The *túndalo* was placed on my head and secured with leather straps. The two "spoons" fit into my eyes like metallic contact lenses, the handles of the spoons protruding from the sides.

The sensation was one of deep discomfort, but it was still bearable. "Just out of curiosity, how would it be to do this without the *túndalo*?" I asked in an attempt to distract myself since I couldn't see anything anymore.

"You would need to analyze a multitude of basic runes until you find one that you feel an affinity with. You can do it with any of them, but affinity ensures it will work. So, after finding that rune, you would have to spend days or even months scrutinizing every detail of it until its entire form is etched into your memory. It's at this moment that you attempt to meditate with a mana stone and use it to draw the rune in your mind until you're naturally guided to your mana sea."

She continued, "This whole process can last for months or even years. All children are required to undergo this process in their first rune; obviously, those who finish in less time have greater potential for mana control."

"In how much time did you manage to do it?" I asked.

"Two weeks."

"...Can't say I'm surprised." While I spoke, she seemed to have finished preparing the *túndalo*.

"Everything is ready, let's begin," she said, and I shifted in my chair to find a more comfortable position until suddenly, I couldn't move at all. It felt like my body was completely locked into the chair...

"Keep your eyes closed at all times. If you open them, we'll have to start over. Oh, and avoid moving."

"I couldn't move even if I wanted to!" I complained, and at that very moment, a sharp and annoying sound came from the top of my head. Along with this sound, two needles touched my eyelids and began to tear them. I clenched my teeth and endured.

===

I began to draw the basic mana expansion rune. This rune slightly increases the user's mana capacity. It's a fairly common rune that many children have. It's great for teaching how the mana sea works and how it can be altered by certain runes.

The process was going smoothly. The human seemed like he wanted to scream at the beginning but continued to hold on. It was when the rune was almost complete that something strange happened.

"It's draining much more mana than usual...?" Normally, a grade two mana crystal would be sufficient for someone uninitiated like him. I'm using a grade six! The quality and quantity of mana are much more than a mere initiate should be able to contain.

"What the heck is this guy!?" Erin shouted. She was already by my side, a thin dagger in her hand.

Seconds passed, and the mana crystal was completely drained. For a moment, everything fell silent.

"aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHG!!!!!"

He started to scream, and the mana around trembled.

===

In the beginning, the pain was intense, but I had been through worse, so I endured it.

At some point, I began to glimpse the silhouette of a rune. It wasn't complete, but it was enough. I focused and tried to bring it into my mana sea, as the queen had mentioned.

In the end, I was in that same dark place, standing on the water. In front of me was the rune that Saphir was drawing. It glowed with an indigo blue light.

"Well, now I should replace the mana of the mana crystal with mine... I suppose this is the 'water' she talked about?"

That's right.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Hmm? Did I just hear myself speak out loud?"

Technically, yes.

A tingling sensation rose from my feet and spread throughout my body. This reminded me of what happened the last time I was here, and I immediately looked down. There was nothing there...

"No reflection?"

Behind you.

"..." I turned around, facing myself. It was a version of me with an imposing look, exuding deep wisdom and... disdain.

"Who are you?" My voice came out a bit more serious than it should have. That was definitely not me, and there's no way a person can remain calm when looked at with disdain by a stranger.

This is a simple question but with an infinite number of answers. The one you're seeking might be this: I am you.

"Ha! No, you're not."

At the very least, I'm the best version of you.

"At the very least, you're a pompous narcissist who was fortunate enough to be born with the same face as mine."

The fortune of being born with your face. Who's the narcissist here?

"Tsk."

Seriously though, at first, I wasn't much different from you, but the influence of these runes is gradually changing me.

"Runes? What runes? I only brought one."

*waves hand* *Woooshh*

These runes.

With a wave of the clone's hand, the space distorted. While it was still dark and empty all around, above us, hundreds, thousands of runes of various colors and sizes were now shining.

Individually, they didn't emit much light, but with so many of them... it becomes unbearable over time. It's like holding a glass of water; at first, it's easy, but after hours of holding it, your hand starts to shake, and your arm eventually fails, causing the glass to drop.

"But it looks so beautiful; I can't understand... oh, is that it?"

Exactly. These runes are not ours; they are like the rune you brought, made of a different type of mana. They "obey" us because they are in our minds, but that's it. We need to do to these what the marble woman said to do with this. He pointed to the sky and then to the rune I brought.

"I see." I still don't know much about runes and all of this, so I decided to be as efficient as possible.

"Well, first, I have to create a mana core."

I know. We have to be quick; the longer time passes, the more this runic light affects you. You are the original, and I want you to remain that way. The knowledge they give me is not worth it.

I still have a lot to think about, like the fact that this clone can see and hear what happens to me outside of here, the fact that he was like me at the beginning, and the knowledge he mentioned. I'll leave all of that for another time; I can sense some of this clone's intentions, and he seems genuinely concerned.

He approached the rune and began flooding it with the "water" under our feet.

Did she say anything else about creating a core? Is it just converting the rune's mana into your own?

"Hmm? I thought you could see and hear everything that happens to me?"

You thought wrong.

"..." I gave him a frown.

Sorry, sometimes it gets difficult to see or hear anything beyond the whispers of these accursed runes.

My frown only disappeared because I could sense his genuine regret. It seems that my personality has been distorted towards the bad, or towards madness, but there's still a little bit of me left.

I extended my hand and joined him. "The queen said I would know what to do when I

finished with this rune."

Good. Let's hope she's right.

***

Converting the rune wasn't a problem, my clone and I finished in a few minutes. The rune now emits a strange light, like a silvery gray but shimmering as if it's passing through water. If you look closely, you can even see parts of it that shine like a rainbow.

"What do we do now?" I have some ideas, but I don't think I know what to do with it.

The woman said you would know what to do. What do you suggest?

"Since you are me, or at least a version of me, you should also know what to do, right?"

Fair enough. I think we should bend this rune into a mana sphere first. Let's stick it on a snow globe.

"Can't hurt to try."

We naturally divided our work. He manipulated the rune to make it curve, as if it were drawn on a sphere, and I created a mana/water sphere as perfect as I could.

We combined the two, and the rune began to glow. The water inside the sphere began to dry and solidify on the surface, forming a kind of multicolored crystal sphere.

It needs more mana. The clone said.

"Then let's give it what it wants." A smile appeared on my face, and both of us started pouring as much mana as we could.

*WOOOOSHHH!* The core started pulsating and absorbed mana like a sponge.

For a moment, it seemed like the lake we were in was going to dry up, but the core finished forming before everything dried out. In the end, it even seemed to be filling up again.

*Panting* *Panting*

With the core now fully formed, both of us fell to the ground, completely exhausted. It wasn't due to physical effort, but rather mental strain.

"Ha, we did it."

Yes, it turned out bigger than I expected.

"Indeed." The rune was only about a foot in diameter, and it was folded to fill half of a sphere, so the core shouldn't be larger than a foot...

It must be at least a meter and a half in diameter.

The rune appeared as a small gray blot on the surface of a diamond-like ball that shone like a rainbow.

*Tap tap* My clone got up, brushed the "dirt" off his clothes, and stood in front of me, waiting for me to do the same.

I want to merge with you. He said seriously.