Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 478 - 477- Telling them the truth

The next morning, Adrian gathered everyone before him.

The three women were confused—and more than a little worried—when he didn’t wait for Annabelle to wake up on her own and instead gently roused her earlier than usual. That alone told them something was different.

Now, he sat across from them, quietly finishing his coffee.

None of them were fooled.

They knew Adrian well enough to recognize that he wasn’t savoring the drink. He was buying time. Organizing his thoughts. Preparing himself for a conversation he hadn’t quite decided how to begin.

Annabelle returned from the bathroom after washing her face, her hair still slightly damp. She studied him for a moment before speaking, her voice cautious.

"Darling..." she began, then hesitated.

"You’re not going anywhere dangerous again, are you?"

Adrian shook his head lightly. "I don’t know what kind of image I’ve built in your eyes lately," he said, "but I’m still a peace-loving person."

Annabelle exhaled sharply, patting her chest in relief. "Don’t scare me like that," she muttered as she moved to sit beside Ruby.

Ariana watched him silently.

Her throat still ached, and speaking required effort, but the silence pressed on her far more heavily. After a moment, she forced the words out, slow but clear enough.

"Would... you... say it already?"

Adrian looked at her.

She met his gaze, unwavering despite her weakness.

Not just Ariana—Ruby and Annabelle had noticed it too. Since the previous night, something had shifted in him. A weight lingered behind his eyes, something unspoken yet ever-present.

Whatever Adrian had learned, it hadn’t left him.

And his silence was beginning to hurt them more than any truth might have.

The room grew still, all attention fixed on him.

Adrian set his cup down.

At last, he inhaled slowly.

And began to speak.

"So... before I begin," Adrian said slowly, "I want you all to know this first. Whatever decision you make after listening to me, I will respect it."

His gaze moved from one face to another.

"And please," he added, "don’t listen only with your emotions. Use your judgment too."

Ruby and Ariana exchanged a brief glance. Annabelle, on the other hand, shifted uneasily in her seat, a bad feeling settling in her chest.

Adrian took a breath and continued, "With the help of Valor, I managed to use my emotions to overpower Nytharos—at least for a short while. But eventually, he cornered me."

His fingers tightened slightly against the arm rest.

"At that point, I had no choice but to teleport into the Time Chamber."

That alone was enough to make their expressions tense. Still, none of them interrupted him.

"That’s when someone intervened," Adrian said. "He beheaded the Fallen God."

Everyone blinked in surprise. But it was nothing in comparison to what followed.

"And when I turned to look at the one who saved me," Adrian went on, his voice steady but heavy, "I saw another Nytharos walking toward me."

Annabelle shot to her feet. "What?! You fought two of them?"

Adrian shook his head at once. "No. This one wasn’t hostile."

Her panic stalled, confusion replacing it.

"According to him," Adrian explained, "Nytharos has multiple fragments scattered across the world. Each fragment carries a portion of his memories... and his emotions."

He paused, letting the weight of that sink in.

"The one I met wasn’t there to fight me," he said quietly. "He was there to tell me things. Information I needed to hear."

Ariana frowned. "You... don’t trust what he said, do you?"

Adrian smiled helplessly.

Of course she would think that. That his unrest came from believing the words of a Fallen God. That he had been shaken, misled, or manipulated.

But that wasn’t it.

"Ariana," he said softly, "he didn’t create my doubts."

He lifted his gaze, meeting hers directly.

"He only placed the final pin. The one that connected everything."

That was when the silver-haired woman’s concern deepened. It wasn’t confusion she saw in him. It wasn’t disbelief or hesitation.

It was conviction.

Ruby hesitated before speaking, her voice careful. "What... did you find out, Adrian?"

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, his eyes shifted toward Annabelle.

"Bella," he said quietly, "there’s something I’ve always wondered."

Annabelle blinked, caught off guard. "What...?"

"Why you never asked me about my immortality."

The room went still.

Annabelle’s expression froze, shock flickering across her face.

Adrian lowered his head slightly, his voice dropping. "You watched me age before your eyes. From my twenties to my fifties."

He let out a quiet breath. "You saw me stand at death’s door more than once. You saw me choose life again—with Querella."

His fingers curled slowly.

"And yet," he continued, "you never asked me how. Or why."

He looked up then, eyes steady, searching her face.

"You never asked what I was," he said. "Or what kind of existence could accomplish something so... inhumane."

The silence that followed was heavy.

Annabelle spoke hesitantly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I thought... maybe one of your creations allowed something like that, Darling."

Adrian smiled faintly.

"Well," he said gently, "I don’t need to rely on memories to know you’re lying right now, Bella."

Annabelle bit her lip and lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze.

Adrian turned toward Ariana and Ruby.

"You two have seen me return from the embrace of Death," he said quietly.

"Something not even the being closest to the deities—the Great Hero of Light—was ever able to achieve."

His eyes lingered on them.

"And yet, neither of you questioned my origin." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Ruby parted her lips to speak, but no words came.

Because the truth was uncomfortable.

She had wondered. More times than she cared to admit. How Adrian could defy something so absolute, so deeply woven into the laws of existence. But every time that thought surfaced, she forced it down.

Because she trusted him.

And trust meant choosing silence.

Ariana reached out and took Adrian’s hand.

Her expression was gentle, steady.

"I know you trust us," she said softly. "That’s why you’re telling us all this."

Her thumb brushed against his knuckles, grounding him.

"So please," she continued, "don’t be afraid. Tell us what you found out yesterday."

The room held its breath.

And for the first time since the truth had begun weighing on him—

Adrian felt ready to speak.

Parting his lips, he finally revealed the truth, "I...have the essence of Darkness inside me. The same creature who nearly wiped humanity a thousand years ago and is still feared by the masses."

His gaze hardened before he added, "I am its sole heir."

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