How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 712: Inheritance 5

A realm of utter darkness enveloped her. Not simply dim—it was void of all.

Nothing appeared no matter where her eyes wandered.

No boundaries, no heavens above, no horizon in sight. Only an endless void of black, resembling an incomplete painting that devoured all in its grasp. The atmosphere itself seemed off—chilling, stagnant, pressing heavily upon her flesh.

Celestine couldn’t comprehend it.

All she managed was to keep walking.

Her mother led the way, composed and unwavering, tracing a route invisible to Celestine yet instinctively known to exist.

Thus, she trailed behind, footfall after footfall, her echoes resounding excessively in the profound quiet.

Where... does this place lie?

Only hours earlier, life had flowed in its usual pattern.

The familiar subdued routine, the modest morning meal, the everyday existence repeated countless times.

Then, her mother transformed.

Not abruptly, precisely speaking.

Yet a shift had occurred in her tone.

It carried greater weight now.

Solemn. As if a decision had long been finalized before uttering a word.

She instructed Celestine to accompany her.

And Celestine agreed without question.

That detail struck as odd.

She drew a blank on their journey here.

No portal. No trail. No instant of stepping into this realm.

One moment in their home... the next—

This abyss.

The world appeared to have leaped ahead.

A subtle dread slithered up her back.

No—deeper still.

A profound terror stirred within, alien to her core. It squeezed her heart, acute and agitated, as if an ancestral instinct sought to alert her... or recall a forgotten truth.

Her pace faltered.

"Mother..." her words emerged more hushed than intended. "Where are we heading?"

Her mother pressed on without halting.

"...Celestine, my dear," she replied tenderly, "do you recall the vow I gave you four years back?"

"...A promise?"

Celestine furrowed her brow, straining to seize the memory. A vague spark danced in her mind, only to evade her grasp.

Her mother—Elea—released a soft laugh, peering back with a gentle, somewhat remote smile.

"The reality of you and me," she stated. "I promised to reveal it all one day, right?"

"..."

Celestine remained silent. Words failed her.

"When we arrive at the path’s conclusion," Elea went on, her tone airy, nearly buoyant, "I’ll disclose every secret. And grant you what belongs to you by right... your legacy."

She halted briefly.

"The destiny crafted for your life."

The phrasing rang with warmth.

Yet it echoed... empty.

Celestine couldn’t pinpoint why. Her mother’s manner stayed true—soft, caring—but lacked true emotion. As though the statements were recited without conviction.

Her disquiet intensified.

"...At the end," Celestine ventured cautiously, "will danger await?"

"Of course not," Elea answered promptly.

Celestine wavered, then murmured—

"For you, I mean."

A hush descended.

"...No."

Silence enveloped them once more.

And that response chilled her deeper.

"...Let’s return...!"

Celestine shattered the quiet, her tone sharper than planned.

Elea came to a stop.

For the first instance in this boundless gloom, she truly paused. Gradually, she twisted her gaze back toward her daughter.

"Isn’t this your heart’s desire?" she inquired.

Her voice held perfect composure. Excessively so.

"I don’t need answers yet," Celestine blurted hastily, words tumbling forth. "So let’s head home... I don’t want this. Not today."

Elea observed her intently.

A moment passed in wordless tension.

Then—

"Celestine... we cannot."

Ice coursed through her veins.

"We must turn back," Celestine urged, her chest constricting. "I sense whatever you plan isn’t right, Mom. So please, let’s leave."

Elea remained rooted.

"And the liberty you crave?" she murmured gently.

Celestine shook her head at once. "I don’t crave freedom."

A faint smile curved Elea’s mouth.

"You must be joking," she remarked. "I’m your mother. How could I not know?" Her tone warmed with affection. "Though you never voice it... I’ve always understood your wishes."

Celestine’s fists balled tightly.

"That’s not—"

"It is."

Elea’s declaration rang absolute. No space for debate.

Celestine gulped, mustering her voice anew, softer now.

"If we venture further..." she faltered, fingers quivering faintly, "I fear losing part of myself. I sense it. So let’s retreat. Anica awaits, and Ri—"

She cut off abruptly.

The name lodged in her throat.

"Ri?" Elea echoed.

Celestine stiffened.

Her eyes flared wide, breath snagging as a fragment escaped.

The full name—vanished.

No matter her effort to summon it, emptiness remained.

"...What...?"

Arctic dread seeped in.

She recognized the importance of that name. It belonged to someone vital—but only that shattered fragment lingered in her mind.

Ri.

Nothing more.

Her fingers gradually tightened into fists.

Who have I forgotten?

Even attempting to recall it sent a sharp pain through her chest, as if something precious had been violently extracted without her awareness.

Her breaths came ragged.

Yet Elea remained unmoved.

She offered no questions. No solace.

