Power of Runes Chapter 534: The Final Push

For a long time, there was complete silence within the space where the Wills of the Runes existed.

None of them seemed to know what to say, because every idea they had spent the last several days desperately searching for had eventually led to the same conclusion: Arthur would find Ash before he could comprehend the Rune of Time to 10%.

They had looked at the situation from all angles, trying to find even the smallest deviation in the countless possibilities surrounding Ash, hoping that somewhere within that endless web there would be a path in which Arthur’s attention was diverted, delayed, or prevented from reaching him in time, but no matter how deeply they searched, they could not find such a possibility.

If they had not been sealed, the situation would have been completely different.

With their original power, the ways they could have interfered with the unfolding events would have been so numerous that even attempting to count them would have been meaningless, because there would always have been another path, another method, another possibility they could force into existence.

But their powers were sealed.

Their [Authority] had been reduced to a fraction of what it once was, and while they could still communicate with one another, observe the circumstances surrounding their wielders, and occasionally influence matters in extremely limited ways, they no longer possessed the freedom to simply reach into the world and do whatever they wished.

So they had been forced to watch.

And they had already resigned themselves to the fact that Ash would eventually be found.

Until the Resonance of Fate appeared.

"...I don’t think any of us could have predicted this."

’Knowledge’ was the first to speak after the long silence, its usually measured voice carrying a faint trace of disbelief.

"We spent all this time searching for a possibility where Ash could avoid encountering Arthur before reaching 10% comprehension of the Rune of Time, and no matter how many possibilities we examined, every path eventually led to the same conclusion. Arthur would find him before he was ready, yet now the entire situation has changed because of something none of us even considered while searching for a solution."

’Truth’ was silent for a moment before answering, its tone still carrying the same disbelief.

"That is because we were looking at the problem from the wrong direction. We kept treating Ash, Arthur, and the Runes as the variables that mattered most, so naturally every possibility we examined remained centered around their actions and interactions, but we never stopped to consider what would happen if the countless changes Ash had already caused throughout the world accumulated to the point where they began affecting the Web of Fate itself."

"What’s more.....we also limited our thinking because we can’t use our powers."

"You are right, but even that would not have been enough on its own, without a final push it would have been impossible to cause the Resonance," ’Balance’ said, immediately building upon its explanation.

"The changes caused by Ash may have accumulated, but a disturbance within the Web does not automatically produce the Resonance of Fate. There had to be something more that pushed all those changes beyond the point where Fate could naturally absorb them."

"Which is exactly where the Chaos Harbinger comes in," ’Knowledge’ replied, its thoughts following ’Balance’s’ point without breaking the chain.

"The Chaos accumulated through his title did not create all those conditions by itself, because most of them had already been prepared long before he used it. His existence had already changed the Fate of countless beings, his actions had created deviations that continued spreading from one thread to another, and the Web of Fate had already been damaged before and... the Grand Fate is still being rewritten."

"All these conditions were in favor of Ash."

The Will of the Rune of Knowledge paused briefly before continuing.

"Then the new Grand Fate itself overturned the paths of countless beings once again during the rewriting of Fate, meaning the Web was already carrying the consequences of an enormous number of changes when Ash used the accumulated Chaos. The Chaos simply entered a structure that was already unstable and provided the final force needed to make those disturbances spread beyond their original points."

"And once they began spreading instead of fading," ’Stability’ added, "one change could influence another, and that influence could continue travelling through the connections created by the Web, until threads belonging to beings who should never have had any direct connection began affecting one another."

"Exactly," ’Time’ said. "That is why the title itself should not be credited with creating the Resonance. It only pushed the first domino."

’Truth’ immediately picked up the thought.

"And Ash was the one who placed the dominoes."

"Whether knowingly or unknowingly," ’Knowledge’ added, "he had already been changing the Fate of countless beings simply through his existence and his actions. The title only supplied the final push that caused everything to move at once."

’Life’ followed the thought with a hint of amusement in its voice.

"So Ash laid everything down without realizing it, and then his Title came along and pushed the first piece."

"More or less," ’Knowledge’ replied.

’Truth’ let out a quiet laugh.

