New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 950  Ritual Prepared

As the Major had said, it didn't take long for the airplane to be cleared for takeoff, and after a short taxi onto the tarmac, and a last tower confirmation, she pushed the engine into full thrust and shot forward like an arrow.

The supersonic capable turbines on the plane whirred to life like four angry banshees, pushing the plane forward with enormous force. It wasn't long before the aircraft reached takeoff speeds, and Major Schrute pulled on her yoke, taking to the skies.

Inside the cabin, the passengers were already strapped into their seats, bracing themselves for the imminent acceleration. The force was so strong that it pushed them back into their seats, a testament to the plane's power.

If anyone had been standing then, they would have been propelled into the cargo hold. In mere minutes, the plane was already at its cruise altitude and levelled off, lowering the engine to cruise levels, before the Major pressed the button to signal the passengers could unbuckle.

Alex looked at Killian, who was grimacing in pain, and nodded.

"Alright, let's go."

Killian nodded in response and forced himself up. He followed Alex to the back of the plane, where they rejoined David, who was already preparing things for this ritual to work.

Alex looked at the ground, where a runic circle had been drawn, and frowned.

"The hell is that? Are you trying to summon a demon?" he joked.

He recognized a few of the runes, having seen them before, inside Solomon's ring, and wondered what their purpose was.

"No, you idiot. It's a channelling circle. It'll allow more power to be channelled into Killian's soul, breaking that snare more easily. You should learn this shit, instead of always acting like a blockhead," David said, giving him a stern gaze.

"Sure. Maybe later," Alex lied, brushing the matter away.

David shook his head in disappointment, but ignored Alex's refusal to take him seriously, at least for now.

"Sit," he told Killian, pointing to the center of the runic circle.

Killian also recognized a few of these runes, although not the ones Alex had recognized.

"How will binding runes help channel any kind of power? This is all drawn wrong," he complained, the pain making him irritable.

But David only scoffed.

"Your organization doesn't hold the only truth on runes, Owens. Sit and shut up, unless you want me to let that pain devour you until you go mad?"

Killian groaned as a pang of pain shot through his chest, making its way toward his head.

"Fine…"

Alex looked at their interaction and chuckled.

"It's almost like you're friends," he mocked.

"Shut up," they both replied, almost in sync.

This made Alex chuckle again as the two others groaned in displeasure.

It wasn't that Killian hated David, or vice versa. But they both didn't like the shroud that surrounded each other.

In both cases, too much information was unknown, and for two men who liked to know everything before it happened and everything about anyone in their proximity, this was quite the annoyance factor.

As Killian sat in the center of the circle, David closed his eyes and started infusing a bit of his mana into it. The runes suddenly lit up in a dark blue, almost sinister sheen.

"What an eerie mana colour," Killian commented.

"You try dabbling in necromancy without changing the colour of your essence," David replied, focusing on his infusion.

The runic circle needed enough mana to start working, but not enough to activate already. If he activated the runes completely, he would need to perform the ritual himself, and he wasn't yet confident in his ability to do so, at least safely.

Once he was sure the runes had become energized, and the binding magic kicked in, making Killian slightly nervous, David reopened his eyes and looked at Alex.

"The rest I will guide you through. Sit in front of Killian, outside the runic circle," he ordered, as Alex nodded.

Once he was seated, Alex could feel the runes calling out to him, and was almost excited to do this.

It wasn't every day that someone suddenly delved into a magic ritual, especially since most people would call them insane for even saying magic was real.

"First, I want you to close your eyes, and take conscience of every rune on the circle through your mana senses. Feel them as individual runes, then as phrases, and finally as a whole. Once you've grasped the essence of the runic circle and its function, we can proceed."

Alex nodded, closing his eyes and reached out with his unnatural senses, feeling each rune, as they almost chanted their meaning into his ears. It was like each rune was telling him what it could do, and how it could be used.

The information load was immense, considering each rune held at least hundreds of different uses, even though they all meant one thing. Once Alex had internalized all this, he started linking them together in order, forming phrases.

This was easy, at first, as the outer ring of the runic circle was set up like a single, long phrase. But it got more complicated next, when he realized that each rune was also connected to others through a network of lines, forming out-of-order phrases as well.

His mind took a minute to process each rune and set them into place correctly, but he stayed focused, and the process trudged along.

Once he was confident he had grasped every phrase and its essence, he expanded once again, forming a whole as the ritual formed a chant in his mind.

David could see on Alex's face when this happened exactly, as his face expressed awe.

"Who wrote this runic circle…" Alex whispered. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Killian also felt concerned, as he had followed the same steps as Alex, although he wasn't done forming the whole yet.

Although his knowledge of runes was assuredly more profound than that of the Canadian, it seemed the latter's senses were sharper, which accelerated his comprehension of the spell.

But, from the phrases alone, Killian was already worried.

'This is a powerful runic circle, albeit a crude one… Whoever designed this was pressed for time, and didn't research it enough. Will it work?'