Level Up Legacy

Chapter 1484 1484: Tired and Alone

"This is just like selling your soul to the devil in return for power," Diana said with a shiver. "All those things that could happen to you if you fail…"

"The legacy will do anything to make sure I reach the Endpoint," Arthur said as he seemed deep in thought. Diana didn't like that he was even considering it.

"This is madness, Arthur. You cannot gamble away your soul like that. In either case, it seems like a bad deal for me, whether you achieve this Endpoint or not."

Arthur didn't say anything, which made Diana more afraid. She reached out and closed the box, but the text from his legacy somehow remained. This time, he turned toward her.

"I know what you're thinking, Arthur. You plan on using this chance to end this war," she said, but he didn't deny it. She laughed. "Why do you always have to be the one to sacrifice things for others? Who said it was your burden to carry?"

"If not me, then who would?" Arthur said with an unreadable expression. "I was given all these powers and opportunities because I would do something with them. This is my grand purpose, Diana."

The words turned into a lump in her throat. She wanted to scream: what about me? Where do I fit in that grand purpose of yours? What about the red string in my ears that you failed to notice?

But she didn't.

Even if she loved him more than anything in this world, she wouldn't give away her dignity like that. Even more, she was afraid that he would start seeing her as a burden the moment she uttered those words.

Diana had been fighting the feeling, but she couldn't anymore. Ever since their time together during their vacation, where he proposed to her, he began growing more distant. She knew that he loved her, just as much as she loved him, but she also knew that his mind was elsewhere.

Demons.

Gods.

Realms.

Destiny.

His mind was filled with things that left no room for her. She didn't remember the last time they sat down together without having to save the world or fight against calamities.

"I'm tired," she said aloud, surprising herself. Arthur turned toward her with confusion. She gritted her teeth and continued. "I can't keep fighting all of my life, Arthur."

Arthur looked at her for the first time. His eyes didn't only see her there, but looked straight into her mind. She saw his initial confusion, inevitable realization, and dreadful guilt.

"I know," he said in a whisper. "I keep forgetting that my decisions implicate everyone in my life, not just me."

"They do," she said. But then, she saw it in his expression, hidden underneath his skin. It revealed itself in a twitch in his eyes that he worked hard to stop.

Diana found herself unable to keep talking about this. She knew that what she said had made him more distant. In that split of a second that he allowed himself to show it, Diana saw how terribly alone he felt.

His destiny was to fight against the world.

Fighting was not a choice to him, but a fate shoved down his throat.

The moment she told him how tired she felt, Arthur realized that he was alone to suffer this terrible fate. He had to keep fighting. No one in this entire universe was obligated to fight, but he was.

Because he was the only one who could win.

"Arthur…" she began.

"We should go back to Runera," he said, as if knowing that she saw how he felt. "I have been talking to Julia for a while. It seems like the peace treaty is doing better than we expected."

After that, he reached out toward the box and kept it inside his sub-space. Arthur walked toward the door without waiting for her, and left as Diana felt her heart aching.

She collapsed into a chair. Tears streamed down her eyes. She knew that she was wrong for telling him that, but it was the truth. Sometimes, she imagined her life with Arthur inside a small farm. Arthur would be the gardener, and she would work around the house.

It was a silly dream, but it sounded so peaceful. In that dream, there were no gods or calamities that wanted them dead. In that dream, she was happy. But alas, dreams were dreams, and this was reality.

The new structure of the world made teleporting a dangerous act. If Arthur opened a portal and it led them straight into a raised hill that he didn't know about, they would be buried alive.

Therefore, Tiara summoned her astral creature to give them a ride back to Runera. She expressed her regret that she couldn't accompany them, given the mayhem inside Janea with all the reforms and ceremonies.

Arthur simply told her to visit.

The green crane that brought them to the Dark Forest was now returning them home. Ali decided to stay in the archives of Janea, telling them that there were a lot of things he could use to create miraculous potions.

Lusica was the only one to accompany them back. The giant crane had a small pod attached to its back. As they opened it, they found a small room with three beds, a table, a box of supplies, and a small spirit that was brewing them tea.

Arthur and Diana didn't talk after their earlier conversation, and Lusica kept to himself. The ride back was mostly quiet until the runic artifact that Arthur created buzzed.

Julia appeared in a hologram from the runic artifact. She looked the same as before, and somehow looked more beautiful than ever. If running a guild with a hundred thousand members was tiring, she didn't let it show.

"Welcome back to Earth," she said with a grin. "I see that you have brought someone along, which is great. We need all the help we can get."

"We just came back from a very exhausting fight," Arthur said with a sigh. "Keep us as backup for the time being, unless there's an emergency."

"Emergency?" she asked with a grin. "More like emergencies. If I didn't already know that you were off to fight against Famine, I would assume you were living under a rock."

"What's going on?" Arthur asked with a frown.

"Don't get all serious. We can handle everything at the moment, thanks to the forces that keep emerging and swearing their allegiances to the Seika of Living Beings."

"People from Alka?" Arthur was surprised. "Make sure there aren't any groups that try to sabotage the guild. Not everyone liked me in Alka."

"We already had to deal with that. Seraphine was kind enough to go there and turn them into a blood army, as she called it. Her sub-guild is now the strongest that we have."

"I can't expect less of the Blood Queen," Arthur said with a chuckle. "And the others?"

"Everyone is dispatched somewhere, either fighting against monsters or the rulers," Julia said. "The peace treaty is working better than we expected. In fact, that's why I wanted to call you."

"I don't think I'm going to like this news," Arthur said.

"I know it's not your cup of tea," Julia said. "But the fifty-one nations have agreed to choose a council to handle the delicate affairs between everyone, like trades and military."

"And they want me on that council?"

"Everyone has already elected you as the President."

"I don't remember offering my services," Arthur said with a frown.

"You will be a figurehead, mostly, to win over the awakeners who are making use of the legacy," she continued. "And to make others afraid."

"I think that's necessary to show my support," Arthur said with a frown. "I'll allow it. But if I'm dragged into a single meeting…"

"Don't worry about that. No one wishes to have you in their meetings, anyway. As the strongest man in the world, your words will be more like commands than suggestions."

"That makes sense," Diana nodded. "What about the monsters' mutations?"

"Those are still a big problem. It seems that the merge of Alka and Earth has caused them to evolve further than their bodies can handle. A sea of strange monsters is appearing as we speak."

"Any intelligent ones?" Arthur asked.

"A group of them appeared, and they have been the biggest headache," Julia said with a shake of her head. "It seems they have a way to escape that allows them to hit and run."

"A group of intelligent monsters? Are they humanoid?" Diana asked with sudden concern.

"You know them?" Arthur asked.

"They are indeed humanoid," Julia confirmed.

"I don't know them," Diana said with a frown. "But in order to take that step between being a monster and being a humanoid monster, they need a ritual that's only known to the demi-humans. I don't know if this is a coincidence…"

"Your kingdom, Alva, has grown less aggressive toward the nearby kingdoms and is building their defenses instead of attacking everyone."