“Mm,” Lee said, eyeing the runes dotting the sky like black stars above her. Her tongue flicked out to wet her lips. “Can I—”

“No,” Grim said. His form was of a well-put together man in a sharp, black suit with a plain white tie that stuck out as the only patch of color upon any of his clothes. “You cannot eat all of the runes. They are being shared with everyone in the tower. You can only take the ones that you need to advance to Rank 4… and by the looks of things, you will need them. This is a mess.”

Lee glanced back at her Fragment of Self. It was the only rune in her mindspace. Cracks riddled the dark ground around her. Her soul was like a shattered plate that had been glued back together.

“I like it,” Lee said.

“Where are your runes?” Grim asked. He glanced around. “I feel pressure — but the only thing here is your Fragment of Self. What have you done to your normal runes?”

Lee scratched at the back of her neck. “Well… they weren’t that great. They had flaws ‘n stuff. So I ate them.”

“You ate your runes,” Grim repeated. Noah’s memories were a little less extensive when it came to the insides of other people’s mindspaces. Not because he didn’t remember it — but because fishing through such things was a bit harder than old thoughts. “And your soul is still in one piece?”

“Can you shit out a rune?” Lee asked.

Grim stared at her. “No.”

“Well, that means the energy is still here. I didn’t break them and waste it. I just… ate it.” Lee waved her hands around. “Like that.”

“There is no like that about eating a rune,” Grim said. “Where did the power go? Runes must be stored within patterns. Without a pattern, the power will dissipate. That is not a flexible law.”

“I think it went into that.” Lee pointed at the Fragment of Self imbued into the center of her soul. The sharp white rune hummed with raw energy. It wasn’t anything like the Fragment of Self that resided within Noah.

While his was a mere representation of himself, a connection between mind and soul and body, Lee’s was something else entirely. Perhaps it was the difference between the Rune of Self of a human and a demon.

Even Grim didn’t know much about the subject. Not one of his memories had ever gone about creating a Fragment of Self in the manner that Noah had utilized. Sure, there were other ways to get a similar result, but this one was unique.

And Lee’s is even more so. Perhaps because she decided to eat her damned runes.

“If you were to eat more runes, would you somehow store their power as well?” Grim couldn’t quite contain his curiosity. “Is there a limit to the amount of extra energy you can seal within yourself without filling up your rune capacity?”

“I think my Fragment is full,” Lee said. “The last rune I ate only gave me a bit of power. The rest kinda poofed away.”

A Rune of Self that can grow? Is it unique to her? Or an aspect of demonic physiology? If I were still able to store runes within myself, I would —

Grim shook his head. This line of questioning went nowhere. As odd as Lee was, he only had one duty today.

“You will need a number of runes,” Grim said with a sigh. “More than any of the others. I think you are technically at the pressure of a high Rank 4 right now, even though you’ve somehow managed to eat every single rune inside of your soul and leave yourself at a theoretical Rank 0. We should attempt to bring you up to a Rank 4 at the very least. Rank 5 if you are particularly—”

“Rank 5!” Lee exclaimed. “I wanna be like Noah. I might need a few extra runes in case I mess up, though. Maybe a dozen of them.”

“I see,” Grim said. “And this isn’t because you want to eat them?”

“No!” Lee shook her head empathetically. Then she paused. “Maybe just a nibble. Runes have a unique flavor.”

“We will start with Rank 4. Should you avoid wasting too much, then we can consider Rank 5 as well. Please do not eat the runes again. We don’t have that many.”

***

“You,” Grim said, staring down at Todd, “need to choose a path.”

“I have a path,” Todd said.

“You have two,” Grim corrected. “You still haven’t decided if you want to be a Soldier or an Imbuer. You walk the line of both, splitting your attention between the body imbuements you’ve covered yourself with and the explosion magic you’ve been developing. Until now, that choice hasn’t mattered. But advancing to Rank 4 changes things. There is only so long you can split your attention.”

Todd was silent for several long seconds. Then he sighed. “What if I want to do both? There are ways.”

“Perhaps there are, but the path you currently walk is not one of unison. It has two branching paths of potential, and unless you change something, you will end with neither,” Grim said. “So what will you choose?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

***

“You seem… familiar,” Sticky said. Her wide eyes bore into Grim, curiosity welling within them. She squinted slightly. “Why?”

Grim didn’t reply immediately. His attention was still taken up by the enormous Master Rune in the air far above them, its writhing form made up of weaving strands like a wicker basket.

Grim had taken on a female shape this time — but something about Sticky’s gaze made it clear that she hadn’t even noticed the difference between his normal form and this one. It wasn’t his body that she was looking at.

She is too perceptive.

“That is of no concern,” Grim said. “There is only one purpose we have today, and it is to advance your runes. What path do you desire?”

“I’m not sure,” Sticky said. “What path should I take?”

“That is not an answer anyone can give you,” Grim replied. “What do you want?”

