"If we understand the runes... perhaps we can write a soul into the machine."
A new morning arrived with a lightness in his chest. Zen's eyes opened slowly in his quiet apartment. His heart didn't feel heavy as it usually did after a long dream, because this time… Xu Yianzi was no longer in pain or despair. He was determined, training, and beginning to see a path of his own.
"He's not just surviving… he's rising," Zen murmured to himself while standing before the bathroom mirror, before getting ready for work at 'Neuralis Core,' a leading AI tech company.
Zen walked through the automatic doors as the synthetic voice from his AR glasses, synced with the building's system, greeted him familiarly: "Welcome, Zencal, to the AI Operations Center, Neural Prosthetics Division."
His main project, along with his team's, was "Eidolon." The challenge was to create an AI that didn't just respond to commands but could exist as a "life partner," one that understood feelings and "grew alongside the user." It was a goal every top AI company was fiercely competing to achieve—to be the first to synthesize an "AI soul."
For the past few days, Zen's mind had been consumed by the images of lines, symbols, and the meanings of the runes Xu Yianzi was trying to understand. Especially Ƨ (Solen), the rune of seeing the soul; ᚨ (Ansuz), the rune of wisdom and deep communication; and ᛗ (Mannaz), the rune of the self and mental connection.
(Zen's thoughts: "If Eidolon is truly meant to 'feel' and 'understand' the user's soul... its fundamental architecture probably can't be based on conventional logic alone. Perhaps... the principles of these runes could be the key to designing its 'emotional perception core.'")
He began experimenting, adjusting the architecture of Eidolon's neural network, specifically in the "contextual awareness module." He applied the "patterns of energy connection" and "symbolic logic" that he had interpreted from the runes Ƨ (Solen) and ᚨ (Ansuz). He wasn't trying to code magic, but rather to design the "pathways of information" and "interpretive depth" to mimic how runes respond to "will" or "waves of feeling."
The initial tests with the Eidolon prototype didn't instantly grant it a "soul," but it was astounding. The AI began to respond to testers with more "naturalness" and "empathy." It started to grasp the "nuance" hidden in words, or "emotions" that weren't explicitly stated. Its robotic responses were slightly reduced. The head of research, a woman who was usually stern and questioned every detail, came to see the latest test results herself.
"This is very interesting, Zen," she said, raising an eyebrow slightly. "This version of Eidolon... it seems to be able to 'guess' the tester's intentions with more accuracy. Did you change something in the core algorithm? Some of its response patterns are... more complex than what was calculated."
Zen just gave a faint smile. "I just... tried to improve the way it 'learns' from user interaction, sir. With an emphasis on it trying to understand the 'intent' behind the commands."
That evening, Zen invited Zaria out for dinner at a quiet restaurant near a curved bridge. The soft neon lights reflected on the clear glass table as a cool breeze drifted by.
"I dreamed of him again last night… Xu Yianzi," Zen said quietly while they waited for their food.
Zaria looked him in the eyes, then smiled faintly. "But it seems… his eyes are starting to have some light in them now, from what you've told me."
Zen smiled back. "Yeah… he's starting to understand the runes, just from that tiny scrap of stone. It might just change his entire life."
After dinner, Zen parted ways with Zaria and returned to his apartment. He opened his computer and logged into the online game out of habit. Before he could even do anything, a whisper from Karess popped up in the game's chat system.
[Whisper from: Karess]: "Yo! Kalis! Where the hell have you been? Haven't seen you in days, didn't even join the dungeon runs, man. Get in the party, we're waiting!"
Zen chuckled softly before typing back. Kalis: "Yeah, yeah, my bad, dude. Had some intense dreams last night, was pretty wiped. I'm good now though! Send the invite, my sword hand's getting stiff from not using it."
They ran the dungeon with high spirits. The laughter and meaningless banter in the game helped to lighten Zen's heart, offering a brief respite from the stress that had built up all day.
But before he went to bed that night, he opened his digital notebook once more. The blue light from the holopad illuminated a digital page filled with mysterious runic symbols. There were various characters, some from the Elder Futhark, and some whose origins and true meanings he didn't yet know, but he continued to collect them from every available data source in this futuristic world.
Zen stared at the symbols for a moment before writing a sentence on the last page with his digital pen:
"Runes… might not be just symbols or energy, but the 'language' of resonance… If we understand this language… perhaps Eidolon can truly 'feel'."
He closed his eyes slowly, the thought still swirling in his mind. And in the depths of the dream that was about to come... the sound of a distant explosion, along with the silhouette of roaring orange flames, began to surge into his consciousness... slowly, and with chilling clarity...