Return of the Runebound Professor

The sky above the garden of Yoru’s soul twinkled. Stars took form in the darkness, a wave of shining lights washing through the night sky. On the ground to Noah’s side, Yoru let out a hiss of pain.

Blood dripped down her features and fell to the squashed grass around her. A wave of pressure rolled against Noah’s mind, pressing down on him like a weight on his chest that threatened to squeeze his lungs shut.

Moonlit Prophecy was pushing back against Yoru’s restraints. It didn’t look like she’d be able to hold the Master Rune back for much longer. Something about Noah — or more likely, the twisted abomination that he’d just summoned in to the Rank 7 demon’s head — had it in full panic mode.

Noah didn’t wait around to find out what the Master Rune was planning. He only had a short while to work, and he couldn’t afford to waste a second of it. There was no choice but to trust that the abhorrent creature would be able to keep its word and protect him until he could finish patching Yoru’s soul and give her a way to properly push back against Moonlit Prophecy.

“What do you want to be, Yoru?” Noah asked, urgency gripping his words. “I can’t choose this for you. Demons more than anyone else, your runes are who you are. I’m just returning some of the control to you.”

Yoru shook her head mutely. “I don’t know. I haven’t made a decision like this before. It’s too big. How am I supposed to know what I want to become? There are too many options! What’s the right one?”

Out of the corner of Noah’s eye, he saw the lights burning above grew stronger — and it struck Noah that they were no stars. The entire sky was awash in burning blades of moonlight. His face paled as the blood rushed out of it.

Each of the blades was easily ten feet long. Even though Yoru was keeping their pressure restrained, the pressure in her soul was still ramping up. He wasn’t even sure if his summoned companion was going to be able to do anything about this. The full might of a Master Rune of this strength…

Noah crushed the thoughts from his mind. He didn’t have time for distractions. He started to draw another Fragment of Sticky into Yoru’s soul.

“There is no right answer,” Noah snapped. “We’re all flying blind, Yoru. Nobody knows the future. Don’t forget that my work is never permanent. I can always undo it. It might be the only situation in which the past can be repaired — but right now, you need to tell the past and future to fuck off and live in the present before we all die in it instead. What runes do you want?”

“Light,” Yoru said after a moment of hesitation. “It’s safe. I know light. Can you give me light?”

Not particularly original, but it’s still a decision she made on her own. That’s progress. I should have some light runes sitting around.

What would Light combine with to get moonlight? Maybe something with shadows? Some dichotomy would be good. Great way to balance competing energy. Shit. I’ve never had to fucking throw entirely new rune combinations together on the fly!

Even if I knew, I don’t have enough Light and Shadow runes to get her all the way back up to Rank 6, much less Rank 7. Fuck. I didn’t think of this. What do I do?

A star fell from the sky. It carved down toward Noah, burning from within like a miniature moon. The abomination reached upward and darkness gathered at its palm. Long, gangly fingers slammed down on the blade of the weapon and shattered it before it could pierce through the monster’s palm.

Something prickled against Noah’s skin. Something familiar. He knew this feeling. This sensation was something he felt before.

The sound of breaking glass rang through Yoru’s soul as the magic disintegrated into streamers of glowing white mist. It tried to flee, but the abomination was faster. The monster drew in a deep breath. In a howl, all of the mist was ripped from the air and drawn into its mouth.

Another sword crashed down from the sky, only to meet the same fate. The sense of familiarity gripped Noah even more than it had before.

This is runic power. Raw magical energy, the same type that’s used to create runes. What’s going on?

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“I need that power,” Noah said urgently. “Can you make me Light Runes?”

“Make?” The abomination asked. “You overestimate my power — and my willingness to help. All I’m doing is drinking in all the power that this Master Rune stole from the demon’s soul. It harvested the energy so we couldn’t use it to remake her runes.” ℟

So that’s why I couldn’t sense any power. Yoru tried to bury the damage to preserve her power and make her soul last a little longer, but Moonlit Prophecy is ripping it back and using the power for itself.

