Everything Went Wrong! The Rune Curse That Swapped Everyone's Gender - Episode 5

She returned to the lab as the sun was setting. The sound of the Skyrail Second Line running past the window. A steady, rhythmic clatter. The opposite of the silence she'd heard in the Void Row—the bustling evening of Piltover. Etsion Jace opened the door. On the desk. Next to the measuring instruments. In the same place as before, the rune stone sat there. Fist-sized. Ancient rune characters ran across its surface. It usually looked like just a stone. But now—it was glowing faintly, a pale blue. "……It's glowing after all" She muttered to herself. The lab was empty. She'd parted ways with Carvel Victor and the others at the entrance. They'd said she'd contact them after confirming the stone. Etsion Jace approached it. She checked the back of her hand. The pattern was still there. Thin lines glowed faintly beneath her skin. Not as strong as when she'd come to the Void Row. But it hadn't disappeared. （"Record preservation." That was the original purpose——） She lifted the stone from the desk. It was heavy. That's when it happened. The light exploded. Crack! The entire room flooded with pale blue. The measuring instruments shrieked to life. The hex crystal storage cabinet rattled violently. Papers fell from the shelves. Rustle, rustle, rustle——. "Huh, huh, wait——!?" She tried to drop the stone. It wouldn't let go. It was stuck to her palm. Clinging. Sucking. The pattern on the back of her hand blazed with light. It spread to her elbow. Ran across her entire arm. It didn't hurt. But it was hot. A slow burn from the inside——. The shadow on the wall warped. "This is bad. This is really bad!" She grabbed the edge of the desk. Her body was shaking. Her footing unstable. Something flowing into her mind. Not words. Not images. Just——pressure. （Someone was here. A long time ago. Whoever made the stone——） Her thoughts scattered. The door burst open. "What's with this light——!" He ran in. His coat tails flowed in the wind. He stood in front of Etsion Jace, staff still in hand. "Carvel——the stone won't let go——!" "I see it. Don't move" He produced a small light. Illuminated the stone. Read the pattern quickly. His lips moved. Words without sound, muttering something. A researcher's eyes. Even in the panic, he was observing properly. Etsion Jace didn't move. Couldn't move. The heat in her arm had reached her shoulder. "The formula reactivated. Holding the stone completed the connection" "That means——" "Second stage" Short. One word. But she understood everything. （The swap was the first stage——） So the second stage was—— The room flashed again. Brighter this time. Etsion Jace's vision went white. ——When she came to, she was sitting on the floor. It was quiet. The measuring instruments had stopped. The stone lay on the desk. No longer glowing. No longer in her palm. Just a stone again. She checked her arm. The pattern hadn't disappeared. It had gotten darker. It spread past her elbow now. Carvel Victor crouched down and took her arm. He looked at the pattern in silence. "……It changed" "Yeah. It spread" "What happens in the second stage" There was a pause. "I don't know" He said it honestly. No evasion. Etsion Jace looked at his face. That usual iron mask. Unreadable. But——the hand holding her arm seemed to grip a little tighter. "……You really don't know?" "I haven't read all the steles in the Void Row. The formulas for the second stage and beyond are speculation" "But you have a hypothesis?" "……I do. But I can't say it yet" Can't say it. Etsion Jace stood up from the floor. Her knees trembled slightly. Carvel Victor released her arm. But for just a moment, his fingertips lingered. There it was again. That feeling. （Why am I thinking about that now） She picked up the papers that had fallen from the shelf. She needed to do something. Keep her hands moving. Stack the pages. "So——we need to go back to the Void Row again. This time with the stone, and read all the steles properly" "That's how it is" "But it glowed again today. Which means the formula advances every time we make contact. That means——we should hurry?" Carvel Victor looked at the stone. "It's possible" "Possible, huh……" She tried to smile a little. It didn't work. The light from before was still in her eyes. That pressure. Whatever had flowed into her mind. （Someone was there. Whoever made the stone——why are they trying to transfer something into my body） Carvel Victor turned toward the window. Outside was already dark. The Skyrail lights streamed past. "Rest tonight. We'll check the arm's changes tomorrow. Then we plan" "What about you?" "Reading documents. Looking for any mention of the second stage" "Tonight too? You're not sleeping?" "……Shut up" His ears were red. There it was again. Etsion Jace felt a little lighter. The fear from before faded just a bit. "……Thank you. For coming back" Carvel Victor said nothing. He started walking toward the door. The sound of his staff hitting the floor. But he stopped when his hand reached the doorknob. "……Don't touch the stone tonight" That's all he said before leaving. The door closed with a soft click. Etsion Jace was alone. She looked at the pattern on her arm. The pale blue lines pulsed faintly beneath her skin. They glowed near the stone. They calmed down when she moved away from it. But they didn't disappear. She looked at the stone on the desk. Just a stone. A quiet stone. But something was definitely progressing. （Second stage——Carvel said "I have a hypothesis, but I can't say it yet." Was that because he thought I'd be scared if I heard it? Or because he's not sure yet？） The Skyrail passed again. Clatter, clatter. The same sound as always. Etsion Jace sat in her chair. She picked up a paper. A copy of rune characters. The one she'd hand-recorded in the Void Row. "Record preservation." Who was trying to leave something in her body, and what—— The pattern glowed once, slowly.

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Episode 5

Name: Everything Went Wrong! The Rune Curse That Swapped Everyone's Gender
Author: Novelia

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