City of Sin

Boundaries

Despite his powerful memory, Richard could only memorise a thousand-odd runes emitting from the barrier protecting the light. These runes were a new language that could explain laws themselves, ranked far higher than the divine tongue of Norland. So long as he learnt this new language he would be able to pick up new laws much easier.

However, he was currently overwhelmed by the unbelievable power within that light. Everything else aside, the laws of the shield alone were on par with what he was working on with the Godnest. However, this analysis required that he understand the new language, an immensely difficult task.

And all this was only to be able to reach that light!

Richard could hardly imagine just how much power one would need to control such laws, or the expertise required to trap such an orb in this ancient library. Perhaps only beings like the abyssal king or Iskara qualified, but their powers conflicted with this light. Any contact would cause an enormous explosion that could wipe out entire planes.

Knowing he currently didn’t have the power to use that light, Richard looked around and noted some of the runes before examining the other records in the library to try and figure out where Sharon would have gone. After repeated attempts, he found three books and one slate that could be cracked easily, with seven more that he could work on over a reasonable timeframe. This was the limit of what he could read, and there would be no way to start on the rest.

Richard stayed in the library for an entire day, cracking the easiest shields in the hopes that it was a journal or something. He realised after deciphering the laws that he now had easy access to their tomes, able to retrieve them at will. Amongst these books, two explained the power of the elements and one was about the origin and composition of various life forms. It wasn’t of any direct help to his situation, but it did help his laws.

After a quick readthrough, he discovered that the descriptions from the three books were about a kind of law that stood beyond mere planes, comparable to the primordial laws that could give rise to primary planes. As for the book on life, a single chapter boosted his analysis of the Forest Plane’s laws greatly. He mastered six of the laws he was working on in an instant.

The slate was an introduction to the mysterious runes of the shield. It was the language of primal celestials, completely different from both divine and demonic languages in the current world. Reading through it allowed one to master the language itself before moving on to laws.

The three books and the slate would be a challenge to digest in a short period of time, and the seven others would take years. However, mastering the language would make either effort significantly easier.

……

The books couldn’t leave the library, and with a day gone away Richard felt like he had stayed on the demiplane long enough. He went to the library and continued his search, eventually finding the control centre of the place. Most mages couldn’t move theirs, but Sharon had built a system that allowed her demiplane to move freely. The energy needed was astronomical, but with the energy absorbing trees that wasn’t really a problem. The void lacked a lot of things, but pure energy wasn’t one.

Standing next to the platform, he pondered about a lot of things before placing his hands on the two metal balls. His mind quickly linked to the demiplane, and he entered the coordinates of his own before activating the portal. The demiplane roared to life, an enormous portal appearing in front of it. The plane entered the portal and disappeared.

……

A short while after Richard left, a near-transparent being appeared in the void. It looked at the emptiness and grunted, “It should have been here!”

The face of the humanoid tentacle creature suddenly changed, a loud scream ringing through the void as it flew away. In its place was a blue arc that cut off a few tentacles, but the void rippled as it escaped.

Richard walked out of the void with Moonlight in hand, his eyes filled with cold rage. He sneered at the twitching tentacles in his hand, “You still hope to run?”

He reached out and grabbed one of the tentacles, activating the Field of Truth to see streaks of different colour flying away. These were the threads of fate, joining those creatures who were connected in spirit. This was one of the bases of prophecy, a foundational element of magic. The Field of Truth was growing in power with him, and he could already sense the vague movements of laws in the world.

Just as he prepared to give chase, the threads began to vibrate intensely. They quickly tangled up into a mess and vanished, leaving only a few dim strands that pointed in various directions. Richard immediately grunted, his face livid as he realised the half-beast actually had the ability to cut off the threads of destiny. This immediately ended his pursuit; there was no way for him to figure out where the creature went.

The opponent definitely paid a considerable price for this; cutting off the threads of destiny was the same as cutting off a part of one’s soul, greatly wounding one’s existence. This creature had the grit and determination to escape immediately without hesitation, which meant it roughly knew of his power. Such mysterious abilities and a wish to attack him… there was only one such group he could think of.

“Those motherfuckers!” he hissed. This confirmed that Sharon’s sudden disappearance was related to the Scholars, the same bastards who had meddled with his life time and time and time and time again. Those cowards always hid in the dark, conspiring and plotting while acting like fucking saints!

Richard had accumulated a great deal of power and wealth over the years, approaching the top of Norland. However, he still remained unable to track Soremburg Castle, only reacting to their moves. He killed every single Scholar that he sniffed, but that clearly wasn’t enough.

He stared at the empty void for a while before teleporting away.

…….

Sharon’s demiplane eventually appeared right where Richard’s was, the two slowly drawing closer until they were a few hundred kilometres apart at which point he locked them in orbit. His small demiplane then started revolving around hers.

A new option appeared in his mind when the two planes approached: if he so wished, he could merge them into one. However, he shut it down without hesitation, refusing to believe that Sharon could die so easily. He found it much more likely for her to be trapped somewhere that disconnected her soul from her demiplane. So long as the demiplane itself was still moving, she was alive.

If he couldn’t find her, he always had the last resort of the Eternal Dragon. While the old dragon wouldn’t show him where she was now, it could show episodes of the past so he could trace her. The only problem was the hefty price for such a thing, something that even all of his wealth would not cover. As for what form that price took, Philip and Ferlyn were a prime example.

Once the two demiplanes were connected, Richard walked out of the palace and stared into the void. It took a few minutes for him to mutter softly, “Don’t you worry, I’ll show these bastards the price.”