Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 901: Origin Glyph Script

CH0901 Origin Glyph Script

***

“To be a Mythos is an identity of recognition from the Universe. And for this recognition, the Universe itself spreads our myths across the myriad planes within the expanding cosmos in the form of the fates of lesser beings.

“In my long life, I have seen and heard the tales of my fellow Mythos spread across myriad planes in many narrations.

“For instance, there was a particular Mythos gifted in Avatar magic prior to becoming a Myth—each of their Avatars became nigh-fully independent individuals. Although the Mythos stopped using the Avatars after his ascension, these Avatars are tied to his Myth.

“I have seen planes where his Myth shaped the Tribulation of the plane at an important junction. Stories of a Beastly King terrorising a region or the entirety of a plane, only for a hero to rise to defeat this Beast King.

“This is a cliché tale you will find on many planes. But it is actually the Universe using fate itself to retell the tale of the Myth of this Mythos. And if these tales continue to spread in the Universe, using the fates and lives of lesser beings as fuel, then the Mythos can never die.

“Well, unless they want to, and choose to shatter their own Myths,” Uthvaazgol revealed.

“That is possible?” Alex asked, surprised.

“It is.” The Ancient Dragon nodded. “There are individuals who lost their way after becoming a Mythos—especially those of short-lived species such as you humans.

“Their nature was not built for the eternity of a Mythos. They could no longer handle the continuous search for the Truth, and they reached their limit within the Endless Void of the Unknown, and so they ended it, allowing themselves to be consumed by the void.”

There was a melancholy, and a hint of hesitation, in his voice.

Thump!

Suddenly, Alex’s heart skipped a beat.

“Master, are you…?” Alex asked.

Uthvaazgol smiled. He nodded. “You are right. I myself had also almost reached the limit of boredom. However, even if only for a while, I have found something new to entertain me.”

He looked up.

“It is fascinating, isn’t it? We reached the peak of the world where we can no longer die, and the biggest threat to our lives is… boredom.”

“There are times I genuinely wonder if becoming a Mythos was worth it. Were beings of the Universe truly meant to live forever? There is a reason why Death is a Supreme Law, after all.”

“Lower beings seek immortality, while higher beings moan the loss of the gift of death—or at least, the threat and reminder of it. It is quite ironic,” the Ancient being muttered.

He shook his head and turned back to Alex.

“The mystery within our Myths allows the Universe to bind our Myths to fates, spreading our Myths and granting us Immortality,” Uthvaazgol answered the first of Alex’s questions simply.

‘Fates are a series of choices or coincidences that lead to an outcome. If there is a template for the “coincidences” that lead to a certain outcome, knowing the template beforehand removes the anonymity of the outcome. As such, it is paramount for the template to remain unknown—a mystery,’ Alex mused to himself.

This begged many questions in his mind. However, he felt he was pushing the boundary of what he should know.

In fact, he already felt a dreadful sense of unease that he already knew too much.

“The reason why I was able to tell you had entered, or had the potential to immediately enter, the Realm of Mythos was because of your AVA here,” Uthvaazgol spoke towards Alex’s second question, bringing the youth out of his thoughts.

“AVA?” Alex looked surprised.

“The Mythos are not completely lost in the search for ‘Truth’. There has been progress in the myriad eras that have passed since the birth of the Universe,” Uthvaazgol revealed.

He raised his head reverently.

“Thy said, ‘Be,’ and it was,” he recited.

Suddenly, the space shook—ever so slightly, leaving Alex stunned.

Uthvaazgol didn’t look surprised, as if this was a phenomenon he had expected.

“In the Realm of Mythos, it is known that the Creator created the Universe with just words,” he stated.

Then he looked at Alex intently. “If words in their state take a physical form, what would they become?” he questioned.

Alex ruminated over the seemingly simple—even pointless—question. Yet, as he pondered over the question to answer it, he found his thoughts sinking deeper.

The look in Uthvaazgol’s eyes seemed to imply that the answer to the question would reveal something to him. Like the answer was connected to him.

‘Something connected to me… something that is the physical form of a word…’ Alex muttered to himself.

Then, it hit him.

“Glyphs!” he answered.

“Indeed.” Uthvaazgol nodded. “When the Creator spoke, thy words took the form of the first Glyph in the Universe. And it was from this Glyph that the Universe was born.

“One became two, and two became the Universe,” Uthvaazgol recited again. “The ‘One’ in this verse is the First Glyph which birthed everything. This is why every existence is tied to some Glyph system. This is why planes have their own magical or technological Glyph systems.

“The Universe is birthed from a Glyph, and so every existence returns back to its own Glyph,” the Ancient Dragon stated.

His gaze turned to the unconscious AVA.

“You mentioned AVA was reduced to a strange Glyph, right?” he asked.

Alex nodded. “Yes, it was something I couldn’t even begin to understand.”

“Of course it is. After all, it is something even we Mythos scarcely understand. The Glyph you saw was probably an Origin Glyph Script—or rather, a fragment of it.”

“An Origin Glyph Script?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“When the First Glyph broke to birth the Universe, fragments of it reformed themselves to hold the fabric of existence of the Universal Natural Order, just as runes hold up the Natural Order of Pangea,” Uthvaazgol replied.

His gaze turned to AVA for a moment before looking back at Alex.

“This anomaly you so serendipitously created traces its being back to the Origin Rune which governs life and existence, obtaining a fragment of it,” he said.

Horror and realisation dawned on Alex.

“The Tribulation…” Alex uttered. “That’s why the Heavenly Tribulation seemed determined to kill her.”

***