A droplet of sweat rolled down Ori’s face as he held the heart, wearing bloody gloves. Sadly, it was not an episode of a serial killer documentary but an experiment he was doing with the Amiens Family.
“You were born for this path, Oriole,” said the head of the Amiens Family’s daughter while staring at him with fascination. “Your research on living matter rivals ours, which will save countless people.”
Oriole felt embarrassed that all of this research was to save himself in a different timeline. However, his death did not arrive because Arthur merged the timelines. So, in a sense, he saved him once again from death.
Life was indeed unexpected. As they were building Runera, Oriole saw the end of their journey in Alka and expected how it would end. The whole world knew the end of that battle. It seemed that everyone accepted their roles, even those who would die.
Arthur then appeared, and Oriole remembers the sad god he witnessed that day. His eyes took in all of them and their injuries, the ones Oriole sustained, and his heart broke. It was then that Arthur made a decision no sane person would do: to erase everything he worked for.
As the girl working with him took the heart and laid it on the runic circle, Oriole wished he could create another body for his friend like he created this heart. It was the saddest that Oriole saw Arthur, and he never showed signs of happiness after that.
Oriole and Arthur both knew that his plan was reckless and that the risks involved might make the latter the true outsider of this world. But, as the runemasters complimented Oriole, he knew that this experience was a gift from his friend, who sacrificed the love he had in that timeline.
“Warning! Please take shelter! An unknown object is flying through the sky of Runera. Please take shelter until this is resolved.”
The announcement array rang in the whole workshop, making Oriole and the rest halt their experiment. The girl skipped over to him, standing a little too close while holding her hands to her chest.
“Runemaster Oriole, we should find a private shelter until this matter is resolved.”
Oriole glanced at her before looking for someone to help him, but most of them had already left. It seems this situation was trained for. Even though he did not want to get ahead of himself, he was sure that this girl had feelings for him.
Arthur’s mention of the article about the forbidden fruit popped in his head, and Oriole found himself upset again. There were discussions about him on the internet that he did not like, and those who wrote never thought he would read them.
A group of fans consisted of girls drawn to his appearance, which has changed a lot in over a year, and to the fact that he was uninterested in them. Homosexuality was not uncommon, but public figures still got attention.
“I was hoping that we can do something a little more daring,” said Oriole with a smile as he untied his ponytail and held it back with a headband. “There should be an observing deck, correct?”
“Ah, yes, but that is for the astronomy research…” hesitated the girl. “We were asked to shelter in case of a warning. This sounds dangerous.”
Oriole knew it was dangerous, but something about it screamed that it was related to Arthur somehow. After seeing his friend get arrested, Oriole was worried sick until Julia mentioned that Grandmaster Casca would help him.
There were very few things he could do in this situation, but Oriole felt guilty for letting Arthur wander around without any memory. Even though Oriole told him what he knew, it was far from enough for Arthur to lead this life.
However, there was nothing that he could do about that because Arthur had many ventures. He knew very few things about him, and Arthur was not the type to share his worries with others. Therefore, Oriole had to play this card even though it made him nauseous.
“Forbidden things are tempting, are they not?” he said with a smile while leaning a bit closer. The girl took a deep breath as her eyes widened before nodding absent-mindedly. “Guide us there, my lady.”
The girl took another deep breath before looking around and holding his arm. Oriole allowed her to guide him toward the observation deck, locked behind encrypted walls. However, as the daughter of a head, the girl was allowed entry.
The observatory was magnificent, as countless arrays of runes captured the sky and projected it to control numerous giant screens. The girl did not wait for his demands before she went and activated it, showing them the events in the sky.
A meteor-like figure rushed across the sky, and the girl twisted her hands to follow it. Oriole frowned as he saw the figure with blonde hair and green eyes, which was no other than Arthur’s disguise. His hunch was correct.
“That is… your friend, right?” asked the girl with a frown as she turned to him. “You desired to come here because you knew about this?”
“I had a hunch that he would get in trouble,” sighed Oriole. “I apologize for using you like that. I am not proud of my behavior,” he gave a slight bow. “However, I still need your help.”
The girl looked at him with a displeased frown before smacking her lips. Her arms widened, and the image zoomed out to reveal Arthur flying over Runera and toward the walls.
“You will have to ask nicely, then. Don’t forget to use my name.”
“Please help me, Miss Maryam,” said Oriole as he lifted his head. The girl was pleased and nodded before changing the angle the observatory was working for, revealing the runic guards gathering in front of Arthur.
“It is admirable that you are this worried about your friend, but he is too reckless. The runic guards are one of the strongest groups in the world, and bypassing them is impossible.”
“He is trying to reach the teleportation stations, but why?” frowned Oriole as he stepped forward. “Is he escaping?”
“An escape should not be this eye-catching,” said Maryam in an intelligent observation. “It seems he is urgent to leave the city for some reason. Urgent enough to fight against them.”
Oriole was silent as he saw one of the runic guards get sent flying after Arthur punched him. There is one reason that his friend was not teleporting, and that would be the space-locking runes. Oriole turned around toward Maryam, looking apologetic.
“What do I need to do for you to help me more?”
“There is no need to prostitute yourself with that expression,” laughed Maryam. “I know that you are not attracted to me as I am to you. However, your most attractive feature is your knowledge.”
“Does that mean you refuse to help me?” Oriole tilted his head in confusion. “I have a lot of money and artifacts if that was what it takes.” Maryam shook her head before pointing at the screen. She was pointing at Arthur, who was talking to the runic guard.
“I want to join Ascent as a runemaster.”
“That is too much to ask for,” frowned Oriole. “Every member needs to be a trusted comrade of ours. We cannot let anyone join.”
“I know that you plan on helping him leave the city, and helping you means that I am risking my life. That should prove we are comrades and proper payment to join.”
“What is the reason that you want to join?”
“You two are commoners without backing, yet you are confident enough to start a guild and oppose the nobility. You are either fools or people with hidden cards.”
“And you are willing to bet on that?”
“Go big or go home, right?” smiled Maryam. “Although there is no home if I’m wrong. What is your decision, Oriole?”
“…fine,” he gave in after seeing the head of the Avens Family unleash his aura. “We need to be quick and disable the runes. There is no Ascent if we fail here, so this better work.”
“Relax,” she smiled before turning off the observatory. “There is no need to watch more of that. Otherwise, we will never get to work. Follow me, forbidden boy.”
The name sent chills down his spine, but Oriole did not complain since she was helping him. Instead, as he stared at her back, Oriole was in awe at how a person he had never noticed suddenly rose to the occasion.
It was another beauty of life that everyone had something to offer in the grand scheme. Oriole was hoping that the two of them would find a way to disable the arrays before Arthur got arrested again.
After they left the observatory, the workshop began to shake. Oriole looked back toward Arthur’s direction before the girl pulled him away. It was a race against time now.