That means that the weaker it gets, the more power I have to work with. That means I’ve got two of the three components needed to create a rune from scratch… but I don’t have an inciting event. Nothing about this is going to let me create a rune. I have to copy and combine them the old-fashioned way.

“Can you distribute the energy you’re taking?” Noah asked.

Three more swords fell. The gangly monster caught one of them, grabbing it by the hilt before it could drive through Noah’s skull. It wasn’t quite so fast for the others. They both slammed into its back, driving deep into its stitched flesh and punching out like blooming flowers.

It felt like there should have been a spray of blood or some other bodily fluid, but the only reaction the monstrosity had to being stabbed twice was the thunk of the weapons hitting its body.

The monster’s hand tightened around the sword it held. It shattered, and it broke the other two blades as well, drawing all of their energy into itself.

“You are leaving me with little for myself,” the Grimoire said. “I will not accept this deal. Figure the solution out yourself.”

Oh, for the love of —

“I did figure out a solution,” Noah snapped. “You don’t make the rules here. Work with me or don’t work at all. Keep the extra energy. I only need to get Yoru partially back to her former strength.”

A sword slammed through the abomination’s head. It didn’t even seem to notice. It just kept speaking, ignoring the new sword-nose it had grown.

“She was only a step into Rank 7. Impossible. There will not be sufficient power left for me.”

“Rank 6, then,” Noah said. “The power growth is exponential. Keep everything after Rank 6, but help me get her back to that. I’m not bargaining anymore, Grimoire. That’s a good deal and we both know it. Choose your side.”

The monster snapped the sword in its head. The weapon evaporated into streamers of energy that it devoured, and its mouth split into a wide grin. “Acceptable. You are fortunate that we are in an ideal domain for me. There is so much latent power here that I can make up for your attempts to starve me.”

“Just do your damn job. I’ll happily get to know you and your dietary requirements more afterward,” Noah ordered.

“As you command, Herald.”

Herald?

Noah wasn’t so sure he liked the sound of that, but even if he’d had time to argue, he didn’t get a chance to. A wave of power slammed into the base of his spine and coursed up his entire body.

It wasn’t power he could draw on. There was a distinct difference between his own runes and this. Noah’s magic felt like an ocean within his soul, while this was just a river passing through.

Knowledge exploded through Noah’s mind. Runes flashed behind his eyes, forming and fading with such speed that he could barely make them out — and yet, he knew every single one.

The Grimoire had formed a direct connection with him. He could feel every single rune in its pages. Every single crease on the paper and every ounce of magic stored within it. Noah was also vaguely aware of a number of drawings that the Grimoire kept within itself. He wasn’t so happy about seeing those, but he didn’t spare them more than an instant of thought.

Another wave of pressure slammed down on him. This one was stronger than the last. Swords crashed down from the sky, letting out keening wails as the screamed through the air toward him.

A gangly hand wrapped around Noah’s chest and he found himself lifted into the air. Wind buffeted his face and his scream of surprise was swallowed by the howl of wind as the Grimoire burst into a sprint, bounding across the ground with impossible speed.

“Best get to work!” the monster called, shattering another blade and ripping the magic from it. “You’re on a time limit, Noah Vines. The girl is going to die if you don’t get her the runes she needs! I just hope you’re good at working while on the move.”

Noah didn’t waste his time with a reply. It didn’t matter if he was good at it or not. His hand started to trace through the air, and the energy remained attached to his fingertip even as he was ferried through the garden like a toy doll.

Yoru wanted Light runes — and that was exactly what she was going to get.

“Get ready!” Noah yelled, hoping Yoru could hear him. “You aren’t going to have long to solidify these! I’m making you all the components you need!”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the demon push herself to her feet. She turned in their direction, her eyes sharpening as her jaw set. She gave him a firm nod. At least, Noah hoped she did. It was a bit hard to tell when he was getting bounced around.

Yoru was ready. She was counting on him, and Noah refused to fail her. He was not about to lose a fight to a sentient Rune.

I don’t care if it’s a crazed mage, a rune, or a fucking god. I will not allow anything to take my people away from me.

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