“In order to protect yourself from ascension skills,” Tsarvan said, “you need to understand what wisps of ether do in your body in the first place, and why having ten thousand of them wreaking havoc inside your body is just about one of the most harmful things you can do to your body.”

Vivi nodded, indicating him to continue. She sat on a stool in a private chamber within the Luminary’s palace—a little reading nook, or an alcove hidden from the bustling servants. Carpets and furniture had been moved out on Tsarvan’s command, leaving only a dim surgeway underneath the crystal laminate as a decoration.

“You should know that wisps, by design, are incredibly small,” Tsarvan said. He paced in circles while he explained, taking exaggerated steps with his long legs. “Smaller than blood, smaller than water, and certainly smaller than your muscles. This is what allows wisps to move freely within your body. In fact, a wisp doesn’t hold mass in the physical realm at all. Your core doesn’t really exist as an organ. It cannot be collected if you’re killed.”

“Yes,” Vivi said. “Wisps are only loosely connected to physical matter.”

“I like to think of wisps as little spirits, though that might not be accurate,” Tsarvan said. “The important thing, which I know for a fact is accurate, is that ether, especially active ether, still interacts with the physical realm. Active wisps definitely follow the laws of pressure. Do you know what that is?”

“Pressure?” Vivi asked. “If a lot of air, or water, for example, is concentrated into a tight spot, it becomes pressurized. It will try to escape into a spot where there is less pressure.”

“Not incorrect, though slightly lacking,” Tsarvan said. “Concentrated ether has pressure, just like any other object in the world. This is why runeswords leak ether, or why ether escapes your body if it is not properly channeled. A wisp of ether is merely looking for a place where it can exist without pressure—and that place happens to be outside your body, where wisps are not concentrated into the thousands.”

“Makes sense,” Vivi said. “Is that why five thousand is the maximum?”

“The five thousand maximum exists because of a rule in our cores,” Tsarvan said. “We are forbidden from shaping more than five thousand ether into our bodies at once. It’s a preemptive measure set in place by our gods. Though you aren’t incorrect. Five thousand wisps is the limit that ether can be reasonably channeled.”

“Ascension skills change that,” Vivi said. “The limit is lifted. More ether can be shaped.”

“Indeed, though raising the limit is not an ascension skill’s only function,” Tsarvan said. “Ascension skills also work like magnets, increasing the natural pull within your core. This helps keep wisps contained. Without the pull, the pressure of ten thousand wisps would cause them to scatter off by the force of their own concentration. The pull exists to counter that pressure, drawing wisps toward your core despite their wish to scatter off.”

Vivi thought about that, recalling the feeling of channeling wisps. Tsarvan’s words made sense. Wisps were always drawn to her core just as they were drawn to the outside world. Even without ascension skills, the pull existed within her core.

When she’d ascended with scarlet wisps, the pull had certainly increased. A lot of ether had escaped her, of course, but that was because more ether was active. Just as the pull had grown stronger, the ether had also grown more concentrated, and thus had more pressure trying to escape.

“Yes, I know what you mean,” Vivi said. “I’ve felt the pull.”

Tsarvan nodded. “Ascension skills are not dangerous because they increase the limit. They’re dangerous because they increase the pull. Though, this in itself doesn’t explain why ether itself is harmful. Isn’t ether known as the force that strengthens muscles, offering superhuman strength? Wouldn’t more ether make muscles stronger?”

“Ether does make muscles stronger,” Vivi said. “But the muscles can’t handle it.”

“Incorrect,” Tsarvan said. He stopped pacing around and turned to her. “Ether does not strengthen muscles at all. This is a misconception. At low ether counts, less than a thousand wisps, ether works together with muscles, fitting into muscle fibers and assisting the muscles perform their job. The fibers themselves, however, are not strengthened.

“With over a thousand wisps in the body, muscles turn merely into commanders of direction. Your muscles will initiate a movement, such as lifting an arm, which in turn commands the ether to perform the action. At that point, the strengthened movement of lifting your arm is performed entirely by ether; your muscles are merely existing within.”

The explanation made Vivi think. Could that be true? She’d certainly always believed muscles were what got stronger.

“This is why lifting heavy objects with the help of ether does not grow muscle,” Tsarvan said, “and why one’s muscular size has very little to do with their actual proficiency in a fight. Some fighters train their muscles without ether for their bodies to better withstand the abuse of ether.”

“What about you?” Vivi asked. “You don’t have muscles.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Ha!” Tsarvan said, as if Vivi had said something hilarious. “I’m an ethereal being, Vivi, I don’t exist without ether. My bones, my horns, they’d all collapse and die if I stopped channeling ether! Very fun, this life.”

Vivi sat straight and made another mental note to watch her words around her mentor. Tsarvan’s sanity was still a question in her head.

He made a rattly sound akin to clearing his throat. “But let us move on. I am very much looking forward to sleeping after this. Where were we? Ah, right, not dying from ether surging in your goddamned veins. Right, do you have ideas now on why ascension skills are dangerous?”

“Is it because… with so much ether in my muscles, ether starts replacing functions to the point that my real body forgets how to function?”

