Chapter 42: Chapter 42- The Rune Of Reality (Part 1)
Chapter 42- The Rune Of Reality (Part 1)
"Get the hell out of my way, wooden bastard." The Nar leader looked at the chief with an angry look on his face. It was the very first time he showed his true emotions. Seeing someone run into the temple before him and steal the rune... That was the worst possible outcome.
’If he gets his hands on it and learns it, I won’t be able to extract it out of him.’ He clenched his teeth. ’I need to stop him immediately!’
Even in his pain, he channeled his power as he launched several massive fireballs at the chief. The green fire rained down on him from every angle as the spawns ate away at the wall.
"That kid rushing inside the temple... What is he trying to do?" The chief thought to himself as he tried to protect himself from the fire. ’He better not be planning to try and take the rune.’
"Chief!"
At that moment, through the army of spawns, he saw the other human, Cipha, cutting her way through.
"What the hell is your partner doing?" He asked angrily as he cut one of the monsters with his bare hand.
"He is trying to drag him to the temple and kill him. He wants the rune, and we will bait him away using it."
"Who told you you can use our rune to do that?! I’m trying to push him away from it, not drag him toward it!" The man yelled.
"And how is that going?" Cipha asked seriously. "Look around you. Your people are being massacred."
Even as she was speaking, Cipha had to continue fighting against the fire spawns. "Zen wants to help you and your people. Give him the benefit of the doubt and trust that he won’t touch your rune."
"..." The chief stared at her and then all around him. He could see his people falling one by one, and at that moment, he knew that he had to take the toughest decision of his lifetime. Should he listen to these humans or should he listen to his gut feeling?
For a second, everything felt so dark. Samar had dedicated his entire life to protecting the temple and the rune, and at the same time, he wanted to be a great leader for his people, and for decades, he was able to give them a peaceful life that they all deserved.
"Listen, I know that it is too hard to trust humans. But, this is your last option, chief." Cipha said. "We either all die here, or you will get to save your people and your temple."
"..." The chief stared down as he clenched his teeth. Then, he looked up and yelled as he slammed his fists into the ground. Suddenly, a large pillar burst out of the ground, and from it, several branches shot down, hitting several fire spawns.
"He’d better know what he’s doing," Samar said with an angry look on his face.
Cipha looked at him before she nodded her head. Then, she brandished her sword. ’Zen, don’t get yourself killed there.’
"Get the hell out of my way!"
At that moment, a large burst of fire broke through the massive wall as the Nar leader emerged. "You bastards won’t stop me! I am Kaiser from the Divine clan of fire. You lot are nothing!"
His rage burst into flames as he cut his path through the wood and dashed toward the temple.
Cipha quickly chased after him, sending lightning strikes after him. Using his speed, the man easily dodged every attack as he leaped in the air, climbing the temple in two steps. Reaching the summit, he looked back.
"Kill them all."
The fire spawns reacted and attacked with even more aggression. Cipha tried to cut through to him, but she was instantly pushed back several steps.
’Dammit.’ She cursed under her breath. ’I tried to stall him as much as possible to win Zen some time. I really hope he knows what he’s doing.’
Now, the entire plan was resting on Zen’s shoulders. She trusted that he would figure out a way. He simply seemed capable, even though the odds were completely stacked against him.
Yet, for some odd reason, Cipha felt like Zen could do it... That feeling had manifested the moment he appeared in her life. He simply could do it.
***
"It’s so damn dark in here," Zen muttered as he ran into the temple. He found himself going through a long tunnel that seemed to stretch forever. He ran for several minutes with no apparent end to the tunnel. "This place didn’t look this big when I first walked in."
But, he continued without stopping. He knew Kaiser was bound to chase after him eventually, so he needed to reach the rune before him. ’I really hope Cipha is ok. She has a tendency to put her life at risk far more than one should.’
He can’t afford to put his wife in even more risk than this, so he instinctively started running even faster. Eventually, the dark tunnel ended, and Zen emerged in a vast open space. Zen stopped and looked around him. It was completely empty and dark, with each step he took echoing everywhere.
The atmosphere around him shifted instantly, as if something had entered the room. However, Zen couldn’t sense anything.
After checking around him for anything odd, he continued walking into the chamber. His eyes looked left and right constantly. His heart was racing, and his hand gripped his sword tightly. ’This place is really odd... It gives me a very weird feeling.’
As that thought settled within his mind, Zen suddenly saw a massive structure standing tall before him. He stopped and took a few steps back as he stared up.
"Hm? A statue?" He muttered. "It looks like the one outside. But..."
There was one key difference. The woman’s hand that was stretched up had something shiny on it. It was grey but shiny, easily visible in the dark chamber. Zen instantly felt an immense amount of energy radiating from it.
’So that’s what’s giving me this feeling... The rune... That has to be it.’ He thought to himself. ’The rune of reality. What kind of power could it even give? It must be something ridiculously powerful.’
But, Zen quickly realized. What should he do? Should he try to get it? Or would that be a very big mistake? After all, he didn’t know what could happen if he touched that rune. With the sheer energy it has stored within it, Zen was certain it could have very bad effects on him if he even got close, let alone touched it.
But, at the same time...
’That bastard would be here at any moment. I need to decide quickly.’ Zen clenched his teeth before he shook his head. ’Fuck it. I’m not here to just watch.’
Then, Zen started climbing the statue in a hurry. Using his strong grip, he made his way up slowly. At that moment, he heard footsteps entering the chamber.
"There you are!"
Zen looked back, just as Kaiser walked in. "You’re a bit too late, friendo."
Then, he continued climbing.
"I don’t know about late." Suddenly, Kaiser snapped his fingers, forming a flame on his hand before he threw it at Zen. "Burn."
