Level Up Legacy

Existence itself was shaking inside Helios. It did not matter if you were on the ground or floating in the sky. Your very being was pushed to its limit but in a threatening manner. It was as if the whole world wanted to evolve.

The first beat came like a ripple across space. Its center was Arthur Silvera and grew bigger until it passed through everything. Everyone could see the soft golden wave and most lost consciousness as it passed through them.

A million or so citizens fell to the ground. Soldiers fell from the sky, losing consciousness and their footing. Those who retained their consciousness were the four leaders and whoever existed enough.

‘Existed enough.’

Ilia Perli looked at the overbearing sight of a million people falling, one over the other, all unintentionally by a single young man. It was the natural effect of his evolution, as ordinary people could not witness it.

After the first ripple faded, Arthur Silvera opened his eyes. They shone golden light as if he held suns in them. His lips turned into a thin line as he raised his arms, grabbing onto something. This caused the second ripple, which made existence scream and inch toward him.

All things, whether solid or liquid, inscribed or enchanted, started to shake as they were pulled toward Arthur. Kaius flinched as the second ripple touched him, making him snap out of his daze.

“We need to stop him!” shouted Kaius with haste as he placed his palm on his dragon. “Ignitirax, turn him to ashes!”

However, the dragon seemed wiser than its owner. It shook its head and retreated backward against its master’s commands. Ilia Perli empathized with the dragon because he, too, knew that something was beginning.

“Obey me!” roared Kaius as orange mana exploded from his body before being infused into the dragon. Ignitirax roared as the mana took hold of his body, and it flapped its wings to soar toward the sky.

“Foolish man,” muttered Ilia Perli with a frown as he stared at Kaius. It was fine to be afraid, but the tamer shouldn’t have let it cloud his judgment. The moment Arthur Silvera slayed those monsters, the odds turned against them.

Kaius soared high into the sky before turning in an arch to dive back down. Ignitirax was now being controlled by him, making the tamer unable to separate himself from the dragon. It roared toward Arthur as flames gathered in its mouth, ready to incinerate him.

The pair of monster and tamer was indeed the ferocious warriors of Thiria. Among the countless soldiers and citizens, they were the only two who dared to make a move against this phenomenon. However, bravery and foolery were separated by a very thin line.

Arthur Silvera did not move and allowed himself to be swallowed by the dragon. It devoured him whole and incinerated his body, but there were no screams. The dragon landed on the Runic Dome, panting as the orange mana left its body. Kaius was no better.

“It was a bluff! He couldn’t do anything against me!” shouted Kaius with a labored breath, but his face was exhilarated. His pride warrior aura returned to him as if it had been hidden beneath the frustration of his short temper.

Kaius seemed to expect some cheering or even shock. However, he received neither of those. Instead, everyone stared at the sky behind him with surrendered faces. The Dragonir Guild Master looked confused before he turned his head.

His name was Kaius Firebrand of the Firebrand Tamers. He controlled countless majestic beasts, making him stand above all else. Furthermore, he became an Astra ranker at the ripe age of twenty-five.

However, despite all of those above, Kaius Firebrand lost his earlier pride and vigor. Instead, he was as white as a sheet of paper as he stared at the sky. His skin was covered with sweat as his lips muttered his astonishment.

As the tamer started losing his mind, the rest of the crowd shared his sentiment. All of them saw the exchange with their own eyes, but after the dragon swallowed Arthur and descended, it left Arthur Silvera in the same position.

“What is happening?” asked Ilia Perli. Although he knew that Arthur Silvera could not be defeated in his current state, the scene was too absurd. “Is it possible that we are in an illusion?”

The question demanded an answer, but Ilia Perli knew more about illusions than any present. If there were an illusion, it would have to be Arthur Silvera himself.

“Existence is unfeeling, not designed to serve nor destroy life,” said Arthur as his eyes stared at the cosmos. However, Ilia felt like the cosmos was the one staring at him. “No one can deny it; everyone needs to bow down to it.”

Arthur lowered his hands, bringing down a celestial pressure over the crowd. Rebels and reinforcements alike knelt on the ground, unable to fight the crushing aura. Their knees struck the ground simultaneously, making a booming sound through Helios.

Ilia Perli managed to fight against the pressure, but even his knees started bending. It was a crushing feeling like he was an ant compared to the man before him. Nevertheless, he struggled to raise his eyes toward the sky and saw a scene he would never forget.

Arthur Silvera stood in the sky with a golden portal behind him. The circular entrance looked like a heavenly gate, engraved with runes that Ilia had never seen the likes of before. Arthur was facing them with his back to the gate.

His eyes scanned those kneeling toward him. Those who did not were his comrades and the four leaders. They all managed to fight the ‘urge’ to kneel and stared at him with apprehension. Even his allies looked at him with fear.

Ilia Perli glimpsed the sadness in his eyes as he saw the fear in his comrades. He realized that Arthur Silvera had been irreversibly alienated from humanity, making him feared but never loved.

However, the golden eyes then looked at Ilia Perli. The Major General straightened his back, although it felt like it was about to break. As the two men stared at each other, Arthur Silvera smiled.

Then, the man turned toward the golden gate. He stared at it for a full minute before his lips moved again. Ilia Perli strained his ears to listen and realized that Arthur Silvera was reciting the exact words as before.

“Existence is unfeeling, not designed to serve nor destroy life. No one can deny it, and everyone needs to bow down to it,” said Arthur Silvera as he raised his hand toward the golden gate. “Except for me.”

His palm pushed the golden gate, slamming it open. The unknown portal opened with a resounding boom, releasing an otherworldly aura that pushed everyone back. It seemed like the next second would be their last, but it would also be eternal. The feeling of being threatened by the same entity nourished their existence.

Arthur Silvera chose to stand before the gate and stare at it. Ilia Perli expected Arthur to enter the entrance, but that did not happen. Instead, something else came out. Chains started leaving the golden gate and wrapped themselves around his limbs. Instead of fighting it, Arthur allowed them to chain him.

The golden gate kept spewing chains that surrounded themselves, Arthur. As the chains stopped leaving the gate, Arthur moved his arm. It strained to move against the chains, but he managed to grab hold of the ones wrapped around his other arm.

“Existence will not limit me, and whatever does shall break,” said Arthur as he tugged on the chains, breaking them. Golden mana exploded from the chains and his body, blinding their eyes.

A suffocating aura exploded from the golden gate, making those breathlessly watch. However, as the golden light faded and allowed them to see, they found out that the gate was gone and the aura was coming from Arthur himself.

His skin was shining golden, and his hair had grown longer. It was long enough to fly toward the sky like a golden flame. Arthur Silvera seemed amazed by the change as he stared at his hand.

Existence returned to normal, and the shaking artifacts calmed down. The crowd could move again, and they were regaining consciousness. However, all eyes turned toward the golden figure in the sky, who looked anything but human.

“Those who came here to fight me,” began Arthur Silvera, “how do you plan to do so? Are you going to use your hundreds of ships?”

Arthur Silvera raised his hands toward the ship fleet, and under the frightened eyes of the crowd, the ships began to move and change shape. Chaos spread among the crews, and most chose to jump from the ships before they stopped looking like ships. The vessels turned to liquid, creating rivers in the sky.