"Isaac?"

Someone shook his shoulder. "Isaac?! What the hell is going on with you?"

A loud banging followed, sharp against his ears.

"Hey! Stop the car! We got an emergency here!"

Isaac blinked, the world around him slowly returning into focus. The notification still flickered in his vision, but he pushed it aside for now. The car wasn't moving. They had stopped. Why?

Then his eyes finally registered the three figures hovering around him.

"Boss?" James said, offering his hand. "You back with us?"

Isaac nodded slowly, taking the offered limb and allowing himself to be pulled up from the truck bed. "I think so…" he muttered. "Just a bit disoriented. Give me a moment, and I will try to explain everything."

And so they did, giving him a moment to blink away the remaining blurriness from his vision. He still wasn't sure what really happened. Everything was alright after the notification appeared, and then it wasn't. No pain, though. It felt more like waking up from a night of heavy drinking with half of his memory missing…

So weird… He scratched his head, taking a look around.

They were still on the main road leading to Sacramento. And going by the farmlands on both sides, they couldn't have gone too far after he blacked out. Still, they had been driving for a while at this point, so the suburbs shouldn't be that far away.

"Better now, lad?" He heard Tyler ask once he returned to the truck. "You didn't seem to be in pain, so we weren't too worried, but still…"

Isaac tilted his head. "Sorry about that. It was just my Legacy finally settling in. The process is done now if I'm not mistaken."

"You got it already?!" James jumped at the information. "Come on then. Spill. What is it? Gotta see if all the pain you went through was worth it."

"Calm down." Isaac grimaced, rubbing his brow. A headache was coming his way fast. "All I know is that it's called the Crimson Raven. Other than that, I didn't have time to check."

"Go on then, lad. We can wait," Tyler encouraged.

Isaac glanced at the man, then at the others. James was practically bouncing with excitement while Elaine gave him a hesitant nod—silent encouragement. How nice…

"Fine," he said, sitting back on the truck bed. "Just hold your horses."

With that, he dismissed the initial notification, only to be assaulted by another and then a few more. At the very least, the headache instantly went away, allowing him to focus on the text before him.

Name: Isaac Walker Origin: Blood | LVL. 10 Legacy: Crimson Raven (Fledgling)

[Legacy of the Crimson Raven - You have inherited the spark of one of the creatures of Blood. It might be weak now, but in time, it will grow and evolve alongside you. Nurture it, and the skies of Life and Death shall be yours. Access to Inheritances and Ultimate Abilities have been unlocked.]

Grow and evolve, Isaac hummed. So this isn't the final form, just the beginning. Good to know. However, how do I nurture it exactly? Just use it?

First Inheritance unlocked, Darksight. It shall become active upon your first transformation. The effects of your Inheritances grow stronger with your Legacy and usually enhance all forms of the Host.

[Inheritance: Darksight] You are now blessed with the Darksight of every Mystic Raven. Your vision has been greatly enhanced. Night is no longer your enemy.

Isaac's eyebrows shot up. Is this what I think it is? Did you just give me night vision? Keep this up, Interface, and I might just forget about all the pain you put me through.

Either way, he would have to wait until this 'first transformation' and nighttime to find out if that was really the case. Until then, more notifications were waiting for him.

First Ultimate ability unlocked, Crimson Flock. Beware, Ultimates can only be used in Freedom Mode transformation. Similar to Inheritances, their power scales with the strength of your Legacy. At the current Virus Stage, you may only use one Ultimate ability per 12 hours without harming yourself.

[Ultimate: Crimson Flock] A Legacy ability capable of summoning numerous blood copies of the Host's transformed form. These clones will follow your every command and fight until death.

And here I thought I would just get a new form. Isaac almost laughed. This Legacy was easily as important as the awakening of Origin. Though considering that the two were connected, that shouldn't be a surprise.

Okay, what else do you have for me?

At last, the final notification appeared before his eyes.

You have obtained a new skill, Transform.

[Transform | Grade: N/A | Max Tier]

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. With this ability, you may activate and deactivate your Legacy form. There are three modes available for this transformation. You can switch between them with a mental command. Clean - Immortal Mana remains mostly locked. Abilities function at base power. Causes no harm to the Host. Hybrid - Flow of Immortal Mana is partially unlocked. All abilities are enhanced. Prolonged use may cause internal damage. Freedom - Immortal Mana becomes your only fuel. Gain all benefits of the previous mode plus access to Ultimates. Using this mode causes increasing pain and bodily damage.

Isaac blinked. Now, that's what I call a wall of text…

A useful wall, sure, but still a wall.

For the time being, he ignored the fact that to use his Ultimate ability, he would have to consciously put himself in harm's way. If he had any doubts that the Interface was a sadist, they were gone now. On the bright side, switching between modes seemed easy enough.

"I'm done," he announced, looking up at the trio standing close. "It's a lot more than I expected, but it should make our job a lot easier."

"Oh?" Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Do tell, lad."

