Chasing Dreams (Discontinued)

Chapter 257: Voices in the Dark

Manasa hated the dark. She hated how the darkness swallowed everything up and tossed it into the pit of its stomach.

"Can you see?" Manasa asked narrowing her eyes.

"More or less." said Maija.

"How?" Manasa asked. She tried pumping reiki into her eyes to enhance her vision. Unfortunately, it didn't work. "Are you using reiki?"

"No." Maija replied swiftly. "It's an innate ability I inherited from Byakko."

"Oh, fair enough." Upon hearing her answer, Manasa wasn't surprised. Jack once told her that tigers had night vision. A tiger's eyesight is six times better than an average human's.

If a tiger's eyesight is six times better than that of a human then what does that mean for Mausi? Byakko is a tiger god, and Mausi is more formidable than the average Fujiwara. How good are Mausi's eyes? Is her eyesight better than Tachi's?

"If you can't see then get behind me." Maija ordered.

Manasa tugged at Mako's fur and the Yeth slowed allowing Ninka to take lead. The tiger raced forward with unnerving silence.

Manasa was grateful that Ninka's fur was white. If it weren't for the moonlight reflecting off of her metallic coat Manasa would've quickly lost sight of the large tigress.

"Mausi." Manasa called.

"What is it?" Maija glanced back.

Manasa was surprised how natural riding came to Maija. She didn't have a saddle and she wasn't holding onto Ninka's fur, yet somehow gravity knew not to toss her off.

If only I could be as good as her. Manasa thought. She gripped Mako's fur tighter. She spent some time prior riding Mako like a horse, but it was hard. In comparison to the Yeth Manasa was very light. She had a petite build similar to Suzume, but with less muscle. It took most of her physical strength not to be thrown off.

Mako seemed to notice that Manasa was struggling and slowed down to compensate, but Manasa always urged him to move at full speed.

"Will I get a God like you and Tachi?" Manasa asked.

"Maybe, let's see how your trial goes first." Maija didn't spend much time thinking over her answer. She spat it out as fast as a lightning bolt.

Silence accompanied them for a few minutes before Manasa decided to press the question again.

"How old were you when you became a sage?" Manasa asked.

Maija gave her a look. If she was troubled she didn't voice her concern.

"Does age matter when you first come into existence?" Maija asked.

Manasa raised a brow. "Can you elaborate?"

"My situation is a bit different than most," Maija admitted. "Usually, the Gods choose a vessel when the child is around the ages of 9 to 12 around the beginning of puberty. It's an easier point in someone's life where the spirit of the God and mortal become one."

"What about Tachi? He became Parvati's vessel at 16." Manasa remarked.

"Renji's situation is peculiar," Maija admitted. "It's not impossible to become a sage later in life. But I feel the synergy between the mortal and the God would be off. That's something Renji is still struggling with now. He's still defining the line between mortal and immortal, and human and God."

Oh, no. Manasa gave a wordless look of concern and bit her tongue. She recalled her father struggling to maintain his Deva State while in the spiritual world. Now, she had an answer as to why.

Tachi and Parvati's spirits might be compatible but their minds aren't. Since Tachi wasn't raised as a Fujiwara his outlook would be entirely different from Parvati's.

"I was born a Sage. First of my kind, but not the last." Maija smiled. She pointed at her forehead and a diamond appeared and vanished as quickly. "Anji is the same as me, she's sage-born."

"Sage-born?" Manasa didn't need further explanation the name itself seemed fairly straightforward. "Is it because of her black diamond?"

"Yes, she's already tethered to Shiva through Homura." Maija clarified.

"Just like my natural-mother." Manasa frowned. She pictured Mei grinning at her with large eyes as dark as bleeding stars. A shiver rolled down Manasa's spine. The image of Mei always frightened her.

"Yeah, just like her." Maija whispered.

"Did you know her?" Manasa asked.

"Who?" Maija questioned.

"My natural-mother." Manasa answered.

"No." Maija sounded curt. "I didn't meet your father until after Ikumi was already dead."

"I see." Manasa was thankful for that. It was bad enough Mei made Ren's life a living hell. She would hate if she made Maija's life just as horrible. Although, Mausi had Raja Homura, and she sounds infinitely worse.