Return of the Runebound Professor Chapter 927: Enlightening

Grim’s laughter echoed through Noah’s soul.

It would take far too much time for me to go through everything I have. And I have no interest in sharing all of that. You are a greedy man. If I list off my best runes, you will take them. Just say what it is you seek.

“Seriously?” Noah asked. He couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re going to hold out on me? After all this time?”

I am not holding anything out. I am rationing. There is a difference. This is self preservation.

Noah rolled his eyes. “Sure it is. Alright, you miser. I’ve got 5 Rank 5s now. I need two more. Disaster direction. I’ve been sitting on one idea for a bit. I’m still trying to work music into the whole thing a bit more. It feels like it’ll let me keep tying the magic together as it gets higher tier.”

What a surprise. You’ve changed so much since we last met. I can barely even recognize you.

“I don’t need the sass,” Noah said. “Especially not from someone who clammed up like a terrified child hiding behind his father’s leg when Vivian popped into my head. I didn’t hear you talking shit then.”

Grim didn’t reply to that immediately. Noah stood in silence inside his soul, struck by the realization that he was basically just talking to the air. It wasn’t like anybody could see Grim unless the Grimoire manifested itself in its creepy, sewn-together form.

I was not joking about Vivian. She is dangerous.

“Trust me,” Noah said. “I’m well aware.”

No. I don’t think you are. If you were, then you would not talk so flippantly in her presence. You hold great potential. You are the Herald. But the Faction Heads are still far beyond you. Much, much farther than you believe. You have not even seen a fragment of their true strength.

“I’ve dealt with strong mages before,” Noah said. “And I’m not unused to being the small fry. I fought Evergreen when—”

That is not the same. It would be wise for you to properly comprehend the magnitude of difference in power between yourself and Vivian. Even the advantages that you have will mean nothing if she truly turns against you. And if she sought to take me from you, then there is absolutely nothing that we could do about it right now.

“Jesus,” Noah muttered. “You terrified of her.”

Respect is not fear. It is understanding. And to have proper respect for your opponents is the only way to ensure that you can account for their abilities properly. It would be ill advised for Vivian to find out about my existence. She would not take it well.

“Why?” Noah asked suspiciously. “Why would she care about a book from Arbalest? You can’t be the only talking grimoire in Obsidia.”

Those who have caused mass casualty events are… particularly sensitive to beings such as me. We recognize each other. It is very fortunate that she was completely focused on you and did not spend the effort to try and look into me further.

“I… hold on.” Noah’s eyes narrowed. “Mass casualty event? The hell are you talking about, Grim?”

Vivian is a slaughterer. I sense it in her soul. And she would sense it in mine.

“You mean the thing that happened in the Lost Citadel?” Noah asked. He frowned and scratched the back of his neck. “That… I mean, it was bad. I could get that much from the logs. But was it really a mass casualty event? That place wasn’t that big. It couldn’t have been that many people.”

I do not know what happened there. But what I sense in her soul is the weight of thousands upon thousands of dead, and her hand at fault.

“That many?” Noah breathed. “That can’t be right. There’s no way the Citadel could have held that many people. And — wait a minute. Does that mean killed as many people as well?”

We are getting waylaid. Your runes, Herald. Reaching Rank 6 is considerably more important than you believe. You stand no chance against the Rank 7s as you are now, much less Rank 8s. We need power and have little time to claim it. What Rune do you seek to create?

Noah’s lips thinned. He recognized a dismissal when he heard one. Unfortunately, Grim was right. They really didn’t have all that much time to waste. Who knew when the next round of the tournament would start or when someone would come knocking for him again. There was no guarantee that Rake didn’t just pop back up into his room to say hello.

“Silence,” Noah finally said, crossing his arms behind his back and starting to pace through his soul. “I want a disaster that embodies complete and utter silence. I want it to be to sound as the Beyond is to magic.”

Anti-sound. Interesting. Is that truly a disaster?

“It can be if you approach it with the right intent,” Noah replied. “Don’t forget that understanding is what rules Rune creation. Anything is a disaster if I’m dumb enough. And have you ever seen a good man do more damage than when he stays silent?”

Grim sent the mental equivalent of a shrug into Noah’s mind.

Silence it is. You know your Runes better than I. What do you seek?

“Rank 3 and upward components — anything through 6,” Noah replied after a moment of thought. “I think I can handle a 6 briefly. Runes with components containing vibration, sound, air, mind. You think I’m missing anything else?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Mind? What does that have to do with silence?

“I want silence,” Noah replied. His lips thinned. “That means silence of the mind as much as it means silence of vibrations in the air. Complete and utter stillness.”

At that point, would you not need matter as well?

Noah thought for a moment. Then he nodded slowly. “Yes, actually. That’s a great idea. And not just that. Space as well. The only way to create true silence is a vacuum. A conceptual place functionally devoid of any medium that can transmit waves.

Confusion flickered against his mind.

This is… strange. I do not understand some of what you speak.

“It’s physics. I don’t remember that much of it from Earth… but this stuff is pretty basic,” Noah replied. “I guess it was because it’s a bit closer to stuff I was actually doing. Sound comes in waves. And if those waves can’t propagate, then there’s no sound. Thus, silence.”

I do not entirely understand. But I do not care. I have the runes which you seek. Most of them are not perfect. This will require some work.

Noah chuckled. “What doesn’t? Hit me with it.”

As you wish. Prepare yourself to begin drawing the Runes into your soul.

***

Noah cut up a lot of runes.

