[Eon’s POV: ]

“You don’t remember anything?”

“Nope.”

“But… you remember everything though.” Sёarᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Right? It’s confusing to me as well.”

Even Lucy did not know what I went through when I was in that space.

“Haaa…”

Rein simply shook her head after giving it a thought and hugged me gently.

“You’re really dumb sometimes, you know?”

“I know. But I didn’t know what I was doing this time and I still did it… it could have been really dangerous.”

“No shit.” she hugged me tighter as she sighed.

She was at least glad that I wasn’t hurt in any way, but, though I didn’t tell her, Lucy told me about the vision I had after being pulled out of the dark zone that I had ventured into.

‘Though I was not there to see it, according to what she explained, this particular vision that I had seen this time was put there in case I try to venture into the deeper parts of my subconscious.’

The same way we see the usual visions or messages left by my master, her projection was present there this time as well.

But, instead of telling Us something, she told Lucy how I had entered a state of consciousness that I should not pursue just yet.

She explained to her how there were six distinct [Deep] areas of a mind and how I had just accessed the boundary of these six zones, the area which separated the conscious and subconscious from the unconscious.

‘The explanation that Lucy gave me for the time being was short and pretty simple, putting the longer explanations for later.’

Though, aside from telling her about what had happened to me, she also told her how me being able to enter that state signifies our closeness to accessing the powers that she had left for us.

‘She did not explain how exactly we were supposed to access those powers, the information about the powers themselves is perhaps stored in the message that we unlocked earlier while seeing Rein use her power.’

Even after going through all that, we were not able to access those powers, but we got a clue about them. And, perhaps, if we try searching Inside ourselves a little more, we will be able to access those powers.

“Haaaa.”

But, that was something we can think about later.

For now, now that the trial of the snake had concluded, even though I did not manage to access my Legacy powers, the snake confirmed whatever it needed to confirm.

{ “You aren’t simply successors of common legacies, ptssss…” }

The snake, standing tall with its head lifted up, towering even the Naga warrior who was twice as tall as Zuroro, even with its now thinner body, the snake looked as intimidating as it did when it was in his bigger form.

{ “I do not know what beings have granted you their powers… or why you possess those powers… but the fact that you do possess them still stands.” }

The snake looked at both of us with keen interest, a strange greed flashing in his green eyes.

“Hey.”

Rein squeezed my hand when she saw him seeing us in that strange way.

{ “Oh, apologies.” }

But, seeing her put up a guard against him for the first time, the creature realised what he was doing and shook his head as he apologised.

Then, he looked at us with a strange envy, before shaking his head once more and looking at the Naga Warrior.

{ “You seem to have more responsibilities on your shoulders than what We would place on the one that succeeds this Legacy. However, while one of you can use a fraction of what you possess, even while possessing absurd mental prowess and unique worldview, the other cannot access the insurmountable powers granted to you.” }

The Naga warrior vanished, and then, the creature looked at both of us one by one before nodding his head again.

{ “As promised, We will reward you for coming this far.” }

-Ooooooooooooong!

The air vibrated with a strange hum, resonating deep within my chest.

I felt a shift in the atmosphere, as if the very fabric of reality was bending around me. The open hall where we had fought for the last few days, the place which we had destroyed many times already, the place that we had become well familiar with, began to change, transforming before our very eyes.

“What…?”

We were confused what was happening, but seeing the calm creature– who was slowly vanishing– we maintained our demeanour.

The marble beams that lined the walls on the periphery of the arena shimmered and morphed into elegant arches glowing with a warm, golden light. The floor beneath my feet started feeling softer, almost as if I was walking on clouds.

My heart raced unreasonably as I looked around… colors had begun to dance along the walls, sparkling like precious gems.

Before us, a grand doorway appeared first, framed by familiar ancient designs that seemed alive with energy. They were the same scriptures that belonged to the civilization that had built this dungeon five millennia ago.

