R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 18

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 18 (edited v2) (Re-released so the right tiers can see it)

On the Second Layer, there were thousands and thousands of Inheritances, ancient legacies and burial grounds left behind by powerful warriors, Masters, and beings of great power. It was a unique tradition that could only be found on the Ancient World and not something present on any of the other Layers.

In the first timeline, various research groups that housed the best of humanity’s scientists believed that the First Layer was an artificial world created just to welcome humanity into the 7 Layers. They used a number of methods, from pseudo-carbon dating the dirt found on the dangerous ground level of the First Layer, to using mystical powers purchased in the Shop to further their research.

The Second Layer, the Ancient World, was not like that. It was a real, existing world that forcibly hosted the Second Layer, ignoring the will of its original inhabitants. The world had a rich history, a complex past, and an even more complicated present.

The fact that Inheritances existed and could grant great treasures or hold powerful legacies was not a secret to the Byrens.

In fact, almost all known Inheritances had already been ransacked. Byren Martial Artists would often leave their Sects to go on journeys through the Ancient World, expanding their mindset, gaining experience, and hunting for these rare treasure grounds.

New Inheritances were found relatively often… but most were relatively mediocre and quickly looted.

Rare exceptions existed in the form of extraordinary Inheritances that contained great treasures, but those Inheritances received an extreme level of attention and competition. Once an Inheritance of that level was accessed, the various scrying and searching methods developed over the years to find Inheritances would inevitably let others know of its existence.

The only extraordinary Inheritances that remained, in the current era, were either extremely difficult to find, like Yvvtal’s Inheritance, or extraordinarily difficult to complete, like the famous Draconic Twelve Tombs.

In the case of the Soul King’s Inheritance, it was both.

Tallanoran, the Soul King, was one of the fallen heroes that fought in a grand war between the Deified Torens, the Dark Wraiths, and the Blue Drakes, the three dominant species of the Ancient World in the past.

Very little was known about the long forgotten past of the Ancient World. Micheal, in the first timeline, had done quite a bit of research into this out of personal interest. When the modern Great War Between Races broke out on the Second Layer, many hidden truths were unveiled to the world, though much more was lost.

According to what Micheal learned from Yvvtal, some time, long ago, the Torens unlocked the secrets of the Divine Language and attained Divinity.

It was around this period, as the Torens Ascended and become a Tribe of Deities, that a massive, world war unfolded.

The Deified Torens went on a rampage with the singular goal of exterminating the Blue Drakes and the Dark Wraiths, their longtime rivals.

The Dark Wraiths were virtually annihilated while the Blue Drakes vanished, many believing them to have been slaughtered down to the last child, the remainder forced to flee to a different plane of existence.

The Soul King was a Dark Wraith that had personally fought against the attacking Deities. He was a Master of Time, able to wield Time Energy like a Swordmaster wielded Sword Energy.

He was the sole reason that the Dark Wraiths were not immediately wiped out when the Torens began their attack. If not for the fact that 6 Dark Wraiths betrayed the others and fled, exposing their allies' location to buy time for themselves to escape, Tallanoran might have resisted the Torens for even decades more.

A single warrior holding off against a Tribe of Deities, albeit, a newly born and comparatively weak Tribe of Deities, was an enormous achievement.

Sophia knew bits and pieces of this history thanks to Micheal, missing only the information that Yvvtal had shared.

She kept these thoughts to herself she teleported inside the Inheritance, immediately going on guard as the flashing light enveloped her.

In a split second, she found herself inside the Inheritance, standing alongside Shin on a large, circular platform.

Sophia blinked furiously as her eyes adjusted to the dim room, scanning the environment.

“This place feels kinda creepy.” Shin muttered as he looked around. After a few seconds, he silently pulled up the description of his teleporting Ability.

.

—- Phasing Warper Type —-

The Phasing Warper Ability is a Type Ability. Users may only have one Type. The Phasing Warper Ability grants the user the power to 'Phase' through reality, warping from one place to another at near instantaneous speeds. This Ability grants a moderate increase in the Soul stat and no other bonuses.

.

‘Micheal said this Inheritance is like a mini-distorted world of its own, with holes of wonky spacetime.’ Shin paraphrased Micheal’s description as he activated his Ability.

‘Will I be able to teleport here?’

Shin’s eyes gleamed ever so faintly.

Instantly, his vision was overlaid with a world of translucent lines of energy, like tiny ropes connecting one place to another. These small ropes appeared woven within the fabric of space itself, keeping reality steady. There were a countless number of these lines, seemingly infinite and everywhere.

Shin had long since grown used to this sight, after training his teleporting Ability for so long. It had become almost second nature to visualize these lines, and the real world under them, at the same time.

Now, however, as Shin looked around, he could see exactly what Micheal had been talking about.

‘Over there, everything is messed up… wait, what?!’ Shin’s thoughts stuttered to a halt as he stared at one particular location, where the lines of space were extraordinarily chaotic. 

Sophia noticed his reaction and looked over at the same spot, nodding to herself.

‘There it is! The First Gate.’

