Return of the Legendary Runesmith

Adrian stood in his workshop, focused on crafting the solar artifact for Raven.

As his hands worked, his thoughts drifted back to the conversation he had with Ruby.

....

"They'll ask for my tools, since this threatens humanity itself, huh?" Adrian asked, raising a brow.

Ruby nodded. "This might be the largest gathering of cult members to date. I could be wrong about the reason behind this sudden shift, but one thing is certain. They're planning something big."

A cult leader had been slaughtered by the strongest Warden, but could that alone provoke every cult scattered across the world? Ruby doubted it.

Then what was the real cause behind their gathering?

"Have you heard anything else from Nytharos recently?" Ariana asked, prompting a faint, wry smile from Ruby.

Who would have thought they'd speak so casually about the Fallen One? But after everything that had happened before, Ruby could understand.

Nytharos existed in a gray area for them. His words tempted belief, yet his origin and past actions clawed at their minds whenever they considered trusting him.

Adrian shook his head. "Not at all. I think I need to free him first if I want answers."

Annabelle's expression tensed. "Darling... you don't even sound hesitant. Are you seriously thinking of freeing that creature from his prison?"

Ruby agreed. "Yes, Adrian. Nytharos might be at odds with the deities, but he hasn't exactly been kind to us either. And we certainly haven't shown mercy to his plans in the past."

Adrian nodded. "I know. But we have to take the risk." Leaning back, he crossed his arms. "Do you have any other way to uncover my origins? Or how we're supposed to deal with those watchers in the heavens? Because I know one thing, they will come for us... for me. And when they do, I refuse to stand there clueless and let things unfold. This isn't about the past. It's about the future."

He knew he might have sounded harsh, even reckless.

But Nytharos had planted something in his mind, a seed he couldn't uproot.

Lex.

A name that should have been known by him alone.

How did the Fallen One know it? And how was it connected to Darkness?

Adrian was certain Nytharos held the answers. And if freeing him was the price for those answers, then so be it.

Sighing, he told them, "I will be back," and then, he teleported into the Time Chamber.

.....

"Am I being paranoid?" he murmured, his eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.

The fear gnawed at him. What if Ariana and the others rejected him? What if they feel that inside Adrian's body, there truly was someone else?

Or was it simply caution weighing on him? The need to understand his origin, so that when the time came, he wouldn't lose control like he did before... when he died, when he hurt the people he cared about.

He didn't know.

[Host,]

The system suddenly called out.

[You aren't wrong to feel this way.]

The words appeared slowly, almost gently, as if trying to comfort him.

[While the system cannot reveal the full truth to the host, it can assure you of one thing.]

Adrian's eyes widened.

Before him appeared... something. An illusion of a person, formed from countless tiny silver orbs of light. It crouched before him, delicate and unreal, and gently cupped his cheek.

This time, no screen flickered.

He heard a voice.

[You are not betraying anyone. Lex... Adrian...Avirin... Darkness... all four are one and the same.]

Adrian's expression broke. "Huh?"

But before he could question it, before he could even fully process what he had heard, the figure dissolved. The orbs scattered and faded into nothingness.

Adrian remained seated in silence for a long moment.

Then, slowly, he came back to his senses.

He replayed the words he had just heard from the system.

Darkness. Then Avirin. Then Lex... and now Adrian. All of them...

A strange lightness spread through his chest.

He wasn't betraying Ariana. He wasn't an imposter. He was the same person she had admired, the same one she had loved all along.

And Annabelle... she hadn't given her heart to the wrong man.

Raven hadn't been mistaken either. He truly was her husband.

Letting out a deep breath, Adrian leaned back and lay on the ground, a faint smile forming on his lips.

Yes, one question still lingered. How were Lex and Adrian truly connected?

But for now, he chose not to dwell on it.

He trusted the system enough to let go of that burden and simply smile, freed from the weight he had been carrying for so long.

"Thanks system...I really needed that."

[Anytime, host.]

....

"This is bad, isn't it?"

On a completely different world, under an entirely different sky, a small giantess tilted her head as she spoke.

It was none other than Forgelet, currently in discussion with the security chief of the Forge she governed.

"It is, Wise One. We must prepare countermeasures immediately." The man, well into his fifties, bore a thick grey beard. Slightly taller than Forgelet, his battle-forged physique made his profession obvious.

The short-haired dwarf hummed. "If they've really acquired something like that... then shouldn't we just give up and let them wipe us out?"

The older man's eyes widened in shock. "W-Wise One?"

Forgelet chuckled, waving it off. "Relax, I'm joking." She shook her head, wiping her grease-smeared hands. "Give me the full report. Something about this feels off."

The old man frowned. "What do you suspect, Wise One?"

Forgelet shrugged. "Think about it. If they truly found the relic left by Nytharos, why aren't they attacking nearby towns or settlements? Instead, they're heading straight here, to the most fortified place on the planet."

The security chief replied, "Perhaps they understand the importance we hold for our people."

Forgelet nodded slightly. "Maybe. But there's this nagging feeling... like there's more to this than what we're seeing."

What could they be plotting?

°°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Drop a comment.