How long have I been here? Opening my eyes to see dark walls surrounding a pedestal. Two walls parallel, leading down a fairly long corridor. With the pedestal on one end, the other is filled with fist sized chunks of rock. There used to be part of two doors there. What is left is only a cracked hollow frame, lining the top and bottom, where the only evidence left of the door. Sadly, they were locked. It took me far too many years to open that door. Open might be an optimistic phrase. In a drunken bout of insanity, I smashed into the doors, causing the magic seal to break in a rather unique way.
From what I can tell from the rest of these ruins is that the magic seal was probably meant to keep me in here. Forcibly keeping the doors intact while unless from what I can only guess is to have it open from outside. Only I have been here far too long. Before, when I started to lose my sanity, I thought the door led outside. How optimistic I was.
Finally, I cracked, quite literally, regardless of the damage I might undertake. I gathered all the mana I could and smashed it into the door. It wasn't the first time I have tried it, only this time it was different. With a special method, I was able to achieve the desired results. For better or for worse. Passing through the cracks, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
You see, I don't come from this world, while at the time I only had a slight hidden thought that this might not be the world I was used to calling home. My old world believed in a thing called science. Essentially, the theory of seeing is believing. Unless you could prove it, it oftentimes wouldn't be believed. Anything you can prove is oftentimes taken as the truth. Of course evidence would need to be found to prove it to be true, but if you saw something, you were halfway there.
Why did I bring this up? Well, that's because the way I was able to shatter that door was through a theory from that world. You see, they believed the universe was created in something called the big bang. Imagine a giant explosion, now imagine a tall building that attempts to reach the clouds. I am sure you see where this is going, now imagine them together. The resulting mess would be spectacular.
The end all, be all of this is the mess created in this big bang was the resulting universe. The explosion came from an extremely compressed state of all the universe's matter. You see, when the balance of this compressed matter was broken, the resulting explosion released all the matter, creating the entire universe. Or something along those lines, maybe missing a blah blah here or there somewhere.
Even in that world, the universe was extraordinarily large. Impossibly large that they couldn't even begin to explore, large. And all of that was in that mass of energy that exploded. Boring, I know, but before the explosion the universe was basically compressed into something like a dot far smaller than the tip of a needle, maybe?
Long story short, I created a big bang of my own. While super compressing the substance I dubbed mana I generated well over a thousand years, farthest I got into counting the days I have been here. After a thousand solitary years of counting, anymore would just increase your insanity. While it did in fact open the door. Also destroyed myself.
You see I was a person just like you yet because of some weird asshole I'm now a sword. To be more precise, I'm a sword spirit? While I am able to generate a spirit body of myself using mana. I am still technically a sword. When I opened that door my body, as to say the sword, was destroyed.
When they said that clumps of mass were very unstable and could create that massive amount of energy, they were right. I have no idea how close what I created using mana was to the actual thing, well let's just say if I am on a planet it's still here. Learning about something and experiencing it are two completely different things, even more so when you don’t understand the original. With hindsight, that should have been a huge red flag. Will say this though, something about doing something so destructive is fun. I wouldn’t shy away from trying it again.
This room used to have a day and a night, at first I wasn't sure if the light and the dark phases as I called them were equal to the day and night. But I have been here for over a thousand years. In that massive amount of time I got really, really bored, so I counted, I can’t remember the results so let’s just say it was close. After I destroyed the door, I damaged this entire structure. In the notes I found, it was said that materials making the walls were magically engraved with the same function.
After the explosion, everything was dark. No more days, no more nights. Just darkness, maybe I have been in here too long, or it's an ability of a spirit, but I can see fairly fine. Not as nice as I could during the day, but nonetheless not much of a problem.
Though it seems I lost a lot of my strength when my body was destroyed. For some reason, I didn't die. Not only that, with the fractured remains, I was able to mend it back together. Extremely painful, but the thought of freedom got me through it. Or maybe I got through by becoming insane, I can't tell which.
Before the explosion, my blade was rather fancy looking. Special designs that were engraved on the blade. While I was unable to pick myself up with my spirit body, if I do say so myself, the material of my handle looked rather soft. Of course, it didn't start out that way, in the beginning my body was just a very ordinary one. Not so different from my current appearance.
After the years I gathered my mana I started to notice that my body was getting stronger. I digress, it matters not. Whatever I did before doesn't matter, after my body shattered, it seems I broke many things. Since I stopped counting the days I was here I can only guess the time, but it should have been long enough that if I could gather my strength I should have been able to get it all back.
