12 Umbral Seraph

What struck me most about Grey wasn't the achievements or the battles, not even the abilities or magic, but instead, it was how immature they were. Almost childish, really. It turns out that there is a reason for that. They died even younger than I did.

Their parents were dead by the time Grey was eight, killed by a corrupt government official. The timeless tale of a powerful creep that sees a beautiful MILF and decides to kidnap her from her loving family, both parents are killed in the ensuing fight. Their child, Grey, is secreted away by a mysterious grandparent figure and trained in the arts of assassination to overthrow the evil bastard who killed their parents. Classic revenge plot. I can appreciate that.

The problem is that little Grey was a complete prodigy at the sneaky stabby stuff but completely inept when it came to social interaction. High functioning, highly intelligent, and definitely on the spectrum. Everyday interactions with people their age didn't come easy. They ended up joining a party of adventurers and kicking off the revolution. The party included Maria the Frog Princess, some holy wizard guy, someone Grey refers to as the "dumb bunny," and a guy that Grey has the terminal hots for.

However, Grey wasn't the only one in the party that was in love with the guy. Sounds like a harem protagonist to me, and here's the kicker; Grey was never able to confess their feelings for the guy until the last minute. Grey sacrificed themself so the guy wouldn't have to. Surprised the guy with a smooch on the lips, a quick "I've always loved you," and a quick dive into the deep end of a magical formation later and poof. At least, Grey had already gutted the noble bastard that had killed their parents by that time.

The longer Grey talked, the more excited they got. By the end of it, I could feel them pacing and talking with their hands. Couldn't see it, because well, dark. The most exciting part was that the guy claimed to be a reincarnation from another world. That part made me perk up a little. Grey said he had strange powers and was able to help heal people and make them stronger. That sounds useful; wish I had that now.

"I did it. I really told him, and I even kissed him. I can't believe I did that," Grey said for about the eighth time. "And... and then I died."

A tremor shakes the world. "What was that?" I ask.

"Oh, no," Grey says. "I got distracted. There isn't much time left."

"Time for what?"

"Time to pass on the legacy, of course," Grey says, annoyed. "Alright, hold still."

I feel hands wrap around me, and a soft glow introduces the first traces of light into this dark space, and I get my first at Grey. Pale blue-gray eyes, smooth cream complexion, pink cupid's bow lips, and silver-gray hair frame a sweet teenage girl-next-door face. The most surprising thing, though, is the storm-cloud gray feathered wings on her back poking out of the sky blue dress. It's not exactly what I picture when I think elite stealthy assassin.

"Wha-"

"Shhh. I'm concentrating. You don't want an incomplete legacy, do you?"

I shut my mouth... er beak. The glow brightens, and warm energy rushes over me, seeping into my body. I twitch slightly as images and sensations flash through me. At first, I can't tell what any of them are. Over time I adapt and realize the images are memories of training exercises: strange breathing techniques, body moving techniques, and the real meat and potatoes of shadow magic.

The images slow, eventually stopping. Grey slumps back and takes a slow breath. "Okay, part one is all done," Grey says. "Part two... well, it may be a bit uncomfortable, but try not to move."

Is it a rule somewhere that when someone says, "this may be uncomfortable," or "you might feel a pinch," what they mean is, "this is going to feel like sliding down a greased razor blade into a pool of salt and lemon juice."

Grey's eyes shift from summer showers to blackest night with motes of starlight swirling inside. She locks gazes with me, and the motes reverse their path. Pain. White-hot mind-rending pain starting in my eyes and driving like spikes back into my brain assaults me.

The black of Grey's night eyes slowly fades until the color starts to shift back to their original gray-blue and the pain dims at the same pace. When Grey's eyes are back to normal, she blinks a few times before slumping back. I'm in no better shape as I find myself exhausted and suffering from the hangover from Hell. Don't judge me for knowing how a hangover feels at my age.

"Well, my job is done, and I'm spent. I think it's time I go."

"So, what happens now?" I ask.

"That's up to you. I've given you a jump start on a legendary grade class, transferred a unique growth item over to you, and helped it integrate with your physiology. What you do with these is ultimately up to you."

"I have no idea what any of that means."

"Well, you could always go to one of the adventurers' guilds and ask about how classes work there. As for the item... I guess I have enough time to give you a short answer, but then I've got to go before I dissipate and miss out on joining the rest of me."

'Joining the rest of her?' Is it like how my soul was damaged when I died?

"Pay attention; I'm only saying this once. You have been gifted with the Raven's Eye."

But I'm a crow, similar but distinctly different.

"This is a growth-related artifact that merges with your normal eye granting one passive and one active ability. The Eye passively improves your perception; the higher your Eye tier, the greater the effect. Simple, right? The active ability is called Analyze, and the name should give you a hint about what it does. Still, if that's not enough, it allows you to analyze people and objects, giving you information based on how proficient you become with the ability. Does that clear it up?"

"Yes..." I hesitate before asking the next question. "Where are you going from here?"

She frowned. "Well, if I managed to reincarnate, I'll probably be rejoining my new self, though the process will erase what's left of this consciousness, the remaining Essence will give a boost to my new incarnation. If I didn't reincarnate, I'd probably rejoin the universe, I guess. I don't truly know."

