Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 905: A Rune Piece Acquired ()

The rider council exchanged quiet murmurs as Jian took the rune, studying it for a moment with narrowed eyes.

"We had assumed it fell into Beoruh’s hands," He muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. "That the origin rune was complete by now and we need only await the onslaught from the Forlorn."

The material the rune was made of was nothing like Neveah had ever seen. She hadn’t gotten the time to examine it or wonder about it when she’d snatched it off Misha, but she did now, as Jian turned it over in his hands.

The seal of EbonHollow was etched on either side of it, gleaming with a faint magical energy.

She wasn’t certain what she had expected a rune to look like, but this was much like a strange looking pendant.

However, if this pendant had made it possible for Misha to invade the mind guard of two of the most fearsome dragon lords in the stronghold, then it was worth the hassle.

"My Liege, May I?"

It was Garron. She hadn’t even realised the Dune lord was present in the council until now.

But his expertise had often been required since the existence of these runes were discovered.

He walked over and Jian handed him the rune. On close examination, he nodded his confirmation. "Unbelievable. I never thought I’d get to see one up close. This is indeed the witch’s origin rune."

"You can practically feel the essence of EbonHollow held within. Scales! It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before."

Everon came over to get a closer look, his brows furrowed.

"What does this mean for us?" Kirgan asked as he and Menarx also gathered around Garron, staring at the foreign object with a blend of curiosity and disdain.

Compared to when she’d first arrived here, the dragon lords had grown more accepting of the concept of magic. Though they still had a long way to go to come to full terms with it.

"Our first advantage since the damned beast realm crashed into Asvar." Garron said, his eyes narrowed in determination.

"Without this, the origin rune Beoruh has is still incomplete. That in itself is a positive development." He continued, facing the council.

"He may be able to force control over a good number of the Forlorn beasts, but it won’t be absolute. He’ll wear himself down eventually."

"If he could carry out his plan in its entirety without this piece, he wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble to acquire it." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Furthermore..." He trailed off,

"Furthermore?" Everon pressed.

Garron sighed, "It’s just a supposition. I’m not entirely sure, but all my research proves these runes are inextricably connected with each other. If we can find a way to destroy this rune or control it for ourselves, we may be able to get the other runes to lose their functionality as well."

"So...we burn it?" A dragon lord asks to be sure.

Garron hid it away from view immediately. "Not without verifying what the consequences would be. These runes are as old as time itself...simply destroying it might lead to the exact opposite effect than what we seek."

Kirgan grunted in annoyance, "Would it be an awfully terrible thing if it was that easy for once?"

A few dragon lords muttered their agreement.

"For the meantime, the best thing we can do is keep this from falling into Beoruh’s hands, till I carry out a thorough examination. But rest assured, this, if tamed by the right magic..." He holds up the rune again, "will determine the outcome of the battle to come."

All eyes moved to Neveah.

The right magic. They were all thinking about the arcane...

But she knew it wasn’t about the magic at all. There was no right magic. It was about who wielded it.

"We can’t leave the item to just anybody." Menarx spoke up for the first time, "No offence to Garron, but this requires a coordinated effort to safeguard if it’s expected to determine the fate of the stronghold."

"No offence taken." Garron nodded, "I thought the same of it."

"I want nothing to do with it." Kirgan muttered when a few eyes turned his way. "I will be more at ease to do battle. Squadrons will be required on standby if the dimension cracks press any closer."

"Her Grace is the most reliable magic wielder we have." A rider spoke up from the council, "I believe everyone would be in agreement that she and Lord Garron take custody of the rune piece. Though that would mean taking up guard on Keep grounds."

"More than that, if I’m to test the possibility of my theory, I will have to check it’s compatibility with arcane." Garron added, "If Her Grace is willing. I understand your recovery will be slow and arduous."

"Whatever is required of me, I will do without fail." Neveah said solemnly.

Jian’s hand rested on the small of her back. He gazed down at her, a small smile on his lips and when their eyes met for that brief moment, she could see the pride shining in his mismatched orbs.

"Let’s not get ahead of ourselves." Everon interrupted, "You’re not making Veah into a test subject until I give the clear. I won’t have you causing me any more complications than I’ve had to deal with."

"Now if you all will excuse us, Her Grace should and will return to bed rest like I previously advised was best for her recovery."

Neveah winced guiltily, "I’ll be off now." She murmured to Jian,

"Xenon will go with you. I don’t think he’ll be much use here, given how anxious he gets at being separated." He said, nodding once,

Xenon didn’t protest. He offered a hand and she took it, and they both followed Everon and Garron out of the audience hall.

The doors to the ascending room went closed before Xenon spoke. "Garron, you conveniently avoided mentioning that this origin rune has been tainted by dark magic. Which makes me believe you suspect this might not be as safe as you made it sound in there."

Neveah and Everon both glanced over at Garron.

"Don’t ask how I know. I know Misha’s magic better than anyone else. Can you guarantee Veah will be completely unharmed by the test?"

Garron didn’t respond immediately. "I can’t be sure...but given that dark magic and arcane contradict each other, it’s hard to say if Veah will even be a suitable test."

Xenon nodded slowly, "If it’s magic similar to dark magic you need... I would rather you test it on me, than Veah."