A legacy was one thing every hunter dreamed of attaining, but it was only possible when one was chosen by the sphere for a great and glorious purpose.
Those who were bestowed legacies had been known to rise far above their peers, becoming terrifyingly powerful. Because of that, legacy bearers were aggressively scouted by large clans in the real world and nurtured into prodigies, becoming weapons shaped for future wars.
Leo only knew of two people personally who had been bestowed legacies by the sphere within glory base. The first was Goliath-- the leader of the hands of war mercenary group. He had used his title as a legacy bearer alongside his father's influence to gather followers and create the Hands of War mercenary group. The second was Cassandra Hearth. Rumor had it that her legacy was the reason she had become the face of the Surge Military group within Glory Base, as they had placed immense hopes on recruiting her fully.
Having a legacy now had to mean his original abilities granted by the sphere had been overwritten, by some manner of sorcery or-- fate.
Was such a thing even possible?
'Did that old man pass me his legacy? I wonder how he even did it.' Leo still struggled to grasp the absurdity of his situation. 'But… it does sound strange. Does this mean I can finally get stronger?'
Not wanting to dwell on the inconsistencies for now, he willed the sphere to display all his information before him. A second later, strange runes fizzled into existence several centimeters in front of his eyes. A fraction of a second later, the symbols rearranged themselves, rewriting into a language he could understand. He read them with the same diligence he once had when searching desperately for missing money.
[You have advanced to the Awakened Rank.]
[You have awakened your dormant abilities.]
[Your core is taking form.]
[The Sphere has acknowledged your awakening.]
[Congratulations, Awakened Leonardo, on advancing to the first level— away from the profanity of your race.]
An overwhelming flood of information slammed into his mind all at once, forcing him to steady himself. It took several seconds for him to process it all. What unsettled him the most, however, was the way the sphere spoke.
'Is it just me, or does the sphere have a personality now that I'm awakened?' Since he rarely heard its voice as often as other superhuman did, he had no frame of reference for how it actually operated. Still, it sounded… almost mocking.
He was still trying to accept the fact that he had somehow become an awakened when a new set of characters appeared before him. This time, excitement crept into his chest despite his fear.
[Inheritance ability acquired.]
[Inheritance ability name: Wolf Bond.]
"Wolf Bond… does it have something to do with the Dire Wolf legacy?" He scratched the back of his head but chose not to dwell on questions he couldn't answer yet. What mattered more was seeing what had changed—or what was still changing—inside him.
Name: Leonardo Hall
Title: Awakened
Pack: —
Lunar Core: Awakened
Soul Fragments: 0/500
"No, that's all wrong."
Questions exploded in his mind. Several things were being displayed that should not exist-- yet they were there.
"What does pack even mean?"
He wracked his brain trying to get a grasp of the information displayed before him.
To make matters worse, the section that should have read "Soul Core" now displayed "Lunar Core." Where "Core Fragments" should have been, there were "Soul Fragments" instead. His entire framework was wrong. He wondered if it had something to do with his odd transformation, the moon, or the old man. Everything had started when he met him.
If only he wasn't dead.
…Or was he?
Leo stroked his chin slowly, his thoughts spiraling into a web on unconstrained strings.
'Did he wake up and walk away… like a zombie?'
His head began to ache from thinking too hard. There was far too much happening, and he had answers for none of it. In the end, he decided it would be better to deal with things one step at a time. Abilities first. Questions later.
Just when he was beginning to pull together strings of thoughts another string of characters fizzled into existence continuing the earlier string of runic characters.
Stats—
Strength: 2
Agility: 4
Endurance: 5
Vitality: 2
Aura: 1
Lunar Points: —
"What sort of sorcery is this?" Leo muttered, his tone turning cold and bitter. The sphere's interface had become far more complex than anything he had ever seen.
Biting down on his lower lip, he forced himself to keep reading. Maybe something else would make sense.
Legacy: The Cursed Dire Wolf
Legacy Tier: Primordial
Legacy Rank: Omega
Legacy Abilities: Moon Born
Legacy Ability Description: Born on the night of a full moon, you have gained partial control over the abilities of the Cursed Dire Wolf.
Inheritance Ability: Wolf Bond
Artifacts: —
Companions: —
Leo didn't know whether to roll his eyes or collapse on the spot. He had heard that legacies operated on far more complex systems than normal superhumans, but this was beyond excessive.
Nothing made sense. His education about the Hellscape and superhuman abilities had been minimal-- just the bare compulsory basics. He barely understood legacy abilities beyond their tiers. At least he knew that Primordial-tier legacies were the highest.
That alone gave him a sliver of grim comfort.
A primordial tier meant that his legacy was at the best it could be, it also meant that his fate had been tied to something else. He gulped down afraid to think about what this would entail in future.
'Curses… my ability is way too complicated,' he thought bitterly. 'What am I supposed to do with all this nonsense? I don't even know what a cursed dire wolf is.'
The voice of the sphere returned, darker this time, sending a chill down his spine.
[With great power comes great responsibility.]
[The pendulum has turned in favor of the sons and daughters of eternity.]
[The power of a legacy demands a sacrifice.]
Leo's jaw dropped.
'What in the fucking hell is this?'
[Penalty assigned: "Harbinger of Death and Chaos."]
[Penalty Description: The sons and daughters of eternity curse your existence and wish you ill fortune. You carry a demon despised by the gods.]
"Fuck… me." The words slipped out before he could stop them.
If nothing made sense before now he driven himself closer to madness. He had never heard of a penalty as an ability before, just like that the legacy ability was beginning to feel more like a burden than a blessing.
Suddenly, a knock echoed violently against his door, causing him to jump in terror. He spun around too fast, lost his footing, and crashed to the floor with a soft thud.
Two things made his blood run cold.
First-- no one ever visited him. His existence was entertainment at best, mockery at worst.
Second-- it was far too late at night for anyone to come knocking. And if someone was here now, there was only one possible reason.
They had traced the sound from earlier… back to his room.
Panic flooded him as the knocking grew louder, more aggressive.
His mind raced again on what he would do next. He obviously could not tell them or whoever it was the truth. The fact that he had awakened and also that he carried a legacy had to remain unknown till he had everything figured out.
'No, that won't work, you idiot— think.' He punched himself lightly in the gut as he paced around his room, his teeth biting down on his nails.
He could claim a beast broke in and destroyed everything but that sounded ridiculous.
"Nothing I say is going to work. I'm as good as dead."
Forcing himself to gather what little confidence he had left, he moved towards the door. Maybe they just wanted to mock him. After all, he was the peerless loser. No one truly cared about him.
As his hand reached for the handle, a colder thought struck him.
"What if it's the landlord… I'm already overdue." He mumbled incoherently.
The door handle ran warm which caused him to shudder, did that mean he was running cold with fear?
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and accepted his fate.
He regretted it immediately.
A familiar female voice cut through the air. "Why did you make me wait so long? Didn't you hear the commotion?"
In shock, Leo tried to slam the door shut on Cassandra-- tried being the key word. She reacted much faster, kicking the door open with brutal force and sending him crashing to the ground.
'The strongest awakened in the entire base… coming to see me this late at night. What are the odds she's just passing by?' Leo gritted his teeth and looked up, convinced this might be the last thing he ever saw.
Golden light shimmered in Cassandra's hands, coalescing and merging as a long katana slowly took form.
"I am royally fucked."