Chapter 179: Typical Solution

Chapter 179: Typical Solution

Noah let himself pout for about five minutes. Then he got bored. It was difficult to sit around doing nothing for too long when there was still so much that he could actually do – and now that he was a Rank 3, there was one particular thing that called to him more than any of the others.

As he sat there, drumming his fingers on his chin and thinking, Lee’s head popped out from the side of his opening to his tent, nearly scaring the life out of him.

“Whatcha doing?” Lee asked.

“God,” Noah said, shaking his head. “I really need to fix tremorsense. You scared the life out of me. I was contemplating killing myself.”

“That’s not a good thing,” Lee said with a frown. “Why?”

“I was bored.”

“You have serious problems,” Lee said, stepping into the tent. “If you’re that bored, just go kill or eat something. It always does the trick for me.”

“I’m sure it does.” Noah rolled his eyes. “And I wasn’t just contemplating it because I wanted something to do. I’m not that lost. It would be helpful.”

“Helpful for what?”

Noah opened his mouth, then paused.

Would Lee feel bad if I told her that I’d be doing it to try to find a way to cure her soul damage? She’s pretty laid back, but I know she’s a lot more insightful than she lets on. It might make her unhappy. This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.

“Working on a new Rune,” Noah said, settling on a course.

Lee raised an eyebrow. “You mean you dying somehow helps you with your Runes? That’s weird. Guess I haven’t tried it, but it seems a little counterintuitive.”

“Can’t say I recommend it for anyone else. I’m honestly not sure if it works, but it’s not really the worst drawback, you know? Just a mild annoyance.”

“Right,” Lee said, squinting at Noah. “Death. Mild annoyance. I wish I had your powers. I’d be the strongest demon in the world. Not even archdemons think of death as inconsequential.”

“What would you do differently?” Noah sent Lee a curious look. “If you had my powers. Would anything change?”

Lee blinked, then rubbed her nose. “No. Probably not. I like lazing around. If I wanted to become that strong, it would be a lot of work, and that seems like a real bother.”

Noah chuckled. “I thought so.”

They fell silent for a few moments.

“I think I’m going to do it,” Noah said.

Lee rolled her eyes. “Can’t say I’m surprised. I’m pretty sure that’s your solution to at least half of your problems, if not more.”

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Noah said with a shrug. “It’s worked so far. Can you eat my body after the new one forms?”

“Sure. I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“Really?”

“No. I was lying, but it’s never a bad time for breakfast.”

Something was there.

Noah couldn’t tell what it was. He couldn’t tell how he knew – but he did. His skin prickled and he swallowed heavily. Even the formation of the Rune had paused, waiting for something.

Why do you seek this Rune?

The thought wasn’t Noah’s. It was like a force of nature, crashing into his mindspace and obliterating his mental defenses. There was no malice in the word, but it held such might that he could barely even stand in its presence.

“To cure my friend’s soul damage,” Noah replied. He turned in a circle, trying to find the source of the voice.

An instant passed.

This reason is not sufficient. You do not deserve this Rune.

There was a loud twang. Noah’s soul shuddered as everything suddenly sped back up. Sunder’s pull on him redoubled, and the brushstrokes forming in the air started to tremble. Energy started to flow out of them – but this time, instead of sinking into his soulspace, it was vanishing. Something was sucking it up.

Shit, shit, shit.

Noah didn’t have much time to react. If the energy vanished from his soul, then he wasn’t going to get a second chance to form the Rune. Whatever had spoken to him was going to take it back, and he’d be damned if he let that happen.

Sunder, come to me.

The Master Rune spun in the air above Noah, dropping like a rock. He reached up with one hand, touching the Rune’s trembling surface. Noah’s veins turned jet black and he thrust his other hand forward, gritting his teeth.

“I’m sorry, but I need this power,” Noah snarled. “Get out of my soul!”

The dark ground trembled. A black spear carved through the air, plummeting from the sky and slamming straight into the center of the half-formed, pearl colored Rune.

A yelp echoed through Noah’s mindspace. The oppressive presence suddenly vanished. Noah didn’t waste an instant. He released Sunder, then enveloped the new Rune with his mind and focused intently.

I need this, but if that exact intent was somebody else’s Rune... I’ll just change it a little bit.

Noah gritted his teeth, pressing his intent down on the Rune. Another brushstroke melted the dark. Stroke by stroke, the Runic energy painted through Noah’s mindspace, completing the Rune he’d started to form.

Sunder’s grip around Noah’s throat was so tight that he couldn’t even breath, but he held his position. He just needed –

A brilliant chime shattered the silence. The pink energy detonated in a hurricane of pink petals that blew out across Noah’s mindspace, leaving behind a brilliant, pearl colored Rune in their wake.

As Noah laid eyes upon the Rune, his soul trembled. It lifted, rising past the Natural Disaster Rune. It came to a stop beside Sunder, glittering in its pearlescent glory.

Oh, shit.

“Something tells me she’s not going to be very happy about this,” Noah muttered as he stared up at the Rune. “Good to know she survived the creepy monster attacking her, though. Maybe she’ll accept a handwritten apology?”

Sunder lashed out, grabbing him in the moment of distraction. He hardly even cared. His mind was still fixated on the new Rune as it tried to process just how much trouble he’d just gotten himself into.

His last thought before he was slammed back into his body in the real world was the Rune’s name.

Fragment of Renewal.