Level Up Legacy

1376  Thawed

"Not before I take care of everything here on Earth," Arthur said as he turned to his brother. "I will be here for a while." "A while? It used to be forever," Oren gave him a little laugh. "And when are you coming back?" Arthur was silent this time, and Oren could feel a pit in his stomach. His brother avoided looking at him but looked at the people celebrating below. "If I win the game, I will be able to control the flow of time and return right to the moment I left. But if not, then… never," Arthur said after a while. "The flow of time is different depending on the realm you stand upon. The farther you are from Devaheim, the longer time stretches." Oren was silent as his hand clutched his chest. He wanted to say many things and to dissuade Arthur from doing it, but his throat seemed reluctant to produce the sounds. The two brothers stood there, one looking at the ground while the other looked ahead. After a long period of time passed, Arthur was the one to turn around and pat Oren on the shoulder. "Let's go and see Mom," he said before returning to the Runic Dome. Oren snapped out of his spiral and followed after his brother. Their mother had been dormant ever since the incident with their father. For some reason, they could not tell, their father's actions had rendered her unable to regain consciousness. She was sleeping inside one of the wards that Arthur had sealed. The doors slid open to reveal the sunlit hospital beds. All were empty except for one, where their mother rested. She had runes floating around her, keeping her sustained and nourished. "When was the last time we visited her?" Oren asked with some guilt, but Arthur remained silent as he stood next to her hospital bed. "Julia keeps visiting her on my behalf, telling her stories of where I am," Arthur replied as he looked at his mother. "Doesn't make me less shitty of a son." "Same," Oren said with some guilt. Their mother might not be conscious, but it felt wrong for them to leave her and embark on adventures on their own. "What are we here for?" "I learned how to wake her up from Ragnar," Arthur said while cupping his hands together. "Mom is trapped inside a prison similar to my own, for all this time. However, hers does little to stretch out time like in my case." "Why did he do this to her?" "To make me seek the Holy Crown and go against the seven families, but that's all in the past now. I don't think he has calculated my actions well," Arthur said with a smile. "What a pitiful man." Oren could tell that his brother felt no hatred toward his father or what he had done. However, he felt that Arthur knew more about the reason that Seref did the things that he did. "What made him push you down this path?" "After spending that infinite time with Ragnar, I realized there is one answer for that: the Game of Worlds. Alaric told me that in order to enter the game, you needed to be worshiped by enough people. Their feelings toward you can then be used to ascend." "…What a shitty reason to turn our lives upside down," Oren said without mercy, and Arthur gave a little laugh. Then, his brother paused before pushing his mother's hair away from her face. "He did his best, in his own wrong ways," Arthur said with a gentle voice. "I need you to do something for me. Seal this room with mana to negate the effect of what I am about to do." Arthur and Oren remained frozen in place, seeing their affectionate mother reach out toward them. The world seemed different now, as the ice encasing their lives suddenly melted. The two brothers felt like children again with their mother receiving them after a long day out. 17:33

Oren nodded and raised his hand. Although his wounds were still sore despite healing, his mana had recovered. His domain appeared inside the room as the mana isolated them inside. Arthur nodded toward him and took a single step back. Arthur then pressed his hands against each other in a prayer pose. Oren was confused before he saw a shadow leave his brother's body and rise above them. The humanoid creature lacked definition, but its appearance made Oren drenched in sweat. It was inhuman. The black creature then reached out to their mother, and golden mana erupted from her body. It seemed like whatever kept her unconscious was fighting against Arthur, but the creature tore the golden mana apart with ease. A pair of two ethereal black hands reached toward their mother's head, enveloping it. After a short period of time, Oren heard a grunt from his brother. He found Arthur's face covered with sweat as he controlled the creature. After an unknown amount of time, the creature began dissipating. Arthur fell to one knee while covered in sweat, while Oren rushed to help him. He helped his brother sit on a nearby bed as he began catching his breath. "What was that?" Oren asked with concern. "An unfinished technique," Arthur said with a smile as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "But it worked." Oren blinked before turning to look at his mother. Her frozen body suddenly shifted slightly, as if she was just asleep now. Her eyes fluttered open as they looked around in a stupor before she focused on them. "My boys," she said in a hoarse voice as she rose from the bed and opened her arms toward them. "I missed you." Arthur and Oren remained frozen in place, seeing their affectionate mother reach out toward them. The world seemed different now, as the ice encasing their lives suddenly melted. The two brothers felt like children again with their mother receiving them after a long day out. Oren walked toward his mother first, and Arthur followed. The two men who could shake kingdoms to the ground became regular sons in front of their mother, who hugged them tightly and rubbed her face against their heads. The warmth in her body seemed to thaw their battle-hardened hearts as they sank into her embrace. Arthur and Oren closed their eyes, forgetting the world outside for just a short reprieve from the chaos.