Level Up Legacy

Arthur stared at Gaia, who stopped teaching him for a while. The decision has not been made, but it has been made for him after he felt something calling for him from the world.

"The person you love is calling for you," said the core with sadness. "However, I fear that she has grown stronger than before, and her powers will damage more than just her body this time."

"I want to refuse what she is giving me back," answered Arthur with a shake of his head. "I want to stay here."

"I wish to have you here, but I need you to fight for me again, Arthur."

"I already refused that. I will not dedicate my life to anything."

"...I can show you something from the future. A scene that you will end up witnessing and must prevent. This is only possible because we are connected now, so please forgive me."

Arthur was confused as a scene appeared in his mind. It seemed to be the future if he did not fight against the calamities and Nameless. After the vision was over, Arthur found himself back at the Spirits Realm.

"You are awake," said the Spirits Sovereign with a smile as he tilted his head. "And you know the truth now."

"I have seen a lot about this world," Arthur's eyes looked at his body that was reforming on its own. "I never believed that a simple evolution will bring so many troubles."

"Necessary troubles," sighed the Spirit Sovereign. "I did not know what the Scholar Guardian had in mind. However, I am not sure if I would have stopped him if I did. This world needs you, Arthur, and so do your friends and family."

"I understand that now," rose Arthur to his feet as he looked at Yggdrasil. "I am the defender of this world."

"And you are the only one who can defend it against the calamities," answered the Spirits Sovereign as he offered his gourd. "Drink for the future."

Arthur paused as he stared at the gourd and reached out to it. His hand was able to grab it before he gulped it down. Then, however, he realized that the liquid inside had no taste.

"This is... water?" frowned Arthur as he looked at the gourd. The Spirit Sovereign had a blank face before he looked down toward all the realms.

"I guess it has begun, Arthur. We will meet again when your enemies are too many. Until then, strive for survival. There is no telling what will happen from now on."

"I know," smiled Arthur. "I can only believe."

As he finished his words, a gravitational force began to pull his body together and materialize it into the human world. This was his command over runes that he learned from Gaia, and it was recreating his body because Diana and Ai released what he gave them.

Arthur tried to reject it, but the process was almost natural, like water flowing downward. It was not something that he had a grasp on, but it happened.

"I wonder if I can save her," he said with tears gathering in his eyes. "Tell me, Spirits Sovereign. Am I able to save her?"

"I can tell that her soul is damaged because of the removal of Greatest Harmony. The world will reject her now because the two traits are not in harmony. Then, of course, you can use the Chains of Order to bend the natural laws, but even then, the chances are small."

"And if I fail?"

"...I promise to do something."

"I cannot live without her by my side," said Arthur as he began to disappear. "Thank you for everything, Rexus."

"You remembered that name," smiled Rexus as Arthur disappeared. "I will see you soon, old friend."

***

There was nothing but light as his body began to form. It was created solely out of runes. The runes vibrated with light as they created his bones, his flesh, and then his same old face. However, Arthur knew that he was being reborn.

The old injuries disappeared, and the mana paths expanded. Arthur watched as his spiritual arm, the same that he used during many battles, formed to replace his missing one. Then, life began to sprout as his feet dug into the soil.

"I have returned," Arthur opened his eyes inside the pillar of light. "And you paid with your life," he said toward the person standing in front of him with her chest bleeding. "All for me..."

Diana fell forward, and Arthur held her. But, unfortunately, the first touch was not as warm as he imagined because her powers grew out of control. Even at this moment, her body was attacking itself like a disease.

Arthur carried the princess in his arms before turning toward the other person who helped him. Ai's body was slowly losing the integrity that held it together as her soul left toward its rightful place.

"We never talked," muttered Arthur toward her broken body. "And yet, you sacrificed yourself for me. I did not do much by bringing you back, did I?"

Arthur thought bitterly about how this outcome was no worse than his death. However, he was not ready to give up. So then, he took the first step forward after his rebirth, his eyes full of unbridled sadness.

***

"Heed my call, Chains of Order."

As Arthur summoned the chains that constituted this world's laws, the world began to shake. These chains dictated that fire eats wood, and water fed the trees. Inside these chains were the natural laws that this world had, restraining any anomaly.

"Do not harm my love," he implored the chains to reverse the destruction of her body. "I am the inheritor of Gaia, and my will shall be enforced."

As he commanded, several chains began to break, representing the laws he wanted to be broken. Then, the world started to shake as the distant snow mountains began to melt. Fire distorted as it did not burn anything anymore. However, the change was for a moment before the chains were repaired.

Arthur gritted his teeth as he witnessed the sight, and his wrath burned in his heart. But, as there was no use trying to reverse the natural worlds of the world because he was too weak, Arthur brought his hands down and injected Diana's body with his mana of creation.

His mana changed again after the evolution, and Arthur realized it was like a sea compared to the droplet before. Even though her body began to heal, her soul did not, and the two conflicting traits inside her sea of consciousness did not stop attacking each other.

Arthur realized that her two traits attacked each other because of her parents, who were the two opposites of characters and elements. Diana was the same as him, a victim of her selfish parents.

"Do not die, please," muttered Arthur before he sensed someone rushing toward him. As he lifted his head, he realized that Lorius had grown bigger, and his skin turned blood-color.

Every step of the calamity shook the world and left a deep imprint on the ground. It was an instant that he was in front of Arthur, attacking him.

"King Arthur!" shouted Kar with a mouth that ran across his face. "We meet again after thousands of years! Are you ready to atone for your sins?"

As he asked, Kar raised his hand to materialize a blood spear, which he used to pierce Arthur. Looking at the calamity silently, Arthur could not contain his wrath. His aura exploded around the two of them, and Kar did not manage to pierce through it.

"You overestimate yourself, Ruler of Blood," Arthur rose from his feet as he glared at the vampire. "It seems you have forgotten the battle of long ago."

As he said so, Arthur raised his hand. His golden eyes flashed as the mana of creation gathered in his hand. Kar flinched before he tried to dodge, but it was too late.

"Begone," muttered Arthur as his fist clenched, and the vampire exploded into nothing. There was no destruction of the land around them, and only the vampire was obliterated from existence.

"...this is absurd," after a few seconds, said a voice from the crowd. Arthur turned toward her to find that it was the Knight of Courage, whose arms and legs were frozen stiff and bent unnaturally. "Are you... the Seika?"

"My name is Arthur Silvera," replied Arthur as he crouched on the ground in front of Diana. "And I will kill anyone who bothers me."

The crowd was watching silently and holding their breath. Then, finally, Arthur raised his hands again and placed them on the limp body of the princess, looking at her with sadness.

However, even though he destroyed Kar's body, Arthur knew that the vampire was akin to an immortal who would never die. The blood around the battlefield was gathering to reform the calamity's vessel.

"You are the same as before, but this wrath is new," said a man as he walked toward him.. "I can heal this woman, but she will never wake up."