Chapter 332
CHAPTER 332
POISE OF THE EMPYREAN
A squared hall stood silent, lit beautifully by the hanging oil lanterns and chandeliers above, perfectly divided into two halves through which a path cut straight, leading up to a slightly elevated platform where a single figure sat, overlooking the rest of the filled hall .
Lino sat in a relaxed stance, his head leaned against his right arm, the other one casually set on top of the armrest . His legs were split slightly apart, his back leaned wholly into a rather comfortable, slightly over-sized chair that did its best to seem like a throne without ever truly becoming one . His gaze was calm and leveled as he scrutinized everyone in the hall evenly; most of those who met his gaze looked away, only a few -- mostly those who knew him from well-before -- dared meet it .
Yet, all the same, they found themselves rather shocked -- especially so Ella and Eggor . The former was worried that the image she and the rest tried to build up of Lino would come cras.h.i.+ng down upon his return, yet not only has he not pulled any shenanigans, but he had also surpa.s.sed the stories through which they painted him .
Sitting on top of the chair, looking down at the rest, he seemed absolved of the surrounding reality, as though he lived on an entirely different plane of existence . His face remained expressionless, his eyes lit up like diamonds, seemingly peering through every obstacle they encountered .
Lino recognized many faces inside the hall; Ella, Eggor, Hannah, Val, Lucky, Edward, Jack, Evelyn, Althone, Litha, Vyrone . . . practically everyone he"d ever met personally was here, in addition to nearly a dozen figures he didn"t recognize . Four were in the early twenties, two were well in their hundreds if not thousands, and the remaining six appeared middle-aged though it was difficult to gauge their ages correctly . Realizing Lino"s intention, Val stepped forward and began her introductions .
"Master Everick," Val pointed at one of the older men with a faint smile; Everick had a hunched back, making him seem far shorter than he was, and a hairless head and a hairless face . His eyes were starkly golden, his canyoned face exuding an air of confidence yet humbleness . He stepped forth slowly and bowed before Lino as Val continued . "Lord, Master Everick is our best Formation Master, largely responsible for all the upgrades You have noticed upon your arrival . He has also mantled the responsibility of teaching the interested youngs of the craft . "
"It is an honor to meet you, Lord Empyrean . " Everick spoke in a calm tone, yet seemingly aware of the customs, avoided Lino"s gaze entirely .
"Honor"s mine," Lino replied evenly . "Your work is rather astounding . "
"Thank you for the praise . "
"Go over the southern array responsible for the timing of phaseouts," Lino added . "Chip away at the web of the second layer; you should be able to improve conductivity by roughly double . "
"Ah . . . !" Everick"s eyes suddenly lit up as he began mumbling to himself, seemingly having forgotten where he was .
"M-master Everick . . . ?" Val called out awkwardly as the old man remained standing for nearly ten minutes .
"Ah, my apologies!" he exclaimed quickly, bowing toward Val and Lino . "Thank you, Lord Empyrean, for your guidance . This old man has finally broken through a barrier that has been holding me back for decades . Your wisdom exceeds your reputation greatly, my Lord . "
"Go consolidate your breakthrough," Lino replied with a smile . "We can chat a bit later . "
"Y-yes, thank you!" Everick didn"t bother staying inside the hall any longer, immediately beelining toward the exit and leaving .
"Khm," Val coughed awkwardly for a moment before continuing the introductions . "Master Amadeel," the other elderly man stepped forth, a stark contrast to Everick; his shoulders stood tall and wide, his head both full of hair and beard -- albeit snow-white in dye -- his pair of silver eyes dauntingly dangerous to behold . He held his hands behind his back and walked forward slowly, bowing in front of Lino as Val continued . "Master Amadeel is our only Rune Grandmaster, Lord . Thanks to him, the quality of our Armory and Weaponry shot up considerably thanks to his runes . "
"Many thanks, Master Amadeel . " Lino said .
"It has been an honor, Lord Empyrean," Amadeel replied calmly . "Does your Lords.h.i.+p, perchance, have breakthrough-worthy advice for me as well?"
" . . . ha ha, I"m afraid not," Lino replied with a wry grin . "I have never tinkered with Runes before, but, if I ever do have some free time, I may have you teach me a thing or two, Master Amadeel . "
"It would be my pleasure, Lord . "
" . . . " as Amadeel withdrew, Val slowly began introducing the remaining ten; Lino, however, only truly paid attention to three more -- Santheer, Grandmaster of Talismans, Vyena, a Master Scribe and Talleah, Eggor"s disciple, seeing as his original one enjoyed disappearing for years on end rather than learning from the Master .
Santheer was seemingly a middle-aged man of proud and tall stature; he wore expensive yet well-fitting clothes, had copper skin, a pair of gemed, blue eyes and jet-black hair tied up behind his back . Vyena was a timid-seeming young woman in her early twenties . All the while, she scuffled and ruffled, seemingly half a mind away from simply running out of the hall . Her cheeks seemed perpetually flushed, a sea of golden locks that was her hair falling freely, and a pair of clear, honest brown eyes made up her appearance . She reminded Lino somewhat of Seya before the latter inherited her own version of a vicious tongue from Hannah and him .
Talleah was the one that surprised Lino the most; perhaps the tallest person in the entire room, not just among women but men also, she towered to nearly two and a half meters altogether . If she jumped, Lino gauged, she would be able to flatten the top of her head against the ceiling . Though on the slender end, she had built up quite a muscle -- the sort Lino recognized, the ones he had after Eggor"s initial training . She was rather awkward all around, however, biting her tongue more than once, attempting the court-like style of speaking only to forget the words halfway through . . . it took most of Lino"s willpower not to burst out laughing .
