The System and Me

Chapter 22: Inheritance

"I chose you because you beat my guardian, the Mist Knight. As for the other question, that's why you are here." the previous King Red told him.

"You are going to tell me how to use it? Here?" Max asked.

"Yes. So stop asking questions and let me teach you how. You can call me Kai as of now." Kai said with annoyance.

After introducing himself, Kai started to explain to Max about his powers and how to use them. The more Max listened the more amazed he was.

"The Orb is not my power. It is my soul itself. It was a part of my lifeforce which I have severed from myself. It was then refined and improved to what you see now as the orb." Kai explained.

"How did you do it?" Max asked.

"I did a lot of things. I travelled the world, explored various places and refined my powers here and there. This power was born from constant sacrifices, war and bloodshed. That being said, let me show you how my powers work." Kai said as he walked towards Max.

"What are you going to do?" he asked suspiciously.

"Relax. I'm going to show you my memories. Some of them that is. At the moment you're too weak. So the rest of my memories will be revealed to you when you are stronger." Kai said as he placed his finger on Max's head.

Max felt Kai's finger touching his head and felt a strange and powerful force invading his mind.

[Foreign energy detected! Identifying energy...]

[Identified: King Red's Inheritance]

[Starting Memory Transference...]

As Max heard the System's final ring, he could feel the powerful force invading his mind. He went into a trance as he experienced Kai's memories.

He found himself standing in a bustling street market. It had many stalls made from wooden poles and roofs made out of woven fabrics. Max looked around and saw a ragged boy beside him who was begging for food. The boy wore a torn shirt and shorts.

"Help me kind sire, I'm hungry..."

Max was about to make his way towards the boy when his surroundings shifted. He was now standing in a cave beside a teenager who looked really familiar. It was the same boy whom he saw in the streets.

The boy walked inside the cave and sat down crossed legged. He was sitting on a rocky platform that had a strange symbol of it. Max could make out a strange magic circle but could not see it completely as the boy was sitting on it.

"I wonder who this boy is..." He thought.

Max then watched in shock as a scary amount of power started to flow out of the boy. The magic circle was emanating a strange red glow. The boy opened his eyes and Max saw that his eyes were completely red and was releasing a strange red glow.

But before he could see anymore of what was going to happen, Max was blinded by the red glow as it started to cover the entire cave. Soon the cave was releasing the red glow to the point where he had to close his eyes.

Max soon felt the searing glow residing and when he opened his eyes he was greeted to a different area. He was standing in an open plain and Max realised it was the same as the memory of King Red when he fought the army of men. That was when it clicked for him!

"The boy in the streets... The teenager in the cave and Kai are all the same people." Max concluded.

"Correct." A voice said in his head.

As Max heard that, his vision darkened and his surroundings were completely white. He was now standing in his subconscious mind. Max could see his Ki Cores and the strange blue crystal hovering over the air.

"You have an interesting subconscious mind." Kai commented as he manifested beside him.

Max turned around and was greeted to a completely red, glowing humanoid. It was Kai. His facial features were all gone. He now looked like a glowing human.

"What happened to you?" He asked aghast.

"I originally planned on hijacking your body and resurrecting myself but after taking a closer look inside, I realised something. You have a lot of potential. You ooze out a strange power that I have not seen before. I have decided to live alongside you. I want to see how far you will go." Kai explained.

Hearing this, Max was filled with mixed emotions. He was this close to losing control of his mind. Max shivered at the thought of it. He was quite lucky.

"Strange power? What do you mean?" Max asked.

Hearing this, Kai just nodded and pointed towards the glowing blue crystal. "That right there. I have never seen it before in my entire life. It seems to give off an aura out of this world." He said.

"Honestly, I have no idea what that is too." Max told him.

Hearing this, Kai grew silent. "It gives off a menacing aura. I have never seen it before. I will stay by your side within the Orb and observe it." he thought out loud.

"My memories and powers will slowly pass on as you get stronger. Right now, you are too weak. Once you get strong enough my memories will awaken and you will receive more control over the Orb." Kai said.

"Wait. How much is stronger?" Max asked.

"Right now, you have the strength of a commoner back in my time. Even a child in my time could fight you." Kai said.

Hearing this, Max was shocked. Just how strong was Kai in his prime? Thinking about this, Max had another question.

"Kai. In your memories, where was the bustling market built?" Max asked.