Suddenly, the chamber began to shift, and the four stars that were faintly etched into each cardinal direction of the room, began to glow and expand in size.
Symbols that were originally easily ignored by Serena and the others were now the focal points of the chamber.
Slowly, they expanded, their edges softening and warping until they were no longer stars, but doorways, or ‘exits’ from the trial—as the Holy Son had described.
[The final trial will now commence.]
[Before you stand four legacies—four civilizations swallowed by the Abyss. Within them lies knowledge, warning, and weaponry left behind by those who fell.]
[Upon entering you will be tested by the remnant consciousnesses of these worlds in order to select worthy successors]
[You will each choose a legacy to pursue. Upon entering, you will be tested—not by the relic, but by the surviving will of that world. They will judge you. They will challenge you. They will decide whether you are worthy to inherit what remains of their fight.]
[Some will test your strength. Others, your mind. Some trials will suppress your power entirely. Know this: you may fail. And failure here means your end.]
A pause—brief, but weighty.
[In order to ensure the utmost safety of the inheritors’ identities, inheritance will also come with an automatic binding of the soul to prevent discussions of this relic and revealing the identity of the other inheritors.]
[With the soul-contract, inheritors will be able to share superficial truths… but the most sensitive knowledge, tactics, and items will be sealed, unable to be used or shared with others. This is protection. Not just for you—but for the legacies themselves.]
[This is not cruelty. It is caution.]
[Such extreme measures are unfortunate as this decision has led to the death of some of the brightest young stars of this planet, but it is a necessary action based on the lessons of invaded predecessors.]
[Too many times, information fell into Abyssal hands through betrayal, carelessness, or contamination of the informed. This will not happen again.]
[Therefore, without the acquisition of an inheritance, under no circumstances will you be able to leave]
Serena and the others closely examined the 4 archways that the stars had morphed into.
The scenery beyond each archway was unclear, but from the first one, an unpleasant sharp and metallic smell managed to escape. Also, every few seconds, a splash of a dark coloured viscous liquid would escape from the doorway and then land on the ground with a sizzle to demonstrate its corrosive ability.
The second archway emitted a warm, white light, and gave off a calming sensation just by looking at it. Based on how both Cassian and the Holy Son were focused on it, Serena assumed that their previous trial was related to this world of light that must have long been consumed by the darkness of the Abyss.
The third archway was overgrown with thorny vines that managed to escape the doorway, the black flowers on each vine emitted a dark, syrupy substance that pooled beyond the threshold. Those vines looked extremely familiar to Serena, they were what was responsible for Bai Lian’s bruised and battered appearance.
The fourth archway, the one that was not the subject of the previous trial for any team, and would likely be conquered by whoever amongst the others failed to obtain an inheritance in their first attempt, looked…normal.
Unremarkable. Plain stone. No light. No smell. No sound.
They couldn’t see clearly inside of it, but from the outside it looked like a normal stone archway that one may pass through when visiting a historical site.
But that somehow made it even more foreboding than the other entrances…after all, the others at least gave a hint about what lay beyond them—this one gave no such information.
And nothing was more terrifying than the unknown.
[You may now select the legacy you wish to challenge. Each contains the condensed knowledge of a fallen civilization. To claim one is to inherit their purpose. But remember—only those who succeed may leave. The unsuccessful will remain here, their memories sealed forever within these walls.]
Bai Lian’s breath rattled beside Serena. “Well. I guess this is the part where we stop being allies.”
Serena barely heard her. Her attention was fixed on the first archway—the one that reeked of acid and blood.
Soreia was already moving toward it, her stride confident.
Of course, she would choose that one. She’d seen the horrors of this civilization firsthand and seen how the Thar’Ameth residents passed away in the snippets of memories contained in their blood. She had the advantage.
Like her, most of the others will also likely pick the doorway related to their previous trial, since they would have an advantage in information.