Her smile persisted.

"Don’t worry, Celestine," she murmured softly. "You won’t lose anything."

Her tone carried warmth.

Comforting.

Still—

"If anything..." she went on, grasping Celestine’s shaking hand in hers, "you’ll gain everything."

The hold was gentle yet unyielding, preventing any escape.

Elea faced ahead once more and resumed her steps.

Celestine trailed after her instinctively—without choice.

Each footfall drew them further into the shadows.

"Just trust your mother," Elea’s voice floated back. "Like you always have."

Celestine stayed silent.

But deep within, a response stirred.

And it wasn’t trust.

.....

As they ventured deeper, the suffocating weight in Celestine’s chest started to loosen.

Briefly, doubt crept in—perhaps she’d misjudged.

This realm might not harbor danger.

Perhaps—

Her pulse surged wildly.

A ferocious beat hammered her ribs, erratic and fierce, as if an inner force had abruptly awakened.

Fear.

No—

Worse than fear.

"...We’re here," Elea announced.

They halted.

Celestine raised her gaze slowly.

And went rigid.

An immense void stretched before them—but now it held a presence.

In the distance, hovering amid nothingness, loomed a gigantic orb.

It emitted a chilly blue radiance, ethereal and icy, resembling solidified mana. Below it rose a colossal ice fortress, sharp and eerie, with spires clawing skyward toward the orb.

Yet the orb...

It remained captive.

Heavy chains of blackened, frozen ice coiled around it, securing it firmly. They extended into the emptiness, as though tethering it to unseen depths.

Breath escaped Celestine.

It seemed—

Recognizable.

In an inexplicable manner.

Her core knew it instinctively.

Then—

A voice.

No.

A shriek.

@!^#!@!!!!

D@#$$%@!!!!

DESTROY THEM ALL!!!

"Kyaah—!"

Celestine gripped her head as agony ripped through her brain. Beyond a mere throb—it was like a force clawing to escape her thoughts.

"M-Mother—!" she choked out, legs nearly giving way. "What is this...? What is that?!"

Elea regarded her.

And for the first time—

Agony flickered in her gaze.

"Your truth... my dear."

Celestine gaped, shuddering. "What...?"

Elea’s features gentled, worsening the dread.

"I knew this would hurt," she murmured. "I wanted to shield you from it... for as long as possible."

Her words trembled.

"But my time is running out."

Gradually, Elea lowered herself before the kneeling Celestine, matching her height. She extended a hand, tenderly sweeping hair from her daughter’s face.

"I’m sorry," she breathed. "For being a selfish mother... for failing you."

Celestine shook her head feebly. "What are you—"

"But don’t worry," Elea pressed on, voice firming. "Like I said... everything will be over soon."

Her palm shifted.

Deliberately.

Toward Celestine’s chest.

"...Once you have everything."

A soft azure glow sparked in her hand.

Celestine’s eyes flew wide. "M-Mom...?"

The instant Elea’s hand made contact—

A change occurred.

Icy power surged through Celestine, as if her essence was being torn asunder. The azure light blazed as Elea’s mana delved within—seizing an invisible core.

And then—

Clank.

Clank.

The noise reverberated across the barren expanse.

From Celestine’s form, shadowy ice chains erupted, shredding the surrounding void. They writhed and lunged ahead, racing toward the distant orb.

Linking.

Connecting.

Binding.

"Don’t worry," Elea soothed, her tone almost lullaby-like. "Mother will take care of everything."

Celestine scarcely registered it.

Sight swam before her.

Her frame grew leaden.

Frail.

Elea bent close, resting her forehead against Celestine’s.

The azure glow between them surged.

And then—

It all rushed in.

Light.

Images.

Shards.

No—

Memories.

They crashed into her consciousness—unfamiliar faces, unknown locales, murmurs of incomprehensible secrets. Static scenes. Moving ones. Vivid lives.

Overpowering.

Excessive.

Relentless.

Celestine’s form stilled.

Her stare unfocused.

As the glow dimmed at last—

She no longer responded.

Merely... present.

Stunned.

Void.

Slowly, Elea withdrew.

She gazed at her for an instant.

"...There," she murmured.

Quietly, she rose.

It was finished.

She had transmitted it—almost entirely.

Her memories.

The secret she had concealed for so long.

All she had longed to share... yet never managed.

Elea’s eyes rested on Celestine’s countenance.

"...I leave the rest to you," she breathed.

As Elea pivoted—

A stir occurred.

From the orb overhead, buried in the twisted cluster of black, frozen chains... a figure started to tear itself loose.

Gradually.

Struggling against its bonds.

The chains creaked, splintering beneath the force as something burst free from the shadows.

Then—

It appeared.

