The Broken Halo

Chapter 293: 293: Order & Chaos Runes

When it came to runes, Simon had some knowledge about them.

In his past life, he wasn’t that interested in runes because runes were actually complicated to him and his talent in rune creation was average.

Mastering energy control and the sword path was much easier for him, so he didn’t delve too much into runes.

’Although I didn’t learn so much about runes, what I can say is that Instructor Valdin is a much better teacher than my previous teacher on runes.’

’Is it because demons have known about runes probably from the very beginning, and humans are just beginning to learn about runes?’

’Possibly.’

Simon furrowed his brows slightly behind the mask as he looked at the stone board which had several strokes and diagrams on it.

’Maybe I should try and learn more about runes in this life.’

Instructor Valdin stood at the center of the teaching platform, then some seconds later, he spoke.

“Runes are built in layers.”

He opened his right hand, and a strand of his dark demonic energy flowed outside his hand, forming a three strokes.

“The first layer are the Foundation Strokes. These strokes are the base structure that defines stability.”

Six more strokes appeared and combined with the first three strokes.

“The second layer are Directive Strokes. These determine the function you want. Do you want the rune to be an offensive rune, defensive rune, or a movement rune.”

Eight more strokes appeared, then they fused with the nine strokes.

“And the last layer are the Modifier Strokes. These strokes refine the behavior you want the rune to have.”

“These strokes can be used to change the shape of the rune, delay its activation, and expand its area of effect.”

The seventeen strokes formed a palm sized circular shield with a bunch of zig zag strokes in the center.

The students looked at it with interest and also confusion.

“This is a basic defensive rune of the shadow element.”

The rune emitted a dark light, then it shattered into pieces.

In the blink of an eye, a dark wall of the shadow element rose up in front of their instructor.

The eyes of a few initiates lit up when they saw this.

Six seconds later, the wall of shadow dissipated like a mist.

“That is an example of a basic rune.”

Instructor Valdin’s voice drifted across the room, bringing back the attention of those who were lost in their thoughts.

He began pacing around.

“There are two types of runes… Order Runes and Chaos Runes, just like how we have Chaos Elemental Planes and Order Elemental Planes.”

He paused.

“I’ll first teach you briefly what Order Runes are, then I’ll talk about Chaos Runes.”

“Order Runes are built on one principle… Reality must be structured before it can be controlled.”

“They are precise, stable, and predictable.”

He paused and swept his gaze across the room.

“Order Runes follow strict construction laws.”

“Every stroke has a defined purpose. Every rune has a clear structure, and every combination must be logically compatible.”

“You cannot “force” an Order Rune to work. You must understand it, construct it correctly, and supply aether to it properly.”

“Only humans and gods can create Order Runes because of aether, not demons.”

Instructor Valdin inhaled and exhaled deeply, taking a long pause.

“Now, that’s a brief explanation on Order Runes. Let’s talk about Chaos Runes.”

“Chaos Runes follow a completely different principle… Reality does not need to be stable to get controlled. It only needs to be dominated.”

He paused again, wanting his words to sink into the minds of the attentive students.

A few seconds later, he continued.

“Chaos Runes are not strictly”constructed” like Order Runes. They are twisted, forced, and bent into existence.”

“Instead of a perfect structure, chaos runes rely on a demon’s intent, will, and emotion.”

“A chaos rune can function even if it is incomplete, distorted, or contradictory. That’s why it’s called a Chaos Rune.”

Instructor Valdin paused as he climbed the steps with his hands behind his back.

“You should know some characteristics of a chaos rune.”

He raised a finger.

“A chaos rune is unstable. Its effects can fluctuate, and the outcome might change mid-activation if you’re not careful or if your Will is not strong enough.”

He raised another finger.

“Chaos Runes are often stronger than Order Runes in raw output, but the volatility of chaos runes doesn’t always make this the case.”

He raised the third finger.

“It’s easier for a chaos rune to change its behavior in response to the conditions around it.”

“Creating Chaos Runes is risky because it can backfire or spiral out of control.”

“To safely master chaos runes, you’ll need to develop your Will and Intent through battles, deadly situations, and so many other methods.”

He lowered his fingers and arm as he walked down the stairs.

“Take for example, a fire chaos rune. A fire chaos rune can ignite violently, or it may grow stronger the longer it burns, or it can suddenly explode or spread uncontrollably if your intent and Will is weak.”

“Don’t forget, chaos runes do not follow rules. It asserts itself on reality, and you must assert your Will on this chaos.”

One of the Initiates raised their hand, drawing the attention of Instructor Valdin and her classmates.

“Yes?” Instructor Valdin said.

“What is Will?” The female Initiate asked.

Instructor Valdin nodded slightly.

“Good question. Now, we’ll talk about Will.”

He paused and swept his gaze across the room.

“Will…is a somewhat delicate and complex topic.”

“You don’t actually need to know much about Wills now. The domain of Wills is for Demon Kings, Demi-Gods, and Gods.”

“But I’ll still explain.”

He paused for a moment.

“Will is not only about one’s determination and refusal to lose or die in a battle.”

“No.”

“Will is the ability of a human or demon to impose oneself on the world.”

“And in the case of demons, it is not about having quite endurance but an overwhelming presence.”

“It is also when a demon does not suppress who or what they are.”