Chapter 14: The Legacy Skill
The air in the capital was different—lighter, cleaner, but also buzzing with energy and mana. After the excitement at the plaza, the cheering students, and the swirl of academy representatives, Mike and Eira quietly slipped away. They walked side by side through stone-paved streets bordered with flowerbeds and glowing lanterns that hadn't yet lit for evening.
"I still can't believe you're here," Eira said softly, fingers brushing against his arm, not holding, just lingering.
Mike smiled faintly. "Neither can I. I didn't expect to meet your whole family today, though."
"They've missed you too." She looked at him, her expression unguarded. "We used to see each other so often. Then… everything changed after I awakened."
He nodded.
After her Awakening, Eira and her family had relocated to the capital to be closer to resources, better training, and the Blue Eagle Academy. It made sense, but it meant leaving behind a small circle of close friends—including Mike.
"I thought I'd have gotten used to you being gone," Mike said quietly. "But I didn't."
Eira glanced at him, her cheeks tinged pink. "You didn't forget me."
"How could I?" His voice was low, sincere.
They turned a corner and reached a quiet neighborhood just outside the noble district. The house they stopped in front of was spacious but modest for someone attending the Blue Eagle Academy. Two stories, a small mana garden out front, and carved bluewood doors.
Eira stepped forward and opened the gate. "Come in. They'll be thrilled."
Before Mike could take more than two steps onto the walkway—
"Big Sis!"
A small blur of excitement launched itself from the house.
Eira braced herself with a laugh as a little girl in twin pigtails crashed into her legs. "Luna! Careful!"
The girl pouted but didn't let go. "You said you'd come back yesterday!"
"I said I'd come back after the examination. That's today."
The girl looked up, and her wide violet eyes caught sight of Mike.
"…Who's that?"
Mike crouched to meet her gaze. "Hi. I'm Mike. I'm your sister's friend."
Luna blinked. "Are you that Mike?"
He blinked. "Which one is that Mike?"
"The one she always talks about when she thinks no one's listening."
Eira's eyes widened. "Luna!"
Mike tried and failed to hide his grin.
From the doorway, a warm voice chuckled. "So the guest has arrived."
A tall man with graying hair and kind eyes stepped out. He looked solid, dependable—his posture was that of someone who'd trained mana for many years but now preferred gardening to swordplay.
"Father," Eira said, running forward.
"Welcome home, sweetheart." He hugged her tightly, then turned toward Mike. "You must be Michael Arven. I'm Ardan Flameheart."
"Flameheart…" Mike echoed, the name suddenly making sense.
Eira Flameheart. Of course.
"It's an honor, Sir," Mike said, bowing slightly.
"No need for formalities. Come in."
Inside, the house smelled of herbs, warm bread, and lavender incense. It was quiet but alive, filled with signs of a tight-knit family. Portraits lined the hallway, mana lanterns flickered gently, and faint elemental wards hummed in the corners.
Eira's mother was waiting in the kitchen. She was elegant in a natural way, her beauty mature and graceful. She smiled warmly as she wiped her hands on her apron.
"You must be Mike. I'm Sera."
"Thank you for having me," he said, bowing again.
"Nonsense. You're practically family," she said, leading him inside.
Dinner was simple but rich—roasted mana-beast meat, herb rice, and spirit fruit juice. The conversation flowed with ease, ranging from stories of the examination to Luna's never-ending questions about Mike.
Mike had never felt so… included.
It reminded him of his own home, "How's my sister doing right now, maybe she's with mother today, I can call them later on." The warmth, the teasing, the sense that every small moment mattered.
As the evening wore on, the sun began to dip below the skyline. Eira and Mike sat outside in the garden under a tree bearing bluefire blossoms. Their petals glowed faintly in the twilight.
"You've changed," she said, her voice soft.
"Time… has a way of doing that."
Eira tilted her head. "You sound like you've seen the world already."
Mike laughed, quiet but sincere. "Sometimes it feels like I have."
She scooted closer. Their arms brushed.
For a moment, the silence between them was full. Not awkward. Just full.
"I used to wonder what it'd be like if you came to Blue Eagle," Eira said.
Mike looked up. "And now?"
"Now I wonder what it'd be like if… you stayed close."
Her words lingered.
His eyes met hers, and for a moment, the world shrank to just the two of them. Her lips parted slightly, her breath caught. She leaned in, just a little.
Mike closed his eyes.
Then stopped.
He opened them and leaned back gently.
Eira blinked. "Why…?"
"I respect you," Mike said. "I won't pretend I don't want to… but not like this. Not because of the moment. Not after everything."
She smiled sadly. "You're too noble sometimes."
Mike shrugged. "It's a curse."
She reached out and took his hand instead, fingers lacing with his.
No words were needed.
—
Later that night, after the goodbyes, Mike returned to the temporary quarters assigned to him by the Academy.
He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the scroll he got at the gate, then at the status panel floating in front of him.
His name. His stats. His level. His mana signature.
But there was something new.
[Legacy Slot Detected]
His eyes narrowed.
He pressed his palm to the crystal interface, focusing his mana.
A new window opened—one he had never seen before.
[Legacy Skill: ???]
Status: Dormant
Classification: Unknown
Signature Type: Tier 6 (Degraded Binding)
Origin: ??? – Verdant Gate
Mike stared.
Tier 6?
He had only heard rumors—whispers in old tomes, fragments of historical lore.
Tier 6 skills belonged to immortals.
Or to those who transcended mortality.
How had he obtained something like this?
His mind flashed back to the gate—the pressure when he touched that ancient altar stone, the glowing symbol that no one else seemed to notice. He thought it was just residual mana.
Was that a… binding?
The interface trembled.
[Legacy Memory: Locked. Requirements Incomplete.]
What did that mean?
Who left this skill there?
What was it?
He leaned back, the implications heavy.
Tier 6… that was beyond any curriculum, beyond what even the top academies could teach.
His Crystalline Mana Heart pulsed faintly, responding to the dormant skill like a whisper echoing in a dark chamber.
This wasn't just a power-up.
This was a path—or a burden.
He closed the interface, heart pounding in his chest.
The night had grown quiet.
But his mind wasn't.
A single thought refused to leave him.
"Did I just inherit the legacy… of an Immortal?"
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