Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

"You can stop now, Erik."

"Alright."

With Sigrún's words, Erik stopped his movements and sat back down in the chair, eating cookies like a mouse. He really loved those cookies, munching away throughout the conversation, and to his delight, each time he was about to finish, more seemed to appear on the plate out of nowhere.

"You mentioned that you changed those exercises after a while. Why did you do that?"

Still full of doubts, Sigrún asked casually, focusing her gaze on Erik, who simply responded with a somewhat worried question after stopping his cookie munching.

"Shouldn't I have?"

"No, not at all. I'm just curious. Besides, the ones you use now are much better," Sigrún replied with a reassuring smile.

"That's a relief. Actually, I did it because these energy balls guided me to do so. While practicing, they seemed to guide me to change them, and when I did, they started to enter me, and I became stronger. So I kept doing them, and before I knew it, they turned into what you saw", Erik explained calmly before resuming his cookie eating.

(This is no genius; he’s a damn CHILD OF THE MYST! How the hell can someone like him exist in this world? Life is so unfair… but at the same time, so interesting. Fufufu.)

"Well, I think that's enough for today," Sigrún stood up from her chair and continued, "Follow me. I'll take you to your room. Your wolves can stay on the deck. After you rest a bit and unpack your things, I'll teach you how make a new contract and how to make them smaller."

"That's great! Keiser, Tiberius, stay here and don't break anything." Erik stood up, took his huge bag from the floor, and followed Sigrún, while the wolves responded with a couple of barks.

Bark x2

Sigrún led Erik into the ship, walking through a long corridor luxuriously decorated with dark wood panels, white marble floors, and walls adorned with beautiful golden runes, each emitting a soft glow, creating a mesmerizing pattern of light and shadow that captured Erik's attention.

Finally, they arrived at a massive door, encrusted with gleaming gems and engraved with intricate runes that emitted a slight light. Sigrún opened it with a smooth and elegant gesture of her hand, revealing an elegant and luxurious room that seemed to scream comfort.

Erik looked at the room with its white walls and wooden floor, where a silk canopy hung over a large, plush bed, a mystical-looking blue fire crackling in the fireplace, sofas upholstered in soft, luxurious black velvet, and various pieces of furniture like desks and tables made of dark wood with an elegant and sleek appearance.

"This is really beautiful, master"

Erik commented, surprised not only by the incredible room but also by the amazing scenes he had seen so far. Although he knew luxury and had enjoyed it in his past life, things here were on another level when mixed with the beautiful magical runes carved in every visible place.

"I'm glad you like it. You can leave your things and rest a bit. I'll be on the deck, by the way," Sigrún pointed to a closet in the room and continued, "In that closet, there's clothing that adjusts to any size, and I assure you, it's quite comfortable. So try to wear it; you'll like it."

"Alright, thank you, master," Erik replied with a small smile, feeling grateful to the beautiful woman who had somehow taken him in.

After that brief conversation, Sigrún left the room, closing the door behind her, and headed towards the deck. Once there, she sat down again in the chair that had formed from the floor, and after taking a few sips from her teacup, a beautiful mirror appeared in her hand.

The mirror's frame was intricately carved from a rare type of wood, polished to a deep, rich shine, contrasting wonderfully with the countless runes engraved on it.

After murmuring a few words, the reflection in the mirror changed to reveal a sunset garden full of flowers and shrubs of different colors and all kinds of magical lights illuminating a glass table, behind which sat a woman of inhuman beauty.

The beautiful woman had long, silky, slightly wavy brown hair that flowed gracefully, falling over her shoulders and framing her lovely face with fine and elegant features that exuded an ethereal beauty, reaching the epitome of perfection.

But the most captivating thing about the woman was her eyes, so golden they seemed to shine brighter than gold, reflecting a disturbing mix of wisdom, power, and dominance, adding a mystical and supernatural charm to the enchanting woman.

"Hello, Sig, how are you? Did something happen? It's rare for you to call me at this time"

The beautiful woman in the reflection asked with a concerned expression while looking at Sigrún, who responded in a calm and reassuring voice, though it contained a bit of pride and anticipation, like a little girl wanting to show off her new toy.

