The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 904: They Called It a Blessing

“Hah.. hah.. It’s done?” Damian asked.

He did not wish to open his status before so many eyes.

“I don’t know.. Usually, it takes longer than that to bestow a high blessing on the chosen.” Ilvanya replied.

The golden mana thread connected to the queen’s head became slightly thicker and brighter. The eyes of the queen became pure light as well. Her posture changed, her facial expressions hardened, and everyone felt an oppressive surge in her aura. All Eldoris people bowed at their queen with utmost respect, except Einar and Evrin.

’Guess that’s what taking an avatar means..’

It was more powerful and intense than the gods taking control of second rankers and below. The boost in power and those weird explosions will be on a ridiculous scale now.

“Why did you reject it?” The possessed queen asked in a deep, scary voice.

“I have no idea what happened. I experienced the overwhelming senses, and then it just ended.” Damian replied.

He truly did nothing to stop it. He had already accepted becoming a follower in his heart.

“Try again,” The goddess ordered, and Damian nodded.

He took another flower and placed it in his mouth right before the golden eyes of the queen. Once again, his insides were assaulted by myriads of feelings, all at once, numbing or maybe expanding his mind beyond what was possible. But this time too, it only lasted for a few seconds before vanishing.

“Wha.. Are you even human?” The goddess asked.

“I was. Now I am not sure. My transcendent evolution path is that of a Hellforged Tyrant.” Damian replied.

“Not a transcendent..?” Several voices muttered around them.

The golden eyes of the queen, however, stared right at him as if watching his soul.

“This method will not work on you; they are for transcendents.” The queen replied at last.

“What..”

“Not human?”

“Those horns and hand..”

More whispering followed, but Damian ignored them.

“Is there any other way?” He asked.

The queen did not reply. But Einar behind him suggested,

“Maybe we can do this another time with more preparations? The gods must already know about Damian’s choice, right?”

The queen shook her head at that.

“The words of a god are law itself. This has been added to the divine code. This boy must become a follower before midnight, or Sanctuary won’t be safe.”

What the fuck was this now?

Only 42 more minutes till midnight. Astraea can’t claim him? Was the Sun God his only choice? That bastard will not waste a second gaining full control of him.

’No, that’s not a choice at all. That bastard knows too much about me. Should I go find the Sea God and beg?’

No time to prepare at all. If they fought against three countries right now supported by their gods.. not to mention that chaos bastard.. Sanctuary will be wiped clear from the mainland.

Should he.. become a fourth ranker? That might give them a tiny chance. But once again, there was no time to prepare. His strength was in his tools. After becoming a fourth ranker, if he can’t use the new knowledge and skills.. it will be pointless anyway.

Damian looked up at the queen,

“Can’t you guys make new code that contradicts the last one? I am ready. I have agreed to become a follower. It is not my fault.”

“Aghm..” Sam grunted.

Damian knew what that meant.

“Sun God says he can make you a follower right now..” Sam relayed the message.

The Eldorians gasped, realizing their secret was no secret afterall. No matter where they were, the gods could always watch them. Fortunately or unfortunately, there were no blue or black mana threads on anyone. Sea God and Chaos God will soon come asking for an answer when the time is up, and they could still sense the Godless nature of Damian.

“The Sylvan Heartbind..” Astraea murmured. Then looked at the other elves and asked in a commanding tone,

“Do you still have The Sylvan Heartbind?”

The elves all looked towards one another, confused and thinking. At last, the old elder granny asked,

“Your highness, are you perhaps referring to the ceremonial divine soul string relic?”

All elves widened their eyes as if that made perfect sense. Vidalia even made a strange noise.

“Does it look like a wooden heart?” The goddess asked. Then the light in her eyes vanished, and she murmured, “Yes, that’s it.” Then she used the storage accessory on the queen’s arm and brought out a wooden heart that had two ethereal green leaves on opposite sides.

’Memory sharing and mana control?’

Did the control of the goddess reach that far? Just looking at it made Damian’s stomach churn.

The queen held the wooden heart for a while, then the light in her eyes disappeared, and the golden mana thread shifted to Ilarin. Her eyes also changed to one of pure golden light.