Isaac did just that, quickly going over what he had just learned. However, he glossed over his Ultimate and Inheritance. Even if he didn't have anything against anyone here, they also didn't need to know everything about him. Sometimes, it was wise to keep a few cards hidden up his sleeve.

"Do it, boss," James urged. "You can turn into a magic bird now! That's like in the top five superpowers I wanted as a kid. You gotta show us."

Isaac rolled his eyes. What am I? A circus act? Still, despite that, he had to admit he was curious too. Not to mention, his first Inheritance would only activate after transforming. He wanted to see just how much it affected his base form.

"All right," he said. "Step back, everyone."

Once they did as he ordered, Isaac reached toward the spark of his Legacy and gave the mental command.

Transform: Clean Mode.

Within the blink of an eye, the world around him shifted. His range of sight widened, becoming much more colorful. Things he wouldn't have noticed before—like the tiny ant skittering across the road in the distance—now stood out at first glance.

Also, to no one's surprise, his body felt much different now. Not in a weird or uncomfortable way. No, just… different. The strangest part? He had no issue moving any part of this new form. It was like he instinctively knew how to be and act like a bird.

The only thing he hated about this new perspective was how everything looked much larger than before. The way the three humans before him now looked down on him also felt odd.

Isaac averted his gaze from them and craned his new, long neck to inspect himself. No surprises there. He looked pretty much the same as the raven he had seen just before his Legacy settled.

"Oho." Elaine's amused snort drew his attention back to her. A grin stretched across her lips. "Dare I say, Isaac. You're quite cute now. A little birdie."

Isaac's eye twitched as he opened his beak to protest. Only instead of words, all he managed was an indignant squawk. The trio burst into laughter.

"Never mind, I was wrong," Elaine cooed. "You're downright adorable now. Come on, do it again."

He flapped his wings as she reached toward him, trying to swat her away. Yet the woman was undeterred and snatched him into her arms. Suddenly, he felt much smaller than even a second earlier.

"Ouch!" Elaine flinched as he pecked her hand. "Stop it! I just want to show you how you look now, you idiot."

At that, Isaac paused his half-hearted attempt at getting out of her grasp. He knew he could have easily escaped if he tried hard enough, but that also meant harming the woman. Not exactly the best idea, considering where they were headed. As such, he just settled and waited for her to put him in front of the truck's side mirror.

"There you go," she muttered, sounding more than a little irritated. Not his fault, though. She should have asked before grabbing him like that.

Now then…

Thanks to the newfound flexibility of his neck, he had already confirmed that he looked like the raven from his vision. But now, with a mirror before him, he could get a better look at his head.

Blood-red eyes stared right back at him, summoning a brief flash of the vision from before. He shook his head and blinked it away.

"Done?" Elaine asked, receiving a nod in return. "Great…"

With that, she returned him to the truck bed, where he took a few experimental steps just to make sure he wouldn't fall. As expected, even walking in this form felt as natural as breathing. Now for the real test.

He shivered.

You are a bird now, Isaac told himself. Flying is in your blood, literally at that.

"Boss?" James' voice brought him back to reality. "You gonna fly or what?"

Isaac shot him a sharp look and cawed, getting the man to raise his hands in surrender and back off.

"Just kidding. Take your time…"

Annoying.

Isaac harrumphed, spreading his dark wings. After a deep breath, he reached for the instincts guiding his every movement and took off with a single, powerful beat. It was strong enough to blow away all the dirt on the truck.

He shot into the air, gaining speed and height with each flap of his wings. His tail shifted all the while, steadying his flight. At the same time, his blood stirred, filling his veins with a familiar tune that only came out when he was fighting. If he could have, he would have grinned.

Holy shit!

He let out a loud caw. Without an ounce of hesitation, he dived back toward the earth, only spreading his wings again when the land came too close to his liking.

This is… I have no words…

The Symphony in his blood surged, feeding his momentary bout of madness. He turned and headed right for the Wretched walking on the road in the distance. Blood Daggers manifested around him, while more of the crimson liquid gathered around his beak, coating his entire body in a shimmering aura.

Seconds later, he was upon them. His daggers shot forward.

And Isaac?

He simply tucked his wings and charged right at the monster in his path. His beak, enhanced by the power of Blood Draw, met flesh and bone. It wasn't even a contest.

Without even losing an ounce of his speed, Isaac tore straight through the Wretched's chest and heart. Once he emerged on the other side, he spread his wings and soared back up.

Wow…

He hovered above the site of his little massacre.

I guess size really doesn't matter…

Sated, Symphony of Blood returned to its slumber, letting him finally catch a breather and organize his thoughts.

Obtaining his Origin had been a big step, one that showed him what it really meant to be alive. But now, just after this short flight and test of his skills, he understood that what he felt back then couldn't compare to this. It was like heaven and earth.

I haven't even tested the other modes yet…

A chuckle built in his chest, but all that came out was a rough, croaky chatter.

Fitting.

All right, let's go back before they start thinking that I ran off.

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