Leonard ran through the forest as the twin moons—just emerging from their double eclipse—cast their eerie, fragmented light through the dense canopy of clouds above. Shadows danced and flickered around him, and the thick layer of fallen leaves crunched beneath each of his steps. He glanced repeatedly over his shoulder, heart pounding in his chest; the silence of the woods brought both relief and despair.

Marissa had left first—and now she was nowhere to be seen.

As he sprinted, guilt started gnawing at Leonard's mind. Was it truly worth the risk? Double-crossing a Black Reaper and stealing the reward from that Temporary Rift would undoubtedly spark a war against the Bridan Empire. It would take the empress only a few days to learn that the deadly assassin had betrayed her and gotten backstabbed by her enemies—enemies the Black Reaper had hired.

After picking up Elena and Brandon from Trogan Academy, they'd need to leave—and quickly. If Leonard and his wife were to be caught, the king would throw them in jail without hesitation and give them along with Marshal Vancaws to the empire as scapegoats.

The trees blurred around Leonard, trunks melding into a continuous smear of brown and green as he channeled more aether into his legs. In the distance ahead, the forest's edge appeared, marking the border of Kastal. With one final push, he broke through the treeline and reached a clearing bathed in the light of the dual moons. Leonard paused and caught his breath for a moment before turning toward their meeting point with the marshal.

Come on, Marissa, he thought, retrieving his communication orb. The artifact's smooth surface glowed faintly in the moonlight.

Rounding a large rock, Leonard began infusing aether into it before coming to an abrupt stop.

Just a few dozen feet ahead were his wife and Marshal Vancaws, surrounded by a dozen men. Each of them was clad in thick plate armor, a golden crown gleaming on the chest and a rune-covered spear in their hands. The royal guards.

Behind them stood three men and two women in a semicircle, their high chins matching the arrogance etched into their faces. At the center was a man in his sixties, with neatly combed graying hair and piercing-blue eyes that would make anyone yield: Kastal's king.

"Leonard," the man called out, his voice carrying the weight of both condescension and latent threat. "What a pleasant surprise."

"My king," Leonard said, bowing his head as his throat tightened.

A guard stepped forward, pointing his spear at Leonard before motioning to join his wife and Marshal Vancaws. Leonard complied and walked toward them; his eyes briefly shot to the nobles alongside the king—four heads of the Twenty Great Houses—the very ones who had previously shown no interest in dethroning the man, despite his insatiable greed.

Then Leonard glanced at the royal guards around them; each one was at the pinnacle of the Gold Tier. Trying to escape was futile. Even if Marshal Vancaws could somehow hold his ground against the king—which was highly unlikely, despite both men being Platinum—there was not a chance Leonard and his wife could get away from the House heads and the elite guards.

The king, still smiling, casually tossed a communication orb into the air before catching it back. "The empress just informed me herself that unless I hand you over to her tonight, she will declare war on Kastal." He paused, tilting his head as if deep in thought, then let out a mocking sigh. "So, tell me: is there any good reason I shouldn't give her what she wants?"

"Because you'd miss out on quite a treasure, Therion," Marshal Vancaws answered with a shrug. "We wouldn't have risked killing a Platinum Black Reaper for something trivial."

"We could simply slaughter you all and take it off your corpses," the head of the Aureus House spat, glaring at the old man. The moon glinted off from the gray strands scattered through the man's short brown hair while his oversized nose flared with obvious anger.

Marshal Vancaws shook his head. "If you did, you'd be missing out on the half I hid," he said. "On top of weakening our nation right before a war."

"Always so cunning, Gerad," the king answered with a chuckle. "But if you think I'd go to war over a few rewards from a single, Temporary Rift, then you don't know me as well as you think, my friend."

It isn't just any rewards, Leonard thought to himself.

A smile crept onto Marshal Vancaws' lips. "You might change your mind once you see them."

Slowly, the man reached for the Endless Pouch at his belt, unfazed by the royal guards who leveled their spears toward his throat. With exaggerated motions, the marshal pulled out a linen bag, turned it upside down, and let its contents spill onto the ground.

Dozens of colorful crystals, flowers in glass jars, and glowing pieces of ore fell to the forest floor with multiple thuds. But among the pile of rare resources, three breathtaking stones stood out by the strong and vivid aether emanating from them. Leonard already knew what they were, but still cast Identify to confirm which ones the marshal had hidden.

Sun Warcry

Falcaru Santori's Legacy

Tier: Iron | Low-Diamond

Grade: Rare

Affinity: Light

Restrictions:

- Warrior or Guardian

[...]

Sun Protection

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Falcaru Santori's Legacy

Tier: Iron | Peak-Platinum

Grade: Uncommon

Affinity: Light

Restrictions:

- Guardian

[...]

Light Empowerment

Falcaru Santori's Legacy

Tier: Iron | Peak-Platinum

Grade: Uncommon

Affinity: Light

Restrictions:

- Guardian

[...]

The eyes of the king and all the Houses' heads widened as they stared in astonishment at the three brilliant stones scattered among the other resources. Leonard glanced at the grin on Marshal Vancaws' face. No one among the rebellion's leaders had considered betraying the Black Reaper—until they had seen those palm-sized crystals in the Temporary Rift. Not even the king of Kastal had ever possessed one of those, and they obtained six—no, seven—of them.

"Legacies," the king muttered, "from Falcaru Santori."

