Level Up Legacy

Chapter 1430: Personal Trials

"Lord Halstren receives no visitors," the guards at the doors said to Ali and Arthur. The two great doors behind them seemed to touch the heavens, stealing from their glory. As for the guards themselves, they looked as real as anything could be.

"I believe he's a friend of a friend," Arthur said with a grin. "Just a few words with him would suffice. Please tell him that meeting me would be worth it."

"Leave at once," the guards said with their crystal spears aimed at them. Their threatening auras were suffocating, even for Arthur, who was just beginning to master his spiritual energy thanks to the new legacy.

"No need to be aggressive!" Ali tried to mediate between them.

"I understand," Arthur raised a hand for his friend to retreat. "We will come back later. Just tell the lord that the Final Sigil has been received."

The two guards said nothing, and the two turned to leave. At that moment, the two colossal doors let out a howling sound. Air flew out from within as they opened, revealing a stairway toward a palace.

Without another word, the guards stepped aside.

"Is it because of what you said?" Ali asked Arthur.

"A good lord is one who always listens," Arthur said with a smile. "Let's go and meet him. I expect that… we would be well-received."

Arthur was right.

Lord Halstren was alone in his palace, sitting atop a chair made of clouds. Everything within the palace moved to serve him, while the man at the center appeared as nothing more than an outline.

"We greet the lord," Ali said. "Excuse our intrusion."

"It is not intrusion, when I invited you in," the lord said with a chuckle that was dry, mechanical, and fake. "It's rare for a seeker to come visit me instead of ascending. What can I do for you?"

Arthur looked around the hall.

"You have many sigils," Arthur muttered. "But they are not yours."

"How can you tell?"

Arthur closed his eyes, and the sigils seemed to sing and scream. Some of them were glad to be here, employed by the lord, and others seemed imprisoned in an eternity of hell.

"I can hear them."

The onlookers were mesmerized, as Arthur seemed to connect to the sigils by unseen threads. As he opened his eyes again, the threads disappeared and the sigils returned to their activity. Arthur stared at the lord.

"These sigils have souls."

"Partial souls, remnants of their owners," the lord said. "Once a seeker ascends, the spiritual energy allows him to create a never-ending sigil for their own, reflecting their true selves. We call them insignias."

"…that rings a bell," Arthur said with a frown.

"A personalized sigil that never ends," Ali said with surprise. "I thought that we already have those by controlling our spiritual energy. I can understand any object by letting my spiritual energy touch it."

"Then, you should obtain the Insignia of Insight or Knowledge, or one that has never been seen before," the lord said as he turned back to Arthur. "But I can see that you already have an insignia of your own."

"The Breaker Insignia," Arthur said with a nod. "I thought it was a part of my wrath."

"I don't know what wrath is," the lord admitted. "But you carry the insignia of the Breaker indeed, the man who was destined to break the natural order."

Arthur stood silent.

The First Trial of the Holy Crown gave the participants insignias based on their performance, and it also gave him the insignia of the Breaker because he ended the first trial. However, he had always believed that it was a part of his wrath abilities.

"What does this insignia do?" Arthur asked.

"You have noticed already, have you not?" the lord said. "If not, then you aren't as amazing as Gala painted you to be."

"You met her?"

"Met? I trained that brat when she first came to the Spirit Realm," Lord Halstren said with a weary chuckle. "She went and created something crazy, and then gave it to you."

Arthur was silent.

"Where is she?"

"Far from here," the lord said. "She left just as you arrived. I think she understood that meeting you here would hinder your growth. You need to face the Spirit Realm alone."

Silence descended.

Ali broke it.

"Then, why are these insignias here?" he asked while pointing at the sigils floating and serving the lord. "Did you…"

"I indeed killed their owners."

"Killing is possible inside the Spirit Realm?"

"Soul destruction is a far worse fate," the lord answered. "Is this what you came here to ask me, seeker?"

"It's not," Arthur said. "I can feel it more clearly than ever. The legacy within me pulses with a fragment of your soul. You helped Gala create it, right? You are the voice that has guided me toward the legacy."

"A small favor for an old student."

"What's the purpose of this legacy?"

"For you to save the realm, of course. Well, not you — anyone. It was designed to bring spiritual growth faster than any training can. It will be your guide inside the realms as you ascend. Each level in the legacy represents a milestone for your soul."

"How do I increase that level?"

"I have no ideas."

"You created this thing," Ali questioned, "and you don't know how it works?"

"Not even Gala knows how to increase the level, because the legacy is a living entity that fuses with the user," the lord explained. "Growing with the legacy is through personal trials."

"I understand," Arthur said with a nod. "Thank you for helping us."

Arthur turned to leave, while Ali stood confused. The lord watched them leave as a smile formed inside the transparent outline. As the doors closed, his words echoed in the empty chamber.

"You were right, Gala."

The lord rose from his chair, and all sigils within the room fused with him. His body began materializing, revealing his true self. He leapt into the air as the sigils danced around his hands.

"No other can utilize our creation like him. If the devourer of spirits hears about him, he will cut his path too short. I must… give him enough time to grow."

Lord Halstren waved his hand, and a portal opened. He steeled his handsome face as he gazed into the wasteland beyond—barren and empty. It was the dimension built by Invidia. In order to give the Spirit Realm a chance, Lord Halstren will have to step in and take matters into his own hands.