The ancient crypt door opened with a groan, as if the stone itself remembered pain.
A soft pulse of air—neither cold nor warm—brushed past Kael Veyr's face. But it wasn't wind.
It was information.
Symbols etched into the chamber walls flickered with faint light, resonating with the system bound to his soul. Each glowing rune hummed as he stepped deeper into the circular hall beneath the shattered throne.
This place wasn't a tomb. It was a **memory vault**.
And somehow, it had waited for him.
---
\[System Notification]
System Integration Detected: Legacy Interface Active.
Initializing Memory Sync…
Progress: 1/3
---
A sharp pain lanced through Kael's mind.
He staggered, hand pressed against a carved mural.
The light dimmed—and in a blink, he was no longer there.
---
### A Memory Not His Own
He stood upon a battlefield soaked in red sand beneath three fractured moons.
Before him towered a woman in obsidian armor, her helm wreathed in spectral flame. Behind her, a city crumbled beneath falling stars. Before her, gods bled into the soil.
Her voice echoed across time.
"If you're seeing this, the System has chosen again."
Her blade, massive and jagged, hummed with the will of the slain.
"My legacy is not forgiveness. It's conquest. Piece by piece. Bone by bone."
She turned her head—toward him. No, **through him**.
"Let the stars bear witness, Fallen Prince."
And the vision shattered.
---
Kael gasped and stumbled back as the chamber returned.
He was still inside the Legacy Crypt. The mural under his palm pulsed with faint light. The system flared again:
---
\[System Notification]
New Skill Unlocked: Legacy Memory – Ember Queen's Will (Fragment)
Effect: Unknown
Trait Gained: Soul-Bound Heir
→ Access to sealed legacy protocols granted (Partial)
---
In the center of the chamber, a pedestal rose with a glowing object atop it.
A gauntlet.
Forged from black alloy and glowing with violet circuitry, the Phantom Gauntlet pulsed as though it were breathing.
Kael approached.
---
\[Item Identified: Phantom Gauntlet – Unique]
Type: System-Bound Weapon
Bonus: +25% Reaction Speed
Ability: Enables "Zero Phase" Parry
Requirement: Soul-Sync… Confirmed.
---
Kael didn't hesitate.
The moment he slid the gauntlet onto his right arm, it clamped down with a hiss. The chamber vibrated.
---
\[System Notification]
Equipment Bound: Phantom Gauntlet (Level-Scalable)
Legacy Protocol: Active
Interface Upgrade Initiated...
---
Kael's system shifted again.
Menus refined. Clutter removed. A sleek, responsive HUD replaced the earlier raw interface.
For the first time, Kael felt the System wasn't controlling him.
It was *evolving with him.*
---
### Meanwhile, Outside
Shadows moved among the ruins.
A squad of scavengers approached the palace ruins, guided by a floating orb flickering with system energy.
"Tracker's readings confirmed it. Someone triggered a legacy spike."
A woman in mismatched armor stepped ahead of the others, her eyes cold.
"Doesn't matter who. They die before nightfall."
---
### Kael, Emerging
Kael ascended the broken stairs of the old throne hall, the crypt door sealing behind him with a thunderous slam.
His interface pulsed.
---
\[Main Quest Progression: 8%]
New Quest Unlocked: First Contact
Objective: Survive the Scavenger Squad
Recommended Level: 5+
Current Level: 2
---
He raised his gauntlet. Light surged along its frame like liquid steel.
Kael smiled faintly.
"Then let's see how far I've truly fallen."
---
\[Chapter Complete]
Rewards:
— Phantom Gauntlet (Bound)
— Trait: Soul-Bound Heir
— Skill: Ember Queen's Will (Fragment)
Next: Chapter 3 – First Contact