(29)
Astalos observed the solid sphere for two weeks as runic words written on the floor slowly carved themselves on the surface of the sphere like earthworms crawling on top of a ball.
Now only the last couple words remained on the floor where Astalos drew the magic circle. The magic circle looked rather empty as most of the runic words which once filled the circle were gone.
When the last of the runic words carved itself on the sphere, all the runic words on it started to glow. Light emitting from the words was dimmed at the beginning but within minutes, the light became as bright as the sun in the sky. The sphere radiated for almost an hour before the light started to fade away.
When the light was gone, Astalos realized the sphere has been changed. The sphere was not solid anymore. It was slowly moving toward Astalos like one of those slime monsters living in the sewers of cities.
"Just like the legend. It was true after all. The followers of the goddess were spellcasters. Now, to finish what I have created..."
Astalos put his right hand on the sphere and after taking a deep breath, he pushed his hand into the sphere. His hand pushed the sphere against the floor as the sphere devoured his hand like a slime devouring a child. But unlike those monsters, the sphere was not big enough to swallow Astalos's entire arm. It stopped after swallowing up to the elbow. Astalos waited until the sphere completely stopped and once it did, he sang a chant to finish the ritual.
“Goddess Aphe of Summer,
The governor of the battlefield,
Who blesses the victors with glory,
Will illuminate thy path.
May thee be praised,
The vanquisher of her enemies.
Over the deads,
Over the horizon of death,
Thee have won the eternal victory.
Aestas, the Scorching Sword of Summer,
Shall reign over the world,
With the eternal glory."
As his voice echoed in the room, the sphere (it hardly looked like a sphere now) began to soak into his arm leaving only the runic words on his skin. When the chant ended, the sphere was no more. Only the words remained. But Astalos could still feel the sphere inside of his right arm. It felt like his bones have been turned into flames. Surprisingly, it did not cause any pain but he felt a certain eagerness to try out his new weapon. With a smile, he opened the window and jumped down.