Though, unlike most of the scriptures that we had seen until now, the ones present here were not stories or something that told an unknown tale… but something that worshipped the higher powers that the people of that time, the people of that civilization, used to follow.

‘Wow…’

I stepped forward, drawn by an irresistible force of curiosity, dragging Rein with me who was holding my hand… however, the moment we touched the gate, we passed through it and appeared into a breathtaking treasury.

“What the… hell is this?”

[{ Master… }]

Celes, who had not been saying anything ever since we came here spoke up for the first time, her voice containing obvious shock towards the situation before us.

{ “I don’t think you need riches and gold or, knowledge that you can find out eventually.” }

The room was filled with treasures beyond imagination: piles of gold coins glimmering in the soft light, beautiful gemstones sparkling like stars scattered across the night sky, piles of books that seemed to contain old magic, scrolls engraved in with enchantments of the Old, even artifacts that seemed to be a masterwork from an ancient time.

{ “What you need and will need is not riches or magical powers or, powerful artifacts that can do what you could not.” }

A sense of wonder washed over not just me but all of us who were seeing this sight.

This place wasn’t as amazing as the treasury of our Tower home, but every other treasure room that either of us had seen until now seemed like a small thing compared to this one.

And, though the room was filled with all kinds of treasures all around us, many of which crossed Four star rating from my eyes, some going above the five stars, no treasure in the room was as attractive in this place as the GRAND statue present above all of this.

{ “What the Great Lady needs to enhance her powers over her Eyes is a mental pathway connecting to her [Soul] and the deeper parts of her mind.

You have to realise the [Truth] of your own eyes.” }

Above the grand treasure trove, there was a grand structure resembling the head of a snake… one that we had been seeing since a while ago.

This structure, seemingly way bigger and more grand than the [Keeper] we have in the academy island, was only the head of what must be a mountainous construction.

We could not see the entire head either, just what was visible under the bright green light coming from the jeweled eyes of the entity.

{ “This shall help you with your future hardships…” }

We were so busy and stunned looking at the creature that only when he said those last few words in a deeper tone, did we get out of our daze and see the unique book floating before Her face.

“…?”

It was a strange booklet.

The covers of the book seemed to be made of glass, the pages as well, seemed to be made of glass.

Your journey continues with empire

The entire book felt weightless, but, when Rein held the floating book, she almost fell down as she had underestimated the weight of the book.

{ “It used to be a treasure cherished for generations among Our kind, however, now that we have perished and the world we used to know is no longer the same, We wish those teachings will be spread to the world through a capable Heirs like You once again.” }

The book was heavy and, from what I can read, the runes of their time inscribed on the book translated to [Scarthika Blatik] or in simpler terms, [Exile’s guide].

He said it was a treasure of their kind, so it must contain some unique knowledge that… might also be useful to me, and perhaps someone else as well.

{ “And to the person who has a mind far surpassing their mortal constitution.” }

Then, as we looked, a unique glass box appeared before me containing a single etherial vial containing what seemed like… blood.

{ “You must not consume this right now.” }

That wasn’t a suggestion or a warning but an order from someone who knew the consequences of what might happen if someone did end up consuming it despite the warning.

{ “Only consume it once you have obtained access to your Legacy… or else, a calamity will befall the entire land around you.” }

He was the most serious he had ever been around us.

{ “We do not know how many of these are still left in this world, however, even in our time, this used to be a treasure passed down only to the Chiefs of the Six great tribes.” }

This… really was not something simple.

{ “It will help you immensely… if you could survive it, that is.” }

He was giving me something extremely important. That much was obvious by now.

[{ *Master!* }]

In fact, this was something so important that there was an entirely different message from my master present for us related to this thing.

‘Haaa…’

First it was that dark world inside my head and now this… thing.

‘This supposedly simple dungeon run sure has been eventful, alright?’

I don’t think this entire vacation could get any more eventful than this.

“Haaa…”