinerated the moment they touched it, their twisted screams swallowed by its chaotic radiance. Tanisha’s legs burned, her breath came in ragged gasps, but she pushed on, her mind still reeling from the brief but harrowing encounter.

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