Marvel: Sævor of Wisdom

I remember reading about these in the royal library. Borr's campaign against Svartalfheim nearly wiped them out, but apparently, a few specimens were captured for research. Someone must have "accidentally" let this one slip into the sanctuary.

It locks all six eyes on me, and the air thickens, pressing down on my chest like a mountain. My fingers twitch at my side.

"Well… guess I get my cardio today."

Without warning, it lunges. The tendrils slam into the ground where I stood a heartbeat ago, spraying moss and stone shards. I flip backwards, boots scraping against the earth.

I raise my hand and force a raw rune into existence — a single luminous symbol, burning and writhing like a living thing.

[Chain Rune: ᛁᚷᚾᛁᛃᚾ (Ignijin).]

The moment it forms, my entire arm seizes up. Lightning-like veins of energy race up to my shoulder, burning hot enough to tear flesh from bone. My teeth grind together to keep from screaming.

[Alert: Energy output exceeds standard safe limits by 243%. Host body integrity rapidly degrading. Immediate risk of nerve and vascular collapse. Recommended: abort invocation.]

"Shut… up… Ælir…!

I...need..to...focus."

I can't stop here.

Over the past five years of researching runes, I have deduced a couple of magic formulas. But until now, it's all just theory because runes are too powerful; you cannot control them or limit them in a box of formulas. It is beyond our capacity, it's too cosmic.

It's not like I haven't tried finding a way to control it. Proof? This one rune that I'm invoking is impossible to be this stable unless you've trained for centuries to handle it, but I barely manage to control it, through the Ælir's support and my crazy talent (tailored from womb).

A proper binding formula? It demands multiple runes interlocked, each feeding into the next like an unstable fusion reaction. Right now, I'm just using half of it, just enough for this level.

I grit my teeth and pull another rune into place beside the first. Sparks explode along my forearm. Blood beads instantly from tiny fractures opening in my skin.

[Cage Rune: ᚲᚨᚷᛖ (Kage).]

The runes twist and screech against each other, hungry and chaotic — like trying to chain two angry stars in my bare hand.

My legs buckle. My vision dims around the edges, my consciousness wavering.

"Hold… hold…!"

Finally, the runes snap together, forming a crude, spiralling cage around the Mind-Taker. The creature howls, its tendrils smashing against the new walls, each impact sending vicious feedback jolting up my nerves.

I collapse onto one knee. Blood drips steadily from my fingers, pooling at my feet. 

The Mind-Taker shrieks, flailing violently — but it can't push through, snarling behind the glowing prison.

[Containment at 62% stability. Recommend immediate reinforcement or termination. Risk of escape: high if left alone.]

I spit blood to the side, chest heaving.

"Hah… hah… all that… just for a binding formula…"

I stare at my trembling, charred hand — skin blistered, runes seared into the flesh like molten brands.

"Even with Ælir's support… barely holding it…"

I tilt my head back, exhaling a shaky laugh.

"Alright… maybe… a bit more than I planned for a morning stroll…"

I glance at the creature, still pinned in the cage, its eyes locked on me with murderous intent.

"Should I… call the handlers… or… pass this mess to Odin…?"

I roll my shoulders and step closer, inspecting the runes to make sure they hold.

"Tch… you just had to disturb me while I was relaxing, huh?"

The creature glares, its eyes flickering with a weird, unsatiated hunger.

I sigh, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah… this day definitely took a turn."

I glance at the creature, still pinned inside the rune cage, its eyes flickering with hate and something else — a strange, shimmering glow starting to build beneath its cracked carapace.

"...Wait."

Ælir's voice cuts in sharp.

[Warning: Core instability detected. The creature is going to blow. Estimated detonation: 3 seconds.]

My eyes widen. "You've gotta be kidding me—"

Before I can even finish, the Mind-Taker lets out an ear-splitting screech. Its entire body balloons grotesquely, arcs of black-purple lightning webbing across its skin.

I try to scramble back, but there's no time.

With a wet, concussive boom, it bursts apart — a violent, smoky eruption that splatters fragments and scalding vapour in all directions. The rune cage shatters instantly, its shards of light dissipating into thin air.

I throw up my arms, blocking most of the impact. The shockwave blasts me backwards across the moss, skidding me against a boulder.

I groan, rolling onto my back, clothes charred and blood-smeared.

A few more seconds of coughing, and I push myself up on shaky arms.

"Seriously…?" I wheeze, spitting out a mouthful of moss and ash.

Ælir clicks in my mind.

[All core data and magical residue effectively erased. No traceable evidence remains.]

I let out a long, tired sigh, resting my head against the rock behind me.

Great… so while walking alone in this secure sanctuary that is patrolled regularly, I 'accidentally' stumbled upon a supposed extinct species. Just as it was captured, it exploded...

I almost died, but there's nothing left to study or interrogate…"

My fingers twitch, still faintly glowing from residual rune energy.

Guess… I'll need to have some countermeasure to protect myself. It's not safe anymore. I thought maybe I could stay for a few centuries within the palace, studying and enjoying this new life. But clearly, somebody's targeting me, or is it an accident? Maybe fate?

"..."

"Fate..... you there?"

Hope it's not some cosmic being hiding in the shadow.

Anyway.

I glance at the steaming crater where the creature used to be, my expression caught somewhere between admiration and irritation.

"...Well. Good morning to you too, Asgard."

****

I forgot to put sleipnir image. It's there now in chapter 9, and also here.

{Sleipnir's Image}