Chapter 768 Prime Disciple Competition: Runes
Steadying her breath, Mira decided to move ahead, further into the Spire. The grandeur of the place was hard to ignore, with its ancient carvings and shimmering walls, but Mira had a purpose. The mark on her forearm, a legacy from the merged scrolls, still held secrets she had yet to uncover.
As she climbed the spiral staircase, an ornate door with intricate runic designs caught her eye. These runes looked remarkably similar to the ones on the scroll that had merged with her.
Drawn to it, she approached, placing her hand on the door. It responded to her touch, glowing softly before sliding open, revealing a dimly lit chamber.
Inside, the chamber was vast and circular, with walls adorned with the same intricate black runes that were on her arm.
They glowed faintly, resonating with the energy from her mark. At the center of the chamber stood a large stone pedestal with a crystal orb set atop it. This orb pulsed with a deep blue light and seemed to be in sync with the rhythm of her heart.
Mira approached cautiously, the sensation growing stronger with each step. When she stood before the orb, its glow intensified, and suddenly, the runes on the walls began to shift and move. They flowed like liquid, rearranging themselves and forming a spiral pattern that pointed toward the orb.
Feeling an urge, Mira raised her arm, letting the mark on her forearm face the orb. In response, the orb sent out a beam of light that connected with the mark.
A rush of knowledge flooded her mind, almost overwhelming her, but she steeled herself and tried to make sense of the influx of information.
These weren't just memories; they were a rich tapestry of history and knowledge. As the intense flow of information persisted, Mira found herself floating amidst an abyss where the past, present, and future seemed to converge.
She saw ancient beings of immeasurable power and wisdom convening in a celestial realm. They came in all shapes and sizes. One looked like a Dragon, another a Phoenix, one was a humanoid, and she could also make out a white tiger in there. Lastly, she saw a 9-tailed fox. One that looked oddly similar to the one she saw during the first trial.
However, they didn't look like the conventional beasts or people she knew of today.
Instead, they looked more like… what the last image in the pond showed to her.
"Progenitors." Mira instinctively muttered as if she felt a connection to them.
The beings she saw in these images were actual progenitors. Whether it was thanks to her bloodline, the black runes, or something else, she knew that these beings were progenitors.
But, instead of seeing them at their start, she saw them at their peak.
These entities communicated not with words but with the language of runes. Each rune held a profound significance, encapsulating emotions, intentions, and energies that went beyond mere mortal understanding.
These beings crafted entire races, shaped destinies, and intertwined fates using these runes. Mira realized that the runes weren't just symbols; they were the very building blocks of existence. Every rune represented a word in this cosmic language, and when woven together, they narrated the universe's story.
Mira witnessed the crafting of the scroll she now bore the mark of. It was designed as a testament to their legacy, a way to pass down their knowledge and power through the ages. The scroll's purpose was not just to be an artifact of power but a key.
A key to what? Mira didn't know, but at this point, she didn't care.
As the connection grew deeper, Mira felt herself merging with this language. The runes on her arm began to shimmer, aligning themselves in sequences and patterns she instinctively understood.
This seemed to resonate with the black runes that lined her body, causing her to release a blinding black light.
Suddenly, a vision flashed before her: a world in chaos as it was slowly devoured by… something. Something eerily familiar.
The connection began to wane, and Mira felt herself being pulled back to the Chamber of Runes. The blue light from the orb gradually dimmed, and the swirling runes on the walls returned to their static state.
Exhausted but enlightened, Mira leaned on her scythe for support.
"Damn…" Mira unintentionally cursed, "So those runes are what? A language of power? A language of the gods?"
Her thoughts almost immediately drifted to the runes that are used in Arrays and Formations. While they weren't exactly what the Progenitors used, they were a derivative of it.
'Maybe I should learn how to make Arrays.' Mira contemplated. If she could decode the universe's language, wouldn't she be able to make unparalleled arrays?
'Hmmm~ I'll keep that in mind until after I leave this Realm.' She noted and moved on to something else:
Her Primal Heart.
From what she's seen so far, everything in this Realm was tied together.
First, there was Primal Energy. Then there were Nexus Points. Next, she created her Primal Heart.
Lastly, there was this new language that seemed related to the vision she saw in the pond outside, which was also connected to the scrolls she gathered in the caves.
Everything was connected, and it was all there to make her, or whoever obtains the legacies here, stronger.
'Primal Ascendance Convergence, huh? What a fitting name.' Mira commented, shaking her head.
"But… what am I supposed to do with this information?"
Should she make another heart out of runes? Where would she even put it, and how would it work?
She already had black runes pumping through her body. Making a heart out of them seemed redundant. Still, there had to be something.
'I suppose I should study these runes a bit more before I make any sudden decisions.'
Mira, albeit a little tired, wasn't one to give in to fatigue. The Primal Ascendance Convergence was turning out to be more profound than she had anticipated.
With a goal in mind, she began a meticulous examination of the runes surrounding her. The walls, though static once more, were a canvas of history, and Mira was eager to learn.
Walking over, she traced a finger over one particular rune that glimmered slightly brighter than the rest.
As she did, a gentle hum resonated from the rune, sending ripples of memories and emotions through her mind. It wasn't just the knowledge of its meaning but also its application, its resonance with other runes, and its place in existence.
As hours passed, Mira continued her study. The mark on her forearm acted as a guide, offering her intuitive insights into each rune she studied.
It became clear that while the microscopic runes that flowed within her were powerful, they lacked the harmony and synergy found in the language of the progenitors.
She reflected on her Primal Heart. Though it was an extraordinary creation of its own, she found that it actually lacked the black runes that were a part of the rest of her body.
It held immense primal power but was too wild and untamed in its natural state. Presumably, that's what these runes were there to fix. And judging by the images she saw in the pond, they would do a whole lot more than fixing as well.
With this realization, Mira finally saw the missing link. The scrolls she had gathered weren't just relics of power or history. They were designed to complement the Primal Heart. The mark they left was not just a physical imprint but an ethereal guide meant to steer her Primal Heart's raw energy and control it.
The Nexus Point and pathway she created weren't enough. All she did was give it an outlet. Now, she needed to give it a purpose.
Sitting cross-legged before the pulsating orb, she began to meditate. Channeling her Qi, she sent her consciousness into her Primal Heart.
Drawing upon her newfound knowledge, she began to channel the runes from her mark towards her Primal Heart. The ancient symbols flowed like a stream, intertwining with her heart, weaving a protective and empowering cocoon around it.
While that was going on, she simultaneously wrapped her Qi around the heart, forcing some of the microscopic black runes to merge with it as well.
This went on for hours, as Mira had to experiment and find the right sequence of runes before they would actually merge.
As the last rune settled in place, a surge of power coursed through her. The once raw and unbridled energy of the Primal Heart now pulsed rhythmically, in harmony with her human heart.
Mira felt a significant shift. The merger of the Primal Heart and the runes didn't just make her stronger; it offered clarity. Where before her power was like a roaring river, now it flowed with purpose.
*BOOOM!*
Her 9 tails seemed to explode with power as energy surged through them. They hit the ground so hard that the room actually shook. However, that was just the beginning.
For the first time since she reached the Core Formation Realm, she felt as if she had just knocked on the door of another side of herself.
Another side of her bloodline.