Level Up Legacy

The array was done, and Arthur infused it into the surrounding. It expanded to cover several times the range of a normal rune before disappearing into the ground. Then, he resumed inscribing for an hour, creating enough traps to disable an army.

After that, he walked up the mountain toward the cave, and Little Yin was still on the ground. Arthur disabled the barrier and sat in the same spot, but he realized that her deep breaths were gone.

“You are awake,” Arthur said as he glanced at her. “Is it because of me?”

Little Yin slowly opened her eyes and stared at him. She then sat and folded her legs toward her chest, hugging them. Her eyes looked past Arthur and gazed toward the horizon.

“They art coming,” a hoarse voice escaped her throat. Arthur frowned as he realized something was wrong. Even though she was awake, Little Yin didn’t seem conscious.

His eyes followed the target of her gaze, and he knew it was the source of the ‘eye’ watching her. Arthur could feel them getting closer, but he was more concerned about the change in her. As he turned his head back, Arthur realized that Little Yin was standing behind him now.

“Run aroint, human,” said the hoarse voice toward him, without even looking at Arthur. Little Yin looked like a different person altogether, as if she had torn away her mask. “This is mine fight.”

“I have a duty of protecting you or protecting the body you are inhabiting,” said Arthur as he stared at Little Yin, whose blue eyes had turned cold and distant.

“Are thou her friend?” asked Little as she turned toward Arthur for the first time. Her eyes held something dark within as if Arthur was staring at his reflection in a cold water pool. “If so, then leave.”

Arthur stared at the different person that appeared inside Little Yin after she fell asleep. He wondered if this was a different personality from the ones he read about. However, this was different since this new person knew about Yin.

“Are you able to hold them back on your own?” asked Arthur, as he couldn’t feel a thing from her body. She was as hollow as the shadow that the crackling fire created.

“We shalt try,” said Little Yin as she stepped out of the cave, and her foot stepped on something invisible. Arthur watched with interest as she ascended an invisible staircase until she was hovering above the woods.

Arthur was studying her closely, but no mana was coming out of her body. Yet, she could still hover midair and act like a big shot.

“I can do that too,” said Arthur as he climbed the empty air to stand beside her, making her frown and look at him with confusion. “I have some questions. Are you Little Yin?”

“I am her.”

“You sound different from before,” said Arthur as he studied her. Little Yin was like an ordinary girl, even more girlish than most that Arthur met. However, this person acted cold and aloft, and Arthur could tell they weren’t the same person.

“I am her, and she is me, yet we never coexist,” said Other Yin with the same calm expression. “I awaken when she sleeps, and she awakes when I fade.”

Other Yin confirmed what Arthur assumed to be different personalities, controlled by their sleeping.  Other Yin ignored him after answering that question and turned toward the distance, staring at her pursuers.

“The bastards art relentless,” said Other Yin while squinting her eyes. Arthur tried to see who it was, but whoever it was, they were still very far away. Other Yin seemed to think otherwise. “Be careful, lest you get swallowed by the ancient blood.”

Arthur wanted to ask her what that meant, but the silent woods suddenly grew noisy. Every animal, beast, and monster sleeping started screaming as if they were being gelded. Although Arthur thought he had grown accustomed to bizarre sights, this one still made his skin covered in goosebumps.

The fleeing animals rose like a tidal wave in a rageful sea. Arthur and Other Yin stood in the middle of the chaos as something dark rushed toward them from below. Then, three shadows jumped from the woods to float in front of them.

All three were cloaked from head to toe, making it impossible to see who they were. However, it seemed Arthur didn’t need to worry about that. The three newcomers pulled down their hoods, revealing three identical faces.

It was neither a good-looking face nor an ugly one but just average all around. What surprised Arthur was that all of them had the same faces, no eyes, just a face tattoo.

The bald triplet on the right had a right face tattoo, the one in the middle had one on his forehead, and the bald man on the left had a left face tattoo. It was as if Arthur was staring at an open book, all carrying the same eyeless face.

“We have,” said the left.

“Found,” continued the middle.

“You,” finished the last.

“I am the one whom allowed that,” said Other Yin with the same expressionless face. “As fear needs to be retaught once ‘i a while.”

“Please,” began the left.

“Return,” continued the middle.

“With us,” finished the right.

“Are they going to keep talking like that?” asked Arthur as he started getting annoyed. The triplets all turned toward him simultaneously, staring with groovy non-existing eyes.

“I afraid so,” replied Other Yin. “These human puppets are the manifestation of an ability. There are thousands of ’em occulted ‘i the woods. Never let ’em touch thou.”

“What would happen if they do?” asked Arthur as he scanned the woods below. Their presence was too faint to be considered individually, and he almost felt like the ground was covered with one giant blanket of a monster.

“That man is bid the leech, and that should’st answer thou,” said Other Yin as she raised her hands toward the sky. “His minions hast once captured me, so keep care.”

“There is no need for that,” said Arthur as he raised his arms. “I will take care of them here. You just need to sit back and enjoy the show, whoever you are.”

Arthur had very little information about these inhuman people, but he knew they were here for Little Yin. So if he needs to take them down to understand, then he would.

Even as he activated his runes, the thing that bugged Arthur was that these bodies had no life force. Instead, they were dots of ink on a white canvas, making it impossible to sense their presence. Instead, he felt like he was looking at a paper infested with mottles.

“What,” cried the left.

“Is,” barked the middle.

“Happening?” whined the right.

“Although you seem like nice people, I would have to escort you out of the living,” said Arthur as he clenched his fists. The runes in the wood activated, making countless scream echo from below. The army of puppets started rapidly decreasing as explosions echoed left and right.

The night sky suddenly turned bright as lights fired rapidly from below. Arthur made sure to include most of the woods below them, and the puppets walked straight into his trap.

All the puppets hiding in the woods were killed in a few seconds. All that was left were the triplets, who stared at the ground with both shock and fear. Other Yin glanced below and then at Arthur with surprise.

“Humans hast grown capable,” said Other Yin. “It seems there is no want for me to intervene this time just to protect that weakling. If that is so, then i shall sleep now.”

Yin turned around to descend back into the cave, making the triplets panic. They rushed toward her, but Arthur was already done writing his rune, and three giant ethereal arms appeared in front of him.

“Guh!” the triplets grimaced in unison as the arms grabbed their heads, almost crushing them. Arthur took Other Yin’s advice and held the puppets at a distance.

“You three will have to answer my questions,” said Arthur as he glared at them. The triplets started kicking before stopping their struggle, making Arthur confused. Then, he saw them dissolve into a glue-like material to sleep out of his grip.

The three bodies united together, creating a bigger version of themselves. This one had a full-face tattoo, growing a few meters every second, making Arthur tiny in comparison.

“Who are you, bastard?” growled the newly-formed giant as he looked at Arthur. This one still had no eyes, but it was more muscular and threatening than before.

“That should be my question,” said Arthur as he stared at the giant. “You are the one chasing us, not the other way around. The two of you seem to know each other, but I doubt that person would tell me anything.”

The giant was now the size of the mountain behind him, making his land on the ground. However, his head was still at the level Arthur was floating at, making him like a giant of Halin.