The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 779: A World Too Full of Light 2

At the end of the mostly empty hall, a giant golden statue was placed. It was a human, armoured and crowned, seated atop a giant sacrium throne with an enormous sacrium sword in one hand.

Cornilius walked briskly, eager to reunite with his lord.

When he crossed the halfway point, the giant golden statue’s eyes opened up; the intense red glow illuminated the shapely bearded face even more. To Cornilius, this was the peak of male beauty. No other form could be more perfect.

A god was, after all, an entity far above their measly human standards.

A loud, commanding yet majestic voice resounded in the large stone hall.

“What is it?”

Cornilius bowed down and went on one knee before replying, “Lord of light, my eyes are the most blessed things in this world for them to have the honour to grace upon your majestic presence once again.”

No reply came back. The red glow of the big, golden eyes intensified, though. Cornilius regretted stating the obvious. He just could not help it. Unlike him, his lord must have a lot of things to look after – he shouldn’t waste his time so greedily. Cornilius got straight to the point.

“My lord, it is done. Not in a way we expected, but the demons lost most of their transcendents. Only one remains. The mainland has successfully pushed all of them back to their island. I know my lord is all-knowing and already has the knowledge of everything. I was just curious as to whether we take any steps towards the current new political changes. In short, is there any change in the plan?”

Cornilius said it all in one breath.

The silence remained unbroken. Did he finally manage to anger his lord to the point of speechlessness? Everything he had done was exactly as the lord of light wished. Everything in this world was of and for the righteous sun god. Cornilius believed that with all his heart. His lord knew the best for his children; the lord of light was the only deity worthy of guiding mankind.

“Too many still.. There are.”

Cornilius nodded. Indeed, the purpose of the war was to reduce the number of third-rankers present in the world. The demons and old Dawnstar had paid the needed price, but still, the Faerunians and Eldorians had been spared. Not to mention, there were many new ones added in that list, even Land-breaker, the betrayer of faith, had also come back alive somehow.

“I wished to come earlier, but I needed to be sure all eyes were off me. And also, I wished to reveal the newcomer’s intentions in all these; all four of them have finally signed the mana contract. Seems like the Runebreaker’s aim really is the peace in the mainland for some reason.”

“Are you close?” The lord of light asked.

“Yes, Lord Almighty. We have eyes and ears in the Sanctum.” Cornilius replied.

“Keep watch. Focus on the other task, let the Rune Shaper be for now.”

Cornilius bowed deeply once again. He was about to thank his lord greatly for giving him this chance, but before he could open his mouth, the red glow started diminishing, and in seconds it was completely gone.

He had no idea what he would find at this one specific place; his lord had instructed him to check out with the red knights, but it was not his place to question. Cornilius just needed to obey – the temple was the only thing humanity depended on for protection and preservation.

The grand scheme of the divine was the only absolute thing in this world of unknowns.

***

[Near northern border town of the new empire, a wagon full of people travelling further north, Lumi’s POV.]

Saying she was excited would have been an understatement. Right now, Lumi was with her whole family, finally going to Sanctuary. It took some time for her to convince her family to leave their old town.

It hadn’t been the same since the Empire took over anyway. There weren’t too many noticeable changes, but once in a while, seeing the soldiers patrolling the town, everyone was reminded who was in charge. Mostly, they left everyone alone, keeping crime in check. But when some drunkard took Dawnstar’s name a bit too loudly, the sharp gazes and strict questioning following after were something impossible not to notice.

The name of the lord ruling might not have changed, but everything else had.

But even if it hadn’t, Lumi would never let the chance to live in the world’s most technologically advanced city out of her hands. A city built by Damian must be amazing. All the rumours Lumi had heard just made her more and more excited to reach there quickly.

Her father and mother took a lot of convincing before they left their job and sold their family house to permanently leave the country their ancestors had decided to settle in.

“I heard Uncle Fraco say this morning that heavy steel can never stay in the sky long enough for it to glide with air currents.”

A childish voice said from beside Lumi. It belonged to a little doll-like girl dressed in a cute white cotton top and grey shorts. Her name was Daisy, 7 years old. A sister Lumi had met only a month ago.

Lumi smiled warmly, even after a month, whenever she looked at the little girl, Lumi’s heart just melted like ice. How could such a cute creature exist?

“Uncle Fraco doesn’t know how runic spells work. Mana can make anything fly, even little girls like you.” Lumi touched Daisy’s little nose in a teasing gesture; the wonder mixed with fear in the little girl’s eyes was truly entertaining.

However, the small moment was rudely interrupted when the wagon they were riding in suddenly halted in the middle of the dirt road. Lumi instinctively touched her spatial storage while peeking outside – the reason for such a sudden stop would not be pleasant at all.