“I don’t know what I should want. To live, I guess. Can I do that?”

“You are already doing that.”

“Then I’m happy.”

“You will not continue to be happy. There are those who would take what you desire from you should you lack the power to prevent them from doing such.”

“Oh,” Sticky said. “I don’t want that. But I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“That in itself is a path,” Grim said. “Not all ways to power require you to bring pain to others. There are other ways to claim victory.”

***

“Metal,” Alexandra said. “Metal and wind. Show me everything you have close to that. I want to be fast and sharp, like the edge of swinging blade. Nothing else will suit me.”

***

“Stone. Gems. Anything tough, really,” Isabel said, ticking off her fingers as she spoke. “I want to be indestructible. Speed is irrelevant. As long as I can stand between the others and whatever is coming for them, I'll have what I want."

***

“Do you have anything that could help me with perception?” Emily asked, her nose scrunched in thought. “Preferably with some elements of water or ice. Fighting isn’t about hitting the hardest or the fastest. It’s about knowing where to hit. Oh — and James wants runes for illusion. Probably light and water, maybe sound as well? Can you make sure to save him something like that?”

***

“Light, water, sound. Any combination of the three, preferably in lower-tier runes so I can build up to exactly what I want,” James said, any traces of boredom his face normally sported nowhere in sight. “And please save something that helps with perception for Emily. I think a combination of wind and vibration with water might be the best for that. That would let her sense movements really easily.”

Grim let out a snort.

“What?” James asked. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing,” Grim replied. “Nothing at all.”

***

“Nothing,” Yoru said. “I do not yet wish to advance to Rank 7. It will grow my Master Rune’s power, and I have not yet become used to my current runes. I am suitably powerful. Any more strength will remove the control I have fought so hard to achieve.”

***

“Can I just… look at all of your runes first?” Aylin asked. “I don’t know what I want yet.”

“Yes, you do,” Grim said.

“Okay. I might,” Aylin admitted. “Can I still look?”

Grim sighed. “Only for a little while. And don’t even think about trying to take a bite out of me.”

***

“Dunno, Mr. Grim,” Torrick said. “What should I take? Violet always says I should eat more.”

Grim squinted at the tiny demon. This was well out of his expertise. “You are not a glutton. How do you feel about fire?”

“Seems hot.”

“Perfect.”

***

“Water,” Grim said. “So you can put your brother out when he sets himself aflame.”

“Kay,” Edda said.

***

“Lightning runes,” Violet said with a grin. “And metal as well. I was talking to Todd — and he said metal makes lightning do special stuff. I think I want to try that out. It sounds cool.”

“You’re going down a path because a combination sounded cool?” Grim asked.

“Yeah,” Violet said. “If I hit someone really hard with an electric stick, they’re not going to hurt anyone else.”

“Fair enough,” Grim said.

***

“Shadow. Darkness. Night. Any combination of the lot,” Vrith said. “Maybe light as well. I want to be invisible.”

“Original,” Grim said. “Would you like a cape to go with that?”

“Should I have one?”

“No,” Grim said. “You should not.”

***

“If I could really have anything, then I think I would choose poison,” Yulin said hesitantly. “Anything related to poison. I want to augment my sword fighting. Wait. Is using poison evil? Is it cheating?”

“I don’t care,” Grim replied.

***

“Would you happen to have any Space Runes?” Tim asked, a sparkle in his eyes. “I’ve taken a bit of a fancy to them.”

***

It was a bit hard to say if Grim went through the demons and humans one by one or all at once. Time became a bit fragmented when he split his being in this many different directions. Even with all the power that Noah had fed him recently, it wasn’t a simple task.

They were incredibly fortunate that the Inquisitors had kept a number of runes within their archives. After Noah had carved everything to pieces, they had more than enough to satisfy just about every single request everyone had.

Even Eline got some Runes — though Grim didn’t make her a very large priority. As far as he was concerned, the girl was still Revin’s problem.

Time dragged on. Grim spoke a dozen conversations at once, distributed runes at a rate that would have made a noble family weep in agony. And, as much as it pained him to lighten the load of his grimoire, he still pressed on.

This was not a loss. It was an investment.

Noah would fill the pages of his book a hundred times over. A temporary loss was more than worthy for the riches he would soon reap.

More time passed. The strain on Grim’s many minds started to grow heavier as he lost more and more runes.

But, one by one, all over the room, eyes started to open. Power prickled against his senses. Pressure from new combinations coiled through the Transport Cannon in a thick, oppressive fog.

And, only once the very final set of eyes had drifted open, did Grim allow himself one final smile.

His form faltered and faded, energy depleted. Just about every scrap of spare magic he possessed had been spent. There was nothing left to keep him corporeal. The grimoire drew him back into its pages.

He’d kept his promise.

And now, it was time for Noah to keep his.

There was a war coming. And, when it was done, all the runes that laid within the world outside this tiny little fishbowl of an empire would be waiting for them.

Waiting for him.