But looking at my body it's more simplistic of a sword then it was at the beginning, at least the cracks are gone. From the notes that bastard left behind, it seems I probably destroyed the magic runes that were housed with my soul in the sword. While that sick bastard is a genius even in my books, still the reason my soul came to this world and became a sword spirit was because of him. Though I died in my world, so I guess it doesn't matter.
I'm curious about this world. While I can explore outside this room, I can't leave the ruins. I still can't forget the excitement I felt when I first walked through those doors, I thought I was free. Only to find out I've been living in a dump. I guess it is better than living in an actual dump. Well, I can’t smell, so maybe not. If this was a literal dump, then I could at least busy myself with the trash left behind by others.
Found out much later, but this place is full of traps. Bastard said in his notes he would lead the chosen one to be my master. It can be said he failed rather badly. First time I saw people here, it really excited me. Finding out that they can't see me, dampened that a lot, but not entirely. The first people I saw gave me a rather novel feeling.
If they could become my wielder even if they can't see me and I can't speak to them so what, at least I would leave this dump. First people here died in a matter of days. Maybe this is because I'm insane but can't help but think of them as trash. And yeah, I know, life should be cherished. Or is it because there were literally billions of people in my old world, either way the uniqueness of life has dulled on me.
Back to my assessment of said trash, the second round of visitors were far more prepared. Instead of dying out within a matter of days, they were actually able to explore the ruins. But these people were vicious. What I can only see as slaves, they had scraps on. The cleanest and fanciest thing they wore were ominous collars. Even when they were scared, they still walked at the front, fodder for finding the traps. Sad that all the slaves died, but very happy they didn't die alone. I've never killed anyone in my previous life. After watching slave after slave forced to die over and over, I lost my patience.
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After my body was destroyed, I was very much weak beyond belief. I can't even condense an actual figure when I explore the ruins. All I can do is forcefully compress mana into a humanoid silhouette. Lucky for me, the traps in this place are triggered using mana. For whatever reason the people who visit can't seem to sense it, maybe because I am a spirit, I can. While I can suppress some of the triggers, at the time I wasn't very skilled in it, so I couldn't save anyone.
I could on the other hand trigger traps that were missed. Since I couldn't save them, I killed the ones that forced them to their deaths. It bothered me a bit when I killed the first one, but after seeing the rest punish the slaves for it, I no longer hesitated. After all, I am a sword spirit if someone can actually take me out of here, what else is a weapon like a sword used for. I will have to get used to seeing blood sooner or later.
The third visitors are who truly made me realize I wasn't in the same world. My old world didn't have mana, but I couldn't be sure if it was just something hidden in the dark the entire time; maybe it was there, just not within reach. Many times stories are based on some sort of truth. And my old world had a lot of stories about such things as mana in one way or another.
Pointed ears. Handsome fuckers too. Excited at the same time as scared. I was excited that they might be able to reach my body. Scared because when they reached the traps that weren't triggered before, some of them weren't quick enough to escape. I'll never forget the look of the ones who were left. Three died, the other four looked at the three rather expressionlessly. The other that seemed to be the leader even seemed to be disgusted by the three.
Before this, everything was normal. Yet three of them died, and the only reaction seemed to be disgust. The rest just didn't care. While the preciousness of life has long since dulled on me, it could even be said I have killed. Yet, I killed because of my anger at their actions. Even if it is terrible reasoning, I can only say there was some semblance of reason in this. Anger is also a reaction, yet these people long since stopped caring about such things. To the point that the people they were talking to just a second ago were gone. The only reaction they had was from the leader that was disgusted that they would fall in such an easy to avoid trap?
After they made their way to the remains of the second visitors, they seemed to have realized something. They quickly left after that. I can only guess, but I feel like they realized what this place was because I never saw them again. It was a sad yet a happy feeling when they left. On one hand they might spread word about this place, on the other, seeing someone that could be your way out; leaving without a second hesitation gave rise to a dark feeling. One condolence I could get from them was that they took the remains of the three that died. I can only hope they will at least be given a proper burial.
After that, no one else came until a few days ago. I don't hold much hope for them. They're only two. Of the first three visitors other than the first who seemed to have come to this place by mistake. Second, came with a bunch of people and explored a rather large amount of the ruins. Honestly, if I didn't kill them off, they might have made it to me. Not okay with the amount of people they would have forced to their death to accomplish it.
