"You haven't said a single word this morning. Is there anything bothering you?"
Nathan and Lily's climb towards the crest of Mount Mirra was slow and silent, with Lily skipping forward with excited yet forcefully conserved steps. Ever since the conversation with his mother, Nathan had grown to be much more uncommunicative, drowning in his thoughts instead of reality.
"Sorry?" Nathan asked for a repeat with his head low.
"Nah, forget it." Lily dismissed, "Destination reached!"
Nathan lifted his gaze above the ground, only realising that the seemingly long walk towards the crest was already over at that moment. The mountain itself was not too steep. On top of Mount Mirra was a peculiarly flat mesa with stubby rock pillars replacing the trees present on the mountain slope. The blue radiance above was more vivid than ever, suddenly filling Nathan with a sense of commotion across his body. He was sure that such a feeling was not a work of his mind, but instead a distant connection that almost felt like destiny itself. There were no bases or towers around the area, only a humble yet graceful altar at the very centre.
"Beautiful, is it not?" Lily asked softly.
"Emptier than I imagined."
"It's said to be the divine beings' home after all. If all you see are artificial structures, wouldn't that be disrespectful behaviour for us guests?" Lily explained with her usual lazy voice, "Also, that wouldn't look too divine, right?"
Nathan nodded in agreement. The conference between the Rune Arts Federation and the Indescribable was to be held at noon, exactly an hour from the time now. They had an arguably long moment to enjoy the views at this towering mountain, but Nathan chose to continue devising his plan.
Lily called out to him from the edge of the mesa, "Nathan, come check this out! Once in a lifetime opportunity! Don't get to see it again if you leave."
Nathan walked towards the edge in soporific steps, but the landscape that entered his eyes confiscated his thoughts.
If there was anything more beautiful than dawn and dusk, it was the crepuscular rays that pierced through the clouds and washed over the terrains. From the summit of a mountain, the world stretched out like a map before him, with endless valleys, rivers, and hills that disappeared beyond the capacity of his sight. Nathan Modernson felt powerful, that the winding terrains were all his and his mentor's to quietly embrace, but he also felt so weak, that compared to the grandeur of the world, he was but a speck of dust that mattered little to the scenery.
"This is what Runalond calls 'The Outer Realms.'" Lily interrupted the stillness gently, "These are parts of the world that barely tarnish with time, unlike us humans."
Nathan didn't reply, his eyes fixed on the shimmering river under the converging light between the sun and the sky above.
"Never overestimate yourself. If there's one thing I can teach you apart from Rune Arts, it's this."
Nathan wanted to argue something back, but the infinite possibilities of responses blocked his voice. For the next hour, he sat on the verge wordlessly, allowing both his eyes and mind to venture wherever they desired. For a long moment, he hoped that this serenity would never fade away.
That is, until Lily called out to a figure that appeared from another edge.
Nathan turned around, and he doubted himself about what he was looking at. The "thing" carried a humanoid shape, but with its body and flesh replaced with crimson, rectangular mirages that glitched in and out of existence. Nathan had caught traces of such things before.
Notably, on his mother Viviana Modernson's face, shaded with her fringe of hair.
Everything was crystal clear: this man must be the mistake of the Human Creation Rune Art, the Indescribable.
He walked, or rather, hovered above the ground and floated towards them like a ghost, with no emotions to be seen or felt.
"Ze… Indifannabo…" His voice began hoarse, but became normal after a short pause, "I didn't expect your presence."
Before Lily replied, he dismissed, "No matter, not the first time. Who are you, boy?" He turned to Nathan and asked flatly.
"My name is Nathan Modernson." Nathan stood up and remained politely upright, "You must be the Indescribable."
"I sure am." The Indescribable replied flatly, "Nathan Modernson… I should've guessed."
"That's the boy you are named after," Lily mocked at the side, "Feeling jealous yet?"
The Indescribable wasn't triggered by her insult and replied flatly, "If one has to compare, then he is the one named after me; your version is the twisted one. But that's all meaningless, names are but labels."
"I only feel honoured I can be named after someone like you." Nathan smiled warmly.
The Indescribable paused, at least that's what it felt like had happened; not like anyone could tell by looking at a jumble of blocks.
"You really feel that way?" His voice became softer, "You are far from your mother, Nathan."
"So are you."
"Me? I had a mother?" The Indescribable mimicked laughter, "That's new information."
"As you said, I'm named after you." Nathan's voice was soothing, "That had to mean Viviana saw you as a son, equivalent to me at least."
"That's an interesting way to look at things, but I'm willing to be convinced." The Indescribable wanted to escape from this topic. "Nathan, can I have a feel of your hand?"
"What do you want to do with my apprentice?" Lily questioned suspiciously, "Just warning you."
Nathan lifted his hand without much hesitation and reassured Lily with a soft blink, which was absorbed by the blocks that extended to him like it was swallowed by water. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, or rather, it didn't feel like anything at all.
"Hmmmm… hmm… hm?" The Indescribable pushed deeper into Nathan's forearm as if he felt something utterly ridiculous, "Light and darkness Elemental Traits? And… completely harmonised? How…"
"What!?" Lily exclaimed, "Nathan had completely harmonised Elemental Traits? Why didn't you tell me?" She looked at Nathan in astonishment, upset that Nathan kept this crucial information from her.
"What is a completely harmonised Elemental Trait?" Nathan looked at Lily in innocence and confusion.
"When you awakened your Elemental Trait at the welcoming assembly, what did the colour look like at the top of that… whatever device?" Lily pressed on.
"Half black, half white," Nathan recalled.
"Hmmm," The Indescribable said, "There's no doubt to it… then."