And from those where two people were entering, whoever failed will likely have to make an attempt at the fourth doorway.
But Soreia was lucky, with Kain dead, she should have no competition to obtain this inheritance—her success was practically guaranteed.
Watching her confidently enter that doorway, Serena’s fingers curled into fists.
Bai Lian continued, her voice softer now. “You should go for the third one. The one we already saw. You know it better. And I’m not… I’m not fit for this. I can’t win any inheritance with my body like this…it’s a miracle I even got this far.”
She gestured faintly to her battered body, still trembling from their previous ordeal.
“You’ve saved my life more times than I can count,” she added. “You deserve to leave.”
Still, Serena remained quiet. She was still staring at Soreia’s retreating back, eyes narrowed.
Cassian and Seraphius exchanged a silent nod, then walked together into the second doorway—they would be competing against one another for this inheritance. Not only was it the one both boys were familiar with. But also, the glimpses they caught of the people and power-structure of this world, were incredibly tempting to both men. Even if they had some knowledge of the other inheritances, they would both likely still gamble and attempt to obtain this one.
The fourth doorway naturally still had no takers.
Thinking that Serena was silent because she was reluctant to just take the inheritance in the third archway and sentence Bai Lian to death, Bai Lian was touched.
‘Although we didn’t get along together for long, and the communication at some points was not completely smooth due to neither of us being fully fluent in each other’s languages, we truly became close…’ Tears began to well up in Bai Lian’s eyes upon seeing Serena’s ‘hesitation to leave her behind.’
Bai Lian sighed. “Serena, don’t feel bad. You have to leave me—”
“I’m going with her,” Serena cut her off, not paying any mind to what she was about to say.
Bai Lian froze. “What?”
Serena’s expression remained unreadable. “I’m going through that doorway.”
Bai Lian’s gaze followed to where she was pointing and saw that it was the first doorway that Soreia had just passed through.
“That’s suicide,” Bai Lian whispered. “You would be competing with someone with prior knowledge of that civilization. You don’t have any.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
Serena finally looked at her. “Because I want to make sure that girl doesn’t walk away with anything.”
Bai Lian opened her mouth, then closed it. But she decided against any words of persuasion. After completing a trial with Serena, she knew how intelligent she was. Naturally, she had likely already thought about the fact that she’d be at an unfair disadvantage selecting that one. “Then…good luck.”
Serena gave her a faint smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks, but I won’t need any. I will be taking away that inheritance. So try your best to leave here alive, I won’t be competing with you.”
Then she turned and entered through the doorway that looked like it could melt the skin off of someone should they accidentally brush up against it.
The second she passed through, the glowing doorway hissed in welcome—or warning.
Bai Lian stood alone.
The silence in the chamber, now emptied of all but herself, was oppressive. Her gaze drifted to the third archway.
She took a breath. Then another. Then forced herself forward.
Each step sent sharp jolts of pain through her body. Her legs trembled beneath her weight, and the bones in her broken arm shifted uncomfortably beneath the wrappings Serena had made earlier.
She paused in front of the archway.
The vines twitched at her approach, and she flinched back in fear.
She remembered the pain caused to her by those vines. If Serena hadn’t been there…
Bai Lian clenched her jaw and stepped back.
She couldn’t do it.
Not like this. Not when every part of her body was already at its limit. Not when the odds were so clearly against her. Even if she walked through that door and there was no competition for the inheritance, she knew—deep in her bones—that she wouldn’t survive long enough to claim it.
She turned away.
Her legs buckled, and she slid down against a bare patch of wall—far from the other doorways. She pressed her back to the cold stone and exhaled, long and low.
‘This is for the best…maybe if I don’t return, there will be no blowback on my family for the deaths of Lady Zhao and Fang Lei…’
Resigned to death, Bai Lian tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
And then—
The sound of movement in a chamber that should only have her.
Her eyes snapped open, then widened in shock.
“…Impossible…”
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