Return of the Runebound Professor - Chapter 856

Seleth watched the man known as Tim warily. She didn’t have the faintest damn idea what to expect. Yoru’s plans were unreadable. Tim might have legitimately been some figure from her past, but there was just as much of a chance that he was some poor insect that had managed to escape her web only to find himself trapped right back within it.

There was more than a small portion of Seleth that was half-expecting Yoru to kill the old man on the spot. Maybe he’d stolen something from Yoru some time ago, or maybe he was just going to be some kind of pawn that would be sacrificed to advance whatever Yoru’s mysterious goals were.

It was impossible to tell. But she wasn’t holding out too much hope for poor old Tim. Whoever the man might have been… there was one thing that Seleth was fairly certain of.

Someone like Yoru didn’t have friends.

Not true ones, at least.

The only things Yoru had were tools and goals. Anyone who managed to delude themselves into thinking otherwise had likely already been caught in Yoru’s web and wouldn’t be long for this world.

And Tim didn’t look like he’d been expecting to see Yoru. He was still standing there, his eyes wide in disbelief as his brain seemingly failed to process the information being fed to it. Seleth adapted her mental guess. Anyone who Yoru sought out that wasn’t expecting to find her was probably not headed for a good ending.

 That’s a shame. He seems like a nice old—

“Yoru!” Tim exclaimed in delight as he finally found his voice. His eyes lit up like a child being given a gift they’d been asking for over the course of months. “Is that really you?”

“Do you really think there are multiple of me walking around?” Yoru asked. “I had been under the impression that I was a somewhat unique individual.”

Seleth blinked.

Okay. I misread the situation. How does this random old guy know Yoru? He doesn’t seem that dangerous. Didn’t she say he was going to get forcibly brought before the Prophet?

Tim let out a laugh and strode over to the table. He barely even seemed to notice Seleth as he drew up beside Yoru, extending a hand. Seleth almost winced. No matter how well someone might have known the armless demon, trying to shake her hand couldn’t have been the right move. 

She literally doesn’t have hands when she’s not making them out of magic. What is this guy—

But Tim wasn’t shaking her hand. He reached right past Yoru, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into a hug.

Seleth’s eyes went wide. Her breath caught in her throat. She shrunk in on herself subconsciously. But, to her surprise, absolutely nothing happened. Yoru just sat there. It was several seconds before Tim released her and took a step back.

“I can’t believe it,” Tim said with another laugh. He clapped Yoru on the shoulder. “Who would have thought you’d be here? Delightful! Absolutely delightful!”

“Yes,” Yoru said. “What a coincidence.”

“I’m sure.” Tim snorted. He glanced over to Seleth. “And who would this be?”

“My new attendant,” Yoru replied. She paused for a moment. “In training.”

“Hello,” Seleth said weakly. Anyone who was bold enough to straight up hug Yoru was definitely some manner of terrifying existence. Tim might have looked nice, but she couldn’t even try to sense the old man’s domain within the walls of Aqua Terra. She couldn’t get a read on him at all. He very well might have been a deranged murderer with a kindly face.

“Sit,” Yoru said. “The tea will get cold.”

“With pleasure,” Tim said, still shaking his head in disbelief as he lowered himself into a chair between them. “How have you been, Yoru? It’s been months. Has the time treated you well?”

“As well as it could,” Yoru said. “I have made great progress in my strength. I believe I will soon be far stronger than I ever was.”

“Oh, pooh,” Tim said with a shake of his head. “I don’t care about that, Yoru. I didn’t ask about your runes. That can come later. How are you doing?”

Yoru didn’t respond immediately. That gave Seleth some time to try — and fail — to piece the situation together a bit better.

What is this guy, her grandpa? There’s no way anybody normal would even think about speaking to Yoru like this. But if that’s the case… is he some old monster even more powerful than her?

No. That can’t be it. Maybe he’s just a super sweet old guy that happened to win her favor? If anything, that seems far more likely. 

The hesitation in Yoru’s response lent itself toward the latter of the ideas. Yoru definitely wasn’t scared of Tim. That did lean toward the most logical explanation being that she’d just taken a liking to this old guy and tolerated his antics. Maybe even monsters like Yoru occasionally got lonely.  

 “I am doing well,” Yoru said, finally breaking her silence. “It has been a long time. Perhaps there is more that I wish I had accomplished. But I cannot complain about how things have gone. What of yourself?”

“Oh, it’s been lovely,” Tim said with a wide smile. “But there’s much to go over, and I don’t want to get too carried away quite yet. Why don’t you properly introduce me to your new friend?”

“This is Seleth,” Yoru said.

