“You’ve lost me. What do these so-called trashgoats have to do with our battle tactics?” Nika said with a confused frown. They had moved into the growth room to discuss as it was well-lit and with half of the chamber covered in greenery, despite the faint smell of rot, it was still more pleasant than the other dusty chambers.

  “I’m just saying, if you’re going to tangle with them, it’s best to draw away them from their trashhole. The same applies here, doesn’t it?”

  “You are saying we should… draw Uso away from his, ah, trashhole?”

  Dario blinked, both of them looking confused for a moment, until he shook his head.

  “Look, forget about the holes, my point is he’s waiting for us, alright? It barely took five minutes for our plans to go to shit last time, so I think we’ll have to stay flexible anyway, but we should set the stage to increase our chances. The longer we can delay them here, the further out we can put the traps. Out of town by those cliffs where we came down would be the best location. Softer ground and lots of places to hide.”

  She gave him a stern look, probably for his language, but then she nodded.

  “It seems prudent to stack the odds in our favour, if we can. The speed at which I am able to weaken stone is increasing, so the tactic of collapsing buildings on our pursuers will be even more effective than before.”

  “I should be able to pull a few tricks out of my bag, too,” Dario said, rubbing a couple of small seeds between his fingers, “but it’ll depend on what I can still get done in the coming hours.”

  “Then may Tenjin’s favour be with you,” Nika said as she got up. “I will continue my attempts to trigger a revelation, though I have to admit to being a tad stuck.”

  “Really?” Dario asked, looking up from his seeds. “I thought yours would be kind of obvious. What was it you tried up in that tower?”

  “That is private,” she said, folding her hands over her chest, but then she seemed to be debating herself. “Though given my situation, it could be considered vain and foolhardy to deny any counsel at this stage,” she muttered, then let out a sigh. “Very well, my stated desires were to rise to the top of Tenjou and prove my worth to the clan.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “That’s all? Nothing about…” he hesitated and cleared his throat awkwardly as he saw her frown deepening.

  “About what? Go on.”

  Nika’s eyes were locked on him, her frown as deep as it ever got. He could see how she was tensing, tendons shifting and fingers pressing into her thick biceps.

  “Nothing about… well, err, about the old man?”

  “The old… You mean my father? What about him?”

  There was fire in her eyes now and Dario swallowed, fighting the urge to squirm. After once getting slapped for calling Bianca’s father a drunk, which he obviously was and everyone knew it, old Carla had given him a piece of advice that had stuck with him: never tell a young lady how to feel about her father.

  Now here he was about to break that sage advice, and a slap from Nika would smart a whole lot worse than that of little Bianca. But then, this could be life or death, so…

  “Look, I wouldn’t normally, err, dare to, uhh, presume, or whatever. Considering my goals to, ah, avoid beatings and whatnot. But, umm… well, it seems to me that it just might be the case that… you actually care about him?”

  “This is what has you stumbling over your words like a drunkard? Of course I care about my father. Who doesn’t?”

  Dario bit back a sharp retort, knowing she hadn’t intended it as a stab at him.

  “No I mean, maybe you care more about him than the clan, right? Or about getting to the top of Tenjou.”

  “If you are questioning my virtue, Dario, you will find that-”

  When her arms unfolded into clenched fists by her sides, he held up his hands as if she was pointing an arrow at him.

  “No, wait! That’s not what I’m saying. I’m sure you do care about virtue and all those fancy things. It’s just that… How do I explain this,” he said, frowning in thought. “It’s like… if you kick a boulder down a hill and it crushes someone’s house, you wouldn’t say the boulder’s at fault, right?”

  Nika blinked in confusion, so Dario gave it yet another attempt.

  “Look, I think that if your dad had said that creating beautiful buildings was like, the highest good or whatever, you might have become a builder. I mean, I saw the memory where even as a young girl, you suffered through days of gruesome training in that dark place, just for his approval. The way your face lit up… It felt like you would have done just about anything for that pat on the head, you know?”

  Nika’s eyes widened a fraction and she took a step back. The anger faded and her expression turned thoughtful instead. Then she opened her mouth, only to close it again, shaking her head. After a few moments, the frown returned.

  “You’re saying I… desire my father’s-”

  She cut off and inhaled sharply as green Ki began to rise from her chest. Dario’s face lit up.

  “It’s actually working?” he exclaimed.

  Nika’s eyes flicked from the fading smoke to his face, then she grimaced. “Bah. All that meditation only for the farmer to point it out,” she muttered to herself.

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  “Hey!” Dario objected. “I’m not a farmer, I’m a treasure hunter! And you’re welcome for the help, by the way.”

  Nika sighed. “It’s just… disappointing, is all. Anyway, I need to go and focus.”

  She walked out and Dario was already turning back to his seeds, feeling frustrated at how easily it had gone for her, while he was still stuck. It was so damn obvious, how hadn’t she realized it before? It was amazing how blind people could be to their own circumstances.

  When Nika cleared her throat, he looked over to find her standing by the doorway, looking over her shoulder.

  “Oh, by the way. You don’t want to stay in the Basement and settle down. In fact, after knowing you only a few days, I’d say that’s about the last thing you’d want to do. What you do want, is to move up and go on wild adventures.”

  She paused, then smirked as she added one last word before walking away. “Obviously.”

  Dario blinked at the empty doorway, mouth agape.

  “Nika, wait! What are you talking about? That’s not true! That's trogshit, I don't actually want to-” He pushed himself up and took a few steps in the direction of the doorway before coming to a stop. “I…”

  His protests sputtered out when he noticed a tiny wisp of green smoke hovering in front of his chest. He let out a long sigh.

