Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Ruwen ran.

The Conclave rules repeated in Ruwen’s thoughts. The other Ink Lords had two excellent reasons to find him and take his emblem. It was worth ten times normal and also acted as the only way to exit this place.

Ruwen had no idea what traditions he’d ignored, and would look through his log later to see if anything was listed there. Why hadn’t the instructions arrived in the normal fashion as a Notification? It wouldn’t have killed the Muses to mention it, either, although they had showed anxiety that he was leaving and not sticking around for the next month.

If Ky could see Ruwen right now, he knew exactly what she’d say. He hadn’t even known the Shade an entire day before he’d heard it— “you only have yourself to blame.”

 Ruwen’s feet barely touched the ancient stone floors of the Conclave library as his mind turned to Rami and the danger she was in. The library had to know that Rami was the Perception Wyrm so he took it as a good sign that Rami hadn’t been marked on the Ink Lords’ maps as well.

After a moment Ruwen reconsidered that assumption. Starting with the rift that had appeared inside the Black Pyramid, whenever he’d encountered Outerverse entities they usually had a method to limit or suppress his various magics. But those magics were all associated with different factions in the Outerverse and were well understood. Rami’s magic had evolved, and it had opened a Void path that even in the Outerverse was incredibly rare and powerful.

The suppression Ruwen experienced here felt identical to what he’d sensed in the dungeon with Echo and Ash. It pointed to an obvious conclusion, but that wasn’t the important part. What mattered was that the entity controlling this library and Conclave, while originating in the Outerverse, likely had nothing to combat Rami’s Void abilities. Which meant maybe she had mostly hidden her identity.

The aisle Ruwen sprinted down suddenly ended and he leapt into the air, using his Divine Domain to take him higher.

Despite all the variables it came down to a simple decision. Was Rami and the others safer by themselves or with Ruwen. But he couldn’t fool himself. It was far more complicated than that. He missed his friends and was tired of being alone. He’d barely had a chance to talk to them and learn about their new abilities since Fortifying all the way to Divine Deity. Rami especially was a mystery as she’d been with her dad in the Void this whole time.

Ruwen also needed to consider the consequences of excluding everyone. They’d made it clear hundreds of times that he didn’t need to always do things himself. His Sacral, Heart, and Throat chakras revealed something else he’d never considered fully.

Ignoring their offers of aid could be viewed as if they didn’t have value to Ruwen. Especially now that they’d reached Divine, they must be excited to contribute. Sift had mentioned something like that in the past. Rejecting them now, when they were literal deities, could have a vastly larger impact than the previous refusals. His Throat chakra caused his whole neck to tingle at the truth of his thoughts.

The risks of exposing them to whatever dangers lurked in this place didn’t outweigh the possible damage Ruwen might cause to his relationships with them. In that context the decision was easy—he’d summon his friends at the first reservation desk he encountered.

Ruwen opened his map and checked to see if the resource options had updated with any library-related choices, and discovered some had appeared, including the book drop. He selected them all and extended his Mental Domain to gather more information about the surroundings.

The library had actively suppressed Ruwen’s Divine Domain and Harmony, limiting their use, but didn’t seem as capable of countering his mental abilities. He would test the library’s suppression strength against his own when it mattered. Right now, his Mental Domain worked well, and he wanted to work on increasing its range anyway.

As Ruwen sped upward, he heard voices coming from one of the floors he passed. He had no plans to investigate them. Everyone here was an enemy. At the edge of his Divine hearing he heard the crack of magic or a weapon followed by a distinctly feminine grunt of pain.

Ruwen slowed without thinking. Everyone on Grave had access to immense power, and women didn’t need anyone to protect or care for them. At least not in a physical way. In fact, for most of his life both before and after Ascendancy, the most powerful people he knew were women. With his current abilities he no longer feared any of them, but he respected their power and wasn’t foolish enough to believe they couldn’t significantly harm him if that ever became necessary.

The reaction stemmed more from Ruwen’s experiences at school. While Slib had turned out to be a brave and honorable man, he’d been a jerk and bully in school. The sound of that grunt had reminded Ruwen of his past. Of being bullied. Of being alone.

Ruwen Blinked to the aisle that funneled the voices into the central chamber. The shelves here contained scrolls made from thin metal sheets. Their hard surfaces had reflected the sound far better than books or hide.

Three distinct magical signatures appeared in Ruwen’s Mental Domain, powerful enough to punch through the ambient interference of the library. A moment later a fourth person appeared, their magic far fainter.

