Power of Runes Chapter 543: The Hunt Through Time

The River of Time stretched before Arthur like an endless current flowing through the darkness, carrying within it countless moments that had already happened, moments that had yet to happen, and possibilities that might never become reality, yet Arthur stood at its edge without immediately stepping forward.

Within another hidden layer of space, the Web of Fate remained connected to his existence, but his Temporal Anchor was no longer where it should have been.

Arthur had already completed the preparations and everything.

Using his 90% comprehension of the Rune of Fate, he had pushed his Temporal Anchor beyond the River of Time, placing it outside the flow where the 25 Runes themselves existed, and then, through the connection he had established with the Rune of Fate, he had arranged for that Anchor to be transferred toward whichever point in time he wanted to Travel.

It was an absurd method to use the River of Time as a carrier towards the destination of his anchor, one that should have been impossible for almost anyone else, because comprehending a Rune was not simply a matter of understanding its abilities.

The closer one’s comprehension approached the Rune’s true essence, the closer one’s own existence became to that Rune, and the more naturally its deeper principles could be applied.

At 90% comprehension, Arthur had already reached a point where the Rune of Fate was no longer something he merely used.

He understood enough of it to perform things that should have remained beyond his current cultivation.

Yet even then, the remaining 10% was not a small distance.

It was a chasm.

A chasm that could take countless ages to cross, and one that separated Arthur’s current understanding from the true depths of the Rune.

Still, 90% was enough.

His 10% Dimensional Authority had also become crucial to the process, allowing him to bridge the separation between his existence and the space beyond the River of Time, and although that Authority was far from sufficient to let him freely move through the River without consequences, it was enough to make entering possible.

The cost, however, would be considerable.

Without his full Dimensional Authority, Arthur would have to bear a tremendous amount of Entropy simply from forcing his way through the River and moving against the natural order of Time, and unlike Ash, who had been dragged through the River after his Temporal Anchor was destroyed and had no control over where he was sent, Arthur was entering willingly.

The River would recognize the difference.

There was no point in worrying about a problem that could be solved later, especially when every additional moment he spent outside the River was another moment Ash could use to move farther away.

Arthur looked toward the endless current.

He had gained an extraordinary amount of comprehension through the Resonance of Fate, yet that enlightenment had also allowed Ash to escape into the River, and Arthur had no intention of allowing that advantage to grow any larger.

Then the voice of the Rune of Fate entered his mind.

{He is moving quickly. Much more quickly than a stable existence normally would, because he has not yet found a way to anchor himself to any specific point in Time. He enters a Timeline, remains there for a short period, and before he can settle properly, the River pulls him toward another point in the Timeline.}

Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"How long is he remaining in each Timeline?"

{Usually no more than a few minutes, and in several instances, considerably less than that. But without a Temporal Anchor, he has very little control over how long the River allows him to remain.}

Arthur thought about that for a moment.

Ash could escape into the River, but he could not simply choose a Timeline and remain there indefinitely, and until he found some method of recreating the stability his destroyed Anchor had provided, the River itself would continue determining his movement.

Arthur’s gaze returned to the current.

"For now, just keep watching him."

The Rune of Fate remained silent for a brief moment before answering.

{I watch everything even without you telling me to.}

Arthur paused for a moment before continuing, his voice calm but carrying none of the hesitation that had been present before he made his decision.

"If he remains within a single Timeline for around five minutes, tell me immediately. Act as my guide and show me the Timeline where he remains long enough for me to reach him. I will handle the rest."

{I am quite interested to see how all of this will play out..}

There was a faint anticipation Arthur felt from those words before the Rune of Fate added in its usual detached manner.

{Although whether you will arrive before he leaves, whether he will notice your presence, and whether your meeting will produce the outcome you expect are all possibilities I cannot determine in advance. Even If I can, don’t expect me to tell you. After all, that uncertainty is precisely what makes the situation interesting.}

Arthur’s lips curved into a faint smile.

"Just keep you words, I will show you many more interesting things."

**

[ASH POV]

Ash remained silent for several moments, thinking about it, because Ray’s System would have made the entire process far easier, but that thought only lasted for a moment before reality reminded him of the obvious problem.

There was no reason for him to even consider finding Ray here, because this was a completely different point in History, and Ray might not even have been born yet, while the novel Ash had read never stated the clear origin of the System in the first place.

"Forget it."

Eva immediately understood what he meant.

{You were thinking about Ray’s System, weren’t you?}

"Yes, but there’s no point in thinking about it. Ray is in the Present, while we are somewhere in the Past, so unless the River of Time decides to throw me back to the exact Timeline and period where Ray exists, there is no way I’m going to get that System from here."

{That is exactly what I was thinking. If Ray were here with us, detecting the traces of the Runes would probably be much easier, but since we don’t have access to his System, we have to find another method with what we currently possess.}

Ash slowly nodded.

His mind returned to what the Rune Wills had told him about the traces of the Runes being hidden within other objects, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that creating a perfect detection ability from nothing was simply not realistic.

"We can’t create the same ability as Ray’s System without understanding the mechanism behind it, and we don’t have enough information about the Rune fragments themselves to create something that can search for them perfectly."

Ash rubbed his chin as he thought.

"So we have two choices."

{Three, technically.}

Ash raised an eyebrow.

"You already have a third one?"

{Yes. The first is that we keep experimenting and try to create a detection ability from the Runes and knowledge we currently possess, although there is no guarantee that we will succeed. The second is that we search manually and rely on your [Eye of True Omniscience], which is obviously much slower but a sure way to find the traces of Runes. The third is that we wait until we eventually return to a Timeline where Ray exists and find Ray, then use his System as a reference.}

Ash’s expression immediately became flat.

"I better start searching manually then, after all I know my luck is not that good."

{I know. I simply wanted the list to be complete.}

"The first one could take too long, and the second one..." Ash looked around the unfamiliar city. "The third one is actually possible, but it all depends on luck."

{That would be my conclusion as well, at least for now. We don’t know enough about this world to determine where the traces might have been hidden, but you can start using your senses and [Eye of True Omniscience] in conjunction to fasten your search.}

Ash’s gaze slowly moved across the unfamiliar streets.

"Indeed, I was also thinking of that method."

He slowly expanded his senses, allowing them to spread beyond the immediate streets and buildings around him.

Ash’s [Eye of True Omniscience] moved across the surroundings, examining the energy of the people, the buildings, the objects hidden beneath the streets, and even the land itself while searching for anything that could contain traces of the Runes.

Nothing immediately stood out.

He continued walking, allowing his senses to expand farther while Eva simultaneously recorded anything unusual she noticed.

{There are several abnormal energy concentrations within your current range.}

"I know."

Ash glanced toward a distant street where a group of people were gathered around what appeared to be a small market.

"Let’s begin with places where powerful objects are likely to appear, then gradually narrow the search. Ancient ruins, hidden vaults, religious sites, old organizations, places where unusually powerful beings gather... anything that could reasonably contain a relic is worth checking. I will be spreading my clones in great amounts and speed roll through everything."

{That will increase the number of chances to encounter the traces of Runes considerably, but it is still better than wandering around randomly, and with the [Temporary Temporal Anchor] active, we at least have enough time to investigate before the River tries to pull you away again.}

Ash looked up at the unfamiliar sky.

For now, that was the only plan he had.

He did not know which Timeline he would enter next, how long the current one would allow him to remain, or whether the trace of a single Rune was even hidden within this world.

But at least he was no longer completely helpless.

He had a direction.

And sometimes, that was enough to begin.

***