Rayden stood before the mummified remains of Verrak the Chained, the stale air thick with ancient sorrow. The challenge lingered in front of his eyes, pulsing red.
> [System Notification: Legacy Challenge Available]
Inherit a fragment of Verrak's strength?
Reward: Skill – [Ironbind Fury Lv.1]
Warning: Accepting this legacy increases Berserk Corruption by 12%.
He stared at the notification. His instincts warned him — more power meant more risk. But he also knew he couldn't afford to stay weak. Not with what he'd seen in the memory shard. Not with what he felt lurking ahead.
"I accept," he whispered.
The chamber darkened. Chains slithered off the corpse like serpents, wrapping around Rayden's arms, legs, and chest. He gasped, collapsing as the metal burned into his skin — not cutting, but branding his very soul.
Images slammed into his mind.
Verrak, bound in iron, weeping over a city he had destroyed.
Verrak, kneeling before a council of mages who looked at him like a rabid dog.
Verrak, choosing chains over death… to save what little of his mind remained.
Then, silence.
The chains melted into Rayden's skin.
[LEGACY ACCEPTED: VERRAK THE CHAINED]
[Skill Acquired: Ironbind Fury Lv.1]
► Temporarily increase strength and defense while partially suppressing System Corruption.
Rayden lay there, breathless, heart hammering. The skill was powerful — but the memory was worse. Verrak had once been noble. Now, he was a warning carved in bone and steel.
He stood slowly, gripping his sides as the last of the pain faded.
Then he noticed something else.
The murals on the walls had changed.
The final panel — once blank — now showed him. Rayden. Standing with his back to the world, cloak billowing, eyes aflame.
The system was rewriting history.
And he was its newest chapter.
He turned away from the throne and left the temple.
The chains may have vanished from sight — but he carried them now.
Every step reminded him.
He was no longer just fighting others.
He was fighting himself.