Everyone from the east continent knew that name. The Sun Emperor of Bridan, a Wielder who had half-stepped into godhood with his Guardian's subclass: the Light Crusader. The man had ruled for nearly a century over the Bridan Empire before being slain by an unknown god three hundred years ago. Every ambitious Warrior and Guardian had dreamed of using one of his Legacies so they could get pushed toward the same Path he'd been on.

Marshal Vancaws cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to him. "We'll take those three for our efforts and losses in the Rift," he said. "And in return for sparing our lives, you'll get the others I hid."

The king's eyes narrowed slightly. "How many more do you have?"

"Two Rares and one Uncommon," the marshal answered.

Leonard held his breath, masking every emotion he could while his heart pounded in his chest. He had to remain calm—no one knew the marshal's words there weren't true, except him.

The king's frown deepened, then a glimmer of greed flashed in his eyes. "We will take the three rare ones and leave you the rest."

Marshal Vancaws paused, considering for a moment, then shook his head. "Actually, I have a better idea," he said, his tone calm yet firm. "We split everything fifty-fifty—but instead of keeping the Legacies for ourselves, we award them to the soldiers who make the greatest contributions in the war during the Iron phase. They are the ones who will have to use those after all."

The king burst into laughter, his voice booming across the clearing. "You have remarkable faith in your granddaughter, my friend."

"Indeed I do," Marshal Vancaws answered. "There's not a single doubt in my mind that Marine will prove herself more than your grandchildren."

"Oh, really?" the king retorted with a chuckle. "I hope your words won't come back to haunt you if she fails to reach the top six and you end up with no legacy at all."

A giant grin crept on the marshal's wrinkled lips. "Do not worry. I'm ready to seal this agreement with a soul contract."

"A soul contract?" the king repeated, a shadow crossing his expression.

"Yes. To make sure none of us can succumb to greed. Either by taking them directly or killing those who will bear them to take them back from their chests. Oh, and also to guarantee you won't send any of those to… that nation that has you on a leash."

A short-lived flare of anger surged on the king's face, then the old man stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "Very well," he said before signaling for the royal guards to lower their weapons. "Let's return to Oskon. We'll make my personal Scribe write the contract right away, and once that's done you can show me the other Legacies."

"With pleasure."

Marshal Vancaws retrieved all the items in front of him with aether and moved them back into his Endless Pouch. Just as the two men turned to leave, the king glanced back at Leonard and his expression hardened. "Leonard, please inform the other traitors who survived of our agreement. Also tell them to prepare their Houses for war. Maybe their families will be sent to the battlefield right after the commoners, who knows?"

Leonard nodded grimly, knowing that protesting would be pointless. "Yes, my king."

As the king, his guards, and the nobles departed with Marshal Vancaws, the head of the Aureus House cast Leonard a venomous glare. Leonard met the gaze without flinching, a slow-burning anger simmering in his chest. That House might have been second only to the royal family in power, but he simply couldn't bring himself to bow to them. Their leaders were one of the main reasons behind Kastal's decline—they'd been whispering in the king's ear, suggesting suffocating laws against the commoners.

How was the nation supposed to prosper and nurture powerful Wielders when the vast majority of its people were denied access to the very knowledge that could make them great?

Once the group disappeared into the distance, Marissa approached Leonard, tears glistening in her eyes. "I—I thought I'd lost you back there," she mumbled, her voice shaking.

Leonard embraced her, gently stroking her crimson hair. "It's alright," he soothed. "We're safe now."

Marissa pulled back, concern etched on her face. "But darling, we did all this for nothing. Our chances of earning a Legacy are practically zero. Not a single thing will change. People will still suffer and will still have to bear all the king's absurd laws."

A faint smile tugged Leonard's lips as he winked at her. True, Elena and Brandon wouldn't fetch great war contributions while being Low-Iron, but it didn't matter—not anymore, at least. "When I fell into that cave, I stumbled into a connected Rift," he began before reaching into his pouch and pulling out a crystal swirling with a mesmerizing cyan hue. The aether it radiated surpassed even the Rare Legacies.

"And inside, I found something perfect for Elena."

Leonard's eyes met his wife's before moving down to cast Identify on the stone.

Cold Channel

Friora Milleria's Legacy

Tier: Copper | Mid-Diamond

Grade: Epic

Affinity: Ice

Restrictions:

- Elementalist

[...]

Marissa stopped breathing, and her jaw fell open. "An—an Epic Legacy," she whispered, her voice catching in her throat. Long seconds passed before she managed to regain her composure, though her eyes remained locked on the glowing crystal. "But… who's Friora Milleria?"

"I don't know," Leonard answered, focusing on the dots below the restrictions. "But look at the effects. They are… incredible."

Spell description (Passive)

- Increases Arcane Power by 15/20/25/30/35/40%.

- Enhances all Ice-affinity spells by an additional 10/15/20/25/30/35% Arcane Power.

- Weakens all non-Ice-affinity spells by 20% Arcane Power.

Legacy description

- Forms a core with a piece of Friora's Path inside the owner's chest.

- The core amplifies a trait or aptitude of the owner and guides them toward Friora's Path.

- Slight personality changes can occur over time.

- Friora's Path: Ice Kingdom

Leonard's brow furrowed as he recalled the Sun Emperor's Rare Legacy—its description only mentioned a 'very slight' personality change. Which seemed to mean... the stronger the Legacy, the greater that side effect would be. Hopefully it won't affect Elena too much.

"This could change the fate of our House," Marissa muttered, her eyes still glued to the blue-and-white crystal.

Leonard shook his head, his grip tightening on the crystal orb. "No. This could change the fate of the entire nation."

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