Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 873: The Dawn of Bedlam

CH873 The Dawn of Bedlam

***

The next day, Alex and Udara left the Sanctuary subspace to return to the Fonterra Manor in real space.

A few moments after their return, the door to the bedroom opened as a weary Zora entered the room.

The blue-haired lady looked like she was about to collapse and was using the last vestiges of her strength to get herself to the bed.

But that quickly changed when she saw Alex and Udara.

She paused for a moment as if noticing something different about the couple. Then, a moment later, it clicked in her head.

Instantly, the weary-looking woman regained her energy—almost as if by some divine rejuvenation—as a teasing smile formed on her lips.

“Udara…” Zora gave her a knowing smile as she gingerly walked over.

Udara felt so shy that she wanted the ground to swallow her.

Just as Zora was rushing over and almost reached her, a film of dark-coloured mana from Udara’s shadow encased her, and her figure disappeared.

Both Alex and Zora raised their eyebrows in surprise.

‘That’s not [Shadow Dash],’ they thought.

Udara’s figure reappeared a moment later, still in the same position. She was looking at her body, seemingly just as shocked by the occurrence as Alex and Zora.

“What just happened?” she muttered.

“Looks like you turned invisible,” Alex replied.

His ruby-red eyes scanned over her body, then looked towards the nearby shadow cast by a wall in the face of the rising sun.

“Looks like you pulled the nearby shadows and wrapped yourself in them,” Alex commented. “It seems your Shadow Realm affinity is already developing new methods for you.”

“Oh…? A new affinity? Looks like your latest work has opened new possibilities for both of you,” Zora said.

She took a seat on a lounge couch in the room and tapped the space beside her, beckoning Udara to sit beside her.

“Come sit. Sounds like you have a lot to fill me in on,” she said, the curiosity and anticipation clear as day in her eyes and actions.

“I thought you were tired,” Alex commented.

“Gossip and stories give any woman energy,” Zora replied without skipping a beat.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Zora pulled Udara over to sit with her. Left with no choice, Alex also sat down, and they told her about the latest tattooing session and the abilities the Rune Set granted.

“Shadow Monarch Set, huh…” Zora muttered. She turned to Alex and asked sharply, “I know Udara is your perfect canvas and all, but you can’t go around neglecting Eleanore and me. We should also get our own Rune Sets.”

“Or else, I will report you,” she added with a playful glint in her eyes.

“Report me to whom?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“To our fathers.” Her smile widened.

Alex shook his head wryly.

Unlike Udara, who seemed about to panic, Alex just shrugged, as he knew Zora was only playing around.

“Don’t worry, milady. This humble knight—no, this humble serf of yours—is already making plans for a grand Rune Tattoo Set. I intend to call it the ‘Ice Empress—no, the Ice Goddess Rune Tattoo Set.ʼ”

“Hmm. As you should.” Zora nodded as if it were a matter-of-fact action on Alex’s part. “But let’s just keep it at Ice Empress. I don’t want anyone mistaking me for a Navi.”

Although Zora’s tone was playful, for a moment, one couldn’t help but notice the disdain in her voice at the mention of Navi.

Still, this wasn’t exactly special, as almost all of Alex’s expedition party from Pangea, and a significant number of his domain’s top brass, harboured a similar disdain.

Udara soon mentioned that she had told Alex her story.

“Finally! Do you know how hard it was for me to keep quiet about it?” Zora was genuinely happy for Udara, as she felt her ‘sister’ had truly taken an important step towards putting the shadows of her past behind her.

“I see… So, you two decided to celebrate the day by soaking the bed, right?” She winked.

Udara blushed.

“I now understand what you and Sis Eleanore have been going through, big sis. I don’t think any of us can keep him under control alone,” Udara whispered to Zora—or at least, she tried to.

However, with how close they were, there was no way she could whisper without Alex hearing.

“You naughty girl.” Zora patted her arm before breaking into laughter.

Especially since Alex had a smug grin on his face as he nodded to himself.

Indeed, he was undefeated in singles matches in his bedroom battles with his wives, having bested all three of them.

Between his lustful Auramir side and the balancing Dragon essence, supported by his domineering Furor side, Alex was seemingly undefeatable in the bedroom, with his streak only being challenged when he battled Zora and Eleanore together.

Zora gave him a challenging look that echoed her confidence in claiming victory now that they had a new partner on their side.