“Hurry now. Do it. We don’t have time.” Astraea said.

“Your highness, your words can never be disobeyed by my mortal soul but.. but..” The queen, back to her normal self, faltered looking at the wooden heart, then Damian, and then back to Ilarin.

“You have done it before. What’s the issue? Look at him. He looks prettier than some of my daughters.” Astraea said in a no bullshit will be tolerated voice.

“What is going on?” Einar snapped, “What the hell is Sylvan Heartbind?”

The older elves started looking at each other as if hoping someone other than themselves would answer. At last, the elder granny took up the responsibility.

“It’s the supreme dungeon relic from the royal dungeon earned by the Eldorian ancestors centuries ago. The royal family uses it to make a connection between two souls. Royal weddings are the ceremony most commonly associated with it.”

Astraea took it from there, “Its more than just a ceremonial tool. It unites two souls forever. If the queen joins with this boy, he will be considered part elf. That will qualify for receiving my high blessing. It’s been done before for this exact reason. The male was a very intelligent mana beast in humanoid form.”

Wedding? With the fucking queen of elves?

Damian’s mind blanked for a moment. The murmuring and gasps going on all around him were completely blocked out by him. Then he decidedly turned back to face Lucian and others.

“Let’s go. We are done here.”

“What?” Einar let out.

“There are barely 30 minutes left!” Evrin reminded.

“Is it a no?” Torwin wondered aloud.

“Maybe it’s just in name only kind of thing..” Souldealer added.

Damian’s eyes remained firmly on Lucian though. Sacrificing the potential power he could gain as Godless was bearable, but he could not sacrifice this. Fighting a war sounded fine compared to betraying her trust, even if the wedding was just in name.

“Can you give us a minute?” Sam asked the Eldorians.

They jolted out of their trance and nodded slightly while leaving the large room one by one. Only Ilarin remained at a slight distance from the Sanctum heads, still possessed by the goddess.

“There is no need for this. My decision will not change.” Damian declared.

“That means war..” Souldealer said.

“A war against four gods and all their followers,” Einar added.

“He is right though.. Damian has already sacrificed too much. Asking for him to sacrifice his love is just.. too much.” Sam spoke up.

Torwin squinted, not able to understand what Sam meant. “Why would Lady Goldilocks be sacrificed? There are no conditions that say Damian can’t marry anyone else. Nobles have married multiple women for centuries.”

Damian shook his head, “It’s different for us. For me. Becoming part of her soul does not sound good to me at all. Even if it is a sham of a marriege I will not do it.”

“Why?” A voice resonated in the large hall.

The question itself was not unexpected, but the person who asked confused Damian greatly.

“You know why,” Damian replied to Lucian.

She smiled and approached him as if he were a child who needed some cajoling to see the reason.

“Damian, I love you for even thinking of saying no. But this is greater than me and you, greater than us. Not becoming a follower might end the Sanctuary and all of us. If you are truly against the idea of becoming a follower and wish to fight, I will stand right beside you. But don’t say no just for me. We have responsibilities, politics will always be part of that.”

“I..” Damian faltered.

He searched deep within her deep blue eyes. Something.. a hint.

Lucian herself was saying this. Multiple wives were not rare at all. Most nobles in the mainland had that. But Damian wasn’t just a man from the mainland. Even if he rejected it.. he was in some part of his flesh a Christian orphan boy.

It felt wrong. And that was all he needed.

Two beads of tears broke the blue prison of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Her expressions remained the same, as if frozen. She hurried to look away, shocked at her own body’s reaction.

There it was.

The Lucian he knew always gave it her all, even when she didn’t need to. He was almost fooled.

’Hhm.. Thought I had learned to read her by now.’

However, the second Damian turned with a smile on his face. He heard Lucian’s voice. It wasn’t addressing just him though.

“As the Depthbinder, the Azure Seat of Depth, I propose that our Keeper accept this offer of marriage to Eldoris’s queen. And if he refuses, I propose a change in position of the Keeper, the first thing the replacement keeper shall do is to order Damian Sunblade to do this for the people of Sanctuary. I call for the vote.”

Damian’s blood froze. How.. how could she..?