The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 855: The Love of Her Life

This broke the delicate balance for the War of Three Scions, which had been fought for years. At first, the men Ruinweaver sent for Lightbringer made no big difference to the battle against Nimrel, but as Lightbringer started closing in on Ashkara, defeating one enemy after another, the men Ruinweaver sent for him truly weakened his forces considerably.

Tired of the failure, Ruinweaver made a strategic retreat, losing land he had spent years fighting for, and sent all his transcendents together, along with the majority of his army, to defend the borders of Ashkara. Even the king of darkness cared for his people.

Nimrel could have charged forward, combining all his might to finish Ruinweaver for once and all, but unlike his father and nephew, the prince of love had more light in him than fire. Ruinweaver retreated, so Nimrel did not push for him. Killing a scion of a god meant declaring war against that god. Nimrel, the student of history, knew better than anyone that they were not ready to face the consequences of such actions.

It was exactly the reason why the war had been going on for so long. No one wanted to deal a killing blow, just take land. Angering the gods was not wise. Instead, Nimrel gathered all his strength to face the invasion of the Beast Nation.

Together with Neremis, the whale-bound, he managed to push back Iron-Blood Kragmar deep inside the Beast Nation borders. Nimrel had let go of a golden opportunity once by not killing Ruinweaver; many Dawnstar and Faerunian transcendents thought in such a way.

They were unwilling to let go of another such opportunity, for it was their sacrifice that had fueled the fires of war; scions could not be killed, but they were expendable. Their sacrifices must be rewarded with at least something. And so half a dozen Dawnstar and Faerunia transcendents set up a trap for Iron-Blood Kragmar and used trickery to take his life.

Needless to say, by the time Nimrel and Neremis realized what had happened, it was too late. The first casualty of the war of the scions changed everything. Till now, the ancient gods had remained uncaring of what was happening in the mortal world; they had seen hundreds of wars between their followers. Other than the Sun God saving Nimrel, there was no involvement of the ancient gods.

But Iron-Blood Kragmar was the direct descendant of the Beast God. And Drazhan Kaelvar Thalaras, Herald of the Scorching Tempest, was not a forgiving kind.

While the news of Iron-Blood Kragmar’s demise took time to reach Beast Nation, another part of the mainland was drowning in blood. Half a dozen transcendents, along with a ten-thousand-strong army sent by Ruinweaver, were fighting against a single individual.

I have no confirmed knowledge of what happened on that battlefield, just rumors and questionable words of survivors, but I will still try to piece it together as I believe what must have happened.

Lightbringer unleashed his real ability for the first time before the world. You see, not all transcendents are equal. The element they master, the jobs they give trials for and earn, the titles they have acquired over the years, the bloodline they come from, the skills they have collected, their levels and class, and the most importantly, the actual battle power. There are a lot of things that determine the power hierarchy of a transcendent.

There are average ones that can be taken down by even a few talented second-rankers. There are the powerful ones who can defeat even other transcendent ones one-on-one. And then there are the exceptional ones who can face dozens of transcendents at a time and can even stand before a fourth ranker with their heads held high.

It might seem like an exaggeration. But Lightbringer was truly the best there ever was.

Now in possession of New Dawn, he was unstoppable.

He was a hybrid—both a spellsword and an esper. One might think that would only double a warrior’s strength, but it wasn’t that simple. For a skilled and talented warrior like Lightbringer, this hybrid class was a nightmare. New Dawn somehow gave him the ability to master and even amplify his light esper powers. He could create enormous light structures, give them the deadly heat of fire, and the sharpness of steel.

His most annoying ability was the light armor he always wore. It was invisible to the naked eye. Nothing could reach his flesh; breaking those light constructs was not easy at all. Especially when Lightbringer mixed in that blasting black fire in it. The light and darkness strengthened each other and became something entirely else, something much stronger than both individual elements.

No one in Ashkara could stop him. Six transcendents were sent together, and not a single one left alive. Even the army was not spared entirely. But Lightbringer, being Lightbringer, ignored the weak and let the stories of this day spread far and wide.

Who knows what he did to the Winterborn Pair and the border region of Ashkara, but it was never the same again. The cold kept increasing there day after day, as if the Winterborn Pair’s souls were trapped there and were denied entry to the land of the divine, forever destined to wander around as spirits. All villages and towns from that region were left empty over the years; there was simply no end to the cold.

At last, Lightbringer reached the gates of Ashakara’s capital. Ruinweaver was present to defend his home. Along with his wife, the Fallen Branch, and fifty thousand soldiers.

Ruinweaver knew the battle, even if won, wouldn’t be anything good for his kingdom. So he asked Lightbringer what it was that he wanted from them. The answer was simple. Fallen Branch.

Some say even if Lighbringer had asked for the whole of Ashkara, Ruinweaver would have given him that day. But I doubt it; that darkness spawn was the definition of deceit. But I have also seen him mourn his wife. Maybe.. he would have. But he was never given such a choice.

The conversation before fighting did result in one good thing, though: Lightbringer agreed to fight a one-on-one duel with Ruinweaver.

The fight took place in the same land Lightbringer had destroyed beyond recognition to reach the capital of Ashkara.

Five days they fought, they say. But if I know Lightbringer, he was still hiding his strength. He did not wish to kill Ruinweaver. Either it was for the same reason the others refused to kill a scion or something else, we will never know. None truly witnessed the fight, so it’s all rumors. There are many versions of it, some even involve Fallen Branch and Ruinweaver’s army.

But I believe the treacherous Ruinweaver managed to talk his way out of this deadlock. I do not know whether he promised to give Fallen Branch to Lightbringer or not, but Lightbringer somehow ended up becoming a guest of Ruinweaver.

What was the reason for this delay, I still wonder. But soon, the Beast God, the ancient pugilist, arrived on the battlefield after receiving the news of his son’s death. Treating it like a wonderful entertainment, Ruinweaver, his wife, army, and Lightbringer had also travelled there to witness it firsthand. Even Aeralyn, the Star-Spring, had come to watch the ancient god in action.

When I recived the word that Aeralyn was coming, I also wished to go and negotiate for my people. But Kelmira and other elders refused to let me go. Bouldor was quite far from this battlefield; a king on the road for a long time was not a good thing. Especially for us, the cautious ones, it was unwise. So I sent Kelmira and Harmon to negotiate with the elf queen on my behalf. The single greatest mistake of mine.

That cowardice cost me too much. Far.. too much.

The battlefield, surrounded by forces of three nations, was a brutal one. Nimrel, Illuminator, and all Dawnstar transcendents, along with Neremis and half of the Faerunian transcendents. All combined against just one individual.

The Beast God, Drazhan Kaelvar Thalaras, Herald of the Scorching Tempest.

That day, the primordial gods witnessed why there was an abyssal gap between them and the ancient gods. Beast God could not be stopped. Every warrior present on the battlefield went all out, fighting tooth and nail against the enormous tiger, but no skill, strategy, or strength could stop that raw force of nature.

The Illuminator perished. Half of the transcendents fighting were already dead, and the other half were injured beyond recognition. Neremis, the poor soul, stood between the powerful fist of Drazhan and Neremis. Stopping the disastrous attack from landing on her friend with her own body. The Beast God, even in rage, had spared her multiple times.

The Gentle Titan was said to be the most beloved child of the sea god.

It wasn’t a secret that Neremis loved the God of Music with every inch of her soul and flesh. But the poor woman never could say it to the man himself. She may not have been able to have the man, but her bond with Nimrel was perhaps even greater and purer than the one between Ruinweaver and Fallen Branch.