"What's so special about it?"
Lily opened her mouth, but was rushed ahead by The Indescribable, "I'll explain it."
"Question: When a multiple-element Rune Artist casts a Rune Art wielding multiple elements, what does it look like?"
Nathan thought of Clara Marshal instantly and answered, "One rune illustrated by each element, then the elements join together."
"Right." The Indescribable continued, "But have you seen runes that are multi-coloured? Like, half white, half black?"
"Oh… Yeah, I have," Nathan recalled the rune Granny Bella used to stop the ball Krayte launched at him a few days ago.
"That's what a completely harmonised Elemental Trait can do. Skipping the confusing step of combining them and casting Rune Arts that are composed of the two elements through a singular rune. It is a phenomenon that could only exist in two-element Rune Artists."
Nathan widened his eyes in happiness, "So it means a personalised Rune Art is easier for me to make?"
"Not necessarily too much easier, but I guess the effort required is slightly less." The Indescribable approved, "A completely harmonised Elemental Trait isn't too rare among two-element Rune Artists. Data suggests an estimation of a 29% chance, but between light and darkness? That… never existed once, at least on record."
"Why?"
"The Tower of Discovery is dedicated to finding the truth behind Rune Arts, and one of the arguments we proclaim is called the 'environmental hypothesis.'" The Indescribable ignored Lily, who was rolling her eyes in ridicule. "It states that one's Elemental Trait is not what people say to be random, but under the direct influence of the environment."
"Fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, light, darkness. These elements are everywhere around us and can be absorbed into our bodies shapelessly. We believe that a person's Elemental Trait is influenced by what elements we passively absorb in the environment, especially in our childhood, though the varying rate by which different elements are absorbed makes the process seemingly random. Let alone the fact that Rune Arts are being utilised all around us, making elemental absorption even less controlled."
Nathan tilted his head in confusion, not understanding a single word The Indescribable was saying.
"I know it's confusing, but imagine this," The Indescribable's pace slowed slightly, "The elements being absorbed into our body are constantly opposing each other, until one conquers the rest and becomes one's Elemental Trait in their teenage years. This is why sickness is often common among children but not adults."
"Make sense." Nathan approved. This also explains why a person's Elemental Trait is only tested when they are around 16 years old.
"That makes sense? Wow." Lily shook her head.
"But sometimes, it happens that a winner cannot be decided among two or more elements, resulting in them eventually mixing and multiple Elemental Traits being possessed. This is rare, especially for ones with more than two." The Indescribable didn't seem tired of talking about this theory: "A completely harmonised Elemental Trait is when two elements reach a state of complete balance and form a peace treaty to neither interrupt each other nor mix in a blend. An analogy could be that a normal two-element Rune Artist has their two elements sharing one crown as the king of the kingdom, which is the body. In contrast, a completely harmonised Rune Artist has their two elements, both holding a crown each."
"Therefore, you can illustrate runes sharing both colours, as they can be operated at once, but normal Rune Artists' elements have already blended, and thus cannot be separated on the same rune. How they cast their Rune Arts is extremely complicated and requires them to focus on one specific element at a time."
"Yeah, I don't get it." Nathan shrugged.
"That's fine, but you need to get the following: why a completely harmonised light-and-darkness Rune Artist could never theoretically exist."
"Light and darkness are not realistic elements, but projections of something abstract, namely feelings. Light Rune Artists are usually optimistic, yet Darkness Rune Artists are often pessimistic."
"I see, I see, relatable." Nathan nodded.
"Do you see the problem with you? How can someone be both optimistic and pessimistic?"
"Umm… maybe because your theory is made up?" Lily interrupted, but was ignored.
"What about Mirror? Doesn't he share the same Elemental Trait as me?"
"It's possible for someone to have a mixture of emotions, being exposed to both extreme happiness and extreme sorrow in one's life, but to have the two feelings completely harmonised, this is what's impossible. A wall can be grey, but not both black and white at the same time. Happiness and sorrow can blend, but not coexist in harmony."
"Either you grow up in hell and still decide to focus on the beauty of this world, or you grow up in heaven and remain distressed by suffering and corruption." The Indescribable summarised, "Both these scenarios… they are not realistic to mortals at all, not even to those that are not mortals, like me."
Nathan listened; not a single word left his mouth.
To his fortune, the punctuality of the members of the Rune Arts Federation broke the uneasy atmosphere. Viviana Modernson and her fleet of the central forces of the seventh department landed dexterously, her eyes squinting slightly after seeing the two Spireheads surrounding her son.
Lily and the Indescribable turned around, but only one pair of eyes met hers. Not like the Indescribable had any.
A wide smile began to sliver on Lily's face; her usual delightful expression was suddenly replaced with a twisted hatred and triumph.
The officials of the federation rushed forward and formed a protective stance surrounding V, their hands firmly grasping their wands.
"Fall back." Viviana commanded with authority, "I can't afford to have you killed."
Nathan also whispered behind Lily's back, "Please… Mentor…"
Lily laughed, ignoring everyone's reaction. Drawing her wands, she extended her fist, pointing the two wands directly towards V in the centre of the crowd. The latter stood still with her hands calmly resting behind her back.
Just before the tension was too tremendous for everyone to take, Lily's fist loosened.
She dropped the wands on the ground, echoing in the dead silence.
"Not today, Vivi." Lily hissed in satisfaction, "For the sake of my apprentice, Nathan Modernson, I'll spare you this time."
Nathan bent over to pick up his mentor's wands, securing them on Lily's waist humbly and, while he was doing so, shot a helpless yet deliberate look towards his mother.