He whispered something to the blue spirit leaning against his neck, and then Little Blue hopped down from his shoulder and walked up to Kelsa.
“…she’ll be your opponent.”
Little Blue put hands on her hips and whistled a challenge.
Kelsa looked like her brother had told her to kick a baby off a cliff. “Uh, Lindon…”
“Blue.”
The spirit shoved her palm forward. A Forged blue-white handprint manifested in front of Kelsa’s body and slammed into her midsection, driving the air from her lungs and blasting her back into the wall. Her spirit was disrupted at the same time, and Jai Long winced. He’d been on the receiving end of that technique before.
Kelsa’s body crumpled to the ground and she groaned.
Little Blue gave a deep flute note of concern.
“She’s fine,” Lindon said. “Just wait for her to get up. Now…”
Finally, he turned to Jai Long.
“Why haven’t you advanced yet?”
Jai Long stopped himself from saying something he would regret. Lindon could talk like advancing to Underlord was so easy, but it was a barrier that stopped virtually every sacred artist in the entire Blackflame Empire.
“I have not received the necessary insight,” Jai Long said stiffly.
Lindon didn’t scan him with spiritual perception, but Jai Long felt as though he were being examined thoroughly nonetheless. “What have you tried?”
“Tried? I have isolated myself, I meditate on the nature of my madra every morning, and Jai Daishou ran me through a number of personal trials.”
Lindon nodded as though he’d expected as much. “He didn’t know what the Underlord revelation was, did he?”
Jai Long didn’t even understand the question. Everyone knew that every Underlord’s transformation was triggered differently. It had something to do with insight into your own Path, but some people achieved the knowledge in battle while others needed isolation, or even conversation.
“He was enlightened when he visited the birthplace of the Path of the Stellar Spear,” Jai Long said. He didn’t know how else to respond.
Lindon rubbed his chin. “I wonder why this isn’t common knowledge. The Underlord advancement is caused by an understanding of what started you on your Path in the first place. Why did you start practicing the sacred arts?”
“Because I was one of the most gifted in my clan,” Jai Long said immediately.
Of course, no transformation began. He hadn’t expected otherwise.
“It’s easier to sense in an environment with stronger vital aura. I’ll give you some treasures. You’ll want to open yourself to the resonance of aura while you try and discover what your original motivation was.”
Lindon’s gaze grew distant. “It’s not as easy as it sounds.”
It sounded pointless, but Jai Long had attempted less likely things when he was first trying to reach Underlord. He could give this a shot, especially if it came with free natural treasures.
“I’ll try it.”
He was being sincere, but Lindon seemed to sense some skepticism.
“This is the way it works.”
“I believe you.”
“You have to give this your full attention.”
“I will.”
Lindon still seemed doubtful.
A crash echoed as Kelsa slammed into the ceiling, and then another as she fell back to the ground, groaning.
Little Blue warbled a question, pointing at her, and Jai Long somehow understood it perfectly. She was asking Are you sure this is okay?
“…maybe take it easy on her,” Lindon allowed.
6
On Windfall, Lindon had finally finished construction of a new building. It was a large, wooden, one-roomed structure that resembled a barn, and he had carved an intricate set of protective scripts into the foundation.
This was his Soulsmith foundry, and for the most part it stayed empty. He kept his tools and materials in his void key.
But now he and his mother were together in the center as he very delicately pulled Dross apart.
While Dross hadn’t responded for weeks, he was still alive in Lindon’s spirit. Just…faded. Lindon had cycled plenty of madra to him, and still Dross hadn’t recovered.
Now, Lindon had manifested him as a spinning purple ball almost as big as Lindon’s head. With great care, Lindon controlled the madra that made up Dross’ form in order to view his insides.
This wouldn’t harm him, though Dross would have been disturbed to see it. Spirits generally didn’t rely on a specific physical structure to remain alive. If all their parts existed, they should be fine.