Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1847: The Origin of the Legacy Artifacts

Adam had learned a lot about Vador and the Legacy Artifact, but he still had a few questions.

“Amelia, if you want me to help you, I need to better understand what I’m dealing with. What are the Legacy Artifacts, and… since when have there been nobles among monsters?”

Romara and Amelia exchanged glances.

“I see. You want to know why you haven’t met other nobles before, right?” Amelia clarified. “At the Citadel, you have many families that are noble families, but not among monsters.”

Adam nodded. “Yeah, I was surprised when I saw your mansion, your estate, and the fact that you have a surname instead of titles like other monsters do. Moreover, as I understand it, you’re the only noble family here, am I right?”

“Yes. Monster noble families are extremely rare, but not because no one wants to become one, it’s because of the Legacy Artifacts. They’re even rarer than the Ancient Artifacts, and there are only a few of them in the world.”

A look of puzzlement spread across Adam’s face. He knew how long it had taken for the Ancient Artifacts to appear and what power each of them possessed.

“But… if the Legacy Artifacts are so rare, how do they come into existence? Do you know about that? Do you know how the Spirit of Eternal Winter came to be?”

However, Amelia shook her head.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know how our family’s Legacy Artifact came to be. In fact, not even my father knows. Legacy Artifacts can be of any age, but the vast majority of them have existed for a very long time, I’m talking thousands of years. Even the significantly younger ones are at least 500 years old.”

Then, her eyes filled with determination.

“But the general process by which Legacy Artifacts come into being is known. While Ancient Artifacts are essentially more powerful than External Artifacts and common artifacts, Legacy Artifacts are a completely different matter.”

Amelia glanced at her father before turning her gaze to the window, which was now covered in a thick layer of ice.

“The Legacy Artifacts appear as a memorial to the most significant events that have ever occurred in our world. As you can imagine, given their age, not even the World Wipe is a significant enough event for that.”

Adam’s eyes widened in shock, but he soon realized that Amelia wasn’t lying.

‘Right, what she said makes sense. She said that Legacy Artifacts can appear at any moment, so it’s definitely not once every 250 years like the World Wipe. Also, if most Legacy Artifacts are over a thousand years old, that also shows they don’t appear with every World Wipe.’

Naturally, one question came to Adam’s mind.

“If even the World Wipe isn’t significant enough to trigger the appearance of a Legacy Artifact, then what is?”

Amelia waved her hand, explaining.

“Maybe the death of one of the world’s most powerful beings, or several at once. Maybe a war in which thousands of Lords perish. Maybe the destruction of a vast territory or significant changes in certain Lands. Basically, anything that has an impact on the entire world.”

Adam narrowed his eyes, considering the possible scenarios from her examples.

“Let’s say the Befallen Crown gains the ability to wipe out the Citadel and everyone living there with a wave of its hand. Would that be considered a significant enough event for the Legacy Artifact to appear?”

“Pffft!”

Suddenly, Romara, who had been standing off to the side and listening intently, snorted.

“Destroy the Citadel? The Befallen Crown can only dream of that! Even for them, it’s an impossible task!”

Amelia nodded.

“I agree, but I understand what you’re getting at. Yes, if something as significant as the destruction of the entire Citadel and its inhabitants were to happen, a new Legacy Artifact would appear, and most likely not just one, but several at once.”

Adam’s gaze grew more pensive as he thought it over.

“I see… It’s a reaction of the world itself and its energy. To trigger the birth of a Legacy Artifact, changes in energy stronger than those during a World Wipe are needed.”

“Something like that. If the World Wipe were to occur only in a single, limited space, its power would be sufficient to create a Legacy Artifact, but since the shockwave travels across the entire world, the energy density dissipates, and that’s no longer enough.”

When Adam agreed to help Amelia, he didn’t expect to learn about the existence of the Legacy Artifacts. This was a new discovery for him, and a rather important one.

