novelraw Chapter 259: Murmur Embodiment
Chapter 259: Murmur Embodiment
Chapter 259: Murmur Embodiment After clearing his thoughts, Soren set out to activate his other skill, [Worldsong Murmurs]. He gave the same mental command to The Records as last time, but with a different target:
The world’s melody… Give it form… Shape it… Imbue life…
The lands… The lands of fantasia…
Yarian…
Almost instantly, the shimmering pages responded to his thoughts. Their radiance broke them to pieces, causing a miniature storm of paper to swirl in the air, guided by an invisible wind.
Eventually, they all began to merge together into a ball that rapidly expanded. Colors and other strange scenes continued to appear across their surfaces, as if an infinite display of history and lore was being depicted in unison. Soren in that moment felt as if he could jump into those scenes—a miniature world awaited him within those magical pages.
But those thoughts quickly drifted away as the final sheets of scripture and myth joined the fray. Like origami, the paper reshaped itself, and the vastness of the world it described emerged outward, breathing life into it.
In that moment, Soren could only remain standing there—a mix of shock and awe coating his expression. It was as if he was witnessing creation itself. Creation born from ideas and symbols…
After a few more moments, the mystical display quickly concluded. What emerged from this strange tapestry of written knowledge and emotion was a mushroom-like creature, standing only two or three feet tall. Its colossal mushroom cap shifted in colors, like an ocean of paints. Two shimmering flames were present on its stem, representing its eyes. It also possessed tiny limbs, allowing it to walk or waddle wherever it pleased.
In one of its hands, a strange staff appeared. Its height reached its own mushroom cap and at its apex, a tiny gem covered in leaves and flowers could be seen.
As he watched the creature stare back at him, Soren noticed his own halo of golden butterflies slowly beginning to crumble. The swarm slowly broke apart as each butterfly flew toward the mysterious spirit, forming a new ring over its mushroom cap instead.
“How interesting…” Soren crossed his arms, watching the creature stand there like a statue with keen eyes. “Just as I had assumed, these creatures can independently use my Soul Weapon skills… And more than likely, they depend on [Hymns of the Unseen] to hear their surroundings.”
Since the creature activated the skill on its own, Soren was certain that it was one of its requirements.
After making a mental note, he decided to issue it an order:
“Walk toward there.” He pointed deeper into the cave.
“....”
No response. The creature continued to stand there, as if unaware of what Soren had said.
Is it just not intelligent enough? Or maybe it doesn’t understand Vinuan…
He decided to give the creature the same order but in English this time. However, just like his last attempt, he was met with silence. He then tried Yasini and even Dulvali—neither of which worked.
Soren scratched his hair and sighed. “What the hell is your problem? Do you think you can continue to ignore your creator like this?”
“.....”
After observing for a while longer, he realized that his attempts at communication were fruitless. The creature was completely unresponsive.
Is it really a matter of intelligence? But my Worldsong Embodiment is close to fifty percent… Shouldn’t that make Yarian’s Murmur far more potent than the one I summoned in Yeongwon?
This dilemma seemed completely unsolvable.
Should I ask Figment to do a divination? We might need to pry into the details of this ability a bit more deeply.
But just as he was about to consider this option more seriously, the sound of a stalactite crashing to the ground echoed throughout the cave, startling Soren from his thoughts. Somewhere in this deep, underground abyss, an ancient rock had finally lost its battle against the powers of erosion.
After hearing the roaring sound, Soren couldn’t help but sigh.
Since the storm is still raging out there, I should probably try to explore this cave more deeply. Perhaps it could lead me to a new section of the mountain that’s safer to climb.
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With a new plan forming, he glanced at the mysterious creature he summoned, intending to deactivate [Worldsong Murmurs]. But what he saw left him shocked instead.
The Murmur… it had turned its body on its own, facing the deeper parts of the cave. As if it had been startled by the noise too.
Although it did return to its usual stillness, that brief and innocuous movement suddenly gave Soren an idea.
“Does it only understand pure sounds? Noise created by the world itself?”
The raging snowstorm, the melting of ice, water dripping from the ceiling, the crashing of stalactites…
Now that I think about it, the wind whistled moments before the Murmur I summoned in Yeongwon turned around, allowing me to see that rambling old man…
These murmurs… They only respond to the world itself.
