Fire Mage-Chapter 699: Runeth’s Incarnation

Chapter 699: Runeth’s Incarnation

"Actually, I met your big brother in the world we came from. Want to know more about him and how he’s doing?" Charles asked.

"Hmm? No. It’s been a long time since I last saw both of my big brothers, but we talk every day. I’m just not interested in where they are or what they’re doing right now," Umi answered casually, her eyes flicking cautiously along the rocky sand walls. Then she paused and said, "Found it."

She hurried toward the wall, clenched her fist, and tapped lightly. Seconds later, a section of the wall crumbled and fell away, revealing a mysterious red gem etched with unique rune patterns.

"This is the key to enter the pocket dimension. We need to gather twelve more gems in the maze, then enter the altar room," Umi explained solemnly.

"Oh? You know this trick?" Runeth stopped walking and looked at her. It was one of the few ways to enter the pocket dimension—but he’d never told anyone. Unless someone was truly fortunate, finding all thirteen gems and reaching the altar room was nearly impossible.

Moreover, my incarnation decides who can enter the altar room.

If anyone entered the altar room prematurely, they might be teleported to the other side of the continent—or back to the cave entrance. And one could enter this maze cavern only once every ten years.

"Big Brother Abium told us to collect these gems. Mom was there too," Umi said, clenching her fist and biting her lip. "Those moments were the most precious in my life."

While she spoke, Runeth found another gem, slipped it into his pocket, and stopped at a fork where the path split into three.

"Let’s split up and search," he suggested.

Charles and Umi both stopped and nodded in agreement.

"But be careful. You can’t use your wisdom power here. I set up a complicated security array to protect the pocket dimension," Runeth warned, choosing the center path and moving forward.

"Interesting," Charles muttered.

He took the left path, moving deeper into the maze in search of the gems. The path split again, and without hesitation, Charles used his visions to choose the left fork. Soon, he found a red gem.

For the next few minutes, he roamed the twisting corridors, gathering three more gems before arriving in a large chamber with multiple intersecting paths.

At the chamber’s end stood a tall metallic door inscribed with runes and strange engravings. Charles halted.

"Oh? Looks like you came earlier than I did. How many gems have you collected?" Runeth asked, stepping from one of the pathways.

"Four," Charles replied.

Runeth nodded. "Ah, I forgot—you have the vision skill to find the right path."

He soon stood beside Charles. "We still need six more gems. Let’s wait for the foxkin."

After a few minutes, Umi returned from one of the paths, wearing a sad expression as she handed over her gems.

"I only managed to get three," she said quietly.

"That girl’s luck is surprisingly good," Runeth smiled as he took the gems, then turned to Charles.

"We’ll stay here. You go collect the rest with your vision skill."

Charles didn’t argue. He activated his sixth sense, found the correct path, and plunged back into the maze.

After an hour of searching, Charles returned to the chamber, holding the last three gems. He handed them to Runeth.

Runeth approached the metallic door and touched it. Instantly, the iron distorted and vanished as if it had never been there, revealing the altar room beyond.

"That was the door of the past? So, it never actually existed!" Charles exclaimed in shock.

"Haha, you should know I chose the Historian Class later out of curiosity about ’Past Time.’ I’ve studied it since I was a Tri-Elemental Mage," Runeth said, stepping into the altar room. He walked toward the center altar table, barely glancing at the thirteen stone pillars arranged in a circle.

He touched the blue crystal at the altar’s center, then moved to a nearby stone pillar, placing one red gem atop the iron pot resting there. He carefully set the remaining twelve gems on the other pillars, then returned to the altar table.

Suddenly, the entire room shook violently. Cracking noises echoed as the red gems began to crumble.

Dense spatial energy gathered in the center, forming a crack that expanded rapidly into a large, bluish portal.

"Let’s go," Runeth said, stepping through the portal and disappearing.

Umi and Charles followed immediately.

The three found themselves standing in the middle of a dense forest.

Charles released his wisdom power, scanning every direction, and spotted a few goblins nearby.

"Is this the pocket dimension?" he asked, glancing up at the gigantic sun hanging in the sky.

"An artificial sun? Wow, you actually created an artificial sun?" Charles breathed, surprised.

