"What do you know about the Originators?" I reply.
It's extremely rare for me to hear any mention of this race. The only places I've ever seen confirmed text from their language were on the human world, Kelfar, and in the Ravine. Odds are... this so-called Creator's Legacy does come from them.
Ulgar takes a few deep breaths in and out to calm himself before replying.
"Well—like I said. Until now, I really only thought they were myths. I've never seen one myself, nor have I ever met another who has claimed to meet an Originator in the flesh. Though... plenty of the Dryad's oldest texts mention a race in the overseer's seat before them."
The Black Ogre calmly gets down off the seats of the stadium, then begins walking toward the exit.
"If what you say is true... we'll need an awakening artifact much older. Older than what any of our allies even have in their domains."
Maria steps forward to follow first.
"You mentioned there were Griffins and Mammoths nearby; you don't think they have connections to other domains with the artifacts we need?"
Ulgar shakes his head slowly while stepping through the archway.
"No, I don't think so. The Griffins arrived after us. They use a unique artifact that was created by their own race to awaken glyph imprints. The mammoths use a fairly unique array too; it was left to them by a Hydra that was forcefully thrust into this zone a while back... Them and a number of domains received artificially created legacies from the hydras and tortoises."
I can't help but recall the memories I absorbed from the Hydra in the Blue Zone, and the fact that Ember thrust many of them upward before the amplifier holder died and the memories cut out.
However, something else from his words makes me question something even more interesting.
"What do you mean the Griffins have their own unique artifacts? They were never Overseers..."
A chuckle comes back from the Ogre, but he doesn't stop walking. I follow after him as he replies.
"I think you're misinterpreting what Glyph Imprints really are. Or what legacies as a whole can do. They're really only the compressed will of another living being. Some happen to hold the weight of individuals, others hold the weight of entire civilizations, and the greatest legacies of all contain the will of whole races. The stronger the race, the more potential a legacy has, and the more complex their High Quality Ether Potential can be."
As Maria and I stop beneath the archway, about to leave this arena, we turn back and feel a slight mental pull from the floor. It's the collection of glyphs, saying one last goodbye.
They seem infatuated with us for some reason, and I can feel many souls peering up at me now that I take into account Ulgar's most recent words. I feel as though thousands of ancient light elves are staring up at me with eyes full of awe.
I smile and send a pulse of goodwill in my vibrations and primordial aura back.
Ulgar continues speaking as we turn back and follow him through this abandoned village again.
"In the earlier eras of the system, it was much easier to break the mental hurdle to gain access to these imprints. But now, it is almost like the system itself has grown tired. It cannot grant just anyone access to the higher limits of its usage. One has to inherit these system commands from those that used its will when it was young."
My eyes flicker with interest, as I've never heard anyone refer to the system as a living entity...
He continues, "While the past Overseer races do have the advantage of holding the largest percent of its will at once, and are able to create extremely high-quality legacies; that does not mean other lesser races cannot make their own. Look at me, my race has never claimed the Overseer's seat, but I wield Royal Vibrations. The Black Ogres do not have any Legacies to leave behind yet, as the smaller elven one we've accepted is more than enough to sustain us."
All of this confirms many of my theories. I send messages back and forth with Maria via telepathy to discuss what I've learned. The acceptance of the Scarlet Clan's Aura into Raven's blades on Kelfar was some minor legacy transfer, and so was the Dark Elf's bow that Arie accepted.
It seems as though Ava's intuition was some kind of minor elven legacy as well...
However, now that I think of this deeper, I begin falling down quite the strange rabbit hole of thought.
They are all from much lower zones, so these legacies are weaker, impacting their souls far less than the ones imprinted on ours. Yet, this new sensation of manipulating and sensing soul ties has opened my mind to the fact that I'm connected to everything and everyone that is linked to my Rising Emperor's System.
Of course, my soul bond with Maria, my sword, and Ember are the strongest. Yet, the generals have extremely strong bonds too. The commanders and administrators' bonds are weaker, and so are the knights'. But, they all shape my soul in their own unique way.
So have every demon's soul absorbed into my armor in the Ravine, and every memory I absorbed into my pool of consciousness.
The monsters I bloodbonded to my mana-based armor in the Lower Realm, their essence still to this day adds power to my stats.
Even... the system's experience points, the levels I've gained. They too have built me up to be a stronger human. Every bit of energy absorbed has its own weight on my soul.
While extremely weak compared to the energy purity I'm facing now, and so convoluted and impossible to individually track with my current mind, I can't help but draw a line to connect these variables. Their wills may not be strong enough to physically feel, but everything feels like it is a legacy to a degree. It appears as though it is far more impactful when the one that has created this legacy willingly gives it over to the receiver.
I feel my sword pulse in my chest, snapping me out of my thoughts; and feel the two white orbs of light that were amplifiers for overseer races resonating with my ideas deep within the depths of my soul weapons core.
Then, something clicks, and Ember's face appears in my thoughts.
Instantly, I start to grow dizzy with ringing in my ears, and golden light covers my vision as images flash through my mind... but I catch myself before I fall...
Even though my final thoughts were erased, I still grin ear to ear. When I look at my surroundings, everything seems so much more clear and obvious.
We've walked all the way out of the ancient village, stopping at the edge of the Black Ogre's territory. There is a massive invisible shield that dives down into the ground, and rises upward into the sky. It is the other side of this domain's barrier.
Ulgar raises his hands.
"Even though our allies may not have the artifacts necessary for your legacy awakening, our enemies most likely will. The Imperials have strategically taken over domains with the oldest civilizations. The further back the overseer's legacies go, the stronger they are... So, odds are one of their territories may have something that can at least stimulate your glyph imprints a little more."
Maria looks back over her shoulder, spotting the massive destruction that filled almost half of this domain.
"Are you sure it's safe? If that's what only three outer guards managed, you really think you can take on an entire domain's worth?"
Ulgar shrugs, "If I didn't think I could, I wouldn't be surveying the Primordial Garden so often. The only reason it took so much effort to fend them off in here is because I had to hold back, not to injure my younger citizens. If it's on their turf, I don't mind killing others in the crossfire."
I watch the High Quality ether commands start spinning around his body, and the activation of his greater and astral forms start to trigger. I call out to stop him before he commits.
"Wait... If you don't mind... could we have a try at opening the domain?"
Ulgar turns back at me with a confused look on his face, but I mentally share the thought process of total connectivity I just experienced with Maria. Her eyes start to widen, and her Aura's depth grows as she stares up at the invisible domain barrier.
She's starting to see what I see too, "Yeah... let us try..."
Ulgar chuckles to himself and steps back, deactivating the arrays and form upgrades he was about to set into motion.
"I don't sense a single High Quality Glyph activated in either of you two, but sure. If you're that confident... I won't stop you from trying."
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