Slowly, with a crisp, splitting sound, an obsidian‑black eggshell fractured bit by bit. Pushing through the cracks emerged the head of a serpent with scales of milky, luminous white, traced all over with glowing silver rune‑like patterns that shimmered and shifted as if reflecting starlight.
It looked less like a dangerous wild creature and more like some sacred, heavenly creature born from pure radiance and silence. When it finally slipped free of the broken shell, its ten‑meter long body unfurled gracefully, every movement looked fluid and weightless.
It gave a sharp, clear hiss, tasting the air with a delicate tongue, before the heavy chamber door opened. Stepping inside was a familiar man which it instinctively recognized as its father, its creator.
Leylin stood tall at two meters, his frame perfectly sculpted and athletic, every line speaking of disciplined power and tempered strength. His skin was pale and smooth, his hair jet‑black and neat, his features sharp and handsome, holding a calm, unreadable depth in his gaze.
He moved with quiet, unhurried ease, radiating a composed, commanding presence that made the air feel still wherever he walked.
"Jormungandr… do you like your new form?" Leylin asked softly, stepping closer. He rushed here and left what he was doing back in the academy once signs of hatching was detected.
The Jormungandr Project is a one shot money burner that he'd probably not be able to attempt again in a short while, or at least not without fully capturing Poolfield Kingdom.
The white serpent blinked its glowing eyes, coiled its long body neatly around him, and gently pressed its head against his chest in a clear, affectionate nuzzle.
Though it had just hatched moments ago, it was already far beyond ordinary creatures. It is a hatchling with the spiritual force equivalent to that of a Rank 1 magus.
If anyone with enough strength found out, he'd probably be the subject of relentless pursuit from all the warlock wannabes within the South Coast.
[Jormungandr
Strength: 23 Agility: 36 Vitality: 30 Spiritual Force: 22]
Leylin knew well.
With even richer resources and more refined techniques, it could have broken through to Rank 2 right from birth. But as things stood, he is limited by the availability of materials and the current limitations or gaps in technology. In fact, this result was already a glorious triumph for a first attempt.
To make a Mankestre snake successfully break away from its bloodline shackles is an achievement that would leave countless ancient bloodline leaders seething with envy.
That's right, this Mankestre can no longer even be considered the same species from before its metamorphosis, what exist between this creature and it's cousins, or now previous cousins is merely a semblance in their appearance.
He stroked the smooth, cool white scales flecked with silver light.
"Grow well, Jormungandr… but tell me, how am I supposed to bring you along when you stretch past a hundred meters long? I can't exactly parade you around and let those stubborn old fogeys out there catch wind of your existence."
He was just mentally running through designs for improved cloaking formations and stealth technology when, right before his eyes, Jormungandr smoothly, silently slid and dissolved straight into his own shadow, vanishing completely from sight.
A rare, unforeseen ability that hadn't shown up even once in all the simulation data.
"Shadow Dwell… that is a trait seen only in high‑grade Shadow‑elemental beasts and mutated variants from the Purgatory?" Leylin murmured in surprise that a newly hatched Jormungandr can already access its own array of artificial ability runes.
He focused, replaying the moment frame‑by‑frame through his internal vision, analyzing how the serpent merged form and essence into the plane of darkness.
Then Leylin concentrated, mimicking the rhythm and resonance he had just observed.
His own figure flickered, blurred, and faded away leaving nothing but a small, round patch of deep shadow on the floor.
Hidden within that same dark space, Jormungandr froze in genuine awe, its Father had instantly replicated the very skill it had just revealed.
'Hahaha. This is nothing but tricks. I will personally teach you in the future... Just stick close to me.' With a thought, Leylin reappeared in physical form a moment later, thoughtful.
'Salvaging biological samples and records from Serholm's hidden laboratory was absolutely the right choice…' he reflected.
"The gene splicing successfully awakened such rare traits, yet they are still only approximations of the true ancient bloodlines. I must ensure these small differences don't limit Jormungandr's potential later on."
A soft, clear mental voice echoed directly in his mind: [Father… I am hungry.]
Leylin smiled gently. For all its terrifying power and noble bloodline, it remained a young hatchling at heart, dependent and trusting to its parent, seeking approval, guidance and nourishment from its family.
"Stay hidden within my shadow for now… we'll find you proper food." Leylin walked out of the incubation chamber and moved swiftly through the facility, passing vast artificial habitats filled with reared magical beasts, some of whom no less powerful than Jormungandr himself.
"Here, we have Rainbow Milk Cattle, it's a Rank 1 apprentice in strength, rich in pure vitality essence. Further on, Rage Bears, Black‑Maned Tigers, Fire Pheasants, and plenty more… take your pick."
Jormungandr's response was firm and resolute...
[Not these. Higher! Up above, that is where my food is. It is calling to me.]
Floor after floor they ascended, Leylin checking each habitat in turn only to be met with the same refusal each time.
Until finally, there was nowhere higher left to go within the building, only the wide open sky stretching endlessly overhead.
The hatching within his shadow stirred with unmistakable eagerness and longing.
"You don't mean… all the way up there?" Leylin asked in disbelief.
[Yes, Father! That is where what I need waits!]