Third had only eight but from reactions of when they arrived to when they left it was as if they wanted to confirm something. They only explored where the last of the second party died. Speaking of the latest two, I did at least watch them and while one of the two is a woman with a collar sort of like the second group, the relationship between the two seems different. While they can't see me, it's still uncomfortable to watch from within the group. Plus, I've already confirmed from the last three parties that the language here is different. So I can only tell by their body language that the woman doesn't seem to be a slave.
After watching them a bit, I left. With only two, I just don't see them being able to do anything. Hopefully they leave alive and tell others about this place. While moving to the secret room of the bastard who got me into this mess, I can't help but think of my future.
Maybe because I was a male before becoming a spirit that I really hoped for a woman to be my wielder. While I am not against gay people as a straight male, it just somehow feels weird to think about being held by another man. Then again, I am against anyone who would try to have sex with a sword. Letting out a sigh, I can’t help but ask what the fuck is wrong with me… I really need someone to talk to, being insane leads my conversation with myself in weird directions.
On second thought… If it gets me out of this place, if my wielder is a guy, or even their sexual orientation, I don’t give a shit. Still prefer it to being a woman. Ah, those people that seemed to be elves would be the best. Besides them being creepy, since it's not like I would be able to talk to them. The women of that race, elf or not, are really breathtaking. Of course, it could've just been them, that doesn’t seem that plausible. Only if they banded together because of their looks, maybe, I don’t know.
After a few days of rereading the notes left behind by that bastard, I can't help but wonder if it's possible. I did destroy the door, and I could leave marks on the walls of the room he left me in. In the notes, he hypothesized that after creating a soul gathering array and leaving a vessel magic sword, it would draw a soul from that world to the sword and create a sword spirit.
With the magic runes left behind during the crafting of the sword I should be able to not just suppress the magic traps but using repaired runes I should be able to manifest my mana into a state that can even interact with the outside world. This can be felt by the fact that I was able to destroy the door. But by doing so I fractured my body and while I felt the runes before I don't remember what they looked like. In the notes he left, there are diagrams of a few.
But I probed my body inside, I can’t tell exactly how he left the runes inside. While it can be said the runes were most likely placed inside during the crafting process, the space they are in is inside, yet it appears to be its own space. I am unsure of this, or even how to explain it without another example of such a thing to go off of. One thing I can be sure of is that wherever the runes are, when the blade fractured into pieces, the space inside was affected.
However, things left are fragments of it. While mending my body back together, I ignored them. With a slight pause, while looking at the diagram, I feel the connection between me and my sword body. With the distance, I can only feel what is inside. I need to go back if I want to fiddle with it to see if I can remake the runes. The space inside is like a broken puzzle, while I can move the pieces, they aren’t conveniently shaped to tell me what pieces go where. It is more like a broken window, while all the pieces are there to actually remake it from all the tiny pieces is very absurd. Even with the ability to tell which parts belong to which rune.
As I make my way back I am getting closer, while I have had this idea for a while now I have to keep returning to the room with his notes to confirm the diagrams to try and memorize the runes. The runes are very complex. It is like looking at a massive picture, the amount of information I can remember at once is very limited. Though the runes are small, each part somehow contains a large amount of intricate parts at a smaller level. It reminds me of those computer circuits that I used to see in my old world. I have been slowly remaking one. From what I can tell, the rune I am almost completely remade, is the rune that allowed my mana to interact with the outside world.
I was able to imprint my mana before into the tally marks, maybe because I felt like a prisoner. I used to make them when I used to keep track of time. It was possible to imprint my feelings into them. Think of it as a magic dairy. Along with the fact I was able to leave the marks and destroy the door, there is a lot of evidence that if the runes are remade I can mess with some of the traps.
Between the room my body is in, and the outside, is a corridor with a boulder. I can detect a hidden compartment somewhere before the door to that room. As well as one further down in a straight line, seems to connect in some way to the first. I can feel a number of boulders in the compartment. From what I can tell, unless someone finds the switch to disable the trap, no one will be able to reach me.
If I can recreate the rune and hit the switch myself, then all I need is someone to make it to the corridor and I am free. I have gone numerous times from the outer limit of the ruins, tracing a path leading to my room. With many traps in between, all of them should be avoidable one way or another. Only the trap in front of the door is one that has to be disabled to get past.