“Hello,” Seleth said in what she hoped was a confident tone. She was starting to become quite convinced that Tim really was exactly as he appeared — a kindly old man that had someone managed to win even the largely emotionless Yoru herself over.

“I’d love to know more about how you two met, but there’s something I must know first,” Tim said. His gaze turned back to Yoru. “The others. Have you seen them? How are they?”

“They’re fine. All of them, at least as far as I can tell,” Yoru replied. “And yes. I have seen them. Some of them.”

“They’re here?” Tim asked, nearly jumping up from his chair as his eyes lit up once again. His head turned on a swivel as his eyes combed the room. Then a small frown pulled at his lips. “Where?”

“They are not here,” Yoru said.

Tim blinked. “Oh. They’re busy, then? At a home base or the like? How many of us have gathered back up already?”

Us? Is Yoru part of some large group? Am I part of an underground revolution? Oh gods. I hope not. Renewal would slaughter all of us. Even Yoru.

“No,” Yoru said. “They are scattered throughout Aqua Terra. Some have already arrived. Others will likely arrive soon.”

Tim’s brow furrowed. He stared at Yoru for several seconds. Then he shook his head. “I’m not sure I follow, Yoru. They’re… what, all readying for the tournament or something? Do we even really need to do attend it if we’re all here? Surely you can find them like you did me. Even without your domain, your magic must still work, even within Aqua Terra.”

“It does,” Yoru said. “And yes. They are here. They are preparing for the tournament. Separately.”

“That doesn’t make much sense at all,” Tim said. “There’s no way anyone would choose to prepare separately. After all this time… surely, we’d have regrouped if given the chance. What happened, Yoru?”

It was a moment before Yoru responded.

“There has not been the chance.”

 “What do you mean? How is that possible? Didn’t you say you met the others?”

“No,” Yoru said. “I said I saw the others.”

Tim stared at her. Then his eyes narrowed. “Yoru. Am I the first one you’ve reached out to?”

“Yes,” Yoru said. “You are.”

“Why?” Tim exclaimed. “You’re telling me our friends are scattered throughout Aqua Terra and you’ve intentionally chosen not to bring them back together?”

 “I have.”

Tim’s gaze bore into Yoru for several long seconds. Then, slowly, he shook his head. “Why, Yoru? Why would you do that?”

“Because if they meet now, the likelihood of the Prophet interfering is incredibly high. The Disciples calculated incorrectly. We are too noticeable together,” Yoru replied simply. “If too many of us gather, the result is almost always the same. Disaster.”

What does the Prophet have to do with this? Why would she care about what Yoru and her allies are doing? Was my earlier thought about them being some kind of rebellion closer than I’d thought?

“So… what are you implying?” Tim asked. “We can’t meet? Ever?”

“Of course not,” Yoru replied. “My efforts will only last a few more days. It has not been easy ensuring everyone stays off each other’s path, and I have not enjoyed it. But it is vital. Should we meet before the tournament is completed, we will never get a chance to meet again.”

Tim grimaced. “You know, that’s about as good of a reason as any. But what changes?”

Yoru shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Tim blinked. “That’s a new one. Are you not weighing the probabilities to check the future for that?”

“No,” Yoru replied. “I am not. I’m attempting to limit my usage of Moonlit Prophecy as much as I can allow myself to. And I do not need my powers to know that there is no future in which we do not all meet again in a very short while — and certainly not one that I would deign to craft. I have only ensured that we have the greatest chance of that reunion not being a tragic one.”

Tim was silent for a few seconds. “So you’re in control, then? You haven’t had any trouble? Truly?”

“I have… had trouble,” Yoru admitted reluctantly. “It is not easy. The temptation to control more calls to me. But I have refused it. I only avert the greatest disaster. The rest of the future remains clouded to me.”

A smile pulled across Tim’s lips. “That’s good, Yoru. That’s good. You can’t know everything the future holds and enjoy it at the same time. It’s one or the other. I’m sad to hear we can’t meet with the others yet, but if it’s only a few more days… well, I’ve waited this long already. I can wait a bit longer if it means everyone will be safer. You’re going to have to explain that to everyone when we meet again, though.”

“I know,” Yoru said. “But I do not regret my decisions. They were my own.”

“Then that’s all we can ask, isn’t it?” Tim asked.

Seleth shifted in her seat, taking a sip of tea to hide her features.

How did Yoru end up making friends with such a nice old guy? They’re practically polar opposites.