"If you were reincarnating, why not hang on to the legacy?"

"Well, two reasons. First, there is no guarantee that I would enter the reincarnation cycle. I could rejoin the universe instead, or something I'm completely unaware of could happen. Second, it doesn't work that way in most cases. While there are exceptions, for the most part, you can't take it with you, and trying to could add strain to your soul, weakening you in your next life or making it so you can't reincarnate at all. At least that's what Maria told me."

It made about as much sense as anything else did at this point. So, why look a gift horse in the mouth.

"With that said, I'll be going now," she says, as the light dims around her and the shadows reassert themselves. The sense of someone else being here fades, and the last remnant of Grey says, "Good luck."

I wait for a moment. Then another. Okay, can I go back now? More precisely, how do I go back now? I stand up and bounce my head off a solid surface. 'What the Hell is that?"

I jab at it with my beak and am rewarded with a solid thunk. I strike again. I think I know what's going on here, and I'm not thrilled about it. I keep pounding away until I hear a different sound. A muffled- Crack. Yeah, funny joke. Sticking the bird in an egg. Haha.

Eventually, I poke a hole through the shell and work my way out of the egg. The outside is black with white speckles like a new moon night sky. Cara and Natalie watch from a short distance away. A little help would have been nice. I'm about to say that when I'm hit with way too many notifications.

[Congratulations. LEGENDARY CLASS: UMBRAL SERAPH has been acquired.

[Congratulations. BLOODLINE RADIANCE: SPENTANI has been acquired.

[Congratulations. ABILITY BLOODLINE: LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS has been acquired.

[Congratulations. QUALITY: SOUL has made a quantitative improvement.

[Congratulations. LEGENDARY CLASS: UMBRAL SERAPH has increased Level to 1.

[Congratulations. ATTRIBUTE: AGILITY has made a qualitative improvement.

[Congratulations. ATTRIBUTE: WITS has made a qualitative improvement.

[Congratulations. AFFINITY: SHADOW gained.

[Congratulations. ABILITY TALENT: QUILL BARRAGE has made a qualitative improvement.

[Congratulations. ABILITY TALENT: QUILL BARRAGE has evolved into ABILITY TALENT: TENEBROUS CALAMUS.

[Congratulations. ARTIFACT: RAVEN'S EYE has been successfully assimilated.

[Congratulations. ARTIFACT: RAVEN'S EYE has granted ABILITY TALENT: RAVEN'S EYE.

Congratulations. ABILITY TALENT: RAVEN'S EYE has improved to Level 2.

[Congratulations. ABILITY TALENT: OBLIVION'S EMBRACE has been gained.

Holy crap! This is crazy. Too much shit to look at. The first thing I want to know about is the Legendary Class: Umbral Seraph. I open my status to take a peek.

[UMBRAL SERAPH. This Legendary Class is unique to the Spentani, a race rumored to be descended from a clan of cast-out angelic beings that did not so much "fall" as had a philosophical disagreement with management and were asked to leave. Aggressively.

The disagreement stemmed from a difference in the philosophy of how to deal with enemies. The military clans preferred a direct action and abhorred what they termed "skulking in the shadows," as dishonorable and cowardly; while this tribe specialized in covert and gorilla tactics. The result was the military clans banding together to exile the Spentani forefathers.

Kangae's Note: These guys are ninja angels. How cool is that!?

The class itself refines the individual's affinity with the Shadow Element. As an aspect of the Dark Element, Shadow blurs the line between dimensions allowing the individual to touch, manipulate, and eventually merge with and enter a Shadow Realm. It also allows the individual to access properties related to the Shadow Realm.

Kangae's Note: Seriously, ninja angels!]

The description brought up several more questions than it answered. First off, who the Hell is Kangae? Though I must admit, the idea of ninja angels was indeed cool.

The next thing that strikes me as significant is Bloodline Radiance: Spentani. I get that the Spentani is the race that Grey is from, but what is Bloodline Radiance?

[BLOODLINE RADIANCE: SPENTANI. A fragment of Soul Radiance of the Spentani race has bonded with your existing Soul Radiance allowing access to the Spentani Legendary Class: Umbral Seraph. This has also granted access to the Spentani Bloodline Ability: Light in the Darkness and increased the overall Soul Radiance.]

I'm starting to feel like a real Frankenstein's monster, a bunch of pieces of other people stitched together in a patchwork of weird. One internal sigh later and I decide to check the Attributes section of my status and look at Soul. As before, there aren't any numbers on it, but there is a difference between the Soul orb and the other two. It's bigger by about a third. I wonder how that affects the "sub-attributes?"

Answer: it doesn't. At least there is nothing changed that I can see. While I'm in the Attribute section, I check on Agility and Wits. The system said they underwent a qualitative change, which is different from the Soul Radiance quantitative change. Well, the numbers themselves stayed the same, but when I compare Agility and Wits to Intellect, the former are a noticeably brighter yellow.

It's official, I still know next to nothing about the true nature of this system. Apparently, the colors and orbs aren't just a neat aesthetic choice, but another system. I should have played more video games. I'd probably be better at this if I did.