Forged Legacy

Instead of a warm California evening, Harvey found himself floating in the void once again. It was just like when his Veilstrider body had been conjured before his very eyes, regaining his senses one by one as the System rebuilt his body organ by organ. Except this time, he wasn’t just a floating consciousness.

“Hello?” he called out.

Congratulations on surviving your assigned integration trial, Harvey.

“Uh, thanks?” he began before screaming pain began to ravage his body just like when his weave was first carved into his flesh with what felt like a hot knife. However, instead of carving the intricate pathways that carried his essence through his body, the System seemed to be attacking his undead flesh.

The crystal mirror appeared before him once more, and he saw the chalky gray skin, patches of onyx black hair, and aquamarine eye all burn to ashes. Consumed by divine light. The uneven placement around his body left him looking like human swiss cheese, full of holes that would normally kill him in an instant. Entire organs were missing, including his heart.

“My Imprint!” he tried to scream, struggling with only half a mouth and severed vocal cords.

Your legacy remains intact, the System replied, unapologetically.

He was relieved to see the tattoo still hovering in the void, the intricate veins of his weave holding it in place. The dead flesh gone, his living half began subtly changing. His lightly tanned skin took on a slight tint of gold, and his brown hair became ever so slightly richer. Even more stark was his previously brown eye also turning gold, looking like an ornate crystal atop a white silk pillow.

Everything about him just got… better.

Every hole left behind after cutting away the dead was filled with life. It hurt like hell, but his panic eased a little when he saw the System was improving him somehow. Harvey had no idea whether it took a few minutes or a few hours, but when the light finally began to fade, he found his body was a hodge-podge of life and death no more.

“This is amazing,” he marveled. Flexing his hands, he began testing every muscle. It was like he could count every cell, intimately feeling every fiber of his being in a way he never had before. Channeling essence through his weave, it felt almost exactly the same as before.

By subverting death, you have earned a body touched by life. Your Race has changed, but you will find your Weave, Skills, and Legacy have not.

A screen appeared on the mirror the next second, explaining the details of his new body.