“It seems that the Legacy Artifacts are rare and powerful enough to influence the balance of power across the entire world. I wonder, does the Citadel have one or even several? To use them, it’s not necessary to form a family, there can be just one user, right?”

His gaze returned to Amelia after a moment.

“It seems that the Legacy Artifacts are powerful weapons. Many must fear their capabilities. Is there any way to destroy a Legacy Artifact?”

Strangely enough, Amelia nodded.

“Yes. If you have enough firepower, it can be done, but such might is available to very few. However, that’s more of an exception to the rule, since there’s another, more effective way.”

“Hmm?” Adam raised an eyebrow.

“If you’re afraid of a Legacy Artifact belonging to a specific monster or family, you don’t need to destroy that artifact and permanently deprive the world of such a valuable item. You can simply kill everyone who possesses that Legacy Artifact. In that case, the Legacy Artifact will be reborn in a random location in our world.”

Adam’s eyes widened for a moment as he looked around.

“So, if someone…”

Before he could finish, Amelia nodded deeply.

“Yes. If someone kills all the members of the Grad Family, then the Spirit of Eternal Winter will appear in a random location, and someone else will be able to obtain it. That’s how Legacy Artifacts work.”

Adam’s eyes darted toward Vador as he realized something.

“Amelia, forgive my rudeness, but… if the Legacy Artifacts are really the way you described them, then why hasn’t anyone killed your entire family yet?”

Romara frowned, her expression turning grim.

“You’re strong, and so is your father, but there isn’t a single True Lord in your family, at least not yet, is there? There are monsters and Phantoms in the world that could kill every one of you just to get the Spirit of Eternal Winter, right?”

“You!” Romara growled. “How can you even ask Amelia something like that? Her father is dying right in front of you, and you’re thinking about who might kill our family?”

It was righteous anger on her part, but Amelia was far more resilient and pragmatic than her mother.

“Calm down. Mr. Adam just wants to better understand the situation. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right, even when my father was at the peak of his power, he wasn’t the strongest in the Tarnished Lands. He wasn’t a True Lord.”

Then, her gaze grew heavy as a momentary flash of fear crossed her face. Adam had never seen Amelia display such an emotion before.

“The Leader of the Renegades. He’s protecting us.”

‘He?’ Adam thought. ‘I know so little about the leader that even this counts as valuable information.’

“Father knew that sooner or later, one of the True Lords would find out that we have the Legacy Artifact. So, he asked for help, and the leader agreed. That’s one of the reasons we’re here, in Varreyn, in the Tarnished Lands.”

Step.

Romara stepped forward, joining their conversation.

“It’s worth noting that even if you can kill the entire noble family, that doesn’t guarantee you’ll get their Legacy Artifact, since the artifact respawns in a random location and you don’t know exactly where.”

Adam nodded deeply. “Got it. You could do all the work, and in the end, someone else, someone who happened to be in the right place at the right time, will end up with the Legacy Artifact.”

“Yes,” Romara confirmed. “So, more often than not, these clashes happen not to obtain a Legacy Artifact, but to temporarily get rid of it, or of the family members who possess it.”

Adam had received quite a lot of information, but there was nothing he couldn’t understand.

But there was one thing he still didn’t know.

“Amelia, now I know how Legacy Artifacts come into being, what they are, how to get rid of them, and why your family is here. But how did you become a family? I’m right in thinking that none of you are related by blood, right?”

At that moment, Amelia and Romara exchanged glances. Romara gave a slight nod.

“Yes,” Amelia said confidently. “Neither Vador nor Romara nor Markol have ever been related by blood. We all have different stories and different paths to our power levels, as well as different appearances, as you’ve noticed.”

She turned toward Vador, but she wasn’t looking at him, she was looking deeper, toward the Spirit of Eternal Winter.

“The Legacy Artifact makes monsters part of the family, and it’s… a unique process.”