Truthful Transmigration

There were two reasonable paths for John on his journey to compete with the Ascending Soul Phase cultivators he knew. There weren’t exactly many of them- though there were a good number of individuals on the threshold throughout the region and the next decade might see a significant change in that numbers.

Besides John himself, however, there were only six. Four humans, and two spirit beasts. Perhaps there were a few other guardian beasts that had achieved the same level of power, but if so they were kept secret. It was quite likely that the Sky Islands had more Ascending Soul Phase cultivators than Sitora herself, but they hadn’t been able to properly confirm that. The Molten Sea was quite a bit further away, so little proper news came from them.

Then again, they had missed the news of Rezso in the Muted Crags until he began causing trouble. That was a mistake John had resolved not to repeat, and he was keeping tabs as far away as practical. That might improve as their communication lines grew to bridge between different elemental reasons, but for the moment messenger beasts were still among their most reliable and fastest methods.

For those cultivators he did have access to, the route that would be easier would involve training with Ciaritzal first, then Renato. Those were his first two elements, so it would get him used to such clashes. Sadly he didn’t know any air cultivators aside from Sitora, and water cultivators were completely out. There was something to learn from both Steve and Yustina, and the latter had a good understanding of water even if she was no longer a water cultivator.

Finally, there was Cuah’arn, a spirit beast of light. John would have the most trouble with her.

Which was why he was going to fight her first. The chance of him losing the battle was quite high. Over ninety percent, in John’s estimation. Cuah’arn’s advancement had come quite some time before, and while the spirit beast wasn’t growing rapidly she was consistent. She should still be in the early Ascending Soul Phase for a few decades, but she would be stably positioned and in control of her full power.

-----

Any random person who walked up to the Golden Tomb Guardians would not be able to see Cuah’arn as they pleased, but John had a long history with both her and the sect. He still put in a formal request, but he hardly had to wait a few moments after his arrival.

John found that the ‘tomb’ was even more oppressive than before. In a technical sense it was easier to move through, as the majority of the traps had been disabled. Cuah’arn was no longer wounded, and quite capable of defending herself against any intruders- not that anyone would make it that far with the overall growth of the sect.

Her power was greater and John was even more sensitive to light now, but not only in a bad way. He could feel the danger, but he was able to recognize that it was still safe enough to move around. The area still gave him a headache though.

“You don’t often come here in person,” Cuah’arn commented in place of a greeting.

“It’s not currently my preferred sort of environment,” John admitted.

“What is your purpose?” Cuah’arn asked directly.

“I want to spar with you,” John said, explaining the reasoning behind his request. “I’ve come prepared with gifts for the sect for the inconvenience.” If they were to battle seriously, there was no guarantee Cuah’arn would get by without injuries. It wouldn’t be the same as her battles with Ciaritzal, of course, as there wouldn’t be anything left behind to maintain such a wound. Even so, having their guardian beast weakened for even a short time could be a risk for them.

“I hope we will not have any need of such treasures, but the sect will gladly accept them in either case,” Cuah’arn finished. “Where shall we battle?”

“I believe somewhere in this place would be most appropriate,” John said. “Though if you would perform better outside, I would wish to face you there.”

“Here will suffice,” Cuah’arn said, spreading her wings. The avian figure had little form John could make out, and that only intensified as her figure shrunk. “We will inform the sect, and then we shall have our battle. I look forward to see what you can do with your other elements.”

-----

When the battle began, John barely managed to dodge out of the way as Cuah’arn rushed past him. She was fortunately nowhere near close to the speed of light, but she was not constrained by mass either. Her claws snipped closed just over his shoulder.

The attack didn’t end there. With a powerful flap of her wings, Cuah’arn halted her momentum while at the same time sending a barrage of feathers towards John. He swept his hand, driving them away with a gust of wind. Though they lacked weight, the force behind them was still significant.

John didn’t have any time to slowly build up his elements, and he couldn’t simply stay on the defensive. Though it was a simple trick he’d used in many battles, John still flicked a throwing dagger from his left hand, unabashedly coated in darkness.

Cuah’arn twisted her body out of the way, but she had to do more than that to avoid being struck. The dagger sought out her concentrated light, forcing her to further push her momentum to the side instead of charging towards John once more.

John stomped the floor, loosening the stones so he would be able to form a barrier when he needed it. Flames coiled around his sword as he slashed towards Cuah’arn passing by. His intent was to catch her feathers alight- not something that could normally be done with light, but John’s Ethereal Flames would be able to burn away her spiritual energy.