“I suppose it is,” Yoru said. “What of you, Tim? I have not weighed you. Or any of the others, for that matter. Violet told me that it was rude. But now I lack understanding. It makes me uncomfortable, not knowing things. But… it is also fascinating. I am eager to learn. That part is still new to me. I think I enjoy it.”

“That’s exactly how it should be,” Tim said with a wide smile. He took a small sip from his own cup of tea. “And I have been very well. I’ve discovered many wonderful things in my studies. I believe I have made a rather major breakthrough in my understanding of Spatial Magic.”

“What was it?” Yoru asked.

“I was experimenting with synchronizing spatial frequences to ease in teleportation between certain areas when I made a bit of a happy mistake,” Tim said, lowering his voice and leaning in conspiratorially.

“What kind of mistake?” Seleth asked, unable to help herself. Something about the way Tim spoke made him impossible to turn away from. The passion in his voice was just so evident that it seemed to seep into the very air. He almost had the air of an artist, a man who loved his craft so much that he learned purely for the sake of learning.

“I was tapping into a concentrated area of Spatial Magic near the edge of this Empire when I accidentally tore open a portal to the Damned Plains.” Tim said with a wide smile that didn’t fit his words in the slightest. “That shouldn’t have been possible, of course. Our planes aren’t that close, and I’m not nearly strong enough to open such a portal. At least, I shouldn’t be. But our new running theory is that our planes are stitched together, as if by hand. There are portions in which the connection is closer, making it easier—”

“Wait,” Yoru said. She raised a hand. “Our? What do you mean, our?”

“Oh, yes. I let myself get carried away.” Tim gave her a sheepish grin. “I believe I met one of your friends, Yoru! A very nice Archdemon. He helped me stitch the portal back up so we didn’t draw too much attention to ourselves, and now I’ve been showing him around Obsidia. It’s been great fun having him in my head. We’ve had some very good conversations about magic.”

The smile on Seleth’s face faltered. She was pretty sure she’d just misheard Tim. Beacause, if she hadn’t, she was pretty sure he’d just implied that he was possessed by an Archdemon.

“You’re possessed?” Yoru asked sharply.

“What? No,” Tim said. “Of course not. I invited him along for the ride. That’s not possession. And don’t worry. I sectioned off a portion of my mind. It wasn’t easy, but he doesn’t control me. And he’s promised to give me a tour of his castle in the Damned Plains at some point in the future.”

Seleth stared at Tim. Her recently formed conceptions about the old man were starting to melt away. He had an Archdemon riding around in his head, and he found the idea of that amusing.

By the gods. He’s a madman.

“Who?” Yoru asked sharply. “Who is it?”

“Give me a moment,” Tim said with a knowing smile. “You can speak to him yourself. He said he’s very eager to speak with you after all this time — but I’ll let him say the rest himself.”

Tim went stiff for a moment. Something passed behind his eyes. And, in that instant, something in the air around him shifted. It became colder — older. Much, much older. Then his lips twitched. They pulled into a knowing smile, a darkness blooming to fill his gaze.

Yoru’s back went stiff.

All the sound around them on the patio evaporated. People were still talking and eating and walking around, but it was like their little table had been carved right out of reality. Somebody had put up some kind of spatial barrier to prevent anyone from overhearing them — and it had been so subtle that Seleth hadn’t even felt it go up.

Goosebumps prickled across Seleth’s skin.  

“Hello, Yoru. That is what you go by now, is it not?” Tim asked — but the voice wasn’t his. There was a quiet authority within it, as if they were speaking to a king rather than a man. “And it seems your Rune is no longer in control of you. Tim has told me much. I’m thrilled to see that he wasn’t exaggerating. And I must say… what a pleasure it is to see you surprised.”

“How?” Yoru asked. And even with the mask covering her face, Seleth could tell that she was staring in disbelief. “Have you hurt Tim? If you have—”

“Of course not,” not-Tim replied, sounding genuinely affronted. “Who do you think I am, Yoru? I’ve thought quite highly of Spider’s party for some time. We owe them a great debt. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. You’ve introduced Tim to your compatriot. Why don’t you do the same for me? I’m quite eager to meet these those who are shaping your new life.”

Seleth’s hair stood on end. Someone was actually giving Yoru orders. That wasn’t going to go well.

But, to her disbelief, Yoru inclined her head slightly, slowly, as if still unable to process what was happening.

What demon could possibly be powerful enough to make Yoru react like this?

“Allow me to introduce you. This is Seleth, my attendant.” Yoru turned her mask to look in Seleth’s direction. “And Seleth… before you sits the Lord of Death and greatest of all demons.”

“Oh, please. I don’t need the flattery or dramatics,” not-Tim said with a small laugh. “You can call me Sievan.”