Chapter 10: Experiment

Michael found himself levitating in a dreamscape. His body was the one he held in his past life, modern clothes fitting his average physique, his short hair swayed with the autumn winds. His warm breath formed miniature clouds as they merged into the air.

The leaves changed their pigment, a manifestation of the changing seasons, plants would wither and prepare for winter. On the horizon of this hilly landscape, an amber colored sun rose, its form resplendent and caring for the flora and fauna it shared its nurturing rays.

An understanding began to form in Michael's mind. The Byron language surfaced in his mind and a connection between this image and his mind was formed. Runes appeared and merged into the image, each one admiringly complex. A mantra was recited under his breath and the world, which became illusionary one second and real the other, slowly became stationary.

'Ping!'

A surreal ping was heard breaking Michael out of his fabricated illusion.

'Hoooo, so Arthur is calling me? I guess it's time. Mother Box, show me my stats'

Michael sighed, got up and walked out of his room towards Arthur's lab.

Name: Michael Mayor (Augustus Fent)

Strength: 1.4

Agility: 1.3

Vitality: 1.3

Spiritual Force: 1.52

Bloodline/Race: Human

Talent (Soul/Body): 1/3

A minimal difference, yet it was an improvement nonetheless.

Michael walked in as his father was preparing the materials. A young man was in the far right corner of the lab, a mantra steadily escaping his lips. It was the Green Heart Meditation Technique.

A boar's heart and blood were in a large crystal bowl, the heart would occasionally pulsate, its vitality being contained by the runes carved into its concave body.

"Jeremy, come over and sit in the center."

Arthur called the boy over, his eyes brimming with excitement and apprehension. It seemed that his father had done some convincing instead of outright messing with his soul. It might be due to his good character that his father had been so easygoing up until now.

"Alright, son, I'm going to start. I need you to take ten steps back or it could affect the process."

Arthur turned his head and looked at his son, making sure he was a certain length away. Arthur was excited and it was quite obvious as his fingers trembled now and then. He had spent a whole month on the groundwork, studying and practicing the runes. He would capture animals native to the cavern and inscribe the runes onto their flesh in order to practice their individual effects.

Michael stepped back a few and sat on a wooden chair.

'Mother Box film and analyze the experiment, name it Runic Blood Warrior Trial #1.'

Arthur poured the boar's blood into a different bowl made of stone. This bowl was similarly carved with runes, yet these seemed to differ quite a bit, as they served more than one purpose. Arthur picked up a roothorn fruit and placed it into another contraption, one end was an empty concave while the exit tubing was connected into a glass tube. Five seconds later a pungent orange liquid filled the glass tube.

Arthur poured it into the mortar gently, careful not to waste a drop. Next he began to grind the substance. The mortar would change color, from a bright red to a light glow, at the thought of Arthur. The ingredients slowly came to a complete merge, signaling Arthur to drop a red vice mandrake. After another round of crushing the mixture once again became homogeneous.

Arthur picked up a crystal quill, one end was extremely sharp with a small hole to allow fluid to pass while the other end held a bulbous crystal construct. Arthur deftly poured the mixture into the bulbous cavity.

"Jeremy. Jeremy!"

The young boy was lost in a daze, uncertainty and thought of his family clouded his mind.

"Oh, uhm, wha- what?"

Arthur rubbed his temple with his free hand, his patience running a bit thin. He had become accustomed to his son's mature character, and with his minimal communication with other 13 year olds he had already forgotten how difficult they were to deal with, for even the most minimal of tasks.

"Here, take this heart in your palms and hold it against your chest."

He passed the boar's heart to the youth who sat in a lotus position in the center of the room. A bunch of symbols were already traced onto the stone using a pigment beforehand.

Arthur took in a deep breath and he began to carve on the stone floor. He began close to the youth and then he continued outwards. His body flashed around as the runes followed outward in a uniform circular formation.

His every move was smooth. The quill, paired with his immense strength, cut through the stone like butter, liquid filling every crevice. Some runes required multiple strokes, but everything was able to flow into one another perfectly.

When the array had reached two meters in circumference and the quill began to run dry, the runic array began to pulsate like a beating heart. The array was completed and it began to influence the vitality held in the mixture. Then with the vital energy, the runic array was empowered and it began to pulsate even more fiercely, a blinding red encapsulating the room. The heart began to melt into the young man's hands and the runes began to crawl into his flesh, completely ignoring his clothes as they were non-living items.

Every line followed a set path and etched themselves into the deepest recesses of the young man's body. With it came a large amount of pain, the youth began to squirm around trying to escape the grasp of the array, but it was futile.

The runes continued to fall into the young man's body as they wrapped around, constricted, and revitalized his cells.

Everything seemed to have been going smoothly, Arthur and Michael had begun to smile.

Then suddenly its bright flashing began to dim. The beautiful, pulsating, runes stopped where they were and they seemed to have become lifeless. The young man followed, his pulse became unsteady and then it stopped as well.

A despondent look appeared on Arthur's face as he became lost in thought. A look of understanding appeared on his face shortly after.

"I didn't account for the initial energy expenditure to power the runic array, making the vitality in the mixture and heart insufficient."

What followed were the acts of a mad scientist. Arthur holed himself up in his laboratory and redid his calculations for two days. The thing that had caused this shortfall was because he had substituted an ingredient. Instead of the bruised heart fruit, he had used the roothorn fruit, due to the scarcity of material.

Arthur had made his own calculations in that regard opting to not ask his son for help. Now he had to recalculate and account for more variables. His passion for this project and pride forced him to do it himself and to deny his son's help.

Michael was once again doing his training as he sighed in exasperation. The Mother Box had only taken a second to recalculate the formula, yet due to his father's sudden burst of pride, he had to wait another two days and then some more.

After a few more hours, his father's excited laughter was heard. Then his father left once again, a pep in his step. About a day later his father had returned with a boy in tow. They walked into the building conversing, it seemed that his father had done some explaining and idealizing along the way.

While his father was away, Michael had gone over his father's work and corrected a minute mistake, rewriting the entire draft with the Mother Box in order to avoid suspicions.