67 A Man Has His Ways (1)

"Oh, gosh. I think I fucked up."  While Zel was watching the collection of spheres form, Emilia who was still focusing her attention on Zel had sweat forming on her eyebrows.

She didn't know that there were so many things that were included in this transfer, she thought it wasn't much information, but she was wrong. She didn't feel any stain from this at all, at least not due to the process of transfer itself.

She was instead stressing about how Zel would change from this. Such a large amount of information is bound to change a person. If she wasn't given a dominating authority by Estophelia, she'd be a wholly different person than who she is now.

As she was using a method she learned from Estophelia's memories, she didn't know that she didn't do something as simple as an memory transfer. In fact, this wasn't just a simple introduction as to where they are and how it works. She had unknowingly activated a formation that had many requirements, and Zel creating a mind palace was one of them.

Right now, Zel was undergoing his ritual of inheritance. As for what this inheritance is, it is the first Legacy left behind by Zel's first incarnation, Zel Brovnan!

(Zel! Hurry up and absorb the command core! I can't hold the console open for a long time, you know? You have a few more minutes or you'll have to try again later.) Emilia's voice sounded urgent to Zel's ears. While she didn't voice it out earlier, it was because she didn't expect Zel to turn his attention to analyze everything else first.

'Gosh, this boy.' Emilia wiped the sweat she had collected while trying to keep the memory capsules together. If she lets go of her focus, they'd go back to the console and would have to fill up her reserves before being able to do it again. That would waste time and use up more of the precious energy reserves.

"Sorry, Emilia. I'm doing it now!" Zel who was right beside a golden memory capsule immediately placed his hand over it.

Like what happened with the border earlier, Zel could feel that his mind energy was being depleted at a rapid rate. Though there seems to be a limit for this one because it only took one second for it to stop. But even though it was a quick suck, it left Zel feeling amazing!

When the memory capsule was filled, it flew into the sky and exploded. All it left behind was a single piece of crystal, a small golden marble that flew out of Zel's mind palace and went outside the borders.

Meanwhile, the explosion's debris left formations all around Zel's mind palace and embedded themselves around the borders. By the time the small golden marble was outside the borders, they already vanished. Zel, who was digesting all the information he just received was left standing for a while. If one looked at his eyes, they would see golden hues that glimmered from time to time.

...

"Zel? You awake?" Emilia was watching Zel's face as he slept. It had only been a few seconds since he spoke, but he suddenly became unresponsive.

She kept a close eye on his body for any changes as she prepared herself to use Primal Force once again. Even though she thinks that he'd probably stop her if he knew what it could do. After all, as an energy that could not only start the creation of a dimension and create the system, it would be a shame to use it to just heal a person. But for Emilia, this was just an energy that is worth much less than Zel.

When she was trying to keep the access open to Zel, a small object flew out from the center of Zel's forehead and flew to his right hand. When Emilia's eyes caught up, she found that the ring on his finger wasn't the same as it was before. The simple ring was now holding a piece of black crystal along its body, creating a mesmerizing display. She doesn't know what kind of power it is holding, but she did find it familiar.

'Isn't tha-' Emilia wasn't even given the time to collect herself when Zel's body suddenly flew towards the altar in the middle of the room. When he opened his eyes, she thought he came back. But his golden pupils made her aware that there was something wrong.

Zel's body stood in front of the altar where a small chest lied. When his right hand tried to place itself on the chest's body, a force suddenly placed constraints on Zel's body, stopping it from moving. The white walls that surrounded Zel and Emilia turned black while a menacing voice came from the altar.

"Who dares touch my lord's possessions! Tresspas-" A fierce looking wolf came from the chest and confronted Zel. It's three-meter-tall body was all black, from its head to its tail, while a burning red mark of a crown is placed on its forehead. Its menacing face was a mere five centimeters away from Zel's face while it bared its fangs. Lighting crackling all over its body when it did so, but it didn't reach Zel's body due to a barrier he put up using his ring.

"Benil, try not to scream in front of me. I find it quite irritating, you see." A voice much deeper than Zel's came from his mouth. But Emilia knew that it wasn't the Zel, at least, he wasn't the Zel she knew. This was especially evident by the fact that he didn't even spare Emilia a glace.

"Oh, my lord! You're back!" Benil, the loyal wolf guardian, bowed its head before Zel's body. Zel, or the man who currently controls Zel's body, gently pet the wolf's head while a delicate smile can be seen on his face. When he did, the black appearance of the wolf changed into a pure white, the only thing that didn't change was the symbol of a crown on its forehead.

"Who are you?!" Emilia was alarmed at the scene, as she wasn't feeling well when seeing Zel's body being used by another. She waited for a while, but the man was just playing with the wolf who even turned its body to allow Zel to rub its belly. He didn't look at her at all, as if he didn't hear her words.

"It's good to see you again, old friend. Did you protect it well?" the voice once again came out, this time, it resembled Zel's voice. The man's eyes also had its golden glow lessened somewhat. But even so, the man's gentle appearance showed nothing but a mild presence.

"Yes! They are all in there, my lord!" Benil hurriedly went to pick up the chest with its tail. As a heavenly wolf, it could have used mana to extend its tail to make it easier for itself, but it didn't do that. He wanted to stay by his lord's side, even just a little more.

"Silly boy, I've been here for hours and yet you didn't greet me. You know we're the same person, don't you?" The man who controlled Zel's body didn't even look at the chest when it was placed on the ground in front of him.

Since it was outside the altar, it could be picked up by anyone. What he wanted was for his friend to accept reality as soon as possible. Since its mission could be considered as accomplished, it should be given the opportunity to live as it pleased as well.

"No! I mean- but-" Benil, however, didn't care about the facts he was being told. It wasn't that the wolf was stupid, his lord made sure of that. He wasn't against the new incarnation either, that wasn't a problem. The only reason he was being hard headed was because he didn't want to be forgotten by his lord. 

"Come on, Benil. It's going to be fine. Give him a shot, I gave you one, didn't I?" The one controlling Zel's body placed his hand on the wolf's head. The wolf had tears in its eyes as it watched its lord's face turn more and more like the man who owned the body. It didn't have a chance at stopping this farewell from happening, so it bowed its head and whimpered.

"I don't have much time, I'll see you again. Before then, you be a good boy, alright?" Zel gave the wolf one more pet on the head before standing up and looking at Emilia. This time, the only thing different about him was that one of his eyes had a gold tint that was slowly being washed away.

He scanned Emilia from head to toe and shook his head. "Don't waste Primal Force like that young lady, he'll need all of it. Also, don't worry about your man having a few hardships, you know he'll get it handled anyway. You just have to be there by his side, I'm sure he'd like that very much."

"Who are you? Could it be that you're him? I thought this won't happen until after he's completed it? And why are you in his body?" Emilia didn't think that she'd be able to meet this man today. It was a shame that Estophelia was asleep, or she'd probably be ecstatic right now.