A runic formation was expertly woven into the coral, projecting a layered illusion.
To the untrained eye, there was nothing there. No entrance, no crack, not even a distortion.
But if one had sufficient knowledge of rune magic, the illusion would reveal its flaws, exposing a skillfully concealed passage beneath the roots of the giant coral tree.
Several hours after Wagner's soul transmigrated into Bartholow's body, he was finally ready to leave this floating island.
With roughly an hour remaining until sunset, the sky had already been dyed a warm shade of orange. Light spilled across the horizon and bathed the ocean in a gentle glow.
The countless corals covering the island reflected the light in turn. The entire island seed to co alive, bursting into a symphony of wondrous colors.
A thin figure dressed in oversized robes slowly stepped out of the concealed passage underneath the roots of the coral tree.
The rays of light cascaded from the heavens and gently fell upon his borrowed skin. For the first ti in many, many years, Wagner felt the warmth of sunlight on his face.
Though this sensation would eventually fade once the flesh withered away, it still felt surreal in that mont, and he couldn't help but montarily bask in it.
And so, for a brief while, he simply stood there, closed his eyes, and basked in it.
A mont later, he slowly opened his eyes. He gazed at the drifting clouds in the evening sky and softly whispered into the wind:
"So that's how you knew…"
Wagner lowered his head calmly, his gaze locking onto a young man seated atop a boulder in the clearing dozens of ters away.
The youth appeared to have been waiting all along.
Though all traces of blood had long since vanished from Adam's figure, he still cut an extrely sorry and haggard appearance. His robes were torn and tattered, and exhaustion weighed heavily on him. Anyone could tell he had pushed himself beyond his limits.
One of Adam's legs was folded, while his elbow rested atop his raised knee. He sat there silently, his cold gaze fixed on Aldo Wagner.
On the other side, Wagner was stunned to see Adam waiting for him. Though he did not show it on his face, his heart was churning with tumultuous emotions. Suddenly, everything started to make sense.
Adam must have learned about his past, his family, his old friend Bartholow, and the abomination residing in the Dark Valley from his journals. But it was here on this floating island that the youth learned about his true identity as the Cult Leader of the Cult of Bones.
"It all makes sense," he said with a wry smile.
Wagner's brown eyes slowly turned pale green, and in their depths, a ghostly fla ignited.
"I have so many questions for you, Constantine," he added. "Do you mind satisfying this old man's curiosity?"
Adam remained silent, his gaze colder than ever.
"How did you find Tebu?" Wagner asked.
According to Wagner, Adam's discovery of Tebu was what set into motion the chain of events that ultimately led to his defeat.
Had Adam never found this floating island and stumbled upon Bartholow's tomb, things would have unfolded very differently from how they had now.
Adam remained silent for a few monts, then spat a single word:
"Coincidence."
Wagner's brows involuntarily creased into a light frown.
"Coincidence?" he asked. Then he couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I stopped believing in coincidences a long ti ago."
Then he turned toward the direction where Tebu's head was subrged under the water.
"A chance discovery led you to Tebu. Tebu led you to Bartholow. Bartholow led you to . One event after another, like pieces of a carefully arranged board. As though… sothing divine was pulling the strings from the shadows."
Wagner turned back toward Adam.
"Call it fate. Call it destiny. Whatever the na, I admit, it ended in my earlier defeat."
His gaze then shifted to the patch of bone-white hair on Adam's head, his eyes narrowing. Then he asked his next question.
"How did you return from the Underworld alive?"
Once again, Adam was silent for a few monts before succintly answering:
"I had help."
"Help?" Wagner's frown deepened further. "From whom?"
Being a Necromancer, he understood the significance of what Adam had just said. To receive soone's help in escaping the Underworld… just how strong and influential would that person have to be?
For a mont, Wagner even considered the possibility that the youth was lying. But he had no way to verify the claim. And Adam offered no further explanation.
In the end, he chalked Adam's answer to yet another attempt to toy with his mind and manipulate him.
"I see," said Wagner in a cold voice. "So that's how you wish to play…"
Throughout it all, Adam's figure did not move an inch. He remained seated in the sa posture, as though everything was under control. His tenebrous eyes fiercely locked onto even the tiniest of Wagner's movents.
"Very well." Wagner inhaled deeply, then finally asked the question that had been bothering him the most.
"How did you manage to deal with the corruption from… the Beyond?"
Listening to that question, there was finally a flicker of emotion in Adam's eyes.
The Beyond.
He still did not know what it was or where it was.
And the abomination? He still didn't know anything about it.
What was its purpose in coming to Tron?
Why was it hiding in the depths of the Dark Valley?
So many questions, yet he had the answers to none.
Adam deeply looked at Wagner and could see that the man was truly interested in his answer.
After all, this was a man who was also corrupted by the abomination from the Beyond.
While Adam had found a way to deal with the corruption, Wagner never did. Even now, his mind constantly reverberated with the mad whispers from the Beyond. He might appear normal from the outside, but on the inside… he was already mad.
Adam's lips parted, and he truthfully said:
"I adapted."
Aldo Wagner was looking forward to hearing more than just those two simple words. His eyes turned bloodshot, and the veins at the side of his head throbbed from fury.
"Do not lie to , boy!"
He incoherently muttered, "the Beyond," under his breath before continuing, "If it were so simple, then I…"
His words trailed off.
Adam's eyes narrowed, and his next words rang like thunder in Wagner's ears.
"Then you wouldn't have killed your best friend?"
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