As the Monarch's words sank into Lidien's mind, he nodded gently.

All Rifts had different rules--as far as he knew--created by the incomplete laws of the world that acted like broken Dreamflows, their Cores functioning like Soul Shards.

They purified abstract essences into neutral Verve Stones that could imitate the nature of verve, depending on how it was absorbed.

He knew he couldn't properly communicate inside the current Rift with its unnatural law; the danger within remained a mystery... one that even the Monarch couldn't properly explain, only warning him to be careful with his words.

The good thing was, Lidien could bypass the rules by imagining a single line to trick the light forming from his head and mouth, creating floating text that Alva could read.

Yet, it was more complex to execute than to study and memorize the runes coming from someone's mouth, since processing was far more taxing than observing.

As the nauseating feeling after entering the Dreamflow eased, Lidien stood and slowly approached the Crimson Shard, analyzing the runes of the Blood, Corpse, and Soul Essences engraved upon it.

"Old man... can you share how you made the Blood Rune that could attach itself to someone's Soul Shard?"

The Monarch of Blood remained quiet for some time, contemplating what to say... for even the Blood Rune wasn't his own ability to begin with.

"I can't tell you how it was made, for I was only responsible for writing the runes with my own blood... it was the Corpse and Soul Path's research... that I deemed unnecessary to learn since I could only control Blood."

Without waiting for Lidien's response, the Monarch of Blood wrote the runes using Lidien's blood-like verve, suspending them above the ocean of verve, forming incomprehensible symbols that even he didn't understand.

"This is the Rune... the pattern is complexly different from the Blood Essence Rune attached to your Crimson Shard."

Lidien studied the Rune, rubbing his chin as he tried to memorize each part.

As he raised his finger slowly, a stream of verve silently floated upward, gradually rearranging itself to copy the image of the Rune produced by the Monarch of Blood.

Lidien could only crudely replicate it, as if learning to write with trembling hands.

Seeing his dedication, the Monarch of Blood shook his head and said,

"I don't know what the Rune says... but I know one thing: every stroke has its own meaning... the length, the thickness... the angle... all signify different things. Even if you copy it nearly perfectly, it could lead to an entirely different meaning."

Lidien scrutinized his own work before smiling and said,

"Maybe yes, maybe not... since we couldn't actually tell how it really works, but one thing is certain... those lines, with proper arrangement... evoke a power we couldn't dare to hold... as if it was a program that could bend reality itself, using the Essences as its fuel."

With a sigh, Lidien walked towards the Rift's Core of the Leaden Blood and watched its amber strands now orbiting it rampantly.

"Old man, how many Rifts do you think I could store inside my Dreamflow?"

The Monarch of Blood chuckled; even he during his prime didn't dare store a Rift inside himself for a long period of time.

"Looks like you're really eager to meet the God of Death once more... Well, I haven't tried taking more than one... or, you could teach the woman with you how to store a Rift."

Lidien's gaze flickered, then suddenly dimmed as his smile faded from the realization behind the Monarch of Blood's words.

"She'll die... Her soul wouldn't be able to handle it."

With a final glance toward the Crimson Shard, he nodded to the Monarch of Blood before he was sent back outside of the Dreamflow with a snap.

Lidien's consciousness slammed back into his body with the force of a physical blow. The silent, rune-saturated world of the Rift rushed back into his senses, the disorientation so severe his stomach lurched, producing not bile, but a cascade of sparking, meaningless runes from his mouth.

For Alva, it all happened in the blink of an eye. After she received his command to defend him, he retched just after she nodded... readying herself for any sudden event.

Lidien closed his eyes, stabilizing himself by manually controlling his own blood flow.

Then, another floating text slowly came out of his mouth.

"Follow."

Lidien stood, followed by Alva... as they walked towards the tall tower at the center of the forest.

There was no sound; their footsteps, instead of thumping, produced runes... even the rustle of the leaves became runes floating out from them.

And when Lidien looked back to see the waterfall's sound, his eyes widened from shock.

There was nothing, not even the walls... replaced by an endless sea, each wave producing not the splashing of water but runes crashing against the shores.

His thoughts could only float above his head, forming into runes, as he tried to understand where they really were.

Alva was the same... at first, when she suddenly crouched down, holding her head from the sudden agony, gritting her teeth as she pulled her own hair.

Lidien felt uneasy; he scanned around first before kneeling toward Alva, resting his hand on her shoulder.

As Alva stared at him with her weary smile, her mind suddenly eased from the pain, then she saw Lidien produce a floating text from his mouth saying.

"Count."

Despite the mind-breaking agony, Alva counted in her mind... slowly, gradually... the pain eased, until only a lingering burning sensation remained.

And as she analyzed herself, without daring to think of what had happened to her...

Her eyes widened, staring at her own body, where the faint, luminous lines of her Sparkline--normally a calm, pulsing blue--now flickered a frantic, angry red beneath her skin, before glancing at Lidien's scrutinizing eyes.

Alva tried to talk, but only complex lines formed from her mouth... until she pointed at her shoulders, moving toward her palm deliberately... hoping Lidien could understand what she was trying to say.

Lidien watched her; he noticed the reddened vein-like structure that was familiar to him--an almost burned Sparkline... yet, he hadn't seen Alva do anything, or use an ability that would overuse it.

And with a smile, he raised his hands... till his opened mouth produced a repetitive kind of rune, signifying his laughter.

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