Power of Runes Chapter 413: Pole Blade

[Six Centuries Later]

-Swish... Whoosh!!!

-Clang...!!

-Shff...!!!

The sharp whistle of weaponry slicing the atmosphere reverberated throughout the vast Soul Space. Every strike sent tremors through the ambient soul energy, as if the very realm were reacting to the rhythm of his movement.

Ash drifted gracefully within this infinite void. His footwork remained balanced, his form projecting the unforced poise of a master who had performed these identical drills for an eternity. Held firmly in his grip was a double-ended pole-blade; its masterful weight distribution allowed each blow to transition seamlessly into the next.

[A/N: Weapon image in Discord.]

This was no ordinary armament. This was Eclipse.

For an immense span of time, Ash had naively assumed that the evolution triggered by his [Weapon Resonance]—an ability gifted by the [Codex of Creation]—had unveiled all of Eclipse’s secrets. He was wrong.

Attached to the weapon’s metadata following its Runic evolution was an enigmatic sequence of text. It was a cryptic string of symbols that defied decryption no matter how intently he studied them; the meaning remained firmly locked behind layers of illegible script.

[A/N: I know you all glossed over it. You missed it completely, but feel free to refer back to Chapter 148 where the description of Eclipse first appeared. And before you claim I retconned it, just check any archived version online—I obviously cannot modify those.]

Only in this moment did the reality of that message manifest for Ash. He finally understood that those symbols were not meant for translation, nor could they be deciphered through intellect alone. The true key was not knowledge, but profound comprehension.

Comprehension of the Runes.

Runes were never merely ink on parchment or inscriptions on stone. Every distinct Rune embodied a fundamental concept, a blueprint of meaning that dictated the interaction of all things within existence.

Once his perspective shifted, the chaotic symbols began to coalesce into a discernable pattern. Centuries of diligent study suddenly aligned, allowing him to perceive the truth that had been hidden in plain sight.

The weapon’s latent power awoke with an almost sentient readiness.

Transformation: Enables the wielder to shift the weapon into any form.

Eclipse had never been bound to a single manifestation. Its essential nature was metamorphosis. The weapon was designed to reshape itself according to the wielder’s intent and imagination. The past Runic evolution had always contained this potential, yet Ash had been too blind to the Runic essence to provoke it.

That cage had finally shattered.

-Clang...!!

The pole-blade swung in a crisp arc, the cold metallic chime echoing through the Soul Space. The long shaft rotated with effortless fluidity between his fingers, the dual blades dancing with such perfect equilibrium that one might assume this was the weapon’s original form.

It felt tailored for him. However, uncovering this ability triggered a second realization Ash had never dared to contemplate.

For the majority of his journey, he had been shackled by his own unconscious biases.

The constraints of the System’s class-based architecture had molded his subconscious to an alarming degree. Because his path had been strictly defined as a path of the sword, that invisible tether had rigidized the way his instincts approached combat. Without realizing it, every other weapon felt like a failure to connect.

Whenever he previously attempted to wield anything other than a sword, the symphony of battle felt shattered. The rhythm vanished, the grip felt alien, and his body’s alignment during strikes felt jarringly disconnected. His instincts were fundamentally rebelling against the foreign form.

It wasn't a physical block, but it was an invisible wall that rendered his efforts clumsy.

Now, everything had shifted.

Ash no longer possessed a class. As the system that defined those limitations dissolved, the artificial constraints on his instincts pulled away like vapor in the wind.

A simple, quiet thought anchored itself in his mind while he practiced with Eclipse’s transformation: If the classes are gone, what is truly preventing me from wielding anything I desire?

He pondered it until curiosity blossomed into a firm resolve to test his theory.

Eclipse obeyed.

The familiar sword configuration elongated and shifted. A handle stabilized in the center of a elongated shaft tipped with duality, reconfiguring itself with an fluidity that suggested this form was always meant to manifest.

The instant he closed his hand around it, the difference was visceral. There was no internal friction, no awkward tension within his stance. The pole-blade occupied the space around him with a logic that felt innate. It was as if he had spent a thousand lifetimes mastering it.

That realization fundamentally altered his trajectory.

-Swish...!!

Ash surged forward, driving the pole-blade in a broad, sweeping arc. Its reach eclipsed that of any standard blade, and his body moved with a cohesive grace that bridged every strike. He fought with the surgical precision of an expert.

He was not merely drilling techniques, however. As the blades whirled, faint, luminescent threads traced the path of his strikes, glimmering briefly before dissipating into the soul energy of the void.

These were the shadows of Runic calligraphy.

After centuries deciphering the nature of Runes, he had reached a radical conclusion: a Rune is essentially a geometric framework defined by specific proportions. And lines, fundamentally, are created through motion.

The path of a blade is nothing more than a stroke in the air.

-Whoosh...!!

Ash spun the shaft, performing a controlled rotation. The wood slid tactilely through his palms as the curved edges mapped an intricate trajectory through the air. Several Runic fragments ignited, hanging suspended for a heartbeat before the surrounding energy consumed them.

The fragments were incomplete. Still, even partial meanings exerted influence.

-Shff...!!

His posture pivoted and he thrust forward in a diagonal strike, the blade’s tip burning a glowing line into the ambient energy. More Runic components manifested.

For a fleeting second, the fragments harmonized. Then, they collapsed into drifting flecks of spiritual essence.

The art was unfinished. The Runic structures generated by his movement could not hold their integrity, collapsing back into raw energy the moment their momentum faded. Naturally, he required Soul Energy and force of Will to forge these strokes—and without a physical body, his options were limited to the energy permeating this space.

Whether other forms of energy could sustain these Runes would remain a mystery until he obtained a new vessel.

Yet, even in this embryonic state, the technique functioned. Earlier experiments suggested that certain combinations of Runes could generate a seismic force, capable of launching an opponent away like a broken kite should they stray into the path of his weapon.

In a sense, he had sketched the groundwork for both a Weapon Art and a Movement Art. These six centuries had not been spent solely on Eva.

Which reminded him of Eva...

“Huff... huff...”

“What do you think? Was that better this time...?”

Ash lowered Eclipse, his breathing ragged from the sheer repetition of the complex sequences, even if the Soul Space remained barren and quiet.

He was alone. Yet, a moment later, a calm, synthetic voice echoed within his consciousness.

“Hm... your progress is measurable. You managed to anchor the strokes long enough to sustain a formation this time. However, it remains impractical for actual combat. Your current design demands that every swing encapsulate the power of a thousand strokes within a single motion. Only then will you achieve your desired effect. And from my observations... you are still far, very far, from that threshold.”

Ash exhaled a long breath, venting a mixture of fatigue and wounded pride.

“Thanks for the encouragement. I feel much better about my wasted effort now.”

“It was not a waste. You are constrained by your lack of a physical shell, not by the theory itself. Once you reclaim a body, your output will likely amplify significantly. Currently, you are existence as a mere soul, and your control over energy and physical form is severely throttled.”

Ash went quiet, nodding slowly. He accepted the validity of her assessment, even if her clinical bluntness rankled his nerves.

“Fair point. Let’s stay positive,” Ash conceded.

The voice was that of Eva. And truly, Ash had pulled off the impossible. Over centuries of grueling labor, he had merged her core with his own soul to construct a nascent, fledgling System. It was incomplete, missing the refined architecture of a master-tier system, but it already functioned as the prototype for something entirely unprecedented.

An infant System.