“You think this will work?” I asked Lenore, looking at the circle we had prepared on the floor. Since fighting the first Manticore, we had encountered two more, both young and about as powerful as the first one, but things had gone a little awry during the second fight. While the fight itself had been under control, none of us had been able to do anything about the Manticore that had been flying above us, quite some distance away. There was no doubt in any of our minds that the Manticore had noticed us, and unless they were a lot less intelligent than our previous observations indicated, they knew we were here, hunting them.

Which brought us to our current situation, taking shelter in a cave to get some rest and spending the night. It also gave Lenore and me time to conduct yet another experiment, one that was slightly different than the ones we had conducted before. We had come up with a runic formation that, in theory, should increase the power of my Blood Magic, hopefully allowing me to increase my sensitivity. With that, we had a series of experiments planned, one focused on me, one focused on Ylva, one focused on Sigmir, and a final one that would involve all three of us, trying to contrast and compare the different, minute traces of divinity within each of us. .

The idea was that my Avatar, theoretically the most direct divine creation, should be different from Sigmir’s body, with her Bloodline lasting and possibly diluting throughout the generations, and Ylva’s body, who had both, the Bloodline but also a relatively recent transfusion of Divine Blood.

Maybe, by observing all three at the same time, I would be able to share some of the power within Sigmir and myself into Ylva. Finally, Lenore would be within my mind, as an outside observer, hopefully detecting if anything went wrong and stopping things if that was the case.

“We’ll only know after trying. But let’s face it, we are trying something quite insane here and are most certainly pushing the boundaries of what anyone would conceive. It takes a certain kind of arrogance to even consider messing with the ancestral deity of your entire race.” Lenore chuckled, a little amused.

But she was right, it was the kind of experiment few natives of Mundus would ever consider and it might even be one that was pushing the boundaries of the Beta I was working with. Somehow, the taboo was making the whole thing even more interesting, bringing a smile to my face.

“Let’s do it.” I decided, after a few seconds of hesitation. If anything happened, I would be the one to suffer and if the worst case occurred, the cave we were in had been large enough that I had been able to declare it my home after some magical renovations, so if I died, I would respawn here in two days. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, but it was a nice safety net.

Sitting in the middle of the circle drawn in my Blood, completely naked, just in case the clothes and the magic infused in them would throw things off I took a second to center myself. Letting out a slow breath, I carefully carved a single, simple Blood-rune into my chest, right above my heart, nothing more but a focus for the magic. It was the equivalent to the simple rune contained in a Rune-Stone, the broadest application of Runic Magic, and thus barely above direct manipulation of Blood Magic in efficiency. Hopefully, it would help regardless.

Lenore helped to regulate the flow of Astral Power towards the circle around us and I could feel the power well up, making my Blood Magic flow easier, for lack of better words. The difference was similar to the difference between working Ice-Magic standing in the snow around Neyto, or on the eternal glaciers above Yaksha, and working Ice-Magic here in the south. The difference between working Darkness-Magic during a new-moon night and working it under the glare of a noon-sun. My surroundings were in tune with my magic, and hopefully, it would make a difference.

After a while, I pulled my mind back into my body, still reeling from the experience. Blood and Astral Power, how the Blood within my body not only carried oxygen and nutrients but also Astral Power, suffusing my very being with the magic I commanded. There had been brief moments when I thought I had glimpsed at something greater, something that I couldn’t even begin to grasp, but it had remained outside my sight. Maybe that was for the best.

But what I had noticed were some traces, not quite Astral Power but similar, interlinked between the streams of power within my Blood. At this point, I was reaching, trying to make sense of the sensations that I couldn’t fully understand, acting mostly on instinct.

“Love, do you want to go next?” I asked, as I pushed myself up. It took me a second to get my legs under control and at that point, I realised that I had used over half of my Astral Power for the experiment.

“It’ll take a couple minutes though.” I admitted, sitting against the cave wall with a smile on my face.

“That looked a little creepy.” Sigmir admitted, now that I was obviously no longer concentrating.

“Mhm?” I mumbled in response, closing my eyes to immerse myself into the Astral River, increasing my regeneration-rate.

“The circle was shining with a pulsing light, slowing down and speeding up at times. Like the beat of a heart.” she explained and I felt myself nodding in agreement. The pulsing light, in a dark cave with only sparse light coming from the fire at the front of the cave, where the others were waiting, with me sitting naked in the middle, I could see that looking quite scary.

“Does the creepiness scare you off?” I asked, without opening my eyes.

“No, never.” she replied, and I could almost see her shake her head, a gentle smile on her face, even with my eyes closed.

It took me a few more minutes to fully regenerate my Astral Power, making me open my eyes again.

“Let’s do this.” I nodded, mostly to myself. “Please, take a seat.” I told her, gesturing to the middle of the circle. She had already shed her clothes and for a few moments, I simply let my eyes roam her body, enjoying the view, the slight ripples of her muscles in the dim light.

Once she was seated, I reached out again, infusing the circle with power. Stepping up, my athame in hand, I carefully carved the rune into her back, right above her heart and placed my hand onto the rune. Around us, the light started to pulse again and I sent my mind into her body, trying to categorise what I was seeing.

It was fascinating, not just what I was seeing with my Blood Magic, but also what I could feel over our connection. For a second, I was swept up in the sensation, knowing that I was, in a way, touching one of the deepest, most intimate parts of Sigmir, part of the very essence that made her who she was. I could feel the gentle beat of her heart, feel the blood it carried, feel the ebb and flow of power within her, a soft thrumming that vibrated through her entire being, over our connection and into myself.

The power around us, infused into the circle, the power within her, the beat of my heart, the beat of her heart, it all synchronised, beating in unison. For a brief moment, I could see a vast mountain, its peak capped with snow and I felt myself settle on its slopes, as I rested my wings.

But as quick as the moment came, I felt a sudden tiredness and heard Lenore within my mind, frantically shouting. Pulling myself back was hard, but as I tried to focus my mind, I felt a familiar presence drag me out, severing the connection between Sigmir and myself.

Stumbling a little, my senses snapped back to reality, suddenly incredibly tired. A trickle of Astral Power coming over my connection to Lenore caused me to realise that I had somehow managed to drain myself entirely, spending every bit of Astral Power within my body.

“That was…” I tried to articulate the experience, but words failed me. Before I had been drawn in too deep, I had seen so much, the experience so intimate, making it difficult to comprehend.

“Settle, calm down. I’m here.” Sigmir’s voice told me, as I was pulled onto her lap, letting me curl up with her smell in my nose. As she was gently stroking the hair on my head, I heard her voice mumbling softly, telling me that I could rest, that I had done enough.

Closing my eyes, I did just that. And Darkness embraced me.