"That might be the most Ash-like thing he has ever done. He doesn’t even need to understand what he is creating before it becomes troublesome."

"That is also why his actions are so difficult for Fate to account for," ’Stability’ said.

"A deliberate action can still be traced back to an intention, but when the consequences keep developing beyond what even the person responsible intended, the resulting changes become far more difficult to predict."

"And those changes had already accumulated to an extreme degree," ’Time’ continued.

"Once the Chaos entered the Web, the structure finally crossed the threshold required for the Fate of countless beings to resonate."

’Harmony’s’ voice was gentle as the Will finished the thought.

"That is why the Resonance of Fate appeared."

The Wills fell silent for a moment, and this time there was no confusion among them about what had happened.

They had spent days searching for a way to delay Arthur.

Ash had unknowingly created one.

"It really is ironic," ’Knowledge’ said after a while. "We couldn’t find a single possibility that would give Ash enough time, yet the one that finally appeared came from the consequences of his own actions."

"I wouldn’t call it a solution," ’Death’ replied. "More like a Destiny, and there is a difference. The Resonance has occupied Arthur’s attention, but once his enlightenment ends, he will return to his search."

"Even a delay is enough," ’Life’ said. "We were looking for time, and now Ash has it. We just have to hope he can use it to reach 10% of the Rune of Time before Arthur finishes."

"Assuming Ash actually uses it for that," ’Truth’ replied.

’Life’ immediately understood what ’Truth’ was implying.

"You really think Ash might waste the opportunity?"

"I’m not saying he’ll deliberately waste it," ’Truth’ replied. "I’m saying this is Ash we’re talking about. He can understand perfectly well that something is important and still find a way to turn the path toward it into something none of us expected."

"That isn’t entirely fair," ’Knowledge’ said. "His actions may look irrational from the outside, but there is usually a reason behind them, even if we only understand that reason after the consequences appear."

"Which is exactly the problem," ’Truth’ answered. "If we could understand his reasoning beforehand, we might be able to predict what he will do, but half the time even his own decisions create consequences that weren’t obvious when he made them."

’Balance’ quietly joined the discussion.

"Then perhaps we should stop trying to predict his every action and focus on what we actually know. Because if we can predict his actions, then Fate can too and thus others can as well. So, its better to leave him be. Moreover, Arthur is occupied, Ash has gained time to comprehend the Runes."

"Yes," ’Harmony’ agreed. "That is all that matters right now. We have spent days knowing that Arthur would find him, and now that moment has been pushed away. I only hope Ash understands how precious those extra moments are."

"At least Arthur cannot search for him while he is in the Resonance," ’Stability’ said.

"For now," ’Time’ corrected. "The moment his enlightenment ends, that will change."

"Then Ash simply needs to be faster," ’Life’ said.

"And hopefully his clones would not create another catastrophe while he’s doing it," ’Knowledge’ added.

’Life’ immediately objected.

"Why does everyone keep assuming he is going to create another catastrophe?"

’Death’ answered without hesitation.

"Because he is Ash."

"That is not a reason."

"It has become one after everything we’ve watched."

’Knowledge’ sighed softly.

"You do realize that every time we discuss Ash, you eventually say the same thing?"

"Because every time we discuss Ash, the same problem remains."

"And what problem is that?"

"That no matter how carefully we calculate things, he finds a way to make them more complicated."

’Life’ laughed softly but did not say anything, knowing the personality of ’Death’.

The discussion should have ended there, but naturally, it did not.

One concern led to another, then another topic for discussion appeared, which brought up another question about Arthur’s enlightenment, Ash’s progress, the connection between the Runes, and whether the Wills could do anything at all if the situation changed again.

And from there, the conversation simply deviated from its original intention.

If Ash had been present among the Wills of the Runes, he would have discovered something he had never realized about these ancient existences.

They were incredibly talkative.

They were, in the simplest possible sense, like a group of girls who had an endless supply of gossip because of their long age.

And once they started talking, there was practically no way to make them stop.

In a way, if Ash reached 10% comprehension in all the Runes, he would be carrying a literal gossip house within himself.

***

A/N: Next Chapter is where MC will enter the River of Time.

Hold your seats, folks.