The Dawn of the New World

"Remember your words....then...we will need...all the courage...you can...spare..." Hao Xuan commented before turning towards the wall.

He once again laid eyes on the two arcs running parallel to each other. They were made of the 24 runes arranged in different orders and sequences. But not a moment later the headache that had all but disappeared came back in full force.

Hao Xuan quickly grabbed the side of his skull that felt like it was being pierced by hot needles. He had almost forgotten about it and ended up taking the full brunt of the pain by himself.

"Argh!" he fell to his knees. Burak who was right next to him bent down, examining him with a concerned frown.

"Human, what's wrong with you? Don't force yourself to do something you can't!"

But his words fell on deaf ears since Hao Xuan was engaged in a conversation with Baracus.

'This is the second this has happened, and again just when I looked at the runes. What the fuck is going on? This headache feels much different than the normal ones.'

'Yes I meant to inform you about this beforehand but the timing never seemed right. The genetic mutation that occurred when you 'absorbed' the demonic creature in the pit, it has resurfaced. I had completely eliminated the contaminated cells during the repair process (CH626) but somehow the contamination has rematerialized and spread in a different section, the brain this time.'

'It does not seem to be a natural phenomenon and in turn, cannot be treated with any medical procedure that I can perform. If my guess is correct, the runes have somehow triggered the mutation once again and unless it finishes, there is nothing that can be done about it in the short term.'

Even though Baracus explained what was happening, the immediate side effects (mainly the painful headaches) were not something that could be so easily ignored. It felt like his brain was splitting into two.

'Can you do something about the pain at least?' Hao Xuan asked with a sliver of hope that was put out instantly.

'Negative. Any interference could cause irrecoverable soft tissue damage. I would suggest finishing the process of activating the runes as quickly as possible since keeping away from the runes does appear to provide relief, as brief as it might be.'

As is often the case, the advice was given far too quickly especially since Baracus himself did not have to bear with the pain.

Hao Xuan's sensory cortex was actually dividing by itself. The soft tissue seemed alive as it moved of its own accord, each cell divided and replicated itself, creating a pattern resembling that of a four-leafed clover that covered a good 10% of his brain.

But it had only just started to take shape and was far from being finished.

"Mother....fucker!" Hao Xuan cursed loudly in the beast world's language. He used Burak as support and stood up again, still holding his head with the right hand. Burak kept trying to talk to him but Hao Xuan could only do so many things at once.

Listening to Baracus's instructions while dealing with such intense pain was all he could manage.

'Move the Qi towards your finger and trace the shape of each rune. I will highlight which ones in the right order,' Baracus used the nanites to provide what little bit of aid he could.

There were a total of 921 runes in both the arcs that needed to be initiated but thankfully, each individual one needed just a light touch of Qi to be activated fully. Hao Xuan forced himself to focus and with Baracus's help managed to finish in less than five minutes.

He then took a step back and looked at the wall, 'Now what?'

'Now you just need to draw a line from the leftmost to rightmost rune to finish the outline and the door will open. But it will only be for less than a minute so you will have to hurry.'

'Alright.'

Hao Xuan grabbed Burak's arm, "Gather...everyone!"

"Huh? Why?"

"No time...to explain...just do it...quickly..."

Burak stared into Hao Xuan's bloody pupils that were still flinching from the intense pain. He did not understand what was going on but he could not find any trace of ill-intent in Hao Xuan's eyes so he chose to listen.

"Get up! Everyone! Come here, now! On your feet!" he ordered the listless barbarians that despite their hopeless situation listened to him.

The door was now half bent inside with a long crack that was spreading to the rest of the wall. The banging was stronger than ever before and some of the beasts could even be seen through the crack.

Curious even now, they all stood behind Burak and Hao Xuan with questioning looks. Once Hao Xuan was sure they were ready, he threw out a rope with a warning.

"Hold on to this....when we go in....do not stray...Follow the person....in front of...you...and...no matter what...do not touch...anything...if you listen....maybe we can....all go...home.."

In his broken translated words Hao Xuan did his best to prepare them for what was to come but how could he really when he himself didn't even know what to expect? They were confused and understandably so.

But they were not kids so if they got lost in the Webway, at least it wouldn't be on Hao Xuan. Holding onto the front end of the rope, he walked up to the wall with drumming heartbeats and swiped his hand from the left to the right side of the arc, connecting the two runes.

*WHOOSH*

Like magic, the wall in the middle of the runes cracked and opened.

*Gasp*

Numerous simultaneous gasps echoed in the chamber. Isak and Burak's pupils shrunk to the size of pinholes as they exchanged glances full of astonishment in the heat of the moment.

The other side of the crack showed a tunnel made of yellow Starfire. Hao Xuan's headache got even more intense but he grit his teeth trying to deal with the pain.

"COME, QUICKLY!" he yelled before walking into the crack. Burak nodded towards Isak who went ahead of him and Burak instead let go of the rope.

"Go go go!" he shouted and kicked the dazed barbarians awake, pushing them in.. Only then did he enter, making sure no one got left behind.