"You're dead," said the lady in front of Ezra.
A young boy and a lady sat across from a table filled with different dishes, their dresses matching. It would have been called a date if not for the darkness pooling around them, with only a dimly shining levitating crystal illuminating the scene.
Ezra stared at her for a while before he snapped, "What?! Are you high or something?"
"You know it, but you don't want to believe it. What was the last thing you remembered?" she questioned with an entrancing smile while helping herself to the steak on the table, slowly chewing it.
Ezra gulped. The tension in his stomach tightened as memories flooded back.
A group of Elites had kidnapped him and forced him to become a scout while exploring a ruin site. To cut a long story short, he entered a dark room where a stinging pain erupted from his heart, and he never saw the light of day.
That was how he found himself here, 'on the date'.
"Now you know you're dead. I can offer you a deal—a second life with a powerful legacy, making you an Elite," she said.
Ezra squinted, heart pounding, trying to calm his racing thoughts as he studied the lady.
He noticed her crimson hair and matching eyes, her enchanting figure clad in a gothic black dress.
"How do you know I'm dead?"
"Because this is the first gate of the underworld. And what is in front of me is your temporary body housing your soul."
"What happens if I reject your offer?"
"Oh!" She arched an eyebrow and snapped her hand. A black flame abruptly consumed Ezra, making him scream under the unbearable and inhuman pain. But she snapped her hand again, putting an end to the flame and pain.
He panted while staring at the red-haired lady, the rims of his eyes trembling in fear.
Her voice became solemn with a stern expression. "Those who drank the cursed wine of resurrection shall never rest in the underworld for eternity, only eternal torment. Mind you, you've already drunk the cursed wine of resurrection the moment you met me. Your choice is either to refuse to resurrect and suffer eternal damnation, or revive and survive because if you die again… I don't need to explain what will happen. In short, there is no rest for you."
Ezra shivered, swallowing hard.
The beauty in front of him now resembled a demoness.
"Fine."
What more could he say?
"Good! I was just showing you what happens when you die again. Try not to die, or else…"
Ezra's body began fading, turning incorporeal.
Gathering his courage, Ezra asked, "Why me?"
She smiled at his wary expression. "Because I like your character. Oh! I nearly forgot…"
Her expression hardened, making Ezra shiver.
"Run if you ever meet the Blood Magus. Your world is not as simple as you think, especially the Cataclysm."
He wanted to ask more, but his vision blackened with hovering texts occupying his sight:
[Accepting the Soul Warlock legacy…]
[Error… Legacy is meant for souls without a physical body… incompatible legacy…]
"Are you sure he is going to survive?" a voice questioned the lady with red hair. "You know that legacy is not suitable for any race with a physical body."
The lady chuckled and reclined into her chair. "He should… right?"
"Even if he survives, what are the chances of being a normal Awakened?" the voice asked again.
"Zero," she replied.
***
Suddenly, Ezra's eyes fluttered open, his vision still blurry and his head pounding. He groaned slightly.
[Awakening the Soul Warlock Class!]
[Flawed Legacy Acquired!]
The memories with that lady flooded his head, and he shivered when he remembered the searing black flames.
But he quickly forgot as he got excited at the prospect of awakening.
Though the excitement didn't last as he remembered he was in the room where he died.
Ezra quickly looked around and saw himself lying in the middle of a long hall with fire torches adorning the four corners, bathing the room in its warm orange glow.
The wall was marred with ancient scribblings.
He quickly stood up and walked to the door, as he didn't want to spend another moment in the room with bones sprawled on the floor like carpet.
He pulled the door as hard as he could, but it bucked slightly without opening. He tried pushing it, but the result was the same.
"I should check my panel now that there's no threat. There might be something to get me out, like teleportation…" he muttered, but he didn't even believe himself.
–––
[Name]: Ezra
[Class]: Soul Warlock
[Race]: Human
[Bloodline]: None
[Rank]: Mortal
[Order]: First Order
[Soul Vitalis]: 0
[Mana]: 0/10
>Physical: 2
> Constitution: 1
> Perception: 10
[Skills]: [Bane of Existence], [Soul Reflection], [Stasis], [Ethereal Dominion], [Soul Covenant (Sealed)]
[Gear]: [None]
—
"Wow! That demoness really did it. It should be a super legendary class, right? Since that lady can even bring the dead back to life? Let's check the skills first."
—
[Bane of Existence]
[Rank]: Mortal
[Description: A passive skill that activates when the user intends to kill. This skill imbues all attacks with a potent soul attack, significantly amplifying the damage dealt to every living being.
The lower the soul strength of the target, the greater the damage inflicted.]
—
[Soul Reflection]
[Rank: Mortal]
[Description: Extract the reflection of your soul and merge it with the border of the spirit realm to create a spirit body.
