The Runic Alchemist

"What answers did they come up with?" Damian asked, leaving the debate of the advancements of a civilization for another day.

"Dungeons.. Analyzing all that we could figure out, I would say they are a call for help."

Damian stopped walking, turning towards him. The Sun God also stopped and continued,

"It's not just an assumption. When I reached level 800 after slaughtering many gods, the divine gave me an option to make a dungeon. It was titled as 'Leave an Echo of Shattered Hope'. Our researchers and scholars concluded, after seeing the many civilizations' stories being conveyed through the dungeon scenery, that it was a call for help. We just could not figure out how to do this help..

The dungeon core holds the answer — that was the best we could find out. There is something inside the core that could be accessed, whether a specific job or skill is needed, or some tool or greater rank.. Well, it's still a mystery."

Damian remembered one of his talks with Highswords about a ritual involving a dungeon core that could close the dungeon for good.

Was that somehow rejecting this assumed 'Call for help'?

"What kind of options were you offered?" Damian asked, continuing his walk.

"Just three types. I could select any one — a 100-level one for a few nearby worlds, two 50-level ones for more worlds than the 100-level one, and then four 25-level ones which would even reach the faraway worlds. I had to think about civilizations and things that happened to them, more than that I had no control over how the dungeons were made. I didn't even know it worked or not till I met you and heard about this dungeon of yours."

100-level dungeon, nearby world.

So the planet Vidalia and others are near from here?

That would explain why even after 100 years his potions were working. The time difference wasn't as big as between this world and Earth.

It probably was even lower than this world's real-time.

The monsters he had captured and kept in Eldoris could not last 100 long years.

Damian finally reached the enormous body of the Sun God and looked up. The spirit of the Sun God quietly followed his gaze with his hands crossed.

Damian suddenly spoke up,

"You know what I have to do, right?"

The old figure of the Sun God shook his head slightly.

For the guy who had lived centuries, this shouldn't come as a surprise.

"What kind of abomination are you? With the laughable strength you possess, I just can't believe the things I saw you do. But then again.. You have no Overseer's mark around you. That is something I have never seen before either. Are you.."

"Yes," Damian replied. "I am Godless. I have been since my first ascension."

"I shouldn't hold you in the same category as normal ones.. Without a blessing, how much does one even have to work to reach level 200.."

"Ah.. Only the beginning was somewhat problematic, afterward it's just about doing more than others. Tell me one thing though.. How far does an Overseer's influence go for the disciple?"

The Sun God finally looked away from his real form and stared Damian in the eyes,

"Only third rankers and above can resist the psychological and physical control — even that just slightly."

"And the lesser ones?" Damian asked.

"You can count them as a severed part of the Overseer's own body.. Of course, no one can do it for a long time and for too many people at once. Also, once it is revealed, the Overseer's reputation will take a hit and the faith would get weaker, making it harder to control them. Their reputation is everything to them."

Damian nodded. Then, looking to the side, he asked,

"Will they be affected? If I.."

"No. As I said, it's already done."

Damian nodded, then weaving over seven powerful spells, he added,

"Do you want to talk to your.. Children?"

"They already knew I was dying. I left a message for them. Can't reach two of them though.."

Damian released the blood-red core of T'korran from an invisible box and threw it into a waygate opening beside the red Demon, and said,

"Sorry about the last one. I was too late.."

The Sun God sighed but did not say anything more, closing his eyes to communicate with T'korran's reformed lava body.

He must have already had a little chat with Sulthar and all the others.

Damian had to finish the job. In any off chance that the Sun God was messing with them and fed them all the bullshit, Damian had to kill him and see if the waygate to Vidalia truly worked or not.

After the guy had specifically shown his ability to control his waygate spell, this was a doubt that would never be resolved with just words.

Till now, it was just his words Damian had heard. No matter how desperate he might be.. there was always a possibility of being played here. This Sun God might not have done anything wrong to him or his friends.. And it could be called a very unfair and wrong thing to do.

But as the Sun God himself had said — When was it ever fair? Only the strong had the luxury of having a choice.

"I am ready.." the Sun God said at last.

Damian nodded and asked,

"Any way I can make it easier for you?"

"If you had that sword.. Heiuryul had specially made it to kill me. Aimed at my core, it would be devastating."

"Why didn't he finish the job?" Damian asked while making the same five black runic-circle layered spell.

It had been a long time since he used a copied spell without knowing most of its functions.

"Heiuryul cared more for his people than he did for his revenge.. They would have lost their blessings, their faith, if he killed me. He was always too good a person for this world. I wish he was born at my peak.. He would have made a great friend."

Damian nodded at the guy and activated the spell.. Using a massive 400-meter-big solid aura sword to cast the spell on.

The Sun God looked around the massive prison one last time and then closed his eyes, the spirit form disintegrating into particles of golden light.

Damian aimed the enormous sword at the core of the real pigmen Sun God and pushed it with all the force he could give it.

Before it made contact, however, Damian grabbed the six spheres with six mana hands and jumped inside the activated waygate, coming out near Lucian.

He kept the waygate open though till the sword made contact and he felt a massive surge of energy, after which the mana signature of the one and only fifth ranker of this world disappeared.