Return of the Runebound Professor

Alister’s fingers twitched for the first time in years. His still eyes ground open and he drew a long, deep breath. All throughout his body, lines of energy lit. His Runes hummed as power surged within them, filling every single aspect of his flesh and soul.

The last of his seven Runes slid together, melding into a single, Rank 7 Rune. After nearly a hundred years of intense focus, he’d finally done it. The air around him trembled as power poured out of the newly formed Rune.

Consuming Flame of the Bloodied Lord.

Alister’s thoughts barely even dared to dwell upon his new Rune. The power coming out of it was astronomical. Far more than he’d ever thought possible. Far more than anyone had thought possible.

He could feel the Rune just waiting for his call, and he obliged it. The cave around Alister shattered as Alister called on the pure pressure emanating off the Rune, manifesting his Rune Force for the first time.

Cracks raced through the ground and the mountain trembled above him. Unregulated power pumped in his veins. The very air trembled in his presence, quailing under the immense strength of the Rank 7 Rune’s true power.

With just a single thought, Alister could tell that he could bring the full strength of his pressure down on a single location, crushing any lesser being with nothing more than a look. He started to laugh, his vocal chords thrumming with inverted energy.

“And I was told it was impossible,” Alister rasped to himself, bracing his hands against his bare knees as his laughter echoed through the darkness. “Nobody can reach Rank 7. It hasn’t happened since the Arbalest Empire was established. Bah. Idiots that cower to habit and their own fears.”

Alister rose to his feet. He could practically feel life thrumming within every single fiber of his body. When he’d gone into meditation to focus on his Runes, he hadn’t been far from death. There had been about a hundred and fifty years left in his longevity, by his estimation.

Now, Alister couldn’t even tell where the limit was. At least ten times that if not more. Alister’s bones cracked and popped as he rolled his shoulders, just taking a few moments to bathe in his newfound strength.

There wasn’t a single being within the Arbalest Empire that could even get near to holding a candle to his strength now. He extended a hand and his Rune’s pressure slammed into the stone before him, obliterating it into dust so fine that it was barely even visible.

I am a god. The noble houses will quail before me. No living being –

“Whoa there, bud. You’re leaking off a whole bunch of Rune Force. Want to keep it in your pants, maybe?”

Alister spun. A woman leaned against the wall in the shadows of the cave behind him, her form obscured by a heavy black cloak. Despite the enormous amount of power pouring from Alister’s Rune, she was completely unperturbed.

“Who are you?” Alister demanded, raising a hand into the air. Black-tinged Fire swirled to life above his palm, summoned from nothing but pure energy. It lit the cave in a brilliant red hue.

The woman was tall, several inches taller than Alister was – and he didn’t consider himself short by any means. She reached up, pulling her deep hood back. The woman’s lips were black, her eyes a matching void. Her skin was so pale that it was almost pure white, and she wore a spiked black collar around her neck.

“Who in the Damned Plains are you?” Alister repeated. He directed his Rune Force toward the woman, trying to crush her, but her expression didn’t even budge. It was as if he wasn’t even there.

What is this? How? I am Rank 7! The greatest being in the history of the Arbalest Empire since it was established!

“I know, I know,” the woman said, sticking her lower lip out in a pout. She shifted her hips to the side and leaned a hand on her waist, clicking her tongue in disappointment. “I might have spoiled your celebration a bit. Want me to wait until you’re done?”

“Who are you?” Alister roared.

The woman’s lips pursed. “Pushy. You can call me Garina. I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but that would be lying.”

“How is it possible you can resist my strength?” Alister demanded, taking a step toward Garina. “I have reached Rank 7. The only Rank 7 in the Empire. Cower at my feet!”

Garina gagged. “Oh boy. I can tell this will be fun. Look – congratulations on hitting Rank 7. It’s a big achievement, or whatever.”

Alister’s eye twitched. He intensified the force coming out of his Rune, trying to force Garina to her knees. She tilted her head to the side and stuck a finger into her collar, shifting its position and letting out a heavy sigh.

“Stop that. You’re like a small dog trying to piss on my leg. Down, boy.”

A wall of energy slammed down on Alister’s shoulders. He crashed to the ground with such force that cracks shot out from where his knees had hit the stone and he fell forward to all fours as he drew in a ragged, gasping breath.