"That’s a spell from a friend of mine. I made some alterations so it stays in the sky forever," Runeth said casually. His gaze sharpened toward a distant point.

"Teleport."

In an instant, three magic circles appeared beneath their feet, enveloping them in spatial energy. They vanished from the forest.

Moments later, Charles and the others stood inside a 16-by-16-foot chamber. Magical lamps floated around, illuminating the space brightly. Pictures of legendary creatures adorned the walls and ceiling, lending the room a unique atmosphere.

What startled Charles most was the scene’s familiarity—he’d seen something similar in the Hall of Stars.

Countless artifacts, potions, books, and strange materials were displayed inside glass cubes all around the room.

Charles approached a nearby table, inspecting the artifacts sealed within. Though a powerful force blocked his wisdom power, his skill easily penetrated the invisible barrier, allowing him to analyze the items one by one.

"Nightmare Touch... Hand of Midas... Cloak of Destiny..." He murmured, momentarily stunned.

"Some of these artifacts are rare even in Rebirth Tower—"

Before he could finish, Charles sensed a presence behind him and spun around.

Standing a few feet away was an illusionary figure of a middle-aged man, looking equally stunned. The man had blonde hair, amber eyes, a round face framed by elongated thin eyebrows, and a muscular build. He wore a golden robe embroidered with a dragon symbol. There was something familiar about him.

"Old man? Is he your incarnation?" Charles asked.

"Indeed, he is." Runeth’s voice was steady. Suddenly, Umi stepped forward, bowed deeply toward the Incarnation, and lowered her head.

"Thank you for the necklace you gave me back then, Mr. Runeth! Without it, I wouldn’t be standing here today," she said, her voice thick with emotion.

"Oh! Aren’t you the lass who tagged along with that elf?" The Incarnation frowned, then shifted his gaze back to Runeth.

"Glad to see you’re still alive and kicking." He paused, then took a step closer. "Hmm... that’s not your real body, is it?"

Runeth sighed deeply, a bitter smile touching his lips. "A lot has happened since I left Easica World 25,000 years ago. During that time, I fought a Divine and was reduced to this state."

"And what about Zera?" the Incarnation pressed.

Runeth said nothing, lowering his head into silence. The weight between them spoke volumes. After a long moment, two tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.

"I... I’m sorry," Runeth finally whispered.

"Don’t be. Her death wasn’t caused by you, or any of us. Still, you’d better find a way to restore yourself—and get revenge for all of us. After all, our enemy is no one anyone could dream of facing." The Incarnation’s voice was calm but firm.

Runeth’s eyes darkened with anger. "Attacking the Guardian of the Eternal River... If that damned bastard hadn’t been after Zera’s High Elf trait, she’d still be alive."

After a pause, he shook his head slowly. "First, I need to restore my spell models. Is the Spell Matrix Crystal still here?"

"The Void Dragon’s Bloodline Spell Copy?" The Incarnation’s eyes widened in surprise. "You actually replicated that Bloodline Spell into an elemental one?"

"It took me two thousand years to reconstruct and understand it. The spell model is barely holding together after the damage I took during the ’Fake Reincarnation’ process. But as long as I have the Void Dragon’s Spell Model replica, I can rebuild it." Confidence flickered across Runeth’s face.

The Incarnation nodded, weaving past rows of sealed glass tables until he stopped before a gigantic glass case engraved with a golden dragon.

Runeth, Charles, and Umi silently followed, peering inside.

Charles’s eyes scanned the contents: over five items lay within. Closest to him was a black crystalline cube resembling the one he’d found in the meteorite, but inside it pulsed not a fiery orb, but an eerie black, hexagonal-shaped spell model.

He also spotted a vial of blood, an unsettling white eyeball nearly the size of a human head, a crimson egg, and a monocle.

"Although you warned us not to touch the final rewards of the Three Archons, it seems we have no choice," the Incarnation said softly as he approached the case, opened it carefully, and withdrew the Spell Matrix.

"Take this and go back."

Runeth stepped forward and also took the vial and the monocle.

"I’m taking these two as well—the Bloodline Essence of the Void Dragon and the Head Archon’s monocle."