Level Up Legacy

Suyin woke up from her sleep and needed moments to remember where she was. Her ceiling had many engravings and arrays illuminating it. Only one place in the world had this many runes: Ascent.

“You are finally awake,” said a voice from her bedside, and she turned to find Lin Xue fixing her bed. “It seems that the battle has taken its toll. You should have listened to me,” she reprimanded.

“I could not stand idle and watch Ascent gets demolished,” said Suyin with a sigh as she covered her head. “You have the energy to lecture me so early?”

“…it’s already noon,” said Lin Xue while rolling her eyes.

“You are fixing the bed, and it’s just noon? Someone is lazy today,” said Little Yin as she peeked through the sheets. “Are you okay?”

“You are the last person to call me lazy. I am fine. I was just practicing my art. This place is amazingly filled with mana that makes one grow stronger without their notice.”

“That is actually because of Adam Leno,” said Suyin with a smile as she jumped from the bed. His mana is enough to supply all arrays inside the Runic Dome. This solves another big problem for Ascent.”

“You speak of this guild as if it was yours,” said Lin Xue as she adjusted the sheets before pausing. “I want to leave, Suyin. This place and its owner freak me out.”

“Arthur freaks you out?” asked Suyin with confusion as she turned to her sister. “You can leave whenever you want. There is no need to include me in your decisions anymore.”

“I know that you are an adult now, who is even stronger than I am,” said Lin Xue as she walked toward her sister and sat beside her on the bed. “However, Arthur Silvera and this Runic Dome share an unsettling quality: they are addictive. The facilities here and the environment is too good to be true, and so is Arthur.”

“You want to leave because this place is too good?”

“We are humans, and Arthur is not. No matter how hard we try, we will always look at him with admiration and worship. He will consume us even without realizing it. His mere presence makes my existence evolve.”

“Hence, addictive,” sighed Suyin as she lowered her feet to the ground and wore her slippers. She went silent briefly before standing up and walking toward her closet to take out some clothes. “Our lives have been so miserable that you think happiness and safety are too addictive.”

“You can assume I am whatever you desire, but hear me out. Arthur Silvera will never be yours. Of course, you will love him more than anything, either as a friend or something more, but he will never feel the same way.”

“…I don’t care,” said Suyin as she took off her pajamas and started into her training gear. Lin Xue gritted her teeth before rising and walking toward her. Then, she grabbed her sister and turned her over.

“You deserve better than a one-sided worshiping!” blurted out Lin Xue, surprising her little sister. “If you are here, you will always live in his shadow. You will live for him, not for yourself!”

“…and you think I have been living for myself?” said Suyin as she slapped her sister’s hands away, making Lin Xue step back. It was the first time that she had seen her sister like this. “I have lived in fear until I met him. I was a burden until I met him. Before I lived in his shadow, I lived in yours. You want that to be the case forever?”

“…we are sisters…!” said Lin Xue. “We were together ever since we were children, and I always protected you.”

“You are my dearest sister, and there is no one in this world I can love more,” said Suyin as she stared at the ground. Then, she sighed and turned to resume wearing her training gear. “However, after I met him, I was myself instead of your little sister. I will never go back to that life.”

After those words, Suyin finished changing and opened the bedroom door. She found a person waiting for her on the other side wearing goggles and lab robes. It was Maryam, the runemaster who never left the research center.

“Ah, I was not eavesdropping,” said the runemaster, waving her hands. Then, as she received nothing but a confused look, she pulled down her goggles and placed them around her neck. “I came here to meet the Queen of Souls.”

“…I think this is the first time that we met,” said Suyin with confusion as she left the room and closed the door, leaving her sister behind. Maryam nodded with a smile as she glanced at the closed door.

“Have I interrupted something important?”

“I was on my way to train,” said Suyin with a shake. “Is there something that you need from me?”

“There is something that can change the world,” said Maryam as she gestured for Suyin to walk with her, spreading her arm toward the labs. “It seems that Arthur Silvera has a new idea for artifacts. I have never heard of something similar, and I am sure it will change everything.”

“I joined his guild, haven’t I?” said Maryam with a grin. “You seem more interested in him than a world-changing idea, and I will oblige. Your sister is right about Arthur and this place.”

“How can you say that as a member of his guild?”

“I say that because when I got here, I loathed him. I saw him as nothing more than someone who left his friend behind. But, after spending the past month or so with him, I realized that Arthur Silvera is impossible to hate.”

“How so?”

“I have never seen someone with so much power and wouldn’t abuse it. He has obtained the powers to bend the world and reality, but all he does is go around and fight calamities. It is somewhat absurd, right?”

Suyin has never thought about it this way. Arthur was not a hero in her eyes, but something different. Everything she went through felt like mere preparations for meeting with him when she would start living for real.

‘Ah,’ realized Suyin as she followed the runemaster, ‘this idolization is what Lin Xue feared. She was right because Arthur Silvera is like the sun. We cannot live without it, but looking at it will leave us blind.’

“I feared that my feelings would change, but in the end, I regret nothing. However, your case is different. I came here to learn about runes, but what are you here for? What reason do you have other than being with Arthur Silvera?”

“…”

“That is dangerous, girl,” said Maryam while waving her finger. “A man like Arthur Silvera is not a person we can grow attached to because he will leave us in the dust.”

“Everyone talks about him as unreachable, a god we cannot touch. However, has it occurred to any of you how lonely that makes him feel? I have seen it on his face when he saw that even his comrades feared him.”

Maryam was silent as she walked down the corridors, passing through different doors before they reached the research lab. Then, finally, she paused at the door and turned toward Suyin.

“You might be the person that he needs. Someone who still treats him as a human, even when the rest cannot. You are the only person who can relate to the alienation because you are not a human yourself, right?”

Suyin was silent as the doors opened. She had no answer because she did not know what she was after meeting Morana and becoming her partially. However, even if she was not a human, she could not care less. After all, there was someone else with her now.

“Welcome to our lab, Queen of Souls,” said the golden-eyed man. He stood before one of the research tables, wearing his signature black and golden robes. Suyin realized that it was the first time she had seen him since his evolution, and he seemed to have changed.

His features were more defined, and he looked more handsome than before. His hair was longer but tied behind his head with a hairband. However, his aura was still unstable, as if he was unaccustomed to his new powers.

Golden mana appeared throughout the lab at different intervals before disappearing. Suyin noticed them and couldn’t help but stare at the phenomena, making Arthur apologize.

“I have yet to stabilize my powers, but I need to discuss something important with you. It will be the ultimate fusion of our abilities.”

“Fusion of our abilities?” muttered Suyin with confusion, and Arthur gestured for her to come over. She started walking as Maryam closed the door and entered. As she stood beside Arthur, the runemaster took out a sword.

“I want us to create an artifact together that has a unique soul of its own,” said Arthur with a smile. “It will be different than spiritual weapons, as it will be a living artifact.”

“I have never heard of such a thing,” said Suyin with shock. “Even more, I have no idea how to control my powers. If this fails….”

“Then we can try again later,” said Arthur with a smile before offering her his hand. “This sword will be a gift to you. I just want to see the possibility of creating such a thing, no more.”