Chapter 263 A New Heritage And Companions
Heritages.
These were the second chances Drifters had to overcome the rank limit of their talents.
The first was attributes.
However, it wasn't something everyone could easily obtain.
As it had been said, many noble families possessed it and had taught it to their scions as lineage arts.
Which meant that this could very much be the beginning of Northern's own lineage art.
Northern stood dumbfounded, he blinked several times, digesting what was really going on.
A Heritage, just like that!
He inhaled and exhaled then looked down.
The panel of questions was still staring at his face, waiting for him to answer.
After a couple of seconds of mumbled contemplation, Northern finally answered:
"Yes."
As he spoke, the Tome began to float, shining more brightly than ever.
So bright that its entire form was covered by white light.
But all of a sudden, the white light became pitch black, with blue sparkles within its vast darkness.
And in a surge of motion, it shot into Northern's chest, bonding to his soul.
Northern faltered a step before he could see it happen though.
And his eyes slowly rose to see another notification.
[Congratulations]
[You have gained a Heritage]
[Chaos Art Of Blistering Thousand Steps]
Heritage Level: [1]
Heritage Ability: [One Thousand Step]
Heritage Heirloom: [Unattained]
Unlike others, Heritages do not have ranks. Of course, that did not mean that they were equal to each other.
Firstly, they are set apart by levels, the higher the level of one Heritage, the more abilities they can unlock, and in rare cases, even an heirloom which is an item but at the same time not an item.
Because compared to other items, it cannot be destroyed. And can automatically restore its damage, which other items are very much incapable of doing.
Secondly, one's mastery of their Heritage ability is another thing that sets them apart from the rest.
Their comprehension and skillfulness with its art.
Northern was glad he received a Heritage of all things.
But this was where the true journey began.
He dismissed the panel and looked up, observing around to see if there was anything he could grab onto.
There was nothing.
The place was plain.
He turned around to leave the room but stopped as he felt the subtle crawl from behind him.
Northern turned back and looked at the retreating darkness.
He extended one hand and spoke, his voice resounding in the monstrous tongue.
"You all must feel lonely… what you are guarding is gone now. You are free to go."
Northern turned around but could still feel them crawling towards him.
He paused in his tracks, sighed, and turned back sharply.
Quickly, answering to the same frequency, they retreated and hid themselves towards the dark wall of the room.
Northern was silent for a while, then he spoke softly to them.
"What do you all want? Would you be willing to serve and follow me?"
The darkness crept forward, rising like a fog and animating into several humanoid figures.
Northern didn't need them to physically respond to him. He could already feel their willingness the moment he asked the question.
He sighed.
'I hope this is not a bad idea.'
"Come then…"
Immediately, the fog of darkness swept forward and surged into his body.
The notification rang:
[You have gained five new Void Summons]
[You have gained Void Summon: Pangu]
[You have gained Void Summon: Lamla]
[You have gained Void Summon: Cuckoo]
[You have gained Void Summon: Hentu]
[You have gained Void Summon: Shei]
Northern stared down for a few seconds and shook his head.
'I have to question this Chaos Prince's naming sense…'
"I'd love to see what each of them can do, but I guess that will be later."
With that, Northern concluded all he had to do in the secret room and walked right through the wall, almost colliding with Helena, who was trying so hard to hear what was going on inside.
The Feral Sage staggered back and tried to maintain maximum composure because… well, her steeze mattered.
Northern glared at her for a second but changed the direction of his attention when Raven inquired.
"What was in there?"
"A Tome… of arts." He paused for a beat and added, "Don't feel bad, even if you tried from now till a million years, none of you would have been able to get to it. I think it was specially reserved for me."
Raven frowned slightly, narrowing her eyes to observe him before speaking.
"So, why? Why is it you?"
Northern had at this point understood he had to provide some information to satisfy their curiosity.
'Let's consider it a prize for them helping me locate this.'
He shrugged.
"Because, I have an attribute that's related to it."
Raven's eyes went out of focus for a while, she began muttering to herself.
"Of course, of course, you do. Attributes, after all, are like a touch to the path that leads to the essence of one's true name."
Except that in Northern's case, he wasn't sure if his true name and attributes had anything to do with each other.
But in most general cases, yes, attributes are always very much related to true names.
"So, did you guys find out anything?"
Raven shook her head,
"No, while most of the books were interesting to look at, they were not like Tomes of Knowledge that Drifters automatically understand. So there was nothing to read. I searched everywhere and everything but found nothing."
Northern looked at Helena.
"It's just as she said, there was nothing… in some rooms you'll find some day-to-day household items, spoons, plates, quite old though. Actually makes me feel this place is a home."
"It's a prison, one that became a home…" Northern said wistfully.
He didn't know why, but now that he said it, he felt so much pity for the Chaos Prince.
Fagnur did too.
He wrote – he was ousted for being different, born from a different stratum, one unlike any Tyrant before him. Even his father feared and hated him.
Because in truth, he was much closer to the core of Chaos than the Chaos King himself was. Wielding both light and darkness on equal terms to bring forth an unstoppable wave of destruction.
Not even the Chaos King could wield light with darkness, no one who had touched darkness could touch light.
And no one who had touched light could seek darkness.
But the Chaos Prince… understood the peace and balance of both… sought and touched a void that no one ever thought existed.