A Writer's Transmigration into the world of fantasy-Chapter 75: Merging with the Sword of Leo (Part-2)

In the next breath, he was moving—body blurring as he crossed the dining hall in a single stride, robes snapping behind him like dark wings.

The heavy double doors at the far end swung open of their own accord at his approach. He stepped through without breaking stride, and the doors slammed shut again with a resonant boom that echoed through the corridors.

Less than a minute later, the night air struck his face.

Kaelan launched skyward in a streak of controlled power, crossing the distance between the main residence and the Moonvilla in heartbeats. He landed silently on the outer wall overlooking the compound, senses sweeping outward like a net cast across water.

He felt them immediately—both Qin Wei and Thea inside the western wing, their presences unmistakable even at this range. No external attackers. No hostile mana signatures. Yet the severed bond still throbbed in his chest like an open wound.

He descended in a single fluid motion, boots touching down on the stone path outside Luna’s assigned residence. The two Rank-6 personal battle maids stationed at the door snapped to attention the instant they sensed him—hands flying to weapon hilts in pure reflex—then froze when recognition hit. They lowered their blades at once, stepping aside without a word.

Kaelan strode past them.

He stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him with a soft, deliberate click.

Kaelan stepped fully into the bedchamber without knocking.

The door closed behind him with a soft, deliberate click that seemed unnaturally loud in the stillness of the room.

The sight that greeted him made him pause mid-stride.

Qin Wei lay motionless on the wide bed, eyes closed, breathing slow and unnaturally even. His face was calm—too calm—almost serene, as though he had simply fallen into the deepest sleep of his life.

A faint golden shimmer clung to his skin like dying embers, pulsing once every few seconds in time with his heartbeat.

Thea sat beside him on the edge of the mattress, back rigid, both hands pressed flat against his chest.

Thin threads of her mana flowed steadily from her palms into his body—visible as soft blue-white light that seeped beneath his robe like water soaking into parched earth. Sweat plastered strands of hair to her forehead and neck; her shoulders trembled from sustained effort, and her breathing came in short, labored bursts.

Her face was pale, eyes red-rimmed and glassy, as though she had been fighting exhaustion for hours without pause.

She looked up at the sound of the door. The moment she saw her father, the mask of determination cracked.

"Father..." Her voice broke on the word. Tears welled instantly, spilling over before she could stop them. "Icarus... Icarus is..."

Kaelan crossed the room in three long strides and knelt beside the bed, one hand raised to stop her.

"What happened to him?" he asked, voice low but firm, cutting through the rising panic in her tone.

Thea swallowed hard, forcing the words out between shaky breaths.

"The Sword of Leo... it suddenly moved on its own. It flew toward him—straight into his chest. Dark... something came out of him, tendrils, shadows... they wrapped around the blade and pulled it inside. It forced the merger. I tried—I tried to pull it back, to extract it, but nothing worked. No matter how much mana I poured in, it wouldn’t come out. It’s fusing with him... right now."

She looked down at Qin Wei’s still face, fingers tightening against his robe.

"I don’t know what to do. He just... collapsed. He’s been like this ever since."

Kaelan’s expression remained unreadable, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied his son-in-law.

"Move aside," he said quietly.

Thea hesitated only a heartbeat before sliding back, giving him room. Her hands hovered uncertainly in the air for a moment—reluctant to break contact entirely—before she clasped them tightly in her lap.

Kaelan placed one broad palm flat against Qin Wei’s sternum, the other resting lightly on his forehead. He closed his eyes and sent his own mana inward—slow, careful, probing like roots seeking water through cracked stone.

He felt it almost immediately.

A presence—golden, radiant, immense—coiled deep inside Qin Wei’s spiritual sea. The Sword of Leo was no longer a separate entity; it was weaving itself directly into his soul, golden threads stitching through channels that should have taken years to form. The process was orderly, deliberate, almost reverent. No damage. No rejection. Only fusion.

Kaelan’s brows lifted slowly.

He withdrew his hands after several long seconds and opened his eyes again.

The grim tension in his face had shifted—replaced by something closer to quiet astonishment.

"Icarus is generating a Sage Core," he said.

Thea blinked, confusion cutting through her worry.

"Sage Core?"

Kaelan let out a short, disbelieving laugh—low at first, then louder, the sound echoing off the chamber walls with genuine delight.

"What a blessing for House Griffin," he said, shaking his head as though he could scarcely believe his own words. "A Sage Core, Thea. Do you understand what that means?"

She shook her head slowly, still gripping the edge of the blanket.

Kaelan leaned forward, voice dropping to something almost reverent.

"Those who walk the path of the Sage must usually spend decades—sometimes centuries—gathering natural energy, tempering body and soul, slowly forming the core through sheer accumulation and enlightenment. It is the same as a mana core in our bodies, except the Sage Core draws limitless power directly from the abundant natural energy in the surroundings. No potions, no external techniques can accelerate the process the way they can with mana recovery. It is slow. It is pure. It is rare."

He looked down at Qin Wei again, eyes gleaming.

"And yet your husband—a plainfolk with no mana core to begin with—has somehow forced the formation in a matter of hours. The Sword of Leo didn’t just choose him. It catalyzed the entire process."

Thea stared at her father, then down at Qin Wei’s peaceful face.

"As expected of Sylvia Dragon’s son," Kaelan murmured, almost to himself. "His constitution is different. His potential... it defies every common measure."

He straightened, the grimness from earlier replaced by something closer to pride—quiet, restrained, but unmistakable.

"He will wake in twenty-four hours, once the fusion completes. Until then, his body is in perfect stasis. No harm will come to him."

Thea exhaled shakily, relief warring with lingering fear.

"And the sword...?"

"Gone," Kaelan said simply. "Bound to him now. A soul weapon. Irretrievable."

He remained kneeling beside the bed for several long moments after his examination, one hand still resting lightly on Qin Wei’s wrist as though anchoring himself to the reality of what he had just sensed.

The golden shimmer beneath his son-in-law’s skin pulsed once more—slow, steady, almost serene—and Kaelan finally withdrew his touch. He rose to his full height, gaze never leaving Qin Wei’s peaceful face.

The silence stretched until it felt almost tangible.

Then Kaelan continued, voice low and measured, as though weighing every word before letting it fall.

"Previously, I had only a suspicion," he began. "Whispers from old contacts, odd rumors about the Divine Temple’s last known visitor... and then the princess vanished from public view around the same time Icarus suffered his near-death experience against Zion. I told myself it could be a coincidence. But the more I watched him—his abilities surfacing one after another, each one sharper, stranger, more impossible than the last—it became harder to deny."

He turned fully to Thea now, expression grave.

"Now I’m certain."

Thea looked up at him, eyes still red-rimmed but steady. She had wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, though the tracks still glistened faintly on her cheeks.

Kaelan reached out and placed both hands on her shoulders—firm, grounding, the grip of a father who rarely allowed himself to show vulnerability.

"Daughter," he said quietly, "I know it is shameful for a father to speak these words to his precious child. I know it goes against every instinct I have to protect you, to shield you from anything that might wound your heart. But I must say it plainly."

He held her gaze without flinching.

"You have to stand beside him. At all times. Regardless of his flaws, his secrets, his bad traits—whatever they may be. I don’t care how you do it. Whether you spoil him, bear with him, teach him harsh lessons, guide him with gentleness, fight him when necessary... I don’t care about the method. I only care about the result."

Thea’s breath hitched faintly.

Kaelan’s fingers tightened just enough to emphasize his next words.

"Make sure he loves you the most. Make sure he stands with House Griffin—not against it, not apart from it, but with it. And most importantly..." His voice dropped to something almost reverent. "Solidify your marital bond with a child as fast as possible."