LIGHTNOVELONLINE Prologue: Legacy
Stars twinkle around me like a cloud of tiny shining jewels. They appear and disappear, growing dim and eventually winking out of existence only for new stars to appear elsewhere. They are a dark red in color but, looking around, I see a small collection of them with a faint grey tinge. This greyness seems to be contagious, slowly spreading to nearby stars.
I continue watching the stars in fascination; they become redder in color with each generation. The grey moves from star to star, somehow coexisting with them; at least, it doesn't seem like a sickness. In fact, it seems to extend the longevity of the stars. Questions whirl around my mind. What is this place? What are these 'stars'? And so many more. I can't move, I can't wave my arms, I can only watch, and that's what I do.
I keep watching the stars around me. I watch, and watch, for eternity, and many eternities after that. Time seems to have no meaning here, yet causality is moving forward as the stars, now a bright red, are turning orange. I feel deep drowsiness as if my very existence is tired and slow like I have stayed up all night, yet I cannot stop watching. The longer I spend in this... void, the more I feel my very existence start to slumber: my memories fade, not forgotten, but it's as if they are just falling asleep.
The stars are changing from orange-yellow, to yellow, then onto yellow-green, and all the while the grey spreads faster and faster until all stars have been claimed. Each star that is born is almost instantly claimed, the grey somehow delaying the death of the stars for so long now that they seem less like a cloud and more like a blanket wrapped around me.
My consciousness starts drifting in and out of dormancy, wrapped by this blanket of stars; however, with the last of my consciousness, I spot a hole in the ever-thickening blanket of stars. The void widens as the stars start to quickly fade one by one... no, they aren’t fading, they are being killed; something is destroying the stars and the grey inhabiting them. The void widens faster and faster, destroying all that the grey had worked for. I try to stay conscious but it’s useless; I fall into dormancy, waking up to find the void has grown significantly.
Each time I fade into dormancy and wake back up, I find ever fewer stars until an all-consuming void is all that greets me. No matter how hard I look, all I see is just darkness, an endless sea of nothing, an empty eternity. With a feeling of hollow loneliness, I finally resign myself to slumber.
A tinkling bell sounds in my mind, but I do not awaken. Again and again, it tinkles like wind chimes, a soothing melody through the darkness. Suddenly I feel a vast presence, a formless, invisible thing that somehow brings with it a sense of both serenity and curiosity.. The presence evokes the feeling of gazing upon the vast beauty of the stars in the sky, the serenity of a wintery landscape, the beauty of a waterfall; it is the holistic, complete embodiment of the concept of beauty. But there is another side to it as well: the energizing feeling of inspiration, the fulfilling feeling of creating something, emotions of creation made manifest.
I feel a prodding sensation, an uncomfortable jabbing. I am rudely jostled and moved, yet waking up feels like trying to move through tar.
Soon the jabbing, prodding, and jostling stops, but the chimes remain ever ringing in my mind. For a long time, I sleep, listening to the chimes. Then out of nowhere, I am shocked! A zapping electrical feeling shoots throughout my very essence. Awareness suddenly fills me, and once again, stars flicker all around me, along with colorful wispy clouds, like nebulae slowly swirling. The stars shine with multiple colors, like each has a rainbow captured within.
Where am I? It feels like I've seen something like this before, me being in a void with stars all around me, but I can't bring up my memories.
"Welcome, lost legacy. I am Myrou, Goddess of creativity and beauty," a feminine voice, that seems to echo around the void, says. If a voice could give hugs, then hers would be the closest thing. Her voice wraps around me with a warm and oddly beautiful feeling, like a mother's affectionate embrace. "I am sure you are confused and have a lot of questions, but there will be a time for that."
I nod; there is no need to anger the deity and risk her wrath.
A giggle echoes around me, like a wave gently washing ashore under a moonlit night with the air still and serene as if time has stopped. "No need to be afraid; it's not often a soul as old as yours drifts into my realm."
"A soul as old as mine?" I wonder aloud. I try to think back, but it feels like trying to prod awake a stubborn sleepyhead. It almost feels as if whatever I am looking for said, "gimme five more minutes..."
"Don't push it," The Goddess says, her voice sounding like a well-crafted and polished gem. "Your memories, and who you used to be, have been dormant for a really long time; give it a while, and it will slowly reawaken. You see, your soul is from an era long before gods and magic, from a realm that has long since ended; you are what we call a Legacy Soul." Noticing my confusion, she clarifies. "Hmm, how to make more sense... you are kinda like a fossil, a soul fossil, from a time so far in the past that millions of realms have come and gone, potentially hundreds of millions. Legacies are extremely rare – to have survived oblivion over such a long time is not an easy thing – but with the number of souls present through all the realms some would inevitably survive. However, we've never found one as old as you... until now, obviously."
I still don't know what she is talking about.
"Ah well, I tried. You'll know what I'm talking about eventually once your memories come back." With a voice that sounds like a serene lake reflecting a full moon on its surface, the Goddess gives up trying to make me understand.
"How do you know I am a legacy? Can't I just be a normal soul?" I ask. No sound comes out, but the Goddess knows what I said nonetheless.