Alex just smirked.

‘No matter what happens, I am still the winner,’ he thought to himself.

After all, win or lose, he knew the vast majority of men—whether from his past or current life—would wish to be in his shoes. So what did it matter if he won against his wives? He had already ‘won’.

After a short banter between them, Alex turned to Zora and asked,

“How is the domain? Can it survive our absence for a while?”

“It can. We already have solid people in place to manage things in our absence. Between Saul, Kron Belloc, Milton, Rosa, and the other top officials… they might not be able to push the development of the domain as much as us, but at least they can surely hold the line in our absence,” Zora assured.

“What about you, Udara? Do you have any projects in the works?” he asked.

“Nothing that can’t be handed off. I would have liked to hand them off to Silver or Havel, but Sinia would do a good job of things,” she said.

“Havel?” Alex gave her a sceptical look.

“Yes, Havel.” Udara chuckled, understanding the source of his scepticism. “He handles his job quite well. He might not go the extra mile beyond what is needed, but his results are always solid.”

She glanced at Zora briefly before turning back to Alex as she said, “I actually think giving him a more stable role will benefit the domain greatly.”

“I concur.” Zora also nodded in agreement.

“I will think about it,” Alex said after listening to them.

“Anything else?” he asked the two women.

Zora gave him a quick rundown of the affairs of the domain that needed his input, which Alex promptly provided.

“I guess with that, we can start preparing for the journey back home in earnest,” Alex said.

Just as they were wrapping up, Udara seemed to remember something.

“Oh yeah, there’s something I have been forgetting to mention,” Udara suddenly said. “The Syndicate is planning on making their move in a few days.”

“You mean…” Alex’s eyes flashed.

Udara nodded. “I was informed that Raven Horn will fill you in on the details after they’ve initiated their plan.”

“Hmm… that’s indeed something to look forward to. I just hope they complete this plan of theirs before our journey. I would hate to delay for them,” Alex said thoughtfully.

“I don’t believe it should come to that,” Udara said.

“Let’s hope so…” Alex replied.

Blood Iron City, Hollowcrest Wildlands…

It had been close to a year since Alex and his party left the infamous City of Sins of the Verdantian Plane.

The year’s turn had not brought any remarkable changes to Blood Iron City. It remained the city of ‘free’ trade on the continent—legal, illegal, and everything in between. It remained a cesspool where different forces across the continent—including those who, for various reasons, shouldn’t have been able to meet—had met.

Trades usually impossible because of legal embargos or simple geographical distance continued to mean nothing here.

As long as there was a market and one had the stones to afford it, anything and everything—from the mundane, such as slaves, to even clergy of the plane’s powerful Navi; from simple ores to powerful weapons; from quiet gossip to secrets that could shake empires, and even the entire plane, to its core—could be, and was, traded.

Of course, while it was a known fact that there was a ‘free’ market in the city, and many people were brave enough to trade anything and everything here, those taking part in the truly high-level trades that had defined the city as a free-trade hub were not stupid.

Very few people who had survived in this city and carved out a position for themselves were stupid or crazy enough to trade the biggest and most expensive items and secrets out in the open.

While the major empires and clergy held little to no sway here, everyone still granted them their due respect—the respect rightfully accorded to the strong.

As a result, secret underground trade centres existed behind the scenes even in the chaotic and black-market nature of Blood Iron City, each owned by a major power on the continental board.

Unsurprisingly, the Black Scar Syndicate, perhaps the largest syndicate on the plane, also had one such centre in Blood Iron City—Bedlam.

A large centre of trade where no rules existed beyond the rules of supply and demand, as well as the authority of Berserk Stones (shards were worthless here).

Even amongst the secretive centres of Blood Iron City, there were only a few that seemed to completely disregard the face of the deities of the plane. Bedlam was perhaps the most significant of them all.

And, as a case in point, on this day, Bedlam was playing host to the reveal and sale of a product that threatened to change the course of history as it was known.

The product was a simple cure. Yet, it threatened to challenge the course of history, the authority of the deities and their vast empire, while at the same time potentially nurturing the ambitions of those who previously dared not profess them.

Should the sale of this cure go as planned, Bedlam would prove an apt location for the sale. For this cure threatened to throw the world as it was known into chaos, lawlessness, and madness.

Essentially, the world would become… Bedlam.

***