Level Up Legacy

[A countdown has begun]

[Time remaining: 99 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds…]

"Does that mean this tower thinks my greatest fear is loneliness?" muttered Arthur with confusion as he stared at the empty place, which seemed like a wasteland with no end. Nothing was here except sand. "A hundred hours is a long time… but it should be an hour in the outside world."

Arthur then sat down, getting ready to spend his vacation. That is right, he considered it a vacation from everything. As the tower counted down the minutes, it did not realize that Arthur was enjoying his time.

In the beginning, Arthur slept.

In his sleep, he saw a vision. It was not a dream, but a vision from someone he knew. It was none other than Master Ronin, who appeared in his dream after so long.

"Where are you?" asked Arthur, but Master Ronin smiled at him. "I have questions about the trial, and questions about Sier. Tell me where to find…"

Arthur was still demanding an answer when Master Ronin turned around and pointed into the distance. Inside this dream, the two stood atop a cliff outside Yalenia. Arthur followed his finger to see someone crucified atop the palace.

"Emma…" muttered Arthur while gritting his teeth. If not for the war against Runera and Rain convincing him, Arthur would have marched to demolish the Yalen Kingdom to save her. She was not harmed in his vision, just chained to the palace's walls while wearing white. "Are you telling me that I would find an answer if I save her?"

"Emma can answer any question," muttered Master Ronin as he stared into the distance. "I can no longer help you, Arthur Netherborne."

"You served your purpose," said Arthur as he stared at Emma, and Master Ronin scattered to dust. Arthur turned toward his spot as he stared for a long time. "Thank you, teacher."

After that, Arthur awakened from his vision. He was still inside the same realm, with 91 hours left. It seems that he has spent eight hours sleeping, although it felt like a minute at most. As he sat up from his position, Arthur remembered the vision.

Emma was someone he knew before, but Arthur could never forget how close the two of them were. Even after assuming a different identity, Arthur still found himself coming to her side. Now that she was in danger, what was he doing?

"I have so many things to do," muttered Arthur as he ruffled through his hair, pulling it to the side. "Getting a haircut, for once."

Arthur took out his dagger and held his long hair, which reached his waist. This change came after he gained many followers, each letting him grow in mind and body. However, it was time to cut it off.

Nightmare cut through his hair, but Arthur could not shave like a barber would. He simply cut his long hair, but it still fell on the sides of his face. Arthur then held his short beard, something he never had before.

"I am growing older."

That sentence made him feel sad. Arthur always had to shave his face to look younger, but for some reason, he wanted to keep the short beard for now. Sarohan mentioned over food that it made him more handsome, and astonishingly, Seraphine agreed.

If Arthur wanted to become a king, he needed to look like one. Thus, he did not shave his beard. His hair fell on the sand before Arthur waved his finger, igniting it. It burned to ashes before his eyes.

Arthur then wrote a different rune, which created an ethereal mirror before him. It was at this time that he noticed how older he looked. His golden eyes have grown wiser and his beard finished the look for Arthur to resemble a sage.

The mirror disappeared as he sighed. Diana might not like his current looks, but he wanted to feel different. After all, he indeed changed. Arthur never felt more confident about knowing what to do or who he was.

Netherborne.

Arthur remembered how he managed to learn of that name. Inside the kingdom of wrath, he met someone that his father has mentioned before. His grandmother.

Seref watched his mother killed by monsters and his father's lack of emotion regarding that. Inside the kingdom of wrath, a soul recognized him as Seref, but Arthur explained that he was not.

His grandmother cried after seeing her grandson, and then she told Arthur the secret about their family. His ancestors were not called Silvera, but Netherborne. After escaping to Earth to survive, his family changed their names to hide from the gods.

Netherborne was the family that rose against the gods, also called the First Demons. As for the king who led that rebellion, he was defeated by the gods, and his family was hunted down. Before his death, that king promised to return one day and hunt down the gods. His grandmother cried when she saw that her grandson had entered the kingdom of wrath, as it revealed his identity.

After Arthur learned of his true name, he changed, as if something had awakened within him. The name was ancient and mysterious, but his grandmother explained to him what it meant.

"A man born in the lower realms."

The name was far from flashy or threatening, but it suited Arthur best. His life was spent digging through dirt, and now he had risen to become the man defying gods. Furthermore, Azkahar had told Arthur about the gods' secret, making him loathe them with all his heart.

[Time remaining, 90 hours, 34 minutes, and 22 seconds.]

***

A hundred hours passed, and Arthur finished the final test. As he rose from the ground, he felt refreshed after contemplating everything he needed to do. Ten seconds remained on the clock before Arthur reached the fifth floor.

[Time remaining: 1 second.]

[You have completed the final test]

[You get to challenge me now, Arthur Netherborne]

The tower master spoke to him through the notification as a portal appeared before him. Arthur stared at it, seeing that the portal showed what awaited on the other side—a tower standing inside a green forest.

Arthur walked through the portal and felt time return to normal. Waiting for him outside the tower were twelve men standing far away from each other. The one facing him was a familiar face.

"Welcome to our cult, Arthur Netherborne!" said Yuvan Perli as he spread his arms wide. "I have awaited your arrival. It honors me to be the one to lure you into this tower!"

"What is the meaning of the trial before?" asked Arthur, disregarding his remarks. Yuvan Perli seemed confused, so Arthur elaborated. "How does a hundred hours of solitude resemble my greatest fear?"

"That was just a way to make you wait instead of destroying this tower," said Yuvan with a grin. "We needed time to gather the twelve strings of fate!"

"And for what? You lured me to this tower to create a demon king, and now what?" Arthur looked at the twelve people, each wearing a different mask. Yuvan was the only one showing his face.

"For the final test," said Yuvan. "We have to make sure that you are the true demon king, the one we have dedicated our lives to hunting. AH! I cannot believe I am the one to find him at last!"

"How did you know it was me?" asked Arthur as his dagger appeared, unleashing a cry of wrath. "Forget it… I've had enough of your face."

"Please wait!" shouted a voice behind Arthur, and he turned around to see Ilia jumping out from a portal. His face was sweaty as he landed on the ground, catching his breath. "Let me… be the one to kill him."

"Are you sure, Ilia?" asked Arthur with hesitation. "I don't want to burden you with his blood. He is still your brother."

"I know that, sir, I know," said Ilia as he took a deep breath and rose from the ground, clutching grass in his hand. "I just have to be the one to kill him. And I want to understand… what made him the way he is."

"Dear brother," said Yuvan with a grin. "You arrived."

"Just in time to make things right," said Ilia as lightning raged from within his body, sizzling with rage. "I cannot have anyone else clean the mess that you have made, Yuvan!" roared Ilia as he summoned his lightning spear and bolted forward.

"You have always been the short-tempered but honest son, while I was… the calculating scheming bastard," said Yuvan with a smile as he received the attack with open arms.

Whoosh!

Ilia cut through him easily, piercing his heart. However, Yuvan simply scattered into countless red lights and reappeared a distance away. His smirk was still the same as Ilia landed on the grassland, before a masked man attacked him.

Clang!

Sparks flew as Whisker appeared in time to block the masked man, protecting Ilia from the ambush. As the feline held back the assailant, a wyvern descended from the sky to slam the String away.

Arthur grinned as he saw his followers arriving, and remembered once more that he was no longer fighting alone. He turned to see every last one of them arrive at the battlefield and stand beside him.

"Sorry for being late, Arthur."