He wasn’t sure exactly how many. Somewhere around 10 or 15. There was a time at which drawing on Sunder that many times would have been difficult. But now, it really wasn’t too much trouble at all. Its power came almost naturally to him.

His work went surprisingly quickly. Even though he had to carve many of the runes all the way down to Rank 1 or 2 before rebuilding them up to Rank 4, it only took around 3 hours for him to finish the work and recombinations. Then again, this was the easy part.

He soon had 15 new Rank 4 Runes floating in his soul around him. That was considerably more than he needed to actually create a Rank 5, but he already knew that this was going to take a little bit of experimentation to get the ratios and components correct. Of the 15, there were 5 unique entities that he’d made 3 of each.

Noah studied the runes in silence for several seconds. He pursed his lips.

“Yes. This should be good. I guess.”

You don’t sound convinced.

“To be honest, I feel like something is missing,” Noah said. He chewed his lower lip, looking over the runes once more. Then he shrugged. “But I don’t know what it is. So I suppose I might as well slam them all together and see where to go from there.”

Grim’s laughter echoed through his soul once more.

Only you would be so flippant about combining this much power. Even a powerful mage would have more respect for the magic they work with than you. You are spoiled.

“I have the opportunity to do better,” Noah replied. “And opportunity is responsibility. This is just the optimal way to progress.”

Let’s see what you’re capable of, then. Go on.

Noah shrugged. He sent his mind out, drawing several of the runes forward. To start, he took 2 of the Vibration Runes, 2 of the Space, 1 of the Matter, 1 of the Mind, and 1 of the Air. That felt like a pretty good combination to get started with.

He spent a moment steadying his desires and focusing his intent.

Then, unceremoniously, Noah crushed the runes into one. He closed his eyes a moment before they merged. A brilliant flash of light and pressure tore through his Mindspace. It buffeted his hair back and rolled around him like waves crashing a mountain.

But it didn’t so much as budge him from his spot.

Noah’s eyes opened. Magic buzzed against his skin. He ignored it, looking out at his newly created Rank 5.

The designs that made it up wove in and out of each other like the world’s most complicated wicker basket. Pressure emanated out from its pale gray lines. It was a powerful rune. Noah could tell that much.

He pursed his lips.

Noah drew on the Rune, letting its power fill his body. He examined the pressure emanating from it closely. There were minor fluctuations. Nothing too significant, but enough to show it wasn’t Flawless. That said… it didn’t quite feel right.

Even if it been Flawless, something was missing.

You seem displeased.

“It’s not right,” Noah said. He shook his head. “I’m missing something.”

A different combination?

“Maybe,” Noah muttered. But that didn’t feel quite right either. He shook his head. “No matter. Let’s tear this up and try again. I want to give it a few more shots. That’ll give me a better idea of what I’m doing wrong.”

And that was what he did.

Noah sliced the Rank 5 apart. And, over the course of the next hour, he re-assembled it in a variety of different ways. He shifted his intent. Strengthened his focus. Replaced components and went so far as to modify the Rank 4 runes he was putting together.

A few times, he managed a Flawless Rune.

But it was never the right one.

There was just something missing. Something wrong. It wasn’t a literal problem in the rune. The combinations were working. He was making powerful Rank 5 Runes.

They just didn’t fit what he wanted.

“Damn it,” Noah muttered, flicking his hand and sending Sunder carving through his latest attempt. “They’re wrong. They’re all wrong.”

Have you considered the possibility that silence isn’t actually a disaster? You are seeking apples from an orange tree.

Noah’s eyes narrowed. Grim wasn’t even trying to provoke him. The grimoire was actually trying to help. But it didn’t understand. Silence was about as big of a disaster as he could imagine. The endless silence that he’d felt in the Line, the inability to speak, to communicate… it was like being denied the right to live.

It was hell.

And these runes didn’t capture that at all.

They weren’t silence. If anything, they were just quiet.

“It’s a disaster,” Noah said firmly. “There’s a way to get it there. I’m just missing it.”

Are you capturing what you envision in your intent?

“I know how creating a rune works,” Noah grumbled. “I’m picturing it correctly. It just isn’t… all of what I want. Though…”

He fell silent for several seconds.

Then his eyes widened.

“Is that it?”

What? Don’t cut me out of your musings. This is my entertainment. And, thus far, you have done nothing but create runes that anyone else would have salivated over and called them garbage. It is a little insulting.

“Why would an inciting incident be limited to just creating new runes?” Noah asked. “I know what I want my Rune to be. But it’s not capturing the energy because I’m picturing something more powerful than the components can combine. Something that cannot be normally represented by a rune. At least, I don’t think it can.”

What do you speak of?

“The Line,” Noah replied. A grin crept across his lips. “That’s what’s missing. There were footsteps, but aside from that, the Line was silent. Completely. But I can’t just get that in concept. It’s too big. But I have an imprint of it just waiting in my soul. Might as well pay it a visit and put it to use.”

You want to intentionally re-immerse yourself within your memories of the Line… just to make a Rank 5 rune slightly more powerful?

“Yeah,” Noah said. His lips curled. “Why not? It can’t hurt to try. You coming?”

Absolutely not.

Noah chuckled. “Somehow, I figured. I’ll see you in a bit, then. This should be enlightening.”

Then he sent his thoughts plunging deeper into his mind. It wasn’t hard to find what he was looking for. After all, the Line was everywhere. Its golden energy permeated his entire being.

He took a moment to breath. His jaw set, eyes narrowed, hands clenched.

Then he plunged his awareness back into the Line.