However, even without having seen that trick before she took his assault quite seriously, rapidly extinguishing the flames despite their obvious lack of heat or danger. As Cuah’arn turned about once more, stopping in the corner of the large central chamber, she opened her mouth wide, letting out a screech- and focusing a beam of light towards him.

That was where the loosened floor came in handy, as he raised it up and reinforced it with earth. Even so, he was struck for a few moments. John protected himself with air and fire elements, so that they had no particular weakness against the assault. Darkness would have just cost him dearly.

Cuah’arn’s assault didn’t stop, the barrier of stone blocks heating up and beginning to melt in its center. John responded with the element of water, some of which instantly vaporized from the heat. However, that was part of the plan as the clouds of steam were then controlled to refract in all directions, effectively neutralizing it.

Deciding she was done with that particular avenue of attack, Cuah’arn once again made use of her feathers. However, she didn’t just attack directly, instead bouncing her feathers off of the walls and ceiling. The whole area was infused with the light element, and they acted much like reflective surfaces.

They came at John from nearly every angle, and he dove downward, under the floor- pulling the stone blocks on top of himself. The feathers crashed into the barrier, and he moved through the earth. If he didn’t have darkness to conceal himself his movements would have been far too slow, and even with that he was concerned Cuah’arn would pick up the slight fluctuations.

While the ground itself wasn’t charged with the light element, the stone blocks were and if he didn’t keep his darkness tightly constrained they could react. He slid through the earth for only a few moments before leaping upward, launching the stone blocks towards the greatest concentration of light above.

John sprang out of the ground with his sword wrapped in darkness, which nearly cost him the match then and there. His attack had been aimed where he thought Cuah’arn was, but light could be just as tricky as darkness. He destroyed only a shell, and another beam of light was focused on him. He blocked with his sword, causing an explosion as light and darkness clashed.

He allowed the explosion to push him back, catching himself with his sword in the ground and spinning to the side. His cycle of elements was pushing at full blast as he launched lightning from his left hand, only to have it smacked away by Cuah’arn’s wing.

John just barely readied himself for her next charge, darkness on his sword augmented with the four core elements for stability. He cut towards her belly as her claws reached for him. Cuah’arn grabbed the blade of his sword in one claw, the other stopping just short of his eye. Light and darkness clashed in her other claw, but John had to give up that struggle for fear of destroying his own weapon.

He stepped back, closing his eye with the image of the talon still embedded in his retina. She had pierced precisely through his defensive energy, and he hadn’t been swift enough to avoid her. Indeed, she’d used his own counterattack to anchor her position for the assault.

“You’ve clearly been fighting more battles than I have heard of,” John said, his eyes still closed. “You reacted to each element brilliantly.”

“I may not understand as much as you about any of the six elements beyond light,” Cuah’arn said. “But I understand very well how the five others react to light in particular. And of course, I am in excellent control of the totality of my strength. That is what you came here for, isn’t it? To experience that?”

He nodded. “More or less.”

There were two ways this could have gone. First, his cycle of elements was so strong that he could immediately overcome an experienced combatant that wielded his one true weakness. No matter how much he trained against light, that was still the case. He could cover for that weakness, but fully erasing it would require reaching the next Phase. And more importantly, training.

The second and much less likely outcome of the battle was John’s victory. If he had immediately been able to overcome Cuah’arn- and then all of the others- then he would actually have reason to back up an unlimited confidence in his own power. That hadn’t happened, and John thought that was probably a good thing.

No, immediately seeking out the worst opponent for himself and taking a loss was just what he needed. Even if he won all of his other matches- which was debatable, as the others would also have years of stability under their belt and had mastery over their single element- starting off this way would remind him he wasn’t invincible. Even though he’d kind of felt like it after he’d made his advancement.

There was nothing particularly special about what Cuah’arn had done, and her power wasn’t unreasonably higher than his own. No, it was just years of dedication and training. A deep understanding of her own element and how it interacted with others. It wasn’t her elemental advantage either- because while light was indeed John’s weakness, darkness was still the weakness of light. Both were mutually destructive, so the one with greater skill came out on top.

“Thank you for your guidance,” John said. “I have much to think about.” He breathed out slowly, then drew another breath back in. “And now everything will be much easier.”

After all, he didn’t have to worry about losing. He’d already done that. And he’d make sure that the Golden Tomb Guardians were aware. He should probably put their floor back together too. He could even repair the melted blocks, though he wasn’t exactly an expert craftsman so they might have to polish the top. Structurally, though, it would work out.

But that would come later. It had been a short battle, but he was exhausted. He could feel the light element around him causing his skin to itch… and he wondered if he could do something about that. Perhaps some sort of dividing line that light and darkness would not easily cross? No, that would limit his own techniques. But he could likely better train his own energy.