Maximum distance of your reflection from your soul –> 100 meters.]
—
[Stasis]
[Rank: Mortal]
[Description: After experiencing death and witnessing the gates of an underworld, you returned to the realm of the living with a unique ability. This skill allows you to slow your body's activity to an almost complete standstill, reducing your presence and hastening your recovery rate during moments of stillness.
Condition: Only works during stillness.]
—
[Ethereal Dominion]
[Rank]: ???
[Description: Harness the power of your soul essence to elevate your presence for 5 minutes, and instill fear.
- Sacrifice 10 soul essence to unleash an aura a rank higher than your rank.
- Sacrifice 100 soul essence to unleash an aura two ranks higher than your rank.
- Sacrifice 1000 soul essence to unleash an aura three ranks higher than your rank.]
—
[Soul Covenant]
[Rank: (Sealed) ]
[Description: (Sealed)]
—
'Looks like there's nothing to get me out, but let me test all my skills. I might be in for some surprises. Let's start with [Soul Reflection] because [Bane of Existence] looks like it will only work on living things.'
With a thought, he activated [Soul Reflection], and he saw a blue, translucent, ethereal version of himself appearing in front of him.
Surprisingly, he saw a mirror image of himself with unkempt short black hair, electric blue eyes, and tattered clothes stained with black blood.
'Why am I seeing myself when I'm staring at this blue person?' Ezra tilted his head in confusion, but his eyes brightened as he quickly realized something. 'No, it is the sight of this blue person. I'm seeing myself through the eyes of the blue person. This two-vision will be a problem during intense situations. I have two pairs of eyes with one brain?'
Ezra didn't waste time and tried controlling the spirit body. He instinctively knew how to control it and the control didn't affect his physical body.
Ezra didn't waste time and controlled the spirit body to pull the door. Maybe it came with super strength ability.
The description wasn't detailed enough about the spirit body. Maybe it was because there wasn't enough information since it was a legacy from a god? Ezra didn't dwell on it right now and focused on escaping.
When the spirit body walked to the door and tried to touch it, it went through it as if it were non-existent.
"Ooh?" Ezra's lips rounded, and he quickly focused on what was behind the door.
He jumped in the room when he noticed the spirit body standing in the middle of a battle with four girls battling five wolves that were easily twice their size.
However, he quickly realized that the attacks were passing through his body.
He breathed out in relief and quickly studied the area. It was merely a large, broken hall with many stairs leading to different gigantic bronze doors.
'I should just wait until their fight is over before knocking to get their attention.'
Thinking this way, Ezra sat behind the door while his reflection sat on the stairs to watch the fight.
The fight was pretty tough, with steel going against claws. The raw power of the wolves gave Ezra chills, but what impressed him was a shockingly lithe girl using twin axes to hold off two wolves. Her physical strength was no joke as she pushed the wolves back and slashed through their tough hides.
The other three were impressive in their way.
When he got bored after watching for five minutes without a conclusion, he controlled the reflection to enter the room.
The blue reflection entered and stared at Ezra.
"Dude, go check what is behind the wall. You're the perfect spy. Maybe we might get some relic of the past. You were not there, but those guys said those relics easily count tens of millions," Ezra said.
Ezra laughed at the way he spoke to the spirit body like it could understand him, and controlled it to touch the wall opposite the bronze door.
As expected, he passed through the wall and found himself before a carved statue of a lady sitting on a stone throne. Behind her stood seven intricately carved statues, each wielding a different weapon. The lady wore an expressionless face as she reclined on the throne, radiating an oppressive atmosphere.
'I must get her. The sculptor really infused life into the statue. Even I, who don't recognize art, can feel the greatness in the work. She must be worth tens of millions.'
He turned to study the dark room, looking for treasures. Now that he had awakened, he would need money. Suddenly, his body outside felt all his pores constrict. The hair on his nape stood erect.
Turning around, Ezra saw the eyes of the lady statue glowing red, and the pressure surrounding her skyrocketed.
'Is she alive? Even if she is alive, she can't see me, right?'
Ezra thought and moved slowly to the right. Surprisingly, her eyes followed his spirit body as if she could actually see him. He stopped and moved in the opposite direction, but her gaze never left him.
'Damn! Even those powerful wolves can't see me!'
Ezra bolted toward the wall, but just as he was about to pass through, a red ray shot out from the lady's glowing eyes and struck his reflection.
But Ezra was too scared and focused on escaping to notice.
"Even the 'Soul Warlock' legacy has appeared. I thought he destroyed the legacy. Who had it in the end? And why give this kid? Is everything coming to an end? As for the Arcane that sent that little guy, I'm sorry, for he is mine. Hahaha! Just when I thought I would be stuck here, an Arcane sent me the perfect body," a female voice resounded softly in the silence of the dark room.