Return of the Runebound Professor Chapter 921: Bad Idea

Noah’s thoughts ground to a halt for a brief moment.

And then pieces of the puzzle that he’d been building clicked all into place at once with a mental snap so loud that it may well have been audible. Even if he’d still been wearing his mask, it wouldn’t have been able to keep the realization from showing in his features.

This was why Vivian had been searching for someone using the Beyond. She may very well have been the reason that he’d ended up in the Beyond in the first place after he’d died fighting Father.

“It was you,” Noah muttered. His gaze met Vivian’s. “You’re the Lead Researcher.”

“I ,” Vivian said. Her gaze was like ice, features entirely unreadable. “But that woman is long dead. She died paying for her failures within the Citadel. But I still I remain. The Citadel is mine.”

“Fuck,” Noah said, running a hand through his hair.

Vivian’s eyes bore into his for several long seconds. Noah couldn’t tell if she was thinking about killing him or not. She very well might have. He could still feel his runes, at least. That was a good thing. If she splattered him now, he would probably be able to pop back up at his gourd and make a run for it.

Then Vivian blew out a sharp breath. Her shoulders slumped and she sank back in her chair, pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose.

“Fuck,” She said.

They were silent for a few moments.

“You got anything to drink?” Noah asked.

Vivian let out a small, exhausted laugh.

“You’re an insufferable little shit. You know that?” She pulled her hand away from her face and flicked her hand. A shimmer of pearly energy twisted in the air beside her. A bottle full of dull pink liquid dropped to the table with a rather hefty thunk. Two goblets followed after it.

“Would it surprise you to know that I’ve heard?” Noah grabbed the bottle and popped the cork off. He poured a small amount of the liquid into each of the glasses. It wasn’t like they were trying to get absolutely hammered, and whatever drink was in the bottle smelled pretty alcoholic. He glanced up at Vivian. She arched an eyebrow.

“Don’t be a miser,” she said. “It’s my damn alcohol. Pour it properly.”

Noah filled the glasses most of the way, then set the bottle to the side. “Not all of us have a semi-godly constitution. I’m not trying to kill myself.”

“If you get killed by a drink after making it this far, then you probably deserve it,” Vivian said wearily.

Vivian grabbed her glass and threw the entire thing back in a single swing. It didn’t even look like she swallowed.

Noah sniffed at his cup. Then he took a sip. It was good. Better than pretty much anything he’d ever had… though whatever had been in Father’s mango wine had hit the spot unlike any other drink he’d tasted. Noah kind of wished he’d saved a bit of it for special occasions.

“So,” Noah said, dragging the word out.

“I… damn it, Renewal.” Vivian massaged her forehead, then poured herself another cup of alcohol. “I can’t believe it’s .”

“I’m not sure if I should be offended by that or not.”

“You should be,” Vivian said. “You tell nobody of this, Noah.”

Noah blinked.

“Can I tell a few people about it?” Noah asked. “Because in the interest of continuing to be open, I’m telling my girlfriend. And my brother. Probably a few more as well. But all of them can be trusted.”

“You really think you’re in a position to bargain?” Vivian asked.

“I’m not bargaining,” Noah replied. “I came back from the fucking Beyond to find them. I’m not keeping secrets from them now. They can hold their mouths. I trust them with my life.”

This story has been stolen from NovelBin. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Vivian stared at him for a long time. Then her head tilted slightly to the side. Her hand raised.

The world shuddered.

A ripple of pearly energy rolled out from her palm, washing across the entire room. It slipped past Noah, leaving behind a faint shimmer of refreshing magic. Noah’s stomach lurched. For a moment, he could have sworn he’d been teleported somewhere.

But nothing else had changed. The two of them still sat in the same room.

“Very well,” Vivian said. She lowered her hand. “We will speak openly. Completely. Not even my closest allies will hear this conversation. I will go against every manner of conventional wisdom and grant you that.”

“You mean the shadow BDSM lady?” Noah asked.

“What?” Vivian frowned. “What is this? I speak of Maria. She goes by the Mistress to most. I believe you have met her.”

“Ah. Yep. That’s her. Maria is way better. Thanks for that.”

“What does — oh, never mind,” Vivian said. She let out a heavy sigh. “Are you certain these allies of yours will hold their mouths? They can can be trusted?”

Noah paused for a moment.

“Yeah. Definitely.”

“That seems nice,” Vivian said, her voice so soft that Noah only picked up a few fragments of what she’d said.

“Huh?” Noah asked.

“Nothing,” Vivian said. She downed the contents of her cup before pouring herself another. “Tell me your story.”

Noah coughed into his fist. “That’s going to take a while. It’s a long one. Maybe we could cut it down.”

Vivian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “How long could it be? You’re a mortal.”

“Long enough to fill a few books, I’d say,” Noah said. “Maybe more than a few. I’m older than you think.”

Vivian studied him quietly for a second. Then she gestured to him with her cup. “The one that damaged the Beyond. It was you?”