A gigantic form plunged into the vast emptiness below, its shape wavering, changing, incomplete. It lacked a solid physique—only pieces. Black frost stuck to it like spoiled meat, endlessly building and crumbling. Limbs extended overly long, then folded. Its outline warped, unable to form anything complete.

It was unnatural.

Utterly unnatural.

Chill radiated from it in surges, heavy enough to touch, icing the air around.

Perhaps... it formerly held a true shape.

Perhaps the fight that bound it here had ripped it asunder, abandoning this shattered remnant.

Or maybe—

This defined its whole existence.

A hex.

The enduring grudge of something immensely larger.

A piece of the ancient frost monster.

No matter the reality...

It signified nothing now.

Elea had chosen her path.

For her daughter—

She would finish it.

ROOOOOOAAAAAGHHHHH!!!!

The monster unleashed a ear-splitting roar, its cry shredding the barren void. Black ice burst from its core, expanding like a contagion, fracturing the emptiness in sharp bursts.

The air itself congealed.

Then—

It vocalized.

Or attempted.

"[EEEE—KKK...LEAA...AKK...!!!]"

The noise fractured. Warped. As though it had lost recall of speech.

But the meaning—

Was obvious.

It summoned her name.

Elea creased her brow faintly.

"For something so degraded..." she murmured softly, her voice slicing sharply through the turmoil, "you still know how to bark."

Her eyes started to shine.

A frigid, ghostly azure.

Her hazel tresses rose softly, gleaming as ice crystals formed on each filament—its shade gradually changing, draining into a pure, heaven-blue.

Her mana extended outward.

Not feral.

Not frenzied.

Mastered.

Unwavering.

Pristine white ice flowered from her feet, spreading everywhere, devouring the advancing shadows. Everywhere it reached, the dark frost stopped—then crumbled.

Hush trailed after it.

Her staff materialized in her grasp, crafted from packed ice and glow, hardening with a soft, tinkling chime.

She advanced.

One step.

"It’s about time," she declared, her voice firm, "we settle this properly... don’t you think?"

The monster screeched once more, its frame twisting, becoming even more erratic under her aura’s crush.

This entity—

This leftover—

Had endured too long.

Lives taken.

Families ruined.

Myriad souls doomed by its mere presence.

All due to its refusal to perish.

Elea’s hold on her staff firmed.

Her stare sharpened.

"No more."

The air chilled further.

"Right here," she stated.

Ice swirled fiercely about her.

"Right now—"

The glow surrounding her ignited.

"I will end you."

.......

Meanwhile—

In the true world.

Riley remained rooted, his eyes glued to the dim image floating over the dungeon core he held.

The projection shimmered faintly, yet sharp enough.

He witnessed it all.

Celestine.

No—

Snow.

Enduring it.

Feeling it.

Needing the precipice of her so-called "beginning."

Riley scowled.

"...So this is the peak already," he whispered lowly.

This exceeded a simple test.

It formed a snare.

At the start, he refused to consider it. He opted out.

Snow held no weakness. On the contrary, she stood as one of the stubbornest he knew. Iron-willed, bordering on rashness occasionally.

She wouldn’t snap quickly.

...At minimum, that’s what he assured himself.

But now—

Seeing it play out—

He could deny it no longer.

The Frost Queen had schemed this impeccably.

A realm designed to seem authentic.

Memories stacked so thickly they merged self with mirage.

And worst—

Total cutoff from actuality.

No external aid.

No lifeline.

No hint of her actual self.

Even a person like Snow...

Possessed thresholds.

And if she breached that—

She wouldn’t "fail" typically.

She would turn into Celestine.

Fully.

Without reversal.

Riley’s clutch on the dungeon core squeezed tighter.

"...Snow failed."

The phrase escaped softly.

Tone-less.

But as soon as they departed his lips—

Light footsteps sounded behind him.

Riley needed no turn to recognize the presence.

Yet he pressed on regardless.

The Frost Queen remained in place, only a handful of steps distant, her demeanor as serene and aloof as always. As if none of this touched her in the least.

As though it was all foreseen.

One glance at her visage—

Riley comprehended.

"...So that’s it," he murmured, voice hushed. "You never intended to hand down anything, right?"

The Frost Queen inclined her head a touch, a subtle smile curving her lips.

"My... you’ve figured it out?" she whispered gently.

No refutation came.

"But to be precise," she went on, with a hint of whimsy, "I am handing something down, wouldn’t you say?"

Riley exhaled softly from his nostrils.

"...Never pegged you as the joking type."

"Oh?"

Her smile held steady.

If possible—

It grew more pronounced.

That’s when full realization struck.

She wasn’t examining Snow.

She aimed at her.

Her very being.

Her true self.

All that defined her essence.

This whole "trial"—

Served merely to erase it.

To supplant Snow...

With Celestine.

And claim what she was destined to evolve into.

"...You’re attempting to