The only ability that Sicario still felt at its full potential was the Arcane Art floating within his body. Sicario looked down at the rune on the floor with a narrowed gaze, and he wondered how powerful this rune had to be for it to be able to do something like this to him!
’This has to be a third-grade rune at least. Maybe even a second grade. Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. That woman isn’t called the Queen of Runes for no reason.’
Sicario was willing to accept having his powers subdued in this way since he knew it was only a precaution the people he was visiting were taking to make sure no one could attack them here, but Sicario was even more shocked when he walked into the cave, and he felt a new wave of power wash over him! This power was different from the previous one, and this time, the power didn’t attack his physical or magical strength at all! Instead, it went straight towards his Arcane Art and suppressed it!
’What?’
Sicario was shocked. How was this possible!?
Sicario knew that the Arcane Arts were some of the most difficult powers to handle! For centuries, mages have been trying to come up with ways to counter the Arcane Arts, but there hasn’t been a single person capable of doing that because of how different Arcane power was from magical power! So how in the world did this woman manage to figure out a way to suppress Arcane Arts?
’The Art is still there, I can feel it. And if I want to activate it, I probably can, but it’ll take longer than usual. Before I can activate it, I’ll likely be dead.’
Sicario didn’t know how he felt about anyone having abilities like these, but Sicario eventually decided that he would accept it for now. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to suppress Arcane Arts, and if someone was going to do it anyway, then Sicario would prefer it to be one of his allies.
"I was not expecting you today, Sicario. What are you doing here?"
A female voice reached Sicario from deeper within the cave, and Sicario watched as a woman walked out from the shadows of the cave and came into view. The woman who appeared was one of the most beautiful women that Sicario had ever set his eyes on. She had long black hair that flowed down to her thighs and piercing black eyes that seemed to take in everything around her like a hawk. Her lips were full and red, and her skin was beautifully pale with a red dusting around her cheek that made her seem like a delicate flower. She was wearing a long black gown that dragged on the ground behind her, and she had a long, mature face, with wide hips and a large bust that gave her an elder sisterly vibe!
But Sicario knew better than to underestimate this woman just because of her appearance. She might be beautiful, but this was one of the deadliest mages in the Primordial Expanse. A woman responsible for the death of millions across hundreds of worlds, as well as the woman responsible for creating the runes that subdued his power.
Her name was Melissa Marc, and she was the first daughter and second-born child of Richard Marc. As an Avaran who lived through the Period of Lawlessness as well as the Primordial attack, Melissa was no stranger to war and death, and her constant presence at the battlefront had made her very cautious around people. Melissa had a look of utter distrust in her eyes as she waited for Sicario to speak, and Sicario regarded her calmly before he answered her question.
"I need to speak to your brother. It is important."
"My brother is in no condition to entertain visitors. You will come back some other time."
Melissa waved Sicario away nonchalantly, and she was about to walk back inside, but a weak voice echoed through the cave and reached both of them.
"Bring him to me."
Melissa looked up in surprise, and she put her hand to her chest as she spoke desperately.
"But dear brother. You aren’t strong enough yet. You need to rest. Please reconsider."
"We must speak. Bring him to me."
The voice spoke up again in a harder tone, and Melissa’s face squeezed in pitiful misery, and she grabbed her chest desperately while hanging her head in defeat. Melissa stayed this way for a few seconds before she turned to Sicario with a glare and spoke to him in a hard tone.
"Come."
Melissa began walking into the darkness of the cave without caring to see if Sicario was following behind her, and Sicario knew better than to stray too far from her. Melissa was a genius Runecrafter, as well as one of the most paranoid people Sicario had ever seen, so Sicario was sure that there were many traps set up along the cave entrance to prevent anyone from entering without permission! If Sicario strayed too far, then there was a chance he would end up getting caught by one of those traps!
Sicario followed Melissa through a dark tunnel for close to three minutes, and Sicario knew that this distance was far longer than the width of the mountain, so there had to be some sort of magic being used to extend the tunnel. But finally, after a few more steps, a light appeared in the distance, and the two of them stepped out into a moderately bright cave room.
The room was similar to a bat cave with rocky walls and stalagmites growing down from the ceiling, but there were various mechanical contraptions arranged around the room. On one side were computers that made beeping sounds with graphs moving across their screens, and there were multiple wires travelling across the ground from the computers towards a large cylindrical pod standing close to the western wall. The cylindrical pod was currently empty, but Sicario knew that Melissa’s brother had been inside there until very recently. Her brother had only woken up a few weeks ago, and Sicario could tell that he must still be very weak from the extended recovery period.
’I already heard about the fight between him and his father, but was that what caused all this? How hard did his father beat him for him to need this much medical care?’
"Please do not idle behind me. My brother is this way."
Melissa spoke up from the opposite side of the cave, where she was already standing in front of an entrance leading deeper into the cave! There was a frown on her face that showed she was not happy about this meeting at all, and even though Sicario did not appreciate how she was talking to him, he decided to listen to her so there would be no issues! Sicario moved towards the entrance, and he passed through before Melissa followed after him. The inside of this room was dark with a mysterious air around it. It felt like walking into the lair of a dangerous predator, and Sicario’s gaze immediately trailed towards the bed on the far end of the room and the man sitting on the edge.
He was a large man with dark runes running all across his well-built body. His long hair fell over his face like carpets of black, and even though he was leaning forward tiredly, there was a hidden strength in that body that showed just how powerful he was! The man was staring at Sicario through his thick dark hair, and when Sicario saw those black eyes, he felt his body tensing as his natural instincts warned him of danger.