“Yes,” Noah said. “I got tossed in there after Father died. I couldn’t find a way out. So I made one. Wasn’t like I was just going to sit around.”

“You died, then,” Vivian said. “I am unsurprised your soul fell into the Beyond with the sheer amount of damage it had. But how did you escape?”

“Er… I convinced the Rune within the Night’s Shadow to kind of kill itself,” Noah said. “And then what remained of it joined up with me. We smashed our way out. That’s how I ended up in the Citadel. In the maze around it, to be specific. It wasn’t intentional.”

“You died. Then you your way out of the Beyond,” Vivian repeated, staring at him incredulously. “With the stolen semi-divine rune of the Night’s Shadow? And then you somehow found yourself in the Lost Citadel?”

“I didn’t steal it. And it’s not semi-divine anymore. It gave up a lot of its power when we joined forces. The rest is pretty accurate, though.”

“And how did you get into it?” Vivian asked.

“Found the key. A dude had it. He got eaten by a centipede.”

“The Devourer?”

“No. A different one.”

“I mean, how did you get past the Devourer?”

“Oh,” Noah said. “I hurt it. Thing is a bit of a pansy. Gave up the moment I gave it a cut.”

Vivian blinked. Then she downed her glass and poured herself yet another one. The bottle was going to be empty in a few more minutes at this rate. “You hurt the Devourer.”

“Yeah,” Noah said.

“How?”

“I’m going to not answer that,” Noah said. “On account of our ‘being open’ agreement.”

Vivian stared at him from over the brim of her cup. Then she shrugged and set it back down. “Very well. So you passed the Devourer. And you made it to the Heart? How did you find it?”

“The Devourer showed me.”

Vivian’s eye twitched. “It… showed you?”

“Yeah,” Noah said. “And if this is a test, then I can say that I know the Devourer the Heart.”

“So it is. So you managed to activate the heart. And given that you claim to be the Citadel’s master… you got yourself acknowledged?”

“I did,” Noah said.

Vivian’s lips thinned. “So saw my warnings about the Beyond. I left a very ample amount of them. Not one of those got through? Did you just ignore literally every single one of them?”

Noah cleared his throat. “I got the idea of how dangerous the Beyond was. But, in my defense, the warnings came a little too late. It was already in me.”

“Your runes?” Vivian asked sharply. “They are infected?”

“No. My soul,” Noah replied. “All those cracks that you had patched up? I think they came back apart after my fight with Father. When I found myself in the Beyond… well, I guess it just filled the damage back in. I haven’t felt any of the negative drawbacks that you or your team did. The Beyond feels fairly stable so long as I don’t try to force it into a rune.”

Vivian stared at him for several long seconds. Then, slowly, she shook her head. “I don’t think I can accept that.”

“What? But I’m here,” Noah said. “And I can clearly control the Beyond. We’ve established that much. How do you think I got out of the Citadel safely?”

“You got out,” Vivian agreed. “But I don’t know about safely. And I can’t take that risk, Noah. I will not allow my mistake to repeat itself. Especially not on a greater scale. The Beyond is an infection. One that I sealed away. One that you have brought back.”

“That’s a bit harsh. I didn’t ask to get trapped in there. And if you can feel it, doesn’t that mean you control it as well?”

“Not in the same way that you do. And it does not matter what you ask for. Life rarely requests consent.” Vivian rose to her feet, but her eyes never once left Noah’s. “Against all my better judgement, I have found myself somewhat liking you, Spider. Noah. Whatever you call yourself. You are a bold fool. But all of us were, at one point. This is just not a risk I can take. I am responsible for the Coral Empire. And if you bear the Beyond… you bear it a greater threat than even the Faction Heads. My own reputation is irrelevant. I will protect my people.”

“It’s not out of control,” Noah said. “What are you going to do, kill me? Because that’s going to bring our little agreement here to a pretty quick end.”

Vivian let out a snort. “No. It is clear that you bear more power than a Rank 5, particularly when it comes to surviving the impossible. And I do not want to kill you, Noah. But I will not gamble the lives of those in my empire on that alone.”

“What, then?” Noah asked.

“You will allow me into your soul,” Vivian replied simply. “And I will see the state of the Beyond myself. If it is as you say, then we will resume our conversation as we left it.”

Noah was quiet for a second. “And if it isn’t?”

“Then you are as much a threat to your own people as you are to the rest of my Empire,” Vivian replied coldly. “And if you hold any love for them at all, you will die to save them.”

“Fine,” Noah said. “But I’m not giving you the Citadel back. If you find that I’m in control, then you’re staying out of it. It’s mine. And you’re going to keep everything you see secret, even if you decide I need to be killed.”

Vivian studied him for a moment.

“I have nobody to tell any findings to,” Vivian replied. “I will not utter a word.”

Noah nodded, looking into his cup before he responded. “Then we have a deal. I have a way to bring you into my soul.”

“Convenient. That will be simpler than forcing my way in. Inform me when you are prepared,” Vivian said.

“I’m ready.” Noah let his gaze meet Vivian’s. “Just remember. You asked for this.”