  “I fucking hate this floor.”

  ***

  Nika sat cross-legged on the dirty library floor for what she hoped would be the last time. A few scrolls lay beside her in a neat row; she had found a couple that spoke of the process of ascension from Clay to Talc and its benefits. To her surprise, the benefits had been a point of discussion, seeming to differ slightly between individuals. While all agreed on the main benefits, being a smoother flow of Ki through the seams and a strengthened grasp on aura and Ki with one’s mind, there was some additional effect that would appear, which was not standard. This obscure effect always had some link to emotions, and the most reputable scholars theorized that it may be loosely connected to the Kaku, but there was no final consensus.

  Either way, the process was straightforward, as indicated by the diagrams they’d seen in the tower with the final test. One was to speak their truth and take that Ki inward, moving it in a basic pattern of circulation as it infused itself into one’s body.

  She zoned out the muted blasts of Uso’s relentless assault on the reinforced plate of boron, then tried to clear her mind in preparation, but she was so thoroughly frustrated that it was hard to focus.

  Apparently what was meant to be a deep-seated, personal revelation had been so obvious that even a man as oblivious as Dario had noticed it? To be fair, he had been privy to a few intimate memories of hers, but still, it was exasperating. Of course, it was less due to his keen insights and more due to a lack of her own. Clearly, she had not managed to separate her ego well enough for truly objective insights. It was something to be worked on.

  But even more frustrating was the nature of her revelation. For her utmost desire to be her father’s approval was thoroughly disappointing. It might be cute for a six year old, but for an ambitious noblewoman as herself, it felt… lacking. Perhaps it would be possible to change it over time? She would have to meditate on that, but now was not the time.

  Because disappointing though it may be, it did fit the puzzle perfectly. Again and again she had searched the depths of her mind to find that moral certainty, only to realize that even the principles of virtue would crack when subjected to visions of her clan’s judgement. Of course, the problem had not been with those teachings of virtue, but within herself; the fear of falling short in her father’s eyes had been what was causing the cracks. That fear had been stronger than her belief in the virtues. A clear failing on her part.

  And yet, the relief that came with that realization was like sinking in a hot bath after a week of tough training. At least the principles of virtue still stood strong: she could continue to live by their rules. A lack within herself was something that could be mended.

  She thought of how that desire had formed. A host of memories of her absent father sprang to mind, followed by just a few of when he was present, and even fewer where he’d given her praise. Those continued to provide her an intense feeling of fulfilment and happiness. One that she was now realizing hadn’t ever been matched since.

  It was with an image of her father’s smiling face, his strong hand resting on her shoulder, that she finally opened her mouth and spoke.

  “Above all, I desire my father’s love and approval,” she declared. Then after a moment’s hesitation, she decided to add something on.

  “But I want to change that.”

  A change came over her, like a bright signal shooting through all her nerves at once. When she opened her eyes, a cloud of green Ki was spread out around her, bright and lively as spring grass. Nika took a deep breath and reached out with her mind to grasp it, but found that there was too much of it. Instead, she took only a bit and guided it to stick to the skin of her arms, before drawing it in.

  It felt electric, enough to make her gasp as she ran it through her seams, following the pattern from the diagram as she drew in more and more. None of the scrolls had spoken of the intensity of this energy. It was immediately overwhelming, taking all of her attention to the point where her world narrowed to only her and this Ki.

  More and more of the crackling green smoke pushed through her skin like a river bursting its banks, flooding her system. For a single frozen instant, she thought she’d let in too much, that it would corrode her from the inside. Her teeth clenched and her pulse raced as the Ki roared through her seams, seeming to scrape them raw.

  Still, she absently realized there was some Ki left, drifting around her like ink in water, and she drew those thin ribbons in too until there was nothing left. It kept grinding at her seams, becoming harder to cycle until she felt like an ox pulling an overladen cart up a slope. But she knew the pattern of cycling had to be maintained throughout, so she pushed on, pain blooming in her head as she battled the reluctant energies and forced it to keep moving. This fight felt like it went on for hours, though it could have been much less, until the Ki suddenly stopped.

  No matter what she tried, it wouldn't move anymore, and she was already exhausted, suffering a piercing headache. Panic rose as the moment stretched, until suddenly the green Ki sank into her seams themselves.

  The feeling of crackling electricity changed to one of white-hot fire. Her body shook as she endured the pain, the scouring running through her from head to toe, touching every piece of her vast network of seams. She only realized that she was screaming when it was over.

  Nika was left panting, skin covered in sweat, palms on the dirty floor to support her body. She took a deep breath and looked herself over, finding that not much had changed. Until she reached out to draw Ki from the stone she was touching.

  It felt easier than ever before, the Ki obeying with barely any resistance. She just had to pull at it, not needing to chip it away first. Once it crossed her skin into her seams, she found that it cycled faster and easier as well, flowing through her seams as if they were hewn of the smoothest stone.

  She focused and an instant later, her left hand was covered in a thick layer of obsidian Ki. Her control was better, the layer stretching further than it had before. Then, she withdrew and it moved instantly, disappearing from the left hand and popping up around the right. Considerably faster.

  For the first time in days, she allowed herself a smile then, as she looked with some disbelief down at her hands. She’d done it. She’d crossed the threshold. Now, all that was left was to destroy that demon and get out of here.

  First, she would have to test exactly what she was capable of now.

  With a grin and a fierce look in her eyes, she gathered her Ki and began moving through her forms.