"Hi, Eli, don’t worry, I’m fine. But you’re right, something did happen."

"Good or bad?"

The woman in the reflection asked, still a bit worried, but knowing Sigrún for so long, she could tell from her expression that she was only calling to brag about something, but she wanted to be sure.

"Well, I’d say very good, actually," Sigrún's smile widened as she replied, almost as if she were having trouble containing herself.

"Oh, really? Tell me then."

The woman in the reflection demanded elegantly but excitedly at the same time, knowing that whatever put such a smile on her friend’s face must be something great. As lifelong best friends, they shared everything, and she was dying to know what her new acquisition was.

"Hahaha, don’t get too excited. It’s nothing much, I just got my first disciple."

After laughing joyfully, Sigrún spoke casually, as if she were mentioning something unimportant, while the mirror began to float in front of her, and she crossed her long, elegant legs before taking a cup of tea in a relaxed and elegant manner.

"WHAT?!!!"

Incredulity was the only thing the beautiful woman in the reflection could show on her face. After all, she knew Sigrún better than anyone—the greatest genius of the galaxy, the one at the absolute peak of talent, to the point that no one could even come close, and other geniuses, like herself, could only fight for the scraps.

But because they were closer than sisters, she never envied Sigrún nor felt any negative emotions towards her. Even when Sigrún broke her record as the youngest to achieve the title of Master, she was proud, as no one knew better than her how lonely it was at the top, being the best without opposition. It must have been even worse for Sigrún, given her young age, though it was a source of pride for her that her younger sister was so outstanding.

Precisely because of this, she was dumbfounded. Although her sister felt lonely on her throne of unique genius, she wasn’t willing to lower her standards in the slightest. That’s why she had vehemently refused to accept any disciple, even when many people had offered countless resources and incalculable wealth. Even the director and head of the faction tried to convince her, but nothing changed.

So for the always proud Sigrún Eldurdóttir, who refused to accept a disciple unless they met her impossible standards, to suddenly accept someone out of the blue while on her pilgrimage to visit her master, it wasn’t just hard to believe; this news would undoubtedly shake the entire galaxy.

"HAHAHAHAHA, you don’t have to be so surprised. I just saw that the boy had potential and took him under my wing, it’s nothing extraordinary"

Sigrún laughed joyfully and commented with a haughty expression before biting a cookie, which immediately reminded her of her adorable disciple, making her smile softly as she looked at the woman in the reflection who was still struggling with her disbelief and asked in a low voice.

"What kind of monster did you take in?"

"Oh, nothing extraordinary, just a Child of the Myst."

With her haughty expression and a smile that seemed like it would split her face, Sigrún again commented as if it were nothing important, then gracefully sipped her tea, contrasting sharply with the woman in the reflection of the floating mirror.

"THAT LEGEND?!!!"

The woman on the other side of the mirror felt the world spinning and doubted what she was hearing. After all, a Child of the Myst was just a myth, something that, although it shouldn’t be impossible, had never been seen until now—not even something relatively close. For Sigrún to dare call him that, he had to be an incomparable monster.

"Well, it seems it's not a legend, and now he's my disciple. I must say that at first, I refused, despite the boy begging me to accept him as his master. But since I’m a compassionate woman, I decided to give him a chance. As he barely passed my test, I had to reluctantly accept him. After all, I wouldn’t have a place to show my face if I didn’t keep my word."

With a haughty and vain expression, Sigrún lied without a hint of shame, while glancing sideways at her friend in the mirror, relishing her look of surprise and astonishment. After all, that was precisely the expression she wanted to see.

"Are you serious, Sig?" The woman on the other side of the mirror became serious and asked.

"Very serious. That boy is a damn monster, and if everything he says is true, he is undoubtedly a Child of the Myst. That’s why I want you to help me investigate him. Even though I didn't detect any lies in what he told me, it's better to confirm it."

With her friend and sworn sister's seriousness, Sigrún stopped playing and also adopted a serious expression while looking intently at the woman in the reflection, conveying the importance of the matter.