Inside, the first thing one felt was a suffocating heat. Even without having broken through the first threshold or possessing any special affinity, the environment quickly became quite unbearable.
I scanned the surroundings: a semi-deserted forest, flanked by mountains visible in the distance that seemed to be burning with fire. Yet, upon closer inspection, one realized they were actually volcanic mountains. Although the place was hostile to any living thing, beasts were abundant—and they bore no resemblance to those outside.
"I suppose that's to be expected," I murmured, fixing my gaze on the beast in front of me.
It was a creature at the Spirit Transformation level, stronger than Sylvia and definitely stronger than everyone who had just entered the legacy. However, in a superior cultivation world, this level was simply the norm for the geniuses of the young generation.
The beast watched me, its muscles covered in blazing flames tensing up. It remained hesitant, claws sunk into the scorched earth, sensing that something about the small figure floating before it was not an easy opponent.
…
On the other hand, those who had entered with the keys all appeared relatively close to one another.
Sounds of collapse echoed; many of them fainted immediately due to the hostile environment. Seraphine could barely stay on her feet, and only because her affinity with fire was relatively decent. Julius looked at her with concern, but there wasn't much he could do either, as he was also resisting with everything he had.
Lucas Wyrne and Cassane Windsteel were the ones holding up the best.
Morgana, sweat beading on her forehead, looked around trying to find Cassian. When she didn't see him, she frowned. However, she didn't have much time to think or try to locate him, because after some of them collapsed, screams began to ring out.
Multiple beasts appeared and started attacking everyone. No one could stand against them.
This was nothing like what they had been told: not even a ninth-circle mage could hold out for long here. The strongest among them quickly understood that they couldn't fight. Treasures no longer mattered. What mattered now was to flee, survive, hide, and pray they wouldn't be found.
And so, the group began to scatter and separate.
They ran, taking refuge wherever they thought they might be safe. Morgana, along with her brother, managed to reach a cave that seemed relatively secure and hid inside.
For the Astafords, things weren't so easy.
Unlike the Valois, Valeria didn't want to abandon those who had come with her—at least not without knowing they would be safe—but there was no time to hesitate. Cassane grabbed her hand urgently and ran away from those who were being massacred.
Leonardo Demor was also inside. Frozen by fear, yet he hadn't become the crown prince for nothing. He managed to distract the beast that had cornered him by sacrificing one of his companions, then ran, hoping his speed would be enough.
But reality was cruel: his companions kept falling behind him. A massive beast with protruding fangs and an amorphous figure had only one goal—to hunt down every new prey that had appeared in its path.
When his sixth-circle aura ran out, he could no longer keep up the pace. Leonardo found himself alone, facing the hungry gaze of his pursuer. Yet what he thought would happen didn't. The beast in front of him suddenly vanished, leaving him confused. For a second, he thought it had all been an illusion, but the exhaustion was very real. After hours of desperate flight in such an environment, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Cassian watched the scene with cold indifference. He cast a concealment spell over the prince and paid him no further attention. Instead, he turned his gaze elsewhere, toward where he could sense familiar presences growing weaker by the moment.
"Really… I don't know why they leave this kind of inheritance without considering where they leave it," he muttered with annoyance. "Did they expect to find an heir in this world? They'd be lucky if even one of them survives."
…
It's unknown whether it was by chance or by design, but Cassane and Valeria ended up following the same path as Morgana and Victorio, arriving at the same "safe haven" they had found.
The moment they stepped inside the cave, the tension was immediate. Morgana, leaning against the stone wall while trying to catch her breath, lifted her gaze and let out a dry, humorless laugh.
The atmosphere inside the cave was suffocating, filled with a silence broken only by the ragged breathing of the four young people. No one was in the right state of mind to speak a word. The arrogance and rivalry they displayed at the academy had completely vanished, replaced by raw survival instinct.
They all tried to minimize their presence as much as possible, holding their breath and pressing themselves against the rock walls. Their only hope was that what they had been told was true: that after a few days, the inheritance would automatically expel them. However, after seeing that nothing in this place matched the previous stories, that hope felt as fragile as glass.
Morgana clenched her fists, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. Amid the terror, one question kept hammering in her mind: Where is Cassian?
Meanwhile, others were not so lucky in their escape.
Seraphine was on the verge of collapse. She tried to keep up with her brother and the prince, but the truth was she couldn't. She clenched her hands, angry at her own weakness.
Julius noticed Seraphine falling further and further behind, so he slowed his pace. She seemed to notice and looked at him with concern. 'I shouldn't have come,' she thought. She also remembered Cassian, praying he was safe. Even though she had been acting recklessly lately, it hurt her to think that the last impression he would have of her would end like this…
"Ahh!" A scream of pain tore through the air.
A beast appeared from the side and attacked Julius. He dodged as best he could, but Lucas Wyrne, seeing this, didn't even try to help. He simply kept running, abandoning the two siblings to save himself.
The beast that had attacked them seemed the most dangerous so far. Its aura emitted ancient vibes, and its red eyes shone like two bewitching rubies. Seraphine watched in horror as Julius was gravely wounded, unable to resist the enormous mouth of the creature approaching him.
With no time to hesitate, she ran straight toward him with the little strength she had left, managing to pull him out of the way—at the cost of placing herself directly in front of the beast's mouth, ready to be devoured.
Seraphine's figure vanished from the spot in a violent blur, swallowed by the darkness of the creature's throat. Only the sound of the beast swallowing its meal remained in the air—a dry, macabre echo that resonated through the silence of the volcanic forest.
Julius, wounded on the ground, watched his sister disappear before his eyes. His scream remained trapped in his throat, choked by shock.