Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 902: Leftover from the Heavenly Tribulation

CH0902 Leftover from the Heavenly Tribulation

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“Indeed.” Uthvaazgol confirmed. “You serendipitously created an entity which is both a highly mutative viral form and a Runic Construct. Then, you instructed and enabled it to integrate, obtain, digest, and absorb genetic information from other beings it consumed. Afterwards, you instructed it to process the genetic information it obtained and digested so you could understand it. But you soon became unsatisfied with its results, so you had it undergo a mutative metamorphosis to ‘improve its ability and use to you’.

“During its metamorphosis, your Heartwood Tree decided to feed it Emotional Energy/Divinity, an energy form that pushes the user towards the ideal of the source. Since the Emotional Energy was stripped and ownerless, the source became you, to whom the receiver was bound. Now, think: what did you, the source, view this AVA of yours, the receiver, as? Was it not as a construct which could deduce genetic information back to the source?

“If this was all, it wouldn’t have been a problem, as you wouldn’t have gotten far. However, you, the Source, came to evolve your Class to have the power to ‘comprehend’ any Glyph under a Natural Order you find yourself in. Not long after, you came to understand that genetic information was actually a form of Glyph system in itself, meaning it responds to a Natural Order…”

“Wait!” Alex suddenly raised his hand to stop Uthvaazgol. “Master, are you saying that the comprehension and the changes in my Class bled back into AVA, allowing her to comprehend something she shouldn’t have?”

“Comprehension affects thought. Thought shapes belief. Belief moulds faith. Once you comprehended the relationship between genetic information and Glyphs, the roadblock that should have stopped this AVA of yours from deducing further broke down.

“An entity which is both a mutative viral form and a Glyph form. Once the viral form could go no further in deducing the nature of the genetic information, its Glyph-form nature took over, deducing the information back to the origin of all genes… all life—the Origin Glyph that holds up life and existence.

“It caught sight of it, and as part of the nature of your Class, sought to copy, understand, and control it. However, how could a puny entity that is neither a Construct nor a being hope to comprehend or control an Origin Glyph? As a result, it was left with a mere fragment. However, this fragment has elevated its life potential.

“Your AVA is now a Transcendent-potential Construct.”

“Transcendent? No wonder…” Alex muttered. “No wonder the Heavenly Tribulation was so powerful and set out to wipe her out.”

“Powerful? Wipe her out?” Uthvaazgol laughed. “The Heavenly Tribulation you faced, for a Transcendent-level tribulation, wasn’t powerful at all. Even calling it weak wouldn’t do it justice. And if it really intended to kill you and AVA, it would have done so.”

Uthvaazgol pointed a claw at Alex.

Suddenly, the space around him froze, and strong suppressive pressure descended on him.

“Master…?” Alex called out with difficulty.

“Stay still,” Uthvaazgol replied nonchalantly. “Out you go.”

He said it playfully, pulling back his claw as if using it to pull something out of Alex.

Shockingly, a golden spark was pulled out of Alex’s body.

When Alex saw the golden form at Uthvaazgol’s claw tip, his eyes shrank in horror.

“Tribulation Doppelganger!” Alex shouted, pointing in horror at the familiar figure.

However, the lightning figure which was modelled after his appearance didn’t show any response to him. Instead, it just stood there, hollowly gazing into the distance.

It was as if it had lost all the spirituality within it—and had none of its own.

“The Heavenly Tribulation planted a weapon within me?” Alex said.

“You think too highly of yourself,” Uthvaazgol replied, amused.

He waved his claw away, and the Tribulation Doppelganger flew back to Alex, standing meekly by his side.

Alex immediately stepped back, a spell formation quickly forming in his hand as he readied himself for a fight.

However, the Tribulation Doppelganger didn’t pose for a fight. It just walked over to him and stood by his side.

“What is going on?” Alex said in shock.

“The Heavenly Tribulation didn’t leave that behind to harm you. If it wanted you dead, it had no need for such tricks. That is just an accumulation of Tribulation Lightning left in your body, unabsorbed by it. I just coalesced it for you.

“Think of it as similar to that Primal Origin Flame of yours,” Uthvaazgol stated.

“Will it back into your body,” he instructed.

To Alex’s surprise, when he willed the Tribulation Doppelganger the same way he did AetherKindle, the doppelganger turned into a beam that went back into his body.

Also, now that he was aware of the doppelganger’s presence, he knew what it did—refine his physical body and strengthen all his lightning-based abilities, even impacting the Furor side of his bloodline.

Fortunately, the effect on his bloodline was minimal, and Alex could move AetherKindle to do the same for the Auramir side of his bloodline, thereby keeping the balance.

‘Can I use it for a lightning-based Spirit?’ Gears went off in Alex’s head.

But a moment later, he shook his head and chose to focus on the discussion at hand. Then again, he couldn’t help but pull back his concentration as Uthvaazgol continued to speak.

“As seemingly dangerous as the Tribulation Lightning seemed, it was still a test to see if your construct should be kept alive or if it was an anomaly that should be removed.

“By the Natural Order, only those who have entered the Realm of Mythos may come in contact with the Origin Glyphs. Meanwhile, you have designed your AVA as an extension of yourself and your authority.

“Therefore, though AVA is an anomalous existence, she didn’t completely break the rule of the Natural Order, but she didn’t completely abide by it either. Though she is an extension of yourself, she is still a third party,” Uthvaazgol explained.

“If you had not stepped up to defend her so fiercely, proving that you willed her existence, she would have been wiped out by the Heavenly Tribulation,” he added.

Alex thought back to the battle with the Heavenly Tribulation doppelganger. The Heavenly Tribulation was very systematic in wiping AVA out.

However, looking back retrospectively, it seemed the Tribulation’s determination to destroy her may have weakened over time as he fought to protect her.

Due to the tense moment, where every moment counted, he had failed to notice this subtle reality.

‘Looks like Master is right. The Heavenly Tribulation might not have been determined to kill AVA and me after all,’ Alex thought to himself.

Alex’s mind went back to one other matter.

“Master, you said seeing AVA made you realise that I had the potential to, or I have already, stepped into the Realm of Mythos. That means I must have gained the potential prior to her hatching.

“How exactly did this happen?” Alex inquired.

“Your gaze tells me you have noticed the answer already, have you not?” Uthvaazgol smiled.

“My trade with the Universal Natural Order,” Alex replied.

“Indeed,” Uthvaazgol confirmed.

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