Ryn was temporarily blinded by a dazzling light as he felt the door within his conscience close behind him. As his vision slowly returned, what stretched out before him was something he could have only ever dreamt of. A vast and grey rocky plain stretching out as far as his eyes could see, the surface of which was anything but smooth. The blue sky he was so used to had gone, replaced with a night sky, deeper than any he was used to. His ears couldn't pick up on a single sound, pin drop silence ensuing throughout the vast expanse of chalky land beneath him. Ryn wasn't quite sure what his Sword Heart was trying to represent, why this sea of grey is what represented his heart?

'If the sky is black, realistically I shouldn't be able to see anything no? There shouldn't be any light letting me see the land I'm stoo-'

As Ryn was thinking to himself, he was also turning around, to which he was suddenly blinded once again, this time on a much lesser scale but blinded nonetheless.

High in the black sky, a dazzling sun of purest white flame burned, it's light burning into Ryn's retinas. Shielding his eyes, he thought to himself,

'Now it makes sense I guess.'

In front of Ryn, stabbed into the ground by the tip was his Sword of purest obsidian, it's blade and runes glowing in all its splendour and elegance. He gently took a step towards it, watching how the tether between himself and the blade also shrunk in unison. Upon reaching it, he rested his hands on its hilt and gripped tightly, trying to pull it out of the chalky floor. However, no matter how much strength Ryn poured into his biceps, he couldn't pull it out.

'Well that was to be expected, even the Arisen can't wield their blades in their own Sword Hearts.'

In the depths of Ryn's mind, a light bulb flashed as he had an idea. Closing his eyes, his hands still resting on the hilt of his Sword. He envisioned the anatomy of his body again, but this time adding the sword alongside it, an extension of himself. He felt his essence channelling through him, flowing in his arteries and veins in their respective directions. He focused his will on the essence, guiding it to his fingertips, and then… slowly out of them, into his Sword.

As the first ripples of essence trickled into his sword, as if setting off a chain reaction, more and more was taken. Too much. Too fast. Ryn wasn't keen on expending all of his essence, the after effects that would have on him was... not something he wanted to experience. He willed the essence to stop flowing out of his fingers, and to continue its circulation through him. With enough effort, and a small headache building from his essence reserves being expended, Ryn finally managed to get his essence under control and back to normal.

Taking a deep breath, Ryn huffed out, slowly opening his eyes. But, what he didn't expect, was a whole new world waiting for him.

Runes of an ethereal blue were glowing in front of his face, painted on air, but unlike when he'd tried reading the runes on his sword, this time… He could understand them, comprehend what they were saying.

[Name : Ryn Sylzer]

[Rank : Steeled]

[Class : ?]

[Scars: 0]

[Scars needed until class evolution : 1000]

[Sword : Lunar Whisper]

Ryn stared at the runes, he knew what this meant… He'd finally… finally managed to truly become one with his Sword Heart, tethering his very being to it, comprehending its existence. Sure there were many mysteries regarding it he was yet to unravel, but just like a new lover, part of the experience was finding out the new things. Soon things began falling in place for Ryn, he studied his surroundings before concluding.

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'Firstly these runes… How do I make them disappear and appear, I assume maybe just like the Sword, I need to will for it to appear and vice versa.'

Ryn once again dove into his conscience, and could soon feel the set of runes before him, almost like they were speaking to him before willing for them to disappear which to his surprise, they did.

'Sweet, I might just be a prodigy… Now what, the sword's called Lunar Whisper. Hmmm, Lunar? Wait a minute am I-'

Ryn began forming an idea of just what his Sword Heart was based off of, why this rocky, grey expanse represented his heart.

'The moon… Holy shit… My Sword Heart's the moon….'

It all began falling in place for Ryn, remembering his desire to be with the moon, remembering his longing and yearning for it, then the pain he felt straight after. Come to think of it, it felt like a million hammers crashing down on him, perhaps that was symbolic of his sword being forged. Ryn looked up once again, towards the Sun before looking away again. He wasn't quite sure what it was doing there and what its significance was, but he was eager to find out, a dangerous curiosity building within him.

'Wait… Maybe I'll be able to read the runes on my sword's guard now, I mean… I could understand the runes floating before me earlier.' Ryn looked at the glowing runes, what was once just an undiscernible series of shapes and lines, was now an intricate language, all being pushed into Ryn's mind.

The sensation was rather surreal, knowledge which he shouldn't have known somehow able to be understood by him. Just thinking about why he could now understand them confused him. Just why was it that the Heart of Sword allowed a connection between him and the runes, what was it in his body it truly altered?

He looked at them before speaking out loud, not that his voice was transmitted, space was silent after all.

"Firm in the night sky, it answered one and gifted itself to the other. Both yearned for the celestial body's aid, but only one received. The other slowly extended itself towards the heavens, bearing fruit for all those who remembered him. A deep scar from a branch, etched on the heart of the Sun and Moon. One from which they would never truly recover."

'What does that even mean? Extending itself towards the heavens? A scar from a branch? Both yearned? Who is both? Am I part of the both?'

Ryn was left even more confused than before, unsure what to make of the riddle along the guard of his sword. Perhaps one day he'd look back at it and understand its profound meaning however right now, he hadn't the narrowest of clues.

Listed under the runes describing his attributes, Ryn noticed another few lines of runes, however these he couldn't understand, as if he wasn't quite at the level yet. Not that he minded, in his eyes, Ryn had made extraordinary progress. From a boy with just meagre scraps the night before, to an awakened Sword Heart, able to understand its language at a basic level.

'I should get back… Before Mom starts to worry about me.'

Ryn found the tether to his reality within his mind and tugged on it, taking him back to the cosy atmosphere of his room, just as he'd left it. Ryn's eyes turned towards his window, the Sun was still out, bright blue sky, yet a chilly and icy wind was blowing continuously, knifing at those unlucky enough to be caught in its grasp.

He hurriedly shut his windows and drew his curtains, a much more satisfied expression more evident on his pale face. Ryn conjured Lunar Whisper despite his eyes being almost unable to make it out, due to the darkness. He'd only been able to see it thanks to the lamp he'd left on from the previous night, too busy writhing in pain and wandering throughout his Sword Heart, not that he explored much of it, for a task as mundane as turning off the lights.

Ryn slightly grinned to himself as he looked at the blade once more, still not having fully come to terms with his reality.

'Things really are going to change soon I guess.'

Ryn couldn't help but feel a growing and infectious sense of anticipation alongside a growing fear. Anvil was no forgiving place, there was no camaraderie or honour there, only survival and cruelty. He dismissed his Sword, before plopping onto his bed. He'd been awake the majority of the night, only having passed out briefly. During the day he'd practiced controlling his sword essence and quickly managed to understand how to completely conjure his sword. Ryn remained motionless, his breathing deep and steady as he outstretched his arms across his bed, letting himself sink into it as much as possible.

'I mean… My chances of surviving Anvil really has gone up a lot hasn't it? The chance that I'd succumb to Anvil sure, are still quite high, but if I can keep progressing, focusing on my Sword Heart and spending time reflecting… Why can't I? Why can't I survive?'