Duality of Shadows-Chapter 940: Convocation

After confirming Isla was fine, the dwarf nodded, signaling he was leaving. "Mira, you need to rest well. If you manage to sleep, you’ll recover faster and better with my rune seal. I’ll come back tomorrow, and we can talk."

He spoke gently and then approached the golem. As he reached for the tablet, Mira quickly stopped him: "Wait."

She looked deeply into the golem’s eyes. Then, she couldn’t look away or find the right words. A unique sense of familiarity bloomed within her.

Alm and Bruno were taken aback by this. After all, they had spent very little time together in the past. They were childhood friends in that life, and if you added it all up, they hadn’t even been together for thirty years. That was nothing for a cultivator. Still, her instinctively remembering them was surprising.

’Don’t get any weird ideas, idiot,’ Alm cut off Bruno’s strange thoughts. ’Did you forget she used us and refined our divine soul? She absorbed our soul to nourish herself and improve. Obviously, it left a mark on her. It’s more like a part of her is like us... like a relative with the same blood in their veins... wait, that sounded kind of weird...’

"You... my name is Mira. What’s your name?" The woman they once knew as Isla revealed her current name, giving them a thoughtful look.

"Does it matter? I was born from the nameless earth, then got plenty of names from different people. You pick: Denil, Goku, Bruno, Alm... doesn’t make a difference..."

Hearing the last name, something inside her seemed to unsettle her even more. Seeing her reaction grow stranger, the golem turned to the dwarf, a little concerned, but the dwarf remained calm and equally intrigued by her curiosity.

Most people in his position might feel uncomfortable or react badly. But he seemed secure in himself. Perhaps, even if she didn’t want to stay with him, this dwarf wouldn’t act out. As long as she was happy, that would be enough for him.

"Let’s go. She really needs to rest," the golem said softly, and the dwarf nodded in agreement.

The two gave one last glance at the confused woman and then vanished.

At the queen’s castle, all movements were carried out using the spatial laws tied to the tablet. The castle’s formation was its greatest defense; everyone was required to use only that, never their own spatial laws. If anyone tried to use their power, the formation would immediately alert the heroes.

Because of this, Alm and Bruno were more satisfied. The castle’s greatest defense, in reality, had become its greatest flaw. If the castle had been at full power, there would have been other defensive mechanisms to block any attempts by them. But now, an opportunity had presented itself.

Back in the underground forge, the dwarf stopped in front of the golem and observed him closely.

"Your talents in the laws of earth are immense. I also saw you manipulating the rune seal, something you’d never seen before... I feel like I’ve found a second God of the Forge. Well then, if you already know everything about the Dao, what’s your purpose here with me?"

It was an obvious test, but Alm and Bruno also wanted to test him. The dwarf’s Dao had been crucial for them all this time; it had helped them immensely. They wanted to see with their own eyes what he was capable of.

"Who in life can truly say they know everything about anything? Both of us are always improving, right?" the golem answered seriously, and a spark lit up in the dwarf’s eyes.

"After fully studying this Dao, we went in different directions to reach new levels. I have my own vision of the world and my own thoughts, just as you have yours. Our work is different. Why don’t we learn from each other?"

The dwarf stared at the golem intently, clearly surprised. An immense confidence radiated from the golem, as if he truly believed himself to be on the same level or even beyond in certain aspects. Yet, there was no arrogance—just respect for the expertise of another forger.

"Great." The dwarf turned toward a furnace. "Right now, I call my techniques: Dao of Spiritual Artifacts."

Alm and Bruno were surprised, and the dwarf briefly explained, showing his techniques. He had actually based them on the Dao of the God of the Forge—one he had created himself—and developed a new path.

He no longer focused on creating conventional weapons; now, his specialty was crafting various and strange artifacts. He used different runic seals, creating unprecedented effects. It was almost like a formation, but shaped into something more physical and unusual.

"I’m testing the use of talismans, or mixing them with conventional formations. I feel like it’s possible, but I haven’t fully gotten there yet," the dwarf concluded calmly.

Alm and Bruno swallowed hard. If he managed to advance along this path and even combined his skills with Ruri and Yue’s, absurd things could be created.

The two, technically, had also forged a new path, based on the Dao of the God of the Forge. They specialized in making weapons, using chaotic refinement and the micro-universe to enhance immortal items.

Meanwhile, the dwarf had taken a completely different route. The dwarves in the queen’s universe were also developing a distinct type of forge, one focused on technology and connecting everyone with Zaimo’s Dao.

Without hesitation, Alm and Bruno showed their spear to the dwarf. He analyzed it, and the sound of his heart beating like a drum was the only thing audible in the forge.

"Gods... you really made something extreme and different."

In the end, the two forgers quickly established a bond of mutual respect. They began exchanging ideas calmly, and time flew by as they discussed.

Eventually, the dwarf interrupted the work to visit Mira. The golem accompanied him and observed the two talking casually, as if they were old acquaintances. Their relationship didn’t seem official, but there was an exchange of glances and a noticeable mutual feeling.

She tried to converse with the golem, but they only gave direct answers without going into much depth, which frustrated her greatly. In the end, she accepted that it would take a long period to get to know him better. She was patient and knew when to step back and take it slow. Maybe that was the biggest difference between her and Ruri.

Through the array, Ruri contacted them. She was already able to use the formation with ease, even without a tablet. Her divine soul had infiltrated part of the formation, inserting many of her runes covertly.

Combined with their celestial soul, which masked their senses, infiltrating the depths of the castle—where the two items of primordial chaos were kept—became simple.

However, other problems remained unsolved. The mission required them to kill the God Gaia, and after that, they had to find a way to escape without being fully exposed. If they failed in this last part, when they returned to the queen’s universe, everything would turn to chaos.

’We also need to find a way to help the people here and the nearby mutants. I refuse to ignore the queen enslaving them and using them mercilessly,’ Bruno murmured mentally during a discussion with Ruri through the array.

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Ruri confirmed: ’There’s another type of formation here, emanating a supreme soul power. I think it’s what master mentioned exists in the other micro-universe. It must be the reincarnation system for the people of this place. It’s all inside the castle.’

Alm snorted dryly; causing as much damage as possible to the queen was essential. If it was feasible to destroy everything there, or better yet, steal everything for themselves, they would do so at any cost.

Feeling Alm’s thoughts, Ruri said: ’Saving the people will just be a consequence. We’ve got to slap that bitch, right?’

’Exactly,’ Alm agreed, satisfied.

After that, Ruri began working with her runes in the formation to infiltrate and further explore the castle. Since the defenses were weakened, the process was extremely easy.

A week passed, and Alm and Bruno began to feel restless and full of doubts about the best method to follow. Until...

Suddenly, a major movement took place in the castle. All the heroes mobilized, and the most powerful figures seemed to go on high alert.

Ruri exclaimed in surprise through the array: ’Master! Anizu said it was a convocation from the queen! The universe she was focused on opening... she summoned everyone because they’re going to invade it!’