Chapter 573: Disturbed Connection

Everything changed after the merge for everyone. However, the person who loaded the gun and shot himself in the head was none but Arthur. His enemies have turned to friends, and some of his friends turned to enemies.

Arthur had the mind to awaken the memories within him, but Gaia gave him a warning. The memories were overwritten to protect him and avoid having multiple personalities. However, Arthur was experiencing someone else's feelings even without the memories.

It might have been because of his powers of creation, Arthur was not built for emotions or childhood trauma, but none of that mattered. Arthur admitted that feelings were hard to form for him. It was if he was watching a movie for which he had no relevance.

This dissociation from reality was not severe, but it left Arthur feeling numb except for a few occasions and towards a few people. This imbalance left Arthur overcompensating with the things he did have feelings for, making even the foreign feelings within him stronger with each day.

"This is getting out of hand," muttered Arthur while leaning back in his chair. The person Arthur hated before was now arranging the robes of his friend, Li, and turned to look at him as she heard his words. "I am not talking about you."

"You better not be," Julia humped before tying the belt around Li's robes.  "This is enough for a disguise, but you need to take off that mask to blend in. I can sneak you as my attendee, but not with that mask."

"I cannot remove it," said Li with a frown. Arthur realized that even in the Spirits Realm, Li had no face. This might be a rebound of his Stars Reaver manifesting as a wooden mask without any features.

"I will handle that," said Arthur as he jumped from his chair. "However, you need to leave first. I am about to do the unspeakable."

"The unspeakable is kicking me out after I helped," she replied with a frown, but Arthur did not cave in. In the end, she sighed before turning toward Li and nodding. "I will wait outside."

Arthur watched her leave before turning to his friend. Li might not want to reveal his face or just be unable to, but it would draw attention in either case. This meant that he needed a face to blend in with the runemasters. 

"I will use the same runes I used to create this face," said Arthur as he tapped his cheek. "I will let you choose what you want to look like."

"The most ordinary face will do just fine, my lord," jumped Li on the chance to call him that embarrassing title. However, Arthur was used to it after Runera. "My gratitude is eternal."

"You can have your face if you want to," said Arthur with surprise, but Li shook his head. "Is it unordinary?"

"Very much so, and I believe that many will hate it. Let me be an average person, please," said the ancient man with a slight bow, and Arthur could not refuse his request.

"We are done," smiled Arthur. Li tilted his head in confusion before Arthur pointed at the grand mirror on the far wall. Li saw an average but kind face staring at him as he looked at himself.

"It did not take a second, even," gasped the ancient man before turning toward Arthur. "You are not just a sorcerer but an omnipotent god. Forgive my doubts, my lord," said Li as he knelt.

"I am not a god, and if I ever become one, then kill me."

Arthur waved his hand before he walked away toward the door. Li rose from his stance, but the awe in his eyes could be felt even through the disguise. It made Arthur uncomfortable because it alienated him further from humanity.

His reality manipulation had very few limitations, as he could write any runes as long as he could think of it. This was his reward for learning the world's language, but it came at the cost of Runera fighting Kar.

His power might have become omnipotent and all-reaching, but he lost too much for them. Arthur opened the door, and Li walked out to meet Julia, who would arrange for him to join the exploration of the ruins. Furthermore, his house would be next to Arthur's if Mistletoe attacks.

Arthur watched the two leave with Julia touching Li's face, awed by the craftsmanship. Of course, it was nothing but an illusion, but it was very close to reality and would be very hard to see through.

Arthur retreated to his room and sat down as he closed the door. The voices of investigators from outside were bustling through the city as countless reporters flew over to Runera to cover the event.

Arthur allowed his consciousness to drift and expand until it covered Runera entirely. His eyes opened, and the people inside Runera felt a shiver of being watched. Arthur's mind went into overload as he found every soul living inside Runera.

Then, he found his target. Arthur disappeared from his chair before appearing on the balcony of a house in the city's far end. A figure stood alone as they stared at the bustling streets of Runera, who turned when Arthur arrived.

"I apologize for interrupting the lonesome evening," muttered Arthur with a smile as the bony mask looked at him. "Whose face lies behind the mask?"

The Ghost Ruler stared at him silently before turning back toward the city. Then, a breeze made their robes flutter before the figure disappeared. However, Arthur teleported after them to appear on the divine tree.

"You cannot outrun me," he smiled while walking toward the ghost. "I know that we know each other, but your mask seems to block my insights. Who gave you the artifact to control Runera?"

The bony mask stared at him silently before his body began to disappear. However, Arthur used his insignia to stop the disappearance, and the ghost staggered backward. Arthur kept his hand raised toward the figure, and the black light surrounded it.

"There is no teleportation anymore," said Arthur as his face grew colder. "Tell me, what are you hiding from me?"

The figure stared at the black light around it before he reached out and grabbed it. Then, the light disappeared, as a message appeared in front of Arthur from his legacy.

[The connection to Holy Crown has been disturbed.]

Arthur stared in shock at the message before he looked back at the figure, but it was gone. As he shook his shock and rushed forward to follow after him, the runes that connected the two places disappeared.

Arthur halted his steps before closing his eyes to retrace the Ghost Ruler, but he failed to find them. Instead, his eyes opened slowly in confusion as he stared at his hand. What just happened was never within his expectations, and it made little sense to him.

"The Ghost Ruler disturbed my insignia," he muttered with visible confusion. "That should not be possible. The Scholar Guardian created the Crown, and it exists in a separate realm."

Arthur tried to calm down before he analyzed the situation. The Ghost Ruler did not seem hostile, but they tried to postpone the runic exploration and endanger Arthur's secret by sending him to meet Mistletoe.

"It knew that I was going to meet Mistletoe there, and it knew that Sier would suspect me. However, knowing this much, it is almost as if that ghost warned Sier about me."

Sier was acting within normal, but Arthur did not know the truth of what had happened before. If the ghost warned Sier about him, it explains how things deteriorated and why it sent Arthur to meet Mistletoe.

Arthur could not decide if the Ghost Ruler was an enemy or a friend. If it had the power to disturb one of the strongest artifacts in existence, then it must have the power to threaten Arthur.

There was nothing that he could do here. As he was about to teleport back, Arthur felt space get locked around him. Lights shone from the surrounding area as several figures appeared around him.

"You will regret any resistance," said a man wearing a helmet and full body armor. The eyes staring behind them were focused and determined. "We need to ask you to accompany us by the power given to us."

Arthur had the mind to break through the locking array, but it was too overpowered for his Reality Manipulation to work. This was the joint effort of thousands of runes, so there was very little he could do other than raise his hands.

"I got lost," said Arthur with a smile. "This spot is great to find a way back, don't you think?"

"It is indeed, if not for the city being under lockdown," said the man as the others aimed their artifacts at Arthur. "Send him toward the interrogation room."

Arthur stared at the runemasters while realizing this was another trick to obstruct him. This Ghost Ruler did not just run away but used his artifact to activate the imprisoning array and notify the guards.

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