Marvel's master of cosmic magic

Chapter 538

"Rowan, having you join New Zaun is our greatest fortune."

Vander clasped Rowan Mercer’s hand, his eyes shining as he looked out over the transformed Undercity. The streets were clean, the air clear, and life had returned to places long abandoned.

Rowan smiled calmly.

"I’m part of New Zaun now. This is simply what needed to be done."

For him, the effort had been minimal. Stability, however, was priceless. A stable New Zaun meant trade. Trade meant knowledge. And knowledge meant access to rare magical texts and artifacts he could study without drawing unwanted attention.

After speaking with Vander, Rowan turned toward Professor Heimerdinger.

"So," Rowan asked lightly, "do you still believe magic can only bring disaster?"

Heimerdinger stared at the Undercity, now vibrant and alive, then remembered Viktor standing without a cane, disease erased as if it had never existed. The professor let out a long breath.

"Perhaps... I was too absolute," he admitted. "Magic isn’t purely destructive. And if Hextech can be refined properly, it truly could improve ordinary lives."

He looked up at Rowan.

"I’ll help them."

With Vander and the ministers handling governance, Rowan returned to the academy alongside Heimerdinger.

Inside, Jayce and Viktor had nearly completed the Hextech rune device. Only one final integration remained.

Then the building shook.

A pillar of energy erupted from the laboratory.

"Oh," Rowan said, raising an eyebrow. "Looks like it worked."

He grabbed Heimerdinger by the shoulder, and the two vanished.

They reappeared inside the lab.

Runes floated in the air around the Hextech core, intricate and luminous, each etched with fundamental magical principles. Jayce and Viktor hovered nearby, suspended as if gravity itself had been temporarily dismissed.

Rowan’s gaze sharpened.

"So this is how this world structures its runes," he murmured. "Comprehensive... and elegant."

From his studies of the academy’s collected tomes, Rowan had identified several broad schools of magic in this world. Forces drawn from the cosmos beyond the sky. Magic rooted in the manipulation of physical elements. Power shaped by consciousness, emotion, and spirit. And finally, systems that blended all of these together.

Rune-based magic belonged to that final category.

It bridged matter and mind, structure and intent. To truly understand it was to touch every other discipline at once.

That was what made Hextech so valuable.

Rowan’s eyes glowed faintly as his awareness expanded outward, enveloping the floating runes. Information poured into him. Patterns, logic, constraints. The principles behind the symbols unfolded layer by layer, absorbed at astonishing speed.

Within him, the fragile framework of his personal inner realm responded, growing denser, more coherent, shaped by what he learned.

Heimerdinger felt it and stiffened.

"That level of mental force..." the professor whispered, unease creeping into his voice. "I’ve rarely felt anything like it. Even during the Rune Wars."

After several minutes, Rowan withdrew his focus.

"Still not enough," he said quietly. "True keystones of this world would offer far more. The kind that reshape continents. Or artifacts capable of turning mortals into something greater."

He exhaled slowly.

"One step at a time."

Turning to Jayce and Viktor, he smiled.

"You’ve done excellent work. Keep refining it. If you hit a wall, consult Professor Heimerdinger. He’s officially backing this project now."

The two could barely contain their excitement.

Rowan left the academy soon after. The knowledge he had gained needed time to settle.

Not long afterward, while in seclusion, Rowan received another message from Aleister.

"Perfect timing," Rowan said to himself. "It’s about time I paid a visit and collected those books."

Previously, the magical safeguards protecting the vast archive within Index had prevented him from accessing it directly. That limitation no longer applied. His power had grown dramatically, and his inner realm now possessed rules of its own.

This time, he wouldn’t need permission.