Spread out around the entry platform that the duo had arrived out was a large room made up of finely carved grey stone. These stones each had various symbols and glyphs carved into them and gave off a very dim amount of light, the only light source in the room. The room stretched around 25 meters wide and was shaped like a large circle, expanding outward from the platform.

The only other irregularity in the room were the five large stone archways that were set in different parts along the wall.

The Five Gates.

Tallanoran’s Inheritance was something he created to prepare for the inevitable. The Soul King had seen the writing on the wall when it came to Toren aggression and had prepared his Inheritance to ensure his people survived. He also had intended to make it impossible for any creature that wasn’t a Dark Wraith to discover.

Unfortunately for the Soul King, the Toren Ascension into a Tribe of Deities was something that was completely beyond his expectations. By the time he realized how horrific the monsters that were called ‘Deities’ were, it was already too late.

He had managed to create his Inheritance, but instead of blocking it off from all except Dark Wraiths, the ancient legacy ground was left incomplete.

The Shadow Seekers that Sophia and Shin had previously killed were the key to open the Inheritance. Those phantoms were originally created by the Inheritance to act as both guards and guides for any Dark Wraiths that came within range, to lead them to this safe haven.

Because Tallanoran didn’t manage to finish his work before he perished, the Shadow Seekers only maintained their ‘guard’ function, attacking anyone, including Dark Wraiths, that came within range. Without anything to lead someone to the specific, hidden rock wall that was the opening to the Inheritance, the treasure ground remained unknown until now.

After Sophia and Shin killed their respective Shadow Seekers, the Inheritance viewed the ‘guide’ function that was never properly installed as activated, opening up access to the Inheritance for them. As long as they knew the location, which they learned from Micheal, they could just waltz on in.

Sophia walked down from the raised stone platform, descending down a small set of stairs, and walked over to the archway that had a symbol shaped like a circle with a dot in it on its front. The Shop translated all verbal languages, but when it came to written words, the function only worked for Earth-based languages. Still, she knew from Micheal that this symbol meant ‘First’ in the language of the Dark Wraiths.

“It’s just like Micheal said.” Shin muttered as he shook his head, once again bemused by Micheal’s ability to know things he shouldn’t.

“This is it, Shin.” Sophia turned to the lanky blond as he ambled down the stairs after her, her voice tinged with a hint of excitement and apprehension.

“Finally… We have a chance to catch up.” Sophia clenched her fists tightly as she looked at the towering stone edifice.

Belying his usual easygoing nature, Shin didn’t respond but stayed quiet as he looked at the Gate. Sophia’s words seemed to resound deep within him, causing the smile on his face to fade.

Dark Wraiths were a long-lived species. This particular facet had its advantages and its disadvantages. They would take a long time to grow strong, but when they did, they remained strong for a long, long time.

Tallanoran took that into account when he created the Five Gates of his Inheritance, his answer to that problem taking the form of the First Gate.

Two vague, shadowy figures began to morph into existence on top of the circular platform Shin and Sophia had arrived at. Clumps of dark essence pulsated in a growing circle as Shadow Seekers shaped like Shin and Sophia started to appear.

The duo glanced back at the creatures before turning their attention over towards the Gate.

“We only have one chance, Shin.” Sophia spoke steadily, forcing herself to calm down.

“I know.” Shin returned slowly.

Humans could challenge the Five Gates thanks to the incomplete safeguards on the Inheritance, but they could only try each Gate one time. After that, the Inheritance would recognize its mistake and block them from repeating that Gate.

Sophia turned to look at Shin. After a moment’s pause, she walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t be too nervous. Just hold on for as long as you can.”

“Hey! I’m not nervous! Hold on for yourself, Soap Opera.” Shin gave her a half-hearted glare.

“Soap Opera?” Sophia raised an eyebrow.

“…it wasn’t my best.” Shin cracked a smile as he turned to look back at the stone archway, the levity fading away, replaced with nervousness.

The First Gate.

The Gate of Suffering.

A gateway that led to a special, imaginary landscape where you didn’t need to eat, you didn’t need to sleep, you didn’t need to do anything but train. You could unleash the full extent of your powers without worry about injury, expanding your comprehension of concepts like Sword Mastery.

As for your training partner…

Sophia glanced back at the Shadow Seekers that were currently still forming.

They came along for free at the level of strength you raised them to, by killing them outside. And, unlike outside, once inside the First Gate, the Shadow Seekers would possess a growing level of sentience.

Fight. Train. Suffer. Repeat. Over and over.

Even if you died, you would merely reform inside the Gate, taking no actual injury. 

The First Gate was a haven for anyone who wanted to train, and was actually the safest of the Five Gates, allowing you to leave whenever you wanted. 

However... all these things paled in comparison to the most important factor of all. 

Dark Wraiths took a long time to train... and the Soul King designed this Gate as a way to overcome that. 

The moment you entered the Gate, your real body was stored in timeless stasis while your consciousness and Soul were projected into the imaginary landscape.

And in that landscape…

For every 47 seconds that passed in the real world…

An entire year would pass for the person inside the Gate.

.