“So then, what if I mimic this world?..”
Using [Record], Soren commanded his Soul Weapon to replay the Fantasia of Fantasias in his mind. The siren-like melody was once again clouding his thoughts, as if his very soul was becoming one with its emotions.
Just as he expected, Soren finally witnessed the creature move again. With its tiny limbs, the Murmur began to dance clumsily, mimicking the same movements he did earlier.
A strange connection was forming between them that was hard to ignore. It felt as if their minds were in sync—the creature was no longer hollow. Its eyes burned brightly, as if it had finally awakened from a deep and cold slumber.
“No wonder it didn’t respond—it was asleep this entire time!” Soren chuckled but then quickly froze. “Why am I retaining my thoughts? Shouldn’t the worldsong possess me like last time?”
He could still hear the melody, but its allure was no longer influencing him to dance. His mind had regained its clarity once more, but the tunes continued regardless…
Soren glanced at the dancing mushroom in amusement. Is it because our minds are linked? The Murmur is being enchanted by the worldsong in my stead?
After observing it for a while longer, Soren couldn’t help but be fascinated. The strange critter was dancing to the music while staring directly at him, as if aware that he was the source of its awakening.
It had fully gained consciousness.
Seeing this, Soren decided to reissue his order from last time. “Walk over there.”
Before he could even finish the sentence, the Murmur danced its way in the direction he pointed, bringing soft light to the darkness ahead.
It can respond directly to my thoughts… He nodded in satisfaction. Then, he decided to try something else instead. A new mental command formed in his mind:
Possession… see through your vision…
Almost instantaneously, a bright flash of light took over his surroundings. Then, after a few more moments, he noticed his perspective had changed from earlier, witnessing the scenes in the cave from a much lower vantage point.
It worked… I’m possessing the spirit just like last time!
The silly movements of the Murmur were causing his vision to shake from left to right. He mentally ordered it to turn around, allowing him to see his own body. Strangely, he found himself lying on the ground with his eyes closed, as if he was in a coma.
Possessing the Murmur means losing consciousness of my real body…
After making that confirmation, he decided to try something else while still possessing its body. Clearing his thoughts slightly, Soren tried to expand his Soul Realm. He wanted to see if casting magecraft was possible while in this possessive state.
Sure enough, his experiment was successful. However, he did notice that its size wasn’t as large as what he could normally produce. Soren theorized that it was likely due to his original body still possessing portions of his anima to keep it alive.
Through the mind connection, he could feel his body’s existence and every aspect of it, but moving it was impossible.
After letting himself get used to this sensation for a bit longer, Soren organized his thoughts and began commanding his Channels of Willpower. The axioms and their anima ratios all formed precisely in his mind, allowing the spellform to manifest.
Within seconds, a shimmering yet almost invisible sword coalesced before his eyes. Soren could command it to move in any direction, or even break apart based on its intricate geometries.
Excitement filled his heart. This is absolutely crazy… He glanced over at the object the Murmur had been holding since its summoning.
My theory was correct… This staff—it actually possesses its own philosopher’s stone. It allows the Murmur to cast magecraft!
This development completely baffled him. From what he could remember of Yeongwon’s Murmur, it did not possess anything similar at all!
Why is Yarian’s summon so different?... Was it due to his Worldsong Embodiment being higher? Or perhaps it was due to him being a magi in this world? Perhaps the art of magecraft itself was related to Yarian as a world…
Soren didn’t know the answer.
While pondering over it for a while longer, Soren continued trying out different things while possessing the spirit. He attempted casting his other magecraft, like Fairy Barrier and Violet Mirage. He also wanted to test whether the creature was susceptible to damage, so he decided to cut himself with the Fairy Blade.
Although there were clear injuries, the Murmur was able to recover quickly—draining his anima rapidly in the process. Moreover, the creature seemed to exist in both a physical and metaphysical form, allowing it to interact with both the surrounding world and the unseen.
Eventually, however, his anima ran out. Soren was once again sent back into his own body forcefully. Waking up slowly with his head still heavy, Soren glanced over at his Soul Weapon, which seemed to have [Record]ed a new entry without his awareness.
Figment…
Soren decided to read it.
New Sub-ability Recorded: [Murmur Embodiment]