"Thank you all for gathering here today," Lino said as he slowly got up off of his chair, descending the platform and walking toward the exit . All eyes followed him closely, people shuffling in their seats to watch his back . "I"ve been away for far too long," he continued, continuing to move evenly toward the exit . "But, I have not been forgotten . Nor have I been forgiven . " he slowly flung the doors to the hall open, exiting onto a terrace from which he could gaze at the entire fortress down below . "Nor have I forgiven either . " he turned around slowly, his chin raised slightly, meeting all eyes inside the hall squarely . "Today, I only wish to say a single thing . " his Will suddenly exploded out of his body, enshrouding the entire fortress; within a breath, everyone found themselves equally stunned and slumped as they slowly bent their knees; save for Eggor, Ella, Hannah, Lucky and Seya, everyone else found themselves squarely on their knees, unable to resist . It wasn"t the sheer strength of the Will that bound them to the floor, it was the arrogant, overbearing, beyond imperious air about it that they found suffocating . "I will win . "
His voice was choired into thousands, echoing throughout every inch of the fortress . Hearts and souls shuddered in uniformity, eyes widening like saucers; as quickly as it came, however, the Will vanished, leaving most people with their backs soaked in sweat, their hearts still beating terribly quickly, their throats dry .
As they looked up, they realized that Lino was gone from the terrace, having seemingly vanished from the spot without anyone noticing . Glancing around, Hannah realized that Ella was gone too, shrugging shortly after and leaving the hall to take a nap .
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the fortress, inside a small room barely large enough to fit a chair, a table and a few bookshelves, Lino stood by the window, gazing down . The s.p.a.ce behind him shuddered and splintered as Ella walked through; he still had trouble adjusting himself to seeing her like this -- in his eyes, she would always remain the black-haired, blue-eyed, wrinkle-skinned housewife, rather than the beauty that stood before him, one that could topple the world ten times over .
Ella smiled queerly at him, walking up and stretching her arms abound, hugging him tightly and bringing his head into her bosom; Lino could feel the faint tremors as he hugged her back . Though she looked remarkably different, she was still the same woman who"d given him home, he quickly realized; there was no replacement for the sort of warmth she had given him .
"You come back home and the first thing you do is show off," she said as the two separated, sitting down . "You haven"t changed one bit . "
"I looked really cool, didn"t I?" he grinned coyly, taking out two cups and filling them with wine before handing one to Ella .
"Yeah, you really did," she said . "You scared everyone s.h.i.+tless, though," she added, staring into his eyes for a moment . "But, that"s what you wanted anyways . . . "
" . . . " Lino remained silent, merely taking a sip of the wine .
"You have finally chosen the path, huh?"
" . . . yeah . " he said, taking a deep breath . "Hannah, Val, Lucky, h.e.l.l, even you and Eggor . . . these people have enough kind souls looking over them . They don"t need another one . "
" . . . you"ve chosen properly," she said, smiling warmly . "And, you"re right, they hardly need a friend in this case . They need an overarching presence they find terrifying, yet also comforting, for that terror bars all ills and evils of the world from reaching them . I wholly believe you"ve convinced most of them today that"s exactly what you are . "
" . . . and that"s exactly what I"ll be . " he said, replying the smile .
"You should have made everyone kneel, though," she quickly criticized, however, her brows furrowing . "Regardless of personal feelings . "
" . . . pfft, ha ha ha, like h.e.l.l I could do that," Lino laughed freely, shaking his hand . "I"d rather stab my a.s.s with a spear voluntarily than have you, Eggor, Hannah, Lucky and that brat kneel before me . "
"However silently, they will talk--"
"Then let "em talk," Lino cleaved her thoughts in half . "What of it? If anything, I should have knelt in front of you," he added . "And finally thanked you properly for everything you"ve done and are doing for me . "
"And I would have spanked your a.s.s in front of all of them if you did . " she chuckled lightly . "All jokes aside . . . you have changed ever-so-slightly, despite my desire to still see you as that little, silver-tongued boy . "
" . . . I"ve come to realize many things over the past two years," Lino said, sighing faintly . "And, well, I am almost forty . It was high time I developed some mature side to me . "
" . . . ha ha, it really was . "
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything . " Ella said .
"What do you know about the Dragon Isles?" he asked .
"Anything but that . " she quickly shot back .
" . . . I plan on heading there eventually, so you may as well tell me . But, later perhaps," Lino said, stroking his chin for a moment . "Think about it . "
" . . . will do . " Ella said dubiously, staring into his eyes for a moment before getting up and leaving the same way she came . Lino remained silent for a few minutes, fiddling around with the cup before lifting his gaze and looking into the seeming nothingness in front of him .
"Aren"t you bored already, Master Amadeel?" he mumbled as s.p.a.ce rippled and a man appeared on the other end . He stood there calmly, seemingly unaffected by the fact that Lino found him . "Amadeel . . . Master Rune Crafter . Impressive . Not as impressive as your other ident.i.ty . "
" . . . oh?" Amadeel smiled faintly, stroking his chin . "You are far more perceptive than you let on, young Empyrean . "
" . . . so, why have you snuck into my home, Amadeel?" Lino quizzed, his Will exploding out of his body, covering the entire room . "The First Master of Time -- the Chronos.h.i.+fter . "