Dire Bear Trial

The carpet landed on the cliff with a soft thump. Kiyomi climbed off, turning around and holding her hand downward. Her fingers glowed, and she flicked her wrist up, the carpet dissipating into red smoke and vacuuming into her palm.

Ignacio glanced down, his knees suddenly aching against the stone cliff floor. He stood, grimacing as he ran his fingers through his hair.

That wind better not have messed my hair up, he thought, brushing it with his fingers.

Koharu stood at the cliff’s edge, hands on her knees as she peered over the side.

“Oh, dear,” she said. “What is that?”

Ignacio walked over to her, leaning his head over the edge. His eyes widened. Some kind of a creature slumbered at the base of the cliff, its white fur rising and falling as it breathed.

Kiyomi walked up beside him, her shoes clacking against the stone ground. “Aha. A dire bear.”

“You sure it’s not a colossal bear?” Koharu asked.

“No, look at the pattern on its fur,” Kiyomi said.

Blue curls that looked like smoke ran down the fur on its back. The creature’s ear flickered.

“Oh, yeah. Well spotted,” Koharu said, placing her hands on her hips.

“So, um… what do I do now?” Ignacio asked.

“Face it,” Kiyomi said. “That’s the only way your powers are awakening.”

Ignacio’s jaw slacked. “You’re kidding-”

A deafening roar broke out, sending birds scattering from the trees behind them.

“Oh dear, we woke him up,” Koharu said, glancing down the cliff again.

Ignacio held up his hands. “Hang on, you want me to kill that thing? Are you both insane?”

“No, but the dire-bear looks pretty mad,” Koharu said.

“Ignacio,” Kiyomi said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “All of us must awaken our abilities within the Ethergeist upon our first arrival. It is a practice that has been developed over decades of mankind using the Cyphers to enter this world.”

“What does killing that thing have to do with getting out of here?” Ignacio asked.

She sighed. “Once your abilities develop you can exit the Ethergeist more safely.”

Koharu skipped towards him, stopping beside him with her hands behind her back. “And if you want any help, just shout and we’ll be right there with you,” she said, patting his shoulder. “But if it isn’t at least a little challenging, your abilities won’t awaken.”

Ignacio took a deep breath, cheeks puffing as he sighed. “Alright. What’s the first move, then?”

“Come,” Kiyomi gestured for him to follow as they stepped to the cliff’s edge. “See the eyes?”

The dire-bear stood on its hind legs, front paws up against the cliffside as it stared at them with ice-blue eyes, teeth the size of Igancio’s body flashing as it growled.

“Yes, I see them,” Ignacio said.

“Go for them,” Kiyomi said.

He felt a boot plant in his backside and went careening over the edge.

“Kiyomi!” he heard Koharu scold.

His limbs flailed to find ground as he screamed, somersaulting in the air.

He fell past the dire-bear, his heart racing as he closed his eyes, preparing to smash against the ground. Instead, his stomach lurched as he slowed to a halt. He opened his eyes to a cloud of sand curling around him, the particles highlighted by a blue glow.

He turned his head to take a peak underneath himself. Blue tendrils of light, like those that Koharu had used to fly around earlier, stuck out around him like limbs, hovering him above the ground.

What the-

The dire-bear roared again, the sound reverberating in his chest. The light tendrils cut out, and he fell to the floor with a grunt, sputtering sand as he rolled over.

The ground shook as the dire-bear began lumbering towards him, its shaggy fur swaying as it built into a gallop.

Ignacio stood, backing away as his heart thundered in his chest, leaving him light-headed.

Come on, Ace, think damnit, he told himself, looking around as he backed away.

But there was no time. The dire-bear reached him, raising a gigantic paw. He raised his arms in a cross, cowering as he roared.

This is it, this is how you die, Ace.

The swoosh of the paw tearing through the air followed, and the dire-bear let out a pained yelp.

