The Runic Artist Chapter 15: Chapter 333 - Beneath the Waves

Read chapter 15 of The Runic Artist by Ellake on NovelPedia.

Chapter 333 - Beneath the Waves The salty winds caressed Nate’s face as the portal closed behind him. Searching the horizons, he could find nothing but a deep blue ocean in every direction. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone. The Eternal River Sect had seen fit to send with him a guide. Someone who had a vested interest in the world of Deep Blue. “It feels good to be home after so long,” breathed Lady Ocean, her eyes closed as she drank in the spray of sea salt from the swells that raged below them. The Gravity Rune painted into Nate’s Regalia kept him aloft, his robes in the colours of green and blue, mostly because he felt like mirroring the world he had been sent to. As for Lady Ocean, the waters below answered her commands and she stood on a rising spout of water that looked like a liquid pillar. The water within only stirring slightly, rather than looking like it was being constantly pumped up to keep her aloft. “Crastor mentioned that,” commented Nate. “You were born on an archipelago, right?” Lady Ocean smiled. “It was paradise. Beaches all around and every island a little different, so it never grew boring. Mountains to scale but always within sight of the sea. Volcanic-type paths are actually quite common among my people, because the small islands we lived on were made from their eruptions and, even now, more erupt beneath the waves. But it was the water I was always drawn to, deeper and deeper. My father said that eventually I would dive too deep and some lurking leviathan of the deep would gobble me up. In the end, even they bowed to my connection with the Ocean. What about you? What is your home like?” Nate considered his answer for a moment. He debated for a fraction of a second talking about Earth and how the world he had been born on was a mixture of the Starbreaking Guild and Flux Industries. Where technological development and mercantile capitalism had walked hand in hand. How he had hated it, feeling stifled by a society that didn’t value him because his interests and desires held little value to them as a whole. But in the end, he decided to speak of his home, of Galle. “Kiri and I came from a small town on the edge of a country that spanned hundreds of kilometres. The forest where we first met was both dangerous and beautiful, with untamed beasts hunting and gorgeous sights that I still paint to this day. Her parents welcomed me into their home and, while they’re not my parents, they do treat me like I am a beloved nephew, which is more than I could have expected. The city where we first rose to prominence is actually on the shores of an ocean and its sandstone buildings are filled with the smells of the salt on the wind and roasting fish caught in their nets.” “Our mentors are still there, in that same city, carrying on tasks for us because, at some point, they changed from being mentors to being partners and friends. The company we built is likely changing the face of our world, hopefully for the better.” Nate paused as he thought of Britt and, for a moment, wondered how she was doing. “That look, it was bittersweet. Something missed or lost?” asked Lady Ocean. “Just a hope that I am not making a mistake,” replied Nate, dodging the subject. “Now, how do you want to go about this?” Nate indicated the area around them and the waves below. “Belori does not bother regimenting or controlling worlds. He simply frees his beast hordes or one of his Beast Kings and their factions onto a world then collects his tribute from them. There are only two Beast Kings that might make their home on Deep Blue. And only one is likely.” “Khar’a’kan,” answered Nate. “The Velipid Beast King.” Crastor had, in detail, explained all six of the Beast Kings to Nate. Velipids were basically gigantic sharks. There were minor differences in their body shapes compared with the great ocean predators of Earth, but not enough to bother remarking on them. What made them dangerous however was that they almost always bore an affinity for Water and Sp