Astral Odyssey: Dying Ember

World 4.8: Vanora

BaoBao recalled Vlad's first tip to Vanora. Hmm... There is one other more efficient way. Vlad also mentioned wrath-related emotions in you.

Indeed. I want to try leveraging on this. It would make it less dependent on external sources which means a more reliable source of power.

Wouldn't this call for a precise control over your emotions?

It seems so.

But what sort of emotions fall under wrath? I wish I could be of more help but...

BaoBao, isn't that why you're learning now? This way, at least you'll be of help one day.

BaoBao felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in him. Yes! I'll do my best!

Now... I think emotions like vengeance, anger, hate, and hostility should be relevant for me...

BaoBao imagined Vanora as some angry evil women but just could not form the image in his head. Erm... I can't seem to picture you that way...

Vanora laughed a little at how simple and straightforward BaoBao thought. I'm pretty sure there are more than one way to experience such emotions. I'll find my way around it. Now, about the fight I had with Vlad... Besides the hellfire, there was something else going on at the time I got desperate.

You mean when your eyes started glowing golden and you punched the ground not long after that?

Yes. It felt like something told me clearly to punch the ground at a specific spot. It did get me out of the pinch I thought I was in. However, Vlad was just too strong. Even so, it was not impossible for me to bring him down. It was simply against my goal of surviving.

Mutual destruction?

Yes.

This sounds like some sixth sense or instinct thing that you've developed. Are you able to use that ability anytime?

Not now at least.

Perhaps you need a sense of danger for it to activate. Like some conditional ability.

Maybe I'll consult Vlad about this. But I'll likely need to gain some battle experience to hone this ability. As for my hellfire...

She pointed her index finger towards the sky, visualised the hellfire as her spiritual energy as usual, except this time it was leaving her body through only her finger. The fire flared around her finger haphazardly and she had difficulty controlling the strength of the fire. Cultivation and use of spiritual energy had always been an all or none phenomenon. Therefore, precise control of it now was something new she had to learn.

I'll keep working on this whenever I can.

She got out of the hot spring and dried herself up with the towel hanging on the rack. She walked through the bathroom and back into the area before the bathroom where the shelves were at.

While she was drying her hair, she caught sight of herself in a full length mirror beside the bathroom entrance.

Now that she has a proper mirror that she could use, she took the time to properly assess the condition of her body. She may be slightly malnourished but the original soul had really did a good job surviving and staying fit. Although skinny, she was not only skin and bones but had a decent amount of muscles.

Ah! Cover your-

Before BaoBao could finish his sentence and before Vanora could react in time, the wooden door was slid open roughly and a worried and anxious looking Vlad stood in the doorway. His expression quickly turned to surprise though and he froze at the sight he was greeted with.