It felt like the entire world was pressing down on Alister, threatening to grind his bones to dust.

Impossible. Is this Rune Force? How can she possibly have it?

“That’s a much better position,” Garina said, walking up to stand before Alister. His shoulders shook as he ground his teeth, pushing back against the inconceivable pressure with his own Rune Force.

Snarling in defiance, Alister forced himself up to one knee. He roared, his Rune trembling with exertion, and pushed himself upright. He stood nose to nose with Garina, his entire body shaking violently. She arched an eyebrow.

“Cute. Are you done posturing now? I’ve got work to do, and I wasn’t planning on playing with dogs today.”

“You. You’re the reason there aren’t any Rank 7s in the Empire?” Alister wheezed.

Garina rolled her eyes. “It’s clear you’re a bit slow, but yes. My name is Garina. I’m a Rank 7. As you guessed, I’m here to deliver the news that your ass isn’t special.”

Alister’s eye twitched. The Rune force pressing down on him relented abruptly and he staggered back, nearly throwing himself through a wall before he restrained his own strength. He stared at Garina, breathing heavily.

“How? Why?”

Garina burst into laughter. “Come on now. Did you really think every other person was just sitting around and that nobody had tried reaching Rank 7 in the empire before you? How arrogant can you be? You aren’t even close to the first.”

“I don’t understand. What’s the point of removing us from the Empire?” Alister demanded.

“No Rank 7s are permitted within the Arbalest Empire. It’s just the rule. I owe you no more explanation than that.”

“How is that–”

Garina sighed and pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. “Nope. Stop. I don’t care about your questions. I’m not your mom. I didn’t waste time coming to this backwater shithole because I wanted to speak with you. I’m just doing my job. If you want to ask questions, then you can find someone who cares. Get your ass moving and leave the empire. Just head straight in any direction as fast as you can go. Don’t stop to speak. Don’t stop to eat. You don’t need to. You’ll be out soon enough, and then someone will explain things properly.”

Alister’s teeth ground together. “I am no dog, woman. At least tell me why! It makes no sense!”

“Fine. Powers far greater than you decided that constantly letting all the new talent kill each other was a huge waste, so we sectioned off a little area where the kiddies can play. Once you get to a point where you aren’t a complete waste, it’s time to move on so you don’t squish the playground on accident. How’s that?”

“Who?” Alister asked. “Are you telling me–”

Alister’s sentence ended in a loud crash as Rune Force slammed down on his shoulders, driving him face first into the ground. He sank nearly a foot into the stone, until he was nearly level with it.

Garina nudged the top of his head with her shoe. “I’m bored with you. Shut up. Consider the message passed along. You’ve got a week to get out of the Arbalest Empire. No stops. No chats. Try anything, I’ll kill you. And trust me, I’ll know. For your sake, pray we don’t meet again. I’ve already wasted too much time on you.”

She paused for a moment, then lifted her foot off Alister. “Say, have you heard anything about someone who couldn’t stay dead?”

Alister grunted through a mouthful of stone.

“No? Unfortunate,” Garina said. “Don’t eat dirt for too long. I wasn’t joking about you not wanting to meet me again. I’ll rip your spine out through your ass.”

Then she was gone. There was no shift of power or even the slightest change in the energy in the cave. One second Garina was there, and the second it was as if she’d never existed. Alister staggered to his feet, spitting stone onto the ground and gasping for air.

His heart raced in his chest like a runaway horse. Garina’s strength didn’t just eclipse him. She wasn’t even human. She’d talked to him as if he were a child – or a mangy dog. And, based on the immense difference in their strength, she might have been right.

Alister ground his teeth. His arrogance sputtered beneath the smothering blanket of his fear. He hadn’t lived this long by being a complete fool. Garina could have killed him with a blink.

There was no option but to do exactly as she commanded. Alister drew in his Rune Force, binding his strength tightly within his body to hide it as best as he could, then brushed himself off and launched off, driving through the stone like a fish through water.

In a blink, he shot out of the mountain and took to the sky, flying as fast as his Rune could move him. Under no circumstance did he plan to stop moving until the Arbalest Empire was a fading memory in the distance.

Alister would never return to the Arbalest Empire, just like nearly every other man and woman that had reached Rank 7 before him.

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