Ignacio looked up, panting. His arms, held in a cross, had a pair of opaque red blades curving along his forearms. They shifted like the reflection of water on a ceiling, the colour almost identical to Kiyomi’s. The dire-bear backed away from him, its paw missing two claws.

Ignacio lowered his arms, staring at them. “What is going on?”

Were there only two power types in the Ethergeist? Was it possible to have both?

Maybe it’s because you’re new, he thought, raising his fists as the dire-bear began circling around him, its eyes wide and fangs bared below black gums.

It roared, spraying saliva around Ignacio, a string splatting against his cheek. He grimaced, tightening his guard as the bear charged forward.

He took a step back, cocking his fist back as the red blades dissipated into red smoke, leaving his arms bare.

He glanced down at his hand. “What!”

The bear roared, and he dove out the way as it leaned its head down, jaws snapping shut with a grunt.

He scrambled across the dirt, getting back to his feet and running towards the cliff, waving like a mad man.

“Help! Help! Koharu!”

A dark blue disc that swirled with a paler light opened high above, and a blue beam surged from it with the bang and crackle of thunder. He turned as it struck the dire-bear in its side, slicing through the beast as it groaned. A plume of dust and leaves rippled around the beast as it fell with a thud, its body still.

Ignacio panted, leaning a hand against a boulder at the foot of the cliff. A drop of sweat rolled off his nose, splatting on the ground and turning to mud.

He lifted his head as the crackling sound of Koharu flying descended, and she landed in front of him. She rushed to him, holding her hands out to him but not touching.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes wide. “How are you feeling?”

Ignacio held up a hand, staying doubled over. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

Koharu placed her hands behind her back, peering over his shoulder. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” he asked, glancing up as Kiyomi landed ahead in a red bubble.

She held that same book in her hand from earlier, the bubble popping into sparks as she snapped the book shut.

She flung her hand out to the side, the same kind of red blade that had covered Ignacio’s arm extending from it as she walked towards him, her chin down.

She raised the blade, hovering it inches from Ignacio’s neck. “How the hell did you do that?”

Ignacio eyed the blade, swallowing hard. “I don’t know.”

Koharu stepped forward, pushing Kiyomi’s hand down with a finger. “Maybe we should hold back on the threats, hm?”

Kiyomi whipped the blade over Koharu’s hand, levelling it with Ignacio’s neck again. “Did you not see what he just did, Kay?”

Ignacio raised his hand again. “I have no clue what’s going on, okay?”

Koharu placed her hands behind her back again, tilting her head as she watched him. “You’re a Ronin.”

Kiyomi lowered the blade, eyes moving up to Koharu. “You’re right. He could be.”

“I’m a what?” Ignacio said.

“We’ve classified eighteen different power Sects within the Ethergeist that people develop for various reasons,” Koharu said. “I’m a Weaver, Kiyomi is an Archmage. Each Sect has one or two Aspects to them. For example, I’m a Blue-Light Aspect Weaver, Kiyomi is a Red Aspect Archmage. Different Sects have different Aspects, but there can be overlap. For example, you get Thunder Aspect Warlocks and Storm Aspect Oracles. Similar Aspects, very different Sects. There are a set amount of Aspects that a Sect can have, though. For example, with Kiyomi, there are only Red, Blue and Green Archmages. But there are lots of Weaver Aspects. Blue-light, Gold-light, Red-light, Purple-light, and so on. But there’s only one theoretical Sect that can do what you just did.”

“Ronin,” Kiyomi said, holding her blade up as it dissipated into red smoke.

Ignacio straightened up. “And what exactly did I just do?”

Koharu and Kiyomi exchanged a glance.

“You just absorbed our powers, and used them yourself,” Kiyomi said.

Ignacio looked down at his hands, covered in powdery brown sand. “Is that a good thing?”

Koharu smiled. “It’s remarkable, Ace. You’re not supposed to exist.”