Level Up Legacy

Chapter 1148 Merciful King

An hour on Earth would mean an entire day within the tower. Although Arthur needed to go back to his home, there was a great advantage in training in the tower first before he went back to Earth. It was no wonder that the tower was similar to his legacy, since the two had the same creator.

The scholar guardian used his resources, which he gathered from reviving the challengers and taking parts of their memories, to further strengthen them. While the main reason was his desire to preserve his tower and keep it hidden, he still allowed them to grow stronger.

The tower was an excellent place for Arthur to grow stronger. Inside the tower, the voices were easier to communicate with. Although Arthur assumed that's because his powers within the tower were sealed, the guardian explained the real reason.

Arthur lost control of his wrath on Earth not due to the voices, but because of the curse that the gods placed upon wrath. The tower worked against the curse to lessen the madness and incubate the next Demon King, inheritor of Ragnar Netherborne.

For those reasons, Arthur decided to train before going back to Earth. If he managed to gain absolute control of his wrath before the madness returned, he could use the wrath to cancel the curse that accompanies it.

Inside the lake where Azkahar had fallen, the hidden dungeon became the training grounds for Arthur and his friends. Some of them worked on mastering new powers, like Sarohan and his blood. Others worked on their transformations like Whisker.

Arthur sat inside the blue palace, resuming his training that was interrupted by the war. He was still on the first seal, using only the initial manifestations of wrath. The next one was lightning, more destructive in nature to physical matter.

Nova used water to show him the seven phases of wrath, according to the seal he managed to unlock. However, Arthur could not be reckless and seal the wrath without being ready for it. After all, it would devour his sanity, even within the tower.

1. Light. 2. Lightning. 3. Flames. 4. Armor. 5. Chains. 6. Tempest. 7. Chaos.

Arthur remembers using the armor, but not the chains. This means that if he were to use the fifth manifestation of wrath, he would lose his consciousness and Eragon would emerge, hell-bent on destroying the world.

After learning the truth about the curse of wrath, Arthur felt sympathetic towards Eragon the Wrathful. He was cursed with a lifetime of madness due to the gods, and it cost him everything. Although his soul still remained within Arthur's realm of consciousness, he was nothing but an enraged calamity.

"In order to unseal the next layer, we must first gain favor of the souls within the kingdom of wrath," said Nova as it floated above his head. "We cannot afford to leave the kingdom just after a few days as before. Entering the kingdom carries the great risk of madness, so we must make use of every training."

"Who created that kingdom, Nova?" asked Arthur with confusion, as this spiritual palace was the destination of every wrathful soul in the universe.

"Ragnar Netherborne created the kingdom as he pursued mastery of wrath, and it was the only method to tame such an enormous emotion," said Nova as it illustrated a man standing in front of a palace. "Ragnar built the kingdom to protect the souls from the gods."

"Do the souls not recognize me as his descendant?" asked Arthur with confusion while sitting on the ground. No one beside the two was inside the palace to ensure that Arthur did not harm them during his training.

"Eragon was also a descendant of Ragnar Netherborne, but he did not have what it takes to master wrath," said Nova as it landed on his leg. "As the gods used the madness to make Eragon kill on the outside, it proved to us that he was nothing more than their puppet."

"Creation is not the enemy of wrath," said Arthur, with sadness. "I guess the gods were wise enough to realize that wrath can be used to their own advantage."

"They had many such endeavors once they realized that Ragnar had descendants scattered across countless worlds. This made them create the curse of madness to ensure no one masters wrath ever again."

"How did Ragnar fail, then?"

"He was betrayed."

"How many of his followers betrayed him?"

"Anything related to that matter was sealed and never spoken about. No one even knows who betrayed him first to work with the gods, but they did, and that resulted in his fall."

"I feel like that makes little sense, but I don't know the details," said Arthur as he stretched and placed his hands on the ground. "I just have to make sure that I don't meet the same fate."

"Ragnar was a saint, which might have resulted in his blind trust in goodness."

"I feel like you are calling me a cynic."

"I am calling you wiser than a man who led countless worlds in the biggest battle of the universe, so be flattered," said Nova without any mercy, to which Arthur just chuckled. "I will enter your body now. Like before, focus on my voice. Do not get overconfident just because we did it before."

"I know, Nova."

The dragon then slipped into his body, hiding within his soul. Arthur closed his eyes as he began to dive deeper into the kingdom of wrath. Summoning it was easier than finding his sanity within the voices. Thus, the process took time.

Arthur did not recreate his Art of Submission like he planned, but decided to change the wrath in these souls based on nothing but a promise to fulfill their desires. As most of them desired revenge on the gods who robbed them of a home, Arthur was more than happy to oblige.

As the shadow of the kingdom appeared above him, the souls of wrath screamed in agony and hatred. The cries shook the ocean surrounding the blue palace, almost drowning his comrades who trained on the shores.

Arthur could see nothing but darkness once he started descending into the kingdom, seeking the same place he reached before. After an unknown period of time, he found himself standing in the same place in front of the kingdom.

Countless souls reached out from the kingdom, seeking to gain control of his consciousness to fulfill their desires. Arthur knew that none of them meant harm to him, but they just wanted to fulfill their desires and rest.

"I came here to bring you peace," said Arthur as he raised his arms, as if welcoming those seeking him. "My name is Arthur Netherborne. I know that name rings a bell for many of you, who found peace because of my ancestor, Ragnar."

As the souls heard his words, they flew from the kingdom as the darkness spilled from the gates. Arthur stood without fear as they surrounded him, fighting the voices that drove him insane. The souls were everywhere, but a distant voice called for him.

Nova appeared from his shoulder, finding him this time with ease. Then, the two of them began the same process as before. Arthur would summon the souls to the physical world and promise them salvation.

After the promise is made, their voices would disappear but their powers remain. Arthur would gain control of more wrath because of them, which would allow him to convince more souls to yield to him.

The difficulty lay in their numbers, as there were an infinite number of souls that sought revenge. Arthur had to make the stronger ones submit in order for the rest to follow.

Instead of counting how much time passed, Arthur dissociated from his body. He envisioned the stories these souls told him as his, living them for a long time. His heart bled for them, while they found a living soul that has not forgotten about them.

Arthur became the one to remember these forgotten injustices, that the world tried to bury. His knowledge expanded about the different events the gods tried to hide. However, many of these souls did not know anything about the gods.

They blamed life itself for being unfair.

Arthur was such a person before, who blamed life for not being as he wanted. Before he entered Avarice dungeon, he also blamed the world. For those souls, Arthur did not try to recruit for his wrath. Instead, he used his golden mana to send them to reincarnate.

Although the process of reincarnation did not yield him any benefit, it lessened the souls that sought justice, allowing him to control his powers better. Furthermore, Arthur was sincere when he said he wanted peace for them.

His actions were done in secret, hidden from the world. However, Arthur did not understand that because of his golden mana, these souls would remember their past lives, bringing a new wave of reincarnators to the world, who were all indebted to the Merciful King who saved them.

Four months passed inside the tower in this same routine. These four months meant that five days on Earth. During those four months, Arthur changed once again, but his resolve to meet Diana grew stronger, not weaker.