Marcus turned the book over, inspecting every inch of its worn cover. He hadn't even read a single line, yet his mental state had climbed to an unnatural and almost alarming level.
Though the earlier pull had waned, he could still feel a subtle force within the book, like a whisper against his senses. It wasn't gone, just lingering.
Unease flickered in his chest, but curiosity pushed him forward. Bracing himself, he opened the book to its first page. The pull returned—milder than before, no longer dragging him into a mental freefall.
Unbeknownst to him, his [Deep Thought] attribute was now dormant.
Unshaken, he began to read.
The Five Core Principles of Runes:
Marcus read;
One, meaning precedes marking: You cannot carve what you do not comprehend. Every line must be understood in your mind before etched in the world.
Two, structure invokes power: The more precise your rune, the more potent its effect. Sloppy construction leads to unstable outcomes.
Three, the fourfold thread: Every rune consists of a Prime, a Direction, a binding curve, and a Release Mark.
Four, mental strength is the anchor: Runes require mental resonance to work. Your mental state fuels both their clarity and endurance.
Five, everything is listening: Runes don't 'cast' like spells. They call, and the world responds.
…
Each word Marcus read stirred something inside him. His thoughts sharpened, expanded. It was as if his mind had always been a hollow vessel, and now, drop by drop, it was being filled.
He turned the page.
The text spoke of Alphonic Primes—the fundamental symbols or markings of runic language. There were 360 of them, each one carrying a unique conceptual weight, like a letter of an ancient cosmic alphabet. And yet, they were more than letters. They were living meanings.
One Prime held power. Two, fused together, formed an echo of a new idea. But any new meaning had to remain loyal to the origins of the individual Primes, never straying too far from their source. Marcus began to see how this language worked.
A fusion of logic, intuition, and resonance.
Like alphabets forming words, the Primes created meaning through structure—but unlike alphabets, these meanings could shape reality.
As he read on, comprehension came faster. The pages seemed to breathe with him, syncing to his rhythm. His heart pounded with quiet excitement.
He was absorbing knowledge.
Learning the Alphonic Primes first would be key. Marcus thought. Once I can master their markings, inscribe them correctly, and internalize their meaning—at least according to this book—I would be considered an entry-level Rune Master.
Simple in theory, but immense in execution.
From where he sat, flipping through the pages in a trance, it would've been easy for an observer to assume he was confused or wasting time. If Logan had been watching closely, he might have chalked it up to a lack of understanding, or worse—impatience.
But the truth was far from it.
In just a single day, Marcus had dived deep, deeper than Logan could have ever expected. Seven hours passed, and Marcus hadn't once moved from the same spot. Not ask questions, not to scratch.
The automations in the library floated past him, sorting and shelving books, and still, Marcus stayed unmoved. As though his mind was in a different world and his body remained.
Logan finally set his brush down, letting out a breath. He hadn't expected the kid to last this long without needing guidance. In fact, he was sure Marcus would come crawling for help with the first few pages.
Not everyone has the aptitude for Rune Mastery. Savant or not, Logan mused, these are not just symbols. They are words that call upon the world. Power, more intricate than brute force.
With that in mind, he rose and decided to test Marcus, just to see if he was actually progressing or simply too stubborn to admit defeat.
But while Logan was making his way toward him, the person in question was already trying something crazy in his head.
With no pen, paper, or tools for inscription, Marcus had begun visualizing the Alphonic Primes in his mind.
Each line conjured like a ghost in thought. Yet every time he neared completion, it was as if a treacherous wind swept through his mind and erased it all.
A formless resistance.
Each time the markings slipped from his memory's grip, he tried again. And again. And again.
He had no idea that he was bypassing key foundational methods. No stabilizers. No anchors. No mnemonic aids. Just raw will and dangerous intuition.
Why do I keep forgetting the beginning when I'm almost at the end?
He wondered in frustration.
Memorizing the Alphonic Primes wasn't an issue for him. Out of the 360, he successfully memorized 30, but only in sequence and form. He still didn't know their pronunciations, and something about them resisted being fully held in the mind.
Still, he pushed on, unaware that what he was attempting—visual runic weaving without grounding—was something most Rune Masters didn't attempt until years into their practice.
And he was doing it on instinct.
Flipping back through the pages in frustration, Marcus returned to the beginning of the book—the section outlining the five core Principles of Runes. His eyes traced the words again, slower this time.
"Meaning precedes marking."
That was it. He had missed the first law.
I see… I still fail to under the meanings behind the Markings. And also, I've had no intentions of etching it in the world… whatever that means. I am still in the process of understanding it in my mind.
Marcus stared at the Alphonic Prime he was trying to visualize, its shape had grown familiar, but hollow—an empty form of spirit. So he focused, not on the image, but on the essence. What it meant. What it wanted to express.
Do they have a beginning? A sequence to be followed? What if I pick a point and begin from there, What would be the implications?
The thought barely formed before he acted on it, visualizing the Alphonic Prime not from its natural starting point, but from a random stroke, trusting instinct over instruction.
Unaware of the consequences, Marcus willed the form into his thoughts.
And in doing so, something happened.
The markings began to materialize—physically—above his head.
Lines shimmered into existence, jagged and uneven, glowing with hues that twisted unnaturally, like light refracted through broken glass. The shapes pulsed, unstable.
At that moment, Logan arrived.
He stopped dead in his tracks, and his face paled beneath the flicker of rune-light.
Irregular Runes… he realized. Dread began rising like a wave within him.
How? He hasn't even passed the fundamentals!
Logan's mind scrambled for an answer. Had Marcus studied runes before arriving here? Did someone secretly train him?
But then another Alphonic Prime flickered into form, just as unstable as the first. Its pattern is wrong, and its energy is twisted. A beginner's hand was evident.
And still… he had managed to do what a seasoned Rune Master couldn't.
The combination of both Primes triggered a violent reaction.
The air cracked as lightning split across the space above Marcus's head. A low whine built in the atmosphere, as if the world itself was rejecting the pairing.
Logan didn't hesitate anymore.
With a sharp gesture, he released a wave of force that shattered the forming runes, dispelling them before the backlash could ignite.
The sound died and the room fell still.
Marcus blinked, dazed as his focus was broken.
Logan stared at him with hard eyes, yet burning with mixed emotions. Awe, caution, and the creeping realization that this boy… this nobody with no formal training had nearly rewritten the rules.