Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 913: Centerpiece ()

Garron was rummaging through a shelf when Neveah found him in the hidden archives.

He glanced up, adjusting his single magnifying lens strapped to his right eye. "Veah, dear girl. I was just thinking it would be nice to have a second pair of eyes on this. Come, I noticed some patterns on the rune..." He trailed off when Neveah just stood in a daze for a moment.

Garron quirked a brow. "Are you okay, Veah? Did something happen at the frontlines..." He panicked instantly,

Neveah was quick to shake her head. "No. No. No news yet."

Garron nodded slowly, "Well, no news is good news, right?"

She shrugged, walking over to peer into the auxiliary lens he’d mounted on the desk. "I’m hoping."

"Oh, be at ease." He assured, joining her by the desk. "Between Kaideon, Verothrax, Decaron, Cassian and Jian commanding the four forefronts, it is the enemy that should be worried."

Neveah smiled slightly. That much was true. Each of these men were the very finest of battle lords.

She squinted, noticing the microscopic cracks that went around the rune in odd directions. They didn’t seem to her like they formed any legible pattern, but then again, she wasn’t the expert on all things unusual.

"There’s something there for sure." She confirmed, "Though I’m not sure what it’s supposed to mean. And it does seem fairly recent." She stepped away,

"Right?" Garron muttered, taking another look. "The more I look at it, the stranger it gets. The material itself is nothing like I’ve ever seen. I wonder if all the runes are just like this...or this control rune is the centerpiece and so exhibits unique attributes."

"I mean if this small piece can control minds... dragon minds. Who knows what else it can do? I know Beoruh would kill to find out."

Neveah nodded grimly, "Well, it’s a good thing it’s in our hands and not his."

He hums in agreement.

"Garron..." Neveah said after a moment of silence.

He glanced over at her questioningly.

"Figuratively speaking, how long do you suppose it would take you to figure out the ins and outs of this control rune? And how it influences the other rune pieces?"

He raised a brow. "Honestly? I’m not sure. A few days? A month? A year? A century? It’s hard to say when I’m not sure what exactly I’m dealing with."

He gestured to the tomes on the table. "There’s very limited information available about these runes, Veah. They’ve been in existence for so long, no one seems to know enough about them... except maybe the Dark Lord himself."

"And he’s dead. So it’s not like I can ask now..." He trailed off, "But I will figure it out. Till then, I will make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Because that is already a great help to the cause."

Neveah sighed. "But listen. And this is just me wondering...if you were to say, decide to let go of caution, and just proceed with the binding process to get the rune under our control. Would you be successful at that?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Garron turned fully this time. "You’re asking me if I know how to bind a magic artifact to a host? I’m beginning to think you’re forgetting I taught you the history of magic in the stronghold in a year, what it would take many decades to grasp."

"So of course, with the help of a mage, I can bind an artifact to a host. It’s basic knowledge in the academy of magic." He shrugs, "Even if the rune might be a whole lot more powerful than our usual artifacts, a little tweak here or there and you have yourself a successful procedure."

"So...if..." Neveah trailed off, "we were to proceed with it, what would you say is the worst that could happen?"

Garron groaned. "No, Neveah. Absolutely not! No!"

"Garron..." She sighed, "Everon says not to use magic. Do you really think I would be compliant if I could? I held a volcano with arcane surging through my veins, I built a barrier protecting Aloria...I shut off a dimension crack..." Her voice broke,

"But I can barely summon a portal these days. I’m out of touch with Demevirld. And I need you to fix this..." She trailed off, "Fix me."

His gaze softened, "I understand, Veah. And if I could help you, even if it required my life, I wouldn’t hesitate. But I’m the book guy. I don’t fix people... that’s Everon’s jurisdiction." He shook his head,

"I’m the one who tries to make sense of history and find solutions hidden in the past so we don’t get swallowed up by things we have no knowledge about."

Neveah shook her head, "Arcane, the runes, ancient magic, they’re all connected somehow. They’re all history... and you know that."

"You know if anything can stir Demevirld awake, it will be that." Her eyes zeroed on the rune on the desk, "That rune."

"Nuh-uh. Nope. No." He ranted, going about gathering his tomes.

"Garron. You’re not listening to me." Neveah followed behind him,

"I am listening. And I am not using my niece as a test subject for a damned rune that no one knows how it came to be." Garron shook his head, "If I can’t calculate the expected effect, and then tailor the procedure accordingly to at least 70% assurance of your safety, it’s not happening."

"Garron!" Neveah exclaimed in exasperation. "For scale’s sake, can you let me speak?"

He paused, crossing his arms over his chest. "There’s nothing you can say right now to change my mind, Neveah."

Neveah sighed heavily. "Correct me if I’m wrong, but the army of forlorn currently numbers to just a fraction of their assumed population?"

Garron frowned, but didn’t disagree.

"Which means as long as Beoruh has the two runes, dimension cracks will keep opening. The already opened cracks will grow larger, and more and more forlorn will stream in through it. And I know for a fact, we don’t have enough dragon lords as it is."

"The Creator forbid, they successfully open the gateway. Then what? Armageddon? The point is, this won’t be over until something is done about those runes! The forlorn will just keep coming. The battle lords can only win so many victories before exhaustion becomes yet another enemy."

"And dragon fire won’t destroy those runes. Hell, arcane might not! But that control rune? It definitely seems like the best choice."

Garron still didn’t argue.

She exhaled slowly, "So Garron, please tell me you truly think we can afford to wait for this to be safe. Because if I know you as well as I believe I do, you’ve had this in mind long before I walked through those doors."

He grunted beneath his breath, "Listen Neveah, you think an unending stream of the forlorn is the worst thing that can happen to the stronghold? But to me, that’s you getting hurt. And watching Jian and Xenon fall back into the abyss they were stuck in while you were gone."

Neveah winced visibly. Her chest tightened at Garron’s words.

"So, I will be cautious again, and again, for as long as it takes to make sure my niece, the Dragon Queen, the one person holding this precarious stronghold together, is unharmed."

"And I’m sure Jian thought the same, when he came in here before flying out to battle, looked me in the eye and told me that you would come to me, asking me to let you take the risk for the greater good."

"And when you do, he asked me to tell you, that you are the centerpiece, Neveah. You are our Liege’s heart. His anchor, his purpose."

"And there is no Lord of Onyx Scales without you. The two strongest pillars of this stronghold, live for you. Victory means nothing... nothing, if you’re not in the picture." Garron’s tone was firm,

"Don’t you ever forget that."