"Your soul is completely untouched by magic, but it's even more than that, it's... how do I explain this... exotic? The realm your soul manifested in leaves an... impression on you, a marker. But your soul is almost completely unmarked. Our studies of realms and current theories suggest your soul is not only from a very young realm but from one of the earliest realms. The evolution of realms has gone very far in that time."
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"Evolution of realms? What is it? How does that work?" I'm sure it's something I know, but I just can't remember.
"Hmm. It's best to answer these questions once your memories have returned." The Goddess mutters, almost to herself. "In any case! You're unique, and we want to know more about where you came from."
"I am surprised you didn't treat me as some research subject if I really am that special," I say, my respect for the Goddess growing.
"Oh, we did; it was such an opportunity to learn more about souls. But now we want to know more about what's in your soul, your memories and experiences, and we can't risk ripping them out of you. Souls are surprisingly fragile, yours more so in this regard. So we just need to wait until they fully reawaken."
If I could eye the deity suspiciously, I would, but as it stands, the Goddess hasn't manifested herself, nor do I seem to have a body.
"We aren't going to harm you; we just want to know what one of the first-ever realms was like; it is very important for our studies." The voice sounds almost excited, still seeming to wrap around me with its huggy nature.
"How about this: I'll give you a boon, and you will let us examine your memories and experiences. From what we know about other legacies, it'll take about twenty years for all your memories to fully resurface." The Goddess compromises.
I consider her offer for a long time, trying to think how it benefits me, but being the Goddess of beauty and creativity, surely she has something good, right? "Very well," I say with a sigh of resignation. I don't like the idea of my memories being examined, but as long as nothing bad happens to me and I get a boon out of it, I might as well.
"Excellent!" streams of light suddenly swirl around me before condensing in front of me, taking the shape of a gorgeous woman, nay, an impossibly beautiful woman. As if she is the very manifestation of beauty and creativity; reality around her shimmers and twinkles beautifully with the vastness of the cloudless and starry night sky. She has long, flowing, golden, silky hair, flawless pale skin, and eyes like deep emeralds. Her robes are like a flowing river of a deep and rich blue with a marbling of lighter blue. Surprisingly, she is massive, like a giant; either that or I am just tiny, small enough to fit in the palms of her hands. Nope, I actually am in the palms of her cupped hands; when did that happen?
"I shall give you the gift of beauty. May you use it well!" The Goddess says, and suddenly I feel a connection, not quite to her, but to the very concept of beauty itself.
"Gift of beauty? What does that exactly do? Shouldn't I get something that'll help me survive? What happens if I die again?" I ask question after question, now knowing this Goddess won't do anything to me.
"One at a time, please," Myrou says with a sigh. "You'll see what it does; it's better if you figure it out for yourself, but do know that it will help you survive, not that I plan to toss you in a place that has a high risk of killing you in the first place. If you die, you'll just be reincarnated naturally. If by some accident or unforeseen event you die before you regain your memories... well, we can't let those be washed away – not that it is likely to do so anyway with the tiers your soul has – so we'll intervene and reincarnate you with your memories attached again just to be sure they remain whole."
"In other words, once you have what you want from me, I'm on my own?" I clarify.
"Yup!" Myrou smiles beautifully, like gazing upon a city from the top of a mountain at night.
"I don't suppose you'll tell me anything about where I'm going? It'll help getting a heads-up," I say, trying to get as much as I can.
"First, you don't have a head as you currently are." The Goddess grins at her own joke. "Second, it's a surprise! Anything else you want to ask before you move on?"
"Why don't you just keep me here? If it'll take twenty years, this is the safest and most controlled situation for you," I can't help but ask.
"That's a fair question. The reason is because your soul will just go back to sleep. You need a vessel to properly reawaken."
"Whelp, I guess I'm out of questions now."
"Good, now where should I send you? Hmmm, nope, that place is too rough," Myrou says, considering a distant star before looking at another. "Normally a good place, but right now they are dealing with extensive civil wars, not good timing. Oh, that place is being overrun with ice elementals and winter spirits, a hard pass there. Aha! Found the perfect place, no wars, no predators, and the natives won't be starving." The Goddess looks from star to star before settling on a winking star. "Hmm, that's... interesting; I didn't expect a race like that to evolve in such a way. Ah well, it's the best candidate, and, as a bonus, they worship me! Off you go!"
Myrou draws me back, and, taking a pose with a raised leg, she literally throws me toward the star. Looking back, I see another being manifest next to Myrou. A being like an old library, a freshly made scroll, a professor, the very concept of knowledge and wisdom. It takes the form of an old man with a long white beard reaching the length of his knees. He wears a large pointed hat and black robes with red trim.
"That was sneaky of you, Venaro," Myrou said, in a vaguely accusatory tone.
"Might as well give it the best chance it can get.'' Venaro strokes his beard. The two giants are getting smaller as I fly away.
"You're up to something, and I don't like it." Her voice fades quickly the further I fly away.
"You'll see, hohoho," Venaro laughs, the sound carrying the echoes of great tomes slamming closed.
The star slowly grows bigger and bigger as I approach until white light is all that I see; then, suddenly, I am embraced in a warm and inviting darkness, and soon I fall asleep.