Power of Runes

Before Ash could get back to reading the books again, his body suddenly shuddered. A strange jolt ran through his soul, making his entire being feel a little off... almost like a ripple in still water that leaves behind a peculiar warmth and chill at the same time.

It was a strange sensation, somewhat disturbing and somewhat pleasant at the same time...a conflicting feeling that stirred unease in his heart.

What..?

He quickly closed his eyes and turned his focus inward, into his soul space, and then...

How....? It was normal until just yesterday.....Oh, fuck, right. There is a time difference in there....shit!!

Springing to his feet, Ash didn't waste a second. He stored all the books in a hurry and teleported away. Although using spells or abilities on academy grounds—especially in places like the library or other important areas—was heavily restricted and considered a serious breach of rules, Ash didn't have time to care.

He would either have to accept a deduction in merit points or deal with whatever punishment came his way later.

Because right now... he was in a rush. The egg was about to hatch !!!!

The moment he appeared inside his dorm room, he was just about to bring out the egg when suddenly, he felt someone whispering into his mind. It wasn't a voice he heard with his ears, but something far more intimate, like a thought not his own gently echoing in his head.

He had never experienced anything like that before, but strangely, he could still understand what the thought meant.

'I want to stay inside.'

Ash's eyes widened in disbelief and surprise. Wait... don't tell me... is this the feelings of the egg...?

Keeping those strange words in his mind, Ash immediately entered his soul space himself.

Before arriving at the academy, he had collected the egg from the Unicorn Queen, and although Solareth still hadn't returned after taking the Demonic heart....

After that he placed the egg carefully inside his vault, and the moment he did that, something strange had happened. Ash had felt as if something was sucking his soul... yeah, sucking was the right word. It was far from a pleasant experience, and the sensation had made him extremely uncomfortable at first, but after a full day, he gradually got used to it.

Realizing that the egg wasn't harming him or making him weaker in any way, Ash simply let it be. He knew the egg was somehow absorbing his soul essence, though he had no idea how or why. Still, he could guess.

Just like how his blood acted like a miraculous medicine for others, it wouldn't be strange if his soul worked the same way—especially since his soul wasn't a normal one to begin with, but a mutated form that even had runes present in it.

It would make sense that his soul might be even more of a panacea than his blood.

Maybe that's why the egg gave up on his blood and instead began absorbing essence from his Soul itself.

And right now, he felt that jolt because... there was a crack on the egg's surface.

As soon as Ash stepped inside the onyx floor of the Soul Vault, his eyes widened the moment he saw the egg, completely shocked by its appearance. It had undergone a 180-degree transformation in just one day... though technically, that single day in reality could have been approximately four years inside the vault.

Damn it, I really need to take care of this time problem....it's starting to create too many complications..

Although the egg itself wasn't the issue right now... still...

Right now, it looked nothing like before. It was seated at the center of the vault, nested within a shallow pool of Ash's blood. The surface of the egg had turned a pure, shimmering white, eerily similar to the shade of Ash's hair. Nothing remained of its previous reddish hue.

But even that wasn't the most shocking part.

Its entire surface was now covered in glowing, multi-colored runic symbols, each pulsating with energy. They shone so brightly that they seemed to illuminate the entire vault, almost like a beacon in the darkness of night.

A mist, thick and strange, clung to its shell. Something that didn't look like mana or aura, and was hard to identify, yet it felt strangely divine in nature. And then, finally, there it was...

A crack.

A fine crack had formed, and even as he looked, it suddenly widened.

Oh shit..!!!!..

Running quickly and appearing in front of the egg, Ash panicked slightly.

What do I do...? Do I need to prepare food for the baby? Should I feed it right after it comes out...?

No, wait... I shouldn't do that, right? But then again, babies drink their mother's milk when they're born. But where in the world will I find a mother?

Will it even drink milk...? I mean, this isn't a normal animal. It's a mythical beast, isn't it? Not a dragon, but something even rarer. Something that was thought to be extinct...?

Solareth did tell me I'd be surprised when it hatches. Could it be a phoenix...? Or something else entirely...?

I don't know... should I prepare some meat instead...?

Although this was technically an egg he stole—something he probably shouldn't have done... but well, it was already in the past. What was done, was done. He couldn't go back and undo it, but what he could do was make up for it now.

He could take care of the baby with everything he had, protect it, raise it with love. Wouldn't that, in some way, lessen the weight of his sin?

Even if he knew, deep down... he might end up carrying endless sins in the future anyway. After all, the future was unpredictable.

"Damn it, I know nothing. I thought I would have more time, so I didn't bother learning about any of this stuff... but then again, only a few weeks have passed for me. For the egg though, who knows how much time has already gone by."

Just then, the crack on the egg started to spread, slowly at first, but soon it began to spiderweb like a mirror shattering under pressure.

Ash watched, stunned, as his blood began to get sucked in through the cracks—vanishing drop by drop, as if the egg was devouring it hungrily, greedily.

And when the very last drop of blood was consumed, the surface of the egg stilled for a breath... then cracked apart with a soft plink.

From the top, something small emerged.

A head.

A snow-white, glossy head poked out from within, round and tiny with smooth, delicate scales that shimmered faintly under the lights of the soul vault. There was a softness in its gaze, something impossibly pure.

'Mama.'

Ash held his breath.

Because what emerged was...

So cute...

The egg then fully shattered, pieces turning into light particles before being completely absorbed into the tiny white creature's body.

It was a baby snake—pure white in color, its scales smooth and glistening faintly. The same snowy white shade as Ash's hair. Its size was barely more than his forearm in length, almost small enough to coil around his wrist. And as wide as his 3 fingers.

There were two barely visible horns growing just above its eyes, and its pupils shimmered in the same soft, deep blue as Ash's. Honestly, it looked like a miniature version of him—if he had been reborn in snake form.

Ash slowly knelt down, both curious and hesitant, and extended his hands forward, gently trying to lift it.

The little white snake tilted its head slightly, its gaze flicking between Ash's hands and his face. Then, it blinked slowly and spoke in a soft voice once again.

'Mama?'

Ash blinked, "...No, it's papa."

'Mama?'

"Papa."

'Mama?'

This time, it tilted its head again, nodded with adorable confidence, and sank its teeth right into his hand. Ash's smile froze on his lips, unmoving.

Why do I feel... this has happened before...?

Yeah, it had. The unicorn baby had also bitten his hand the first time. But thinking of that, he realized Little White was still better... at least it didn't eat his hands completely. And besides, this was his soul body, not his real one—thankfully. Knowing that, Ash hurriedly brought the baby snake outside into the real world.

But the moment he stepped out, he immediately regretted thinking that Little White was better.

Because...

What the heck... why do I feel like something's wrong all of a sudden...?

Ash collapsed onto his bed as a sudden wave of weakness washed over him. It was as if something was draining every bit of life from his body. His limbs felt hollow, his chest ached, and his breath grew shallow. When he glanced at his hands, he saw they had turned pale and dry—like the cracked hands of a mummy. The same thing was now happening to the rest of his body.

Panic surged within him... but he forced himself to stay calm.

A few seconds later, he felt something change. His dried-up hand slowly began to return to normal, the skin regaining its color and strength little by little because of the healing effect of Rune of Life.

The reason for all this became clear as soon as he turned his gaze toward the culprit.

The little gluttonous white snake was resting near him, its tiny fangs still latched onto his arm as it drank his blood like a baby drinking warm milk—peacefully, lovingly, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

Ash looked at it with a complicated expression. He didn't know whether to scold it or hug it. His heart, however, melted just a bit more.

It's cute...

"But what creature even is it...? Solareth told me I'd know when the time came... but I still can't figure it out. Should I go ask the Queen...?"

But just as the question slipped from his lips, a soft chime echoed in his mind—and a status screen materialized in front of his eyes, clear and radiant, floating in the air like an answer from the heavens.

Ash's eyes widened, as he scanned the glowing text.

****