XLIII

"Is there--Is there even more torturous than this?" Mornen's face trickled with sweats. He swallowed hard as his eyes seemingly glinted with enlightenment. It's been two hours! Two hours climbing the 5000 Steps that was more like a ladder. Well, that ladder would still be tolerable if it was inclined 180º. But when it's 200º and your hanging 180º while knowing that ones strength and grip is fading, fearing the possibility that in any second, one will plunge down and become meat paste. That's the exact scene.

The more they got closer to the top, the more harder it became. Mornen had been here before but was received by the Sisters of Irsela and never needed to ascend. The sisters can levitate and always flew down to meet friendly visitors. However, after Mornen revealed their presence via a few shouts, there was no response and he decided to take the initiative.

"Damn! Why would they build an inaccessible temple?" Kzel finally reached the top, following Mornen's lead.

"The Sisters follow the path of the 29th goddess of Beauty, Irsela." Mornen explained, dusting himself for a more presentable look, "They are not considered righteous nor evil and naturally, both sides are reluctant to give them protection. That's why the temple is built to protect them. The most despicable men would naturally want to own the most desirable women of all the lands."

That statement about protection was somehow true. The bizzare cliff would murder any ordinary person who tried to climb it without superior tools. Although, Mornen whined non-stop while climbing. Kzel never saw the man showing any sign of fatigue. Perhaps, Mornen was just afraid of heights.

In the hallway, three hooded women wearing yellow robes greeted them.

"We are sorry that we cannot attend to brother Mornen but at the same time, pleased that the Vigilants of Threndal can make the Faithful Ascension." The woman in the middle motioned for Mornen to follow.

Mornen glanced at Kzel and they both nodded. When the four disappeared, Kzel was left outside and decided to practice his Mind-Over-Matter.

After half an hour rotating a random stone around his arm, the Mind-Over-Matter ranked up to F. It was at this time that another hooded woman came outside. Even with her covered face, Kzel can see the disgust in her eyes as she swiftly spoke, "Mornen would be praying with the Mother until dawn. I was told to give you a room for the night."

'Is Mornen praying? Or having a good time?' Kzel scratched his head from his dirty thought before trailing the woman inside. Mornen made it clear that the Vigilants and the Sisters of Irsela are in good terms. There was no need to be very cautious.

"May I ask for your name, sister?" Kzel spoke after a very silent walk.

The woman answered with a glare. In her mind, men have a very bad smell and their eyes carried a detestable desire, always glancing at the wrong direction. That's exactly what Kzel was doing at the moment. His gaze alone was enough to pluck her purity. He can't help but admire her well nurtured skin.

After taking some turns, the two reached their destinatiom. Kzel removed his mask and pulled back his hood as the woman turned around.

When the woman turned around, she blushed the moment she saw Kzel's face. After seconds of being speechless, she extended a hand and finally said, "T-This is your room."

"Thank you." Kzel entered and observed the stone walls. It was neat. Probably tidied by the delicate hands of the sisters each day.

When Kzel further inspected the room, he can see that there was no bed. The sisters doesn't seem to give anyone a special treatment. It did not concerned him though. He can't sleep on a bed, after all.

After a brief of hesitation, the woman rotated on her heels and left. When she was twenty steps away, doubt surfaced on her beautiful face, 'Should I return and tell him my name? No! He didn't also gave me his name.'

Kzel sat on the center of the room and conjured a Chaos Ball. In the next minutes, a notification appeared followed by a vision.

-----

In a stark space, two figures defied the laws by existing in such place. The blurry figure of a woman floated above a man with black hair that almost covered his entire face. His skin was pale. A sword adorned his waist and a glaive hung at his back.

Long silence ensued until the woman's lips gently parted as she asked, "Why does one struggle?"

The man only looked at the woman. His eyes seemingly regarding her as a child, "When one does not struggle, one is not living."

-----

'Huh?' Kzel narrowed his eyes, tapping the notification.

>>System Recognizing Existence 100%<<

"Alright!" Kzel was excited. Assuming that another ability of his avatar would be unlocked. He was wrong.

>>System------<<

>>System----<<

>>System--<<

"There must be a malfunction..." Kzel murmured. The next notifications made his eyes widen.

>>Jikein Kizuke<<

"What the---" Kzel trembled as he stared at the message. How did it know his real identity? His real information was strictly hidden in the Security Bank of Rygorant.

>>System Successfully Identified Player as a Legacy User!<<

>>Legacy User:

-Your ancestor was a beta tester in one of the most earliest Virtual Reality in the mid 21st Century. He played for one and a half year---one year and two hundred days to be precise before he quit. I manage to glide over the networks and request him to play for a day before he was last seen.

My last request was to record some of his consciousness, memories and also his will.

If you accept, your consciousness will be affected not only in Infinity but also in the real life. You will receive the equipments, classification and combat classications, including ablilities and skills of your ancestor's avatar.

Condition: Player must be evaluated by the Absolute Law for a year in a Lesser Immortal Plane for a year which is equivalent to 3 hours in the Mortal Plane.<<

'This system has been evolving for 200 years! Are those people from the Innovator, crazy?!' Although Kzel protested inwardly, curiousity overtook him. This ancestor the System was mentioning--is he exceptional that the System even efforted to record his consiousness. As far as he can remember, he had never even met his grandparents.

Kzel did not believe it. It might be a virus planted by the enemy of the Syndicate to search his memory. But when he thought rationally, Innovator was a neutral company and there's a built-in chip in his pod similar with the Falcon Piece to countermeasure espionage actions that's why Rygorant agents are diving in the VR carelessly.

His face was in complete shock when he recalled the vision that came earlier. He cannot resist it anymore. If something goes wrong, the modified pod would automatically severe his connection to the Vult Feed.

When he was about to accept, he questioned, "This-This is creating!"

>>There are already thousands of Legacy Users in the cosmos. All had exceptional lineage that I collected over the centuries.<<

"So the ones that are not Legacy Users will stay on the bottom? Are they okay with that? All should be equal. If there's no challenge, there's no mountain to climb!"

>>You sound just like him. It would still depend on them whether they can rise or stay on the bottom. Besides, they have a faster growth compared to Legacy Users who will be tested a lot of times!<<

"Okay!" Kzel shrugged. His face suddenly turned solemn as he spouted in a low voice, "Did you missed him?"

The question was somehow.. clueless. Kzel felt the sadness filling the air. The System did not answer for a moment as if it malfunctioned. Particles of light slowly converged and formed a translucent body of a woman.

Kzel's eyes widened. The woman looked exactly like the one he saw in the vision. Even when it's blurry, he can still recognize some of the unique features they shared.

"I did." The woman smiled sadly in her reverie, "I would ask the questions and he'd answer."

"What happened to him?" Kzel felt the heaviness of the woman's sadness.

The woman's eyes closed, "I searched and searched..."

Kzel stayed silent. He did not know what to say. Although, there's one thing that he wanted to ask deep within him, "What's he like?"

"Arrogant..but humble." The woman revealed a bright smile, "You should know that you are the fifth generation. Your ancestor, Kizuke, is the last practioner of a lost art. You should be able to perform it at his Transcended level since he will become half of you when you received his consciousness."

Kzel suddenly realized something, "If you have a copy of his consciousness.. Why didn't you just created a copy of him?"

"I can't..even though he broke his promise." The woman replied.

"What's your name?"

"I can't tell you for the time being."