“Oh, that’s a small part of it,” Tsarvan said. “The real issue is that ether in abundance starts quite literally ripping your insides apart! With ten thousand ether inside your body, ether’s pressure is so immense that it affects your blood flow, the movement of your muscles, and the functions of your organs. There’s no longer room to fit ether anywhere at all, not between your muscle fibers, not in your bloodstream or veins. It’s all clogged to all hell, with thousands upon thousands of wisps fighting for space. At that point, the wisps have no choice but to create space for themselves. They’ll start tearing muscles apart, pushing for space inside your organs. If you ever feel sharp pain during an ascension skill, that could be the sign something was ripped in half.”

Space, Vivi thought. That was a word she could understand. She could immediately visualize what Tsarvan was talking about. “What’s the solution, then?” she asked. “Coshi told me it’s possible to protect the body from ascension skills. But if ether itself is what destroys the body…”

“Ether is also what protects it,” Tsarvan said. “That, and precise channeling. The fundamental issue with ascension skills is the lack of space within the body of its user. This issue causes rips and tears, weaknesses within the muscles and organs.” He faced Vivi with an inquisitive look. “There are three things that can be done to train and prevent such damage from happening. What do you think they are?”

“If space is the problem, and if weak muscles are at risk of being ripped…” Vivi thought for a moment. “Strengthening the body with muscle training will probably help? The body gains more mass, and muscles won’t rip as easily.”

“Muscle training is one of the three, but it is also the least important,” Tsarvan said. “Weak points will always exist in the body regardless of how thoroughly you train. Some organs grow stronger with exercise, your heart, your lungs, but your brain, your kidneys, can’t be trained stronger. A basic ascension skill will work with just exercise, but in order to wield rare or exalted skills, the next two steps are far more impactful.”

Vivi thought about it. Lucius did as well, though thinking only seemed to confuse him.

“Coshi told me that it’s impossible to channel the surge of wisps from an ascension skill,” Vivi said. “But I think channeling still plays a part. The ether must be pushed to be more concentrated, right?”

Tsarvan appeared surprised by the answer. He grinned. “Concentrated ether is the problem,” he said. “Yet you believe concentrating it further, making it even more pressured, is the answer?”

“If I understood this correctly,” Vivi began, “the reason why ether is safe at low amounts is because the pressure required to destroy muscles and reap intestines is too great, which causes the ether to concentrate upon its own weight instead. The physical matter of my body is still strong enough to push ether aside.

“Ether becomes dangerous when that balance shifts; when the concentration of ether grows so great that muscles and veins, and my bloodstream, are suddenly weaker. At that point, the concentrations of ether will attempt to destroy my body to relieve itself from pressure. At some point, it will succeed.”

Tsarvan stared at her. “Wow,” he said. “That is quite the explanation. Where have you learned this?”

“I’m a runesmith,” Vivi said. “This is quite similar to how pressure works inside my runeswords. Following that logic, the solution to wielding ascension skills should be simple. First, ether must be more concentrated. Ether must not direct its outward pressure toward the body. The pressure must be directed toward the wisp itself. Ether can always be more concentrated.”

Tsarvan only looked more surprised. Vivi continued. “And the last thing, my insides must be protected, and somehow strengthened. If ether tries to rip my muscles apart, the muscles need to be strengthened, or otherwise protected.”

Tsarvan said nothing for a moment. His glowing eyes studied Vivi. “You didn’t just figure all of that out, did you?”

“It all sounds logical,” Vivi said. “Although, I’m not certain on how the last part will work. Is everything else correct?”

“It’s all correct,” Tsarvan said. “That’s very close to a perfect answer. Theoretically, at least. In practice, performing all of these feats is much more difficult.”

“Teach me,” Vivi said. “I’m ready to learn.”

Tsarvan took a deep breath, facing her sharp eyes. “The first secret you must learn is the ability to channel two conscious strings of ether at once.”

“Two… conscious strings of ether?” Vivi asked.

“Yeah, that’s the trick the Exalted Knights, drug users, other crazies, and ascension skill wielders use to avoid dying to the effects of whatever they’re abusing,” Tsarvan said. “Do you remember when I said that a low amount of ether can work together with your muscles, fitting in and assisting your fibers?”

“Of course,” Vivi said.

“That low flow of ether can also protect you from a greater outburst of ether,” Tsarvan said. “Hence, we must channel two strings of ether at once.”

“Oh!” Vivi’s head perked up. “A light layer of ether must be activated first. A simple layer, one that works together with my muscles, as you said. Then the violent ether is supposed to be channeled on top of that?”

“That is the simplest way to put it, yes,” Tsarvan said. “Ether is a complex power to visualize. Scientists have argued that the explanation of pressure is incorrect. But it works. This is the method exalted ascension skill users have used for thousands of years.”

“Thank you,” Vivi said. “I think I get it now. Or I get something at least. I think I can head to practice now.”

“I’d really like to head to sleep, you know,” Tsarvan said.

“Yes, I’m going to sleep as well,” Vivi said. She lay down on the ground, deciding that searching for a bed was too much of a hassle. “I’ll meet you in six hours or so to see if I’m on the right track.”

Tsarvan looked down at her. “So you actually can practice while asleep?”

“Yes, good night, Master,” Vivi said. Lucius, bring me to Paradise. I want to test this. And I also want to test what our limit is. What’s the amount of ether that we can cram into our bodies before we die?

Lucius looked concerned. “You mean, you plan on killing yourself with ether? In Paradise?”

As a test, I think it would be useful.

Lucius sighed. “Very well. Let’s go.”