Archonic Legacy
[You have awakened an Archonic Legacy.]
Roger read the sentence, but didn't understand what any of it meant.
'Archonic Legacy? Is that a good thing? A bad thing? What does it mean?'
Luckily, the System did not seem to be cruel enough to leave him in the dark this time. A second, far larger, body of text followed the first.
[Description: Your element has connected to the mana of an Archon, allowing it to enter your body. Through your actions you have absorbed this mana, gaining the legacy of an Archon. Your legacy is only partially awakened. To finish awakening the legacy, absorb a God Shard of The Outcast.]
Roger stared at the text blankly.
No more information was given, leaving him without answers and a score of questions. It took his mind a few minutes to begin formulating them, but once he did they came out in an avalanche of uncertainties.
'What does it mean I have gained the legacy of an Archon? Is this the same kind of Archon Lila's weapon mentioned? Why is my legacy only partially awakened? What does the legacy have to do with the God Shards? Who is the Outcast? How do I obtain his related God Shard?'
His mind reeled from all the unknowns. It was like being told you had received a gift, but weren't told what the gift was.
Roger didn't even know if this thing was good or bad!
He also noticed how random it seemed. He had just been going about his day when he became mana exhausted, which he believed led to the battle of wills in the dream. It then somehow led to him absorbing the strange energy and awakening the legacy.
Roger did, however, have a clue about how it happened; his element.
The System had told him his element had been connected to an Archon's, and when he was studying the mana, he had noticed how similar it seemed to his own. The only difference he had seen was how ancient and powerful it seemed in comparison to his own, which would fit the little he knew about the Archons.
If Lila was to be believed, then they were akin to champions of the gods, and had ravaged Avar in a civil war a long time ago. Thinking back to the description of Vronti, Lila's artifact sword, he faintly remembered a singular mention of The Outcast.
The Eye of the Storm had been worried about him picking a side, which could have upset the balance of powers.
'Do I share an element with this ancient hero? Is that how his mana was able to attack me? But how did it even find me anyway? I don't remember ever finding anything that could have contained it!'
Thinking about it even more, Roger came up with a possible explanation, and one he did not like at all.
'Unless gaining the element was what gave The Outcast access. It would make sense, gaining an Archons element would definitely give someone the potential to read Omega, which is how I have that potential too! Lila did say that Omega-ranked magi were almost unheard of. I wonder if they are all connected to a different Archon, gaining their legacies?'
Although the theory was a new one with little proof behind it, Roger didn't have anything better to go off of. At least not yet.
'How many Archons were there anyway? A dozen? More? The artifact mentioned a handful. Let's see, there was Eye of the Storm, the Gelid Queen, Quaklord, The Demon, and the Outcast. That's five at least, but they mentioned The Outcast picking a different side, so there has to be more than that.'
It was difficult to find answers with such little information, but Roger felt compelled to try.
'There has to be more information here, I'm just not drawing the connections yet! What am I missing?'
He went over all possible connections to The Outcast and his element, but nothing more seemed to pop out to him.
Just as he was about to abandon the train of thought, he suddenly remembered his dream.
'Wait, maybe I was The Outcast in the dream! That would explain why I felt such a connection to him, despite having never seen him before in my life! If that was the case, maybe mana is connected to the soul! That's why I could experience his emotions, and that's why the strange being tried to attack my soul! But what was the point if I could just convert and absorb him with it? And why did it make my soul pulse?'
Roger was increasingly annoyed at how every time he thought up an answer, he would gain even more questions alongside it, creating a never ending cycle of unsolved mysteries.
In prison, not knowing what was going to happen was a clear path to getting involved in the wrong kind of drama, leaving Roger upset at how the System was leaving him in a very similar situation.
Arguably, it was leaving him in a worse one, as drama in prison meant a beating, whereas drama on Avar seemed to involve teeth, claws, and a large amount of killing intent.
Roger much preferred the prison version.
'Why can't things ever be simple here?'
He sat up from where he was resting to reread the description in a new position, and this time he noticed that The Outcast was bolded.
'I wonder if that's because it's the name of a god? Is it proper form to bold a gods name? What is the reason for doing that? Does the System hold the gods in reverence, even though they are shattered?'
Roger groaned as he realized there were more unanswered questions. What he wanted was solutions, not more problems, but it didn't seem like he would be granted that wish anytime soon.
Still, despite his grievances, he ultimately thought it was a good thing, at least for now.
'So long as it's not going to keep trying to take my soul over, then it's probably a positive to carry the legacy of a gods chosen warrior. It also gives me a good reason to try and find the God Shard of The Outcast and gain the power to defend myself.'
The more he considered it, the more it seemed like nothing short of a stroke of luck that he had inherited the Archonic Legacy.
'Couldn't this be interpreted as the System choosing me to be the next Archon? To carry on the powers and will of the first Outcast? That would be entirely a good thing! No one, not even the government, could fight a god's champion!'
Roger, of course, didn't know that for sure. It was just as possible that an Archon's magic would pale in comparison to a government Colossus.
Thinking about fighting one of those giant machines sent a shiver down Roger's spine.
'Gives me more reason to try and avoid civilization and just focus on my own growth. It seems the System is trying to set me on a course to find a God Shard, and if that's what the wise and benevolent System wants for me, who am I to argue with it? It's just good manners!'
He smiled greedily as he envisioned himself gaining the shards powers, fully unlocking his legacy, and facing down the government with unparalleled might.
'Yeah, this is a god's champion after all! His element has to be a good one, even if it seems pretty bad right now!'
Roger tried to convince himself it was going to all get easier from here, he was carrying a champions legacy after all, but he knew that wasn't how things seemed to work.
'Lila did say the System scales everything to match your strength. I shouldn't get ahead of myself till I have some tangible benefits!'
Thinking about it, didn't he already gain some benefits? His [Echo of Abilities] had gained a new and powerful addition, making his chances of survival far higher.
While he was continuing his ruminations on everything that had happened, Lila herself burst through the edge of the glade, her artifact held high and her gaze full of murderous intent.
Her blonde hair was messy, and her clothes were slick with sweat, making Roger realize she had been running back to the glade at speed. He also saw that her clothes were covered in dirt and leaves, making him wonder what she had been doing to get so dirty.
'Had she been crawling in the dirt?'
He quickly banished the thought, realizing she had to be running for a reason. He reached around for his sword, finding it nearby. He grabbed it and rose with a start, quickly coming to the conclusion she was being chased.
Instead of continuing her rush into the glade, she instead began glancing around the clearing furiously, clearly looking for something to attack. Once her gaze landed on him, she took a few careful steps towards him before stopping.
Her face slowly turned to one of confusion as she seemed to not find what she was looking for.
Finally, she spoke her thoughts.
"What's wrong? Why did you scream? I don't see any danger here. What happened?"
Roger's eyes went wide as he realized what happened.
'Oh gods, she is definitely going to make fun of me for this…'