He shook his head in amusement. "A Void‑aspect serpent that can't fly yet? Don't worry, I'll fix that limitation soon enough. And if it's just reaching those upper atmospheric layers? That is no trouble at all."
His expression turned serious as he looked toward the horizon.
"We have sent hundreds of automated probes up there already… and sadly, none ever returned with meaningful findings. Maybe… just maybe, you are the breakthrough I've been waiting for."
[Command Confirmed — Space Probe Launch Sequence Initiating]
[Estimated Launch Preparation: 10 Minutes]
"Then let's go."
Leylin gave a sharp whistle and from somewhere deep within the castle grounds, his transformed Knightmare bike soared upward, flying silently to meet him.
Cloaked against detection, they sped toward the coastline where a colossal metal titan emerged from the sea.
A massive mobile base, the ocean‑born counterpart to the grand developments he had built across Poolfield Kingdom.
Minutes later, Jormungandr coiled comfortably inside the reinforced observation cabin of a specialized high‑altitude probe while Leylin stood in front of the monitoring platforms of the control room.
"I will stay connected and support you as long as the signal holds," Leylin spoke softly, reaching out mentally. "But once you reach regions beyond my range… everything will depend entirely on you. Do you understand?"
[I understand, Father. Thank you.]
Leylin let out a quiet, fond sigh.
'Such a well‑behaved, precious child… I'm already growing attached,' he admitted to himself.
[Launch Sequence: Probe 097 — Initiated]
[T‑minus 3… 2… 1… LIFT OFF!]
A deep, resonant roar surged from the base, shaking the massive platform.
Twin pillars of blinding blue‑white plasma flared beneath the hull, countering weight and force instantly.
[Gravity‑Offset Thrusters: Nominal — Output Balanced]
[Thermal and Ablative Shields: Engaged — Heat Dissipation Optimal]
[Mana‑Compression Propulsion Core: Stabilized — Power Ramp‑Up Smooth]
The probe shot upward, accelerating steadily and powerfully.
Ocean and coastline rapidly shrank, clouds streaked past in blurring sheets, and the horizon began curving visibly as altitude climbed.
[Atmospheric Density: Decreasing — Drag reducing]
[External Temp: Extreme Low — Shield regulation active]
[Primary Comms Link: Strong — Data Stream clear]
Leylin watched the array of readouts closely, occasionally making precise, quick adjustments to frequency and energy output, fine‑tuning systems he had personally engineered and calibrated.
Every parameter tracked exactly as modeled and simulated. There's no anomalies or wasted output, still, none of these probes lasted long out in 'space'.
Higher still, crossing layers of turbulent winds and floating mana currents.
[Entering High‑Altitude Distortion Belt — Interference rising]
[Signal modulation re‑calibrating… Bandwidth compressed]
Leylin tweaked the receiver array, locking onto the cleanest possible channel, compensating for wild mana flux that had disrupted earlier flights.
The sky shifted color from bright blue the it slowly faded into violet, then deep indigo, until only the vast dark void and distant stars remained above.
[Approaching Upper Limit Zone — Severe energy distortion detected]
[Signal Strength: Critical — Fluctuations exceeding safe thresholds]
He gave one final command to reinforce transmission output, pushing the connection as far as design limits allowed.
[Warning: Unknown interference overwhelming receiver sensitivity…]
[Data corruption rate spiking…]
Numbers flickered erratically, visuals dissolving into static. One last steady pulse faded away completely.
[SIGNAL LOST — CONNECTION TERMINATED]
'Tsk. Another one lost in the void. It's up to you now Jormungandr.'
Alarms still chimed softly while Leylin sat back, gaze resting calmly on the dark display. He had done all that was within his power to support Jormungandr.
Now all he can offer is his faith in his creation, and hope that she succeeds in her endeavors. Everything else was entirely up to Jormungandr.
Thirty kilometers above the surface, the fabric of space itself rippled, then split open like a stretched membrane.
It drew in ambient mana from the emptiness around it, swallowed it whole, and sealed shut with a sharp, silent tug casting the probe far beyond any known chart, into the endless, uncharted vastness.
The vessel drifted inert now like those before it, but Jormungandr slipped free as if shedding a loose shell.
It swam through the void with the ease of a fish in calm waters, its milky body coiling and gliding, silver markings pulsing steadily with cold, radiant light.
Not many in the Magus world knew that Void-aspect organisms like those from ancient times do not feed on ordinary food or elemental mana when they hatch. They must first subsist and be baptized by pure void‑energy.
All this time, even with superior bloodline projections, its potential had appeared stunted, its semblance weak… simply because the lower world held barely a trace of what it truly needed to thrive.
Around it, the ionized layers of the upper atmosphere and beyond crackled with jagged crimson lightning, weaving and dancing through the dark. Jormungandr did not flinch from the pain. It slowly began to adapt.
Deep within its frame, guided by the nanites woven into every fiber of its being, its genetic code shifted and rearranged in a smooth, precise sequences.
Natural runes spontaneously etched themselves across her scales, bones, and through the very core of its cells forming perfect, organic intake channels.
Adaptive mutations following pre‑programmed designs merged seamlessly, and for the first time in her short life, her whole being opened wide.
Jormungandr drank deep of the void.