Ruwen wrapped himself in layers of Spirit magic and Harmony, making it virtually impossible to see or hear him. The library had locked his appearance to make it harder to hide, but he wondered if the Destruction Essence he had access to in this form could be considered part of Ink Lord’s Warp. Afterall, both the armor and the Destruction essence were literally part of his body.

A black cloak formed over Ruwen’s back as the Destruction essence emerged. It immediately fluttered as it interacted with the nearby shadows. Using the cloak’s affinity with shadows, he pulled those shadows around himself as a third layer.

He strode forward and peered around the end of a shelf and into a circular chamber lined with reading alcoves. Three Ink Lords had cornered the fourth. The three attackers wore elaborate robes that shimmered with protective enchantments, their faces hidden behind ornate masks that pulsed with arcane power.

The woman they faced wore simple and loose clothing, not that different from what Ruwen preferred. She wore a cloak that was made from significantly thicker cloth than her clothes and the only jewelry visible was a red bracelet. None of it appeared to contain magic or enhancements. Despite the cold air, her dark skin glistened with sweat, and her yellow eyes blazed with defiance as she dodged another coordinated attack. While clearly outmatched, her refined movements indicated at least some unarmed combat training, and he guessed she’d try and close with the attackers.

Ruwen forced himself to think this through. These were all Ink Lords. All technically his enemies who wished nothing more than to murder him and take his emblem. The smart play would be to let them exhaust themselves fighting each other and revealing their capabilities, before ambushing them to claim all the loot.

But three against one didn't sit right with him. It never had.

While Ruwen wrestled with indecision, the woman surprised him. Despite lacking magical armor or enchanted robes, she suddenly glowed with an internal light. Not the typical manifestation of Spirit or Soul energy, but something stranger. It looked like she extracted power directly from her own body, pulling energy from her blood and bones to fuel whatever spell she’d prepared. It reminded him a little of Blood magic, but strangely it was his chakras that resonated with what the woman did.

With Harmony, Ruwen detected another, far fainter resonance, but he couldn’t identify it within himself and couldn’t perceive where it originated on the woman. It made him uneasy though.

The three attacking Ink Lords sensed the building power and pressed their assault, clearly trying to interrupt whatever she had planned. Lightning crackled from one's fingertips, the second aimed a crossbow with magical bolts, while the third hurled orbs of acid that sizzled against whatever they touched.

The woman raised her hands, power coursing through her veins like liquid fire, and chanted under her breath. The language sounded ancient and powerful and the mantra lyrical. As the incantation finished three linked half circles, like the humps of a camel, flared on her forehead,

The dunes of Shag’la Rath.

My body, grains of sand.

Like the desert, I burn.

Burn like Shag’la Rath.

The word Shag’la Rath reverberated through Ruwen’s thoughts, shaking him mentally and physically. His skin prickled and an explosion of hope and curiosity filled him.

The talking Elder Dagger Io that Sift usually carried around, had used that exact phrase in the riddle he'd given Ruwen. The riddle that should lead to the planet containing the Mind and Body Towers. Io’s poem-like riddle blazed to life in Ruwen’s mind.

On a distant world two pillars rise,
guarding a vessel from prying eyes.

Angelic wings bearing heavens wrath,
scorching paradise to Shag’la Rath.

Three fragments remain their message concealed,
Red, black, and silver a secret revealed.

Librarians wielding unknown powers,

 A treasure map to your hidden towers.

Another piece of the riddle fell into place. The woman in front of Ruwen certainly met the criteria for “Librarians wielding unknown powers.”

The woman glowed with magic, but none of it left her body. The woman used a foot to push off the wall behind her, and she launched forward, catching the Ink Lord with the magical crossbow by surprise.

With superhuman strength the woman punched the Ink Lord’s crossbow, forcing it into his body. The weapon splintered against the magical armor of his robes. The woman wasn’t done, and her other fist struck the Ink Lord’s mask.

Once again the Ink Lord’s magical items saved his life, but the power of the punch sent him flying backward.

That’s when Ruwen felt the hidden resonance Harmony had detected. And now that sensed it, a host of new possibilities surfaced, none of them good.

Because it was Ruwen’s recently healed Soul that vibrated in recognition, and it was the red bracelet around the woman’s wrist that caused it.

The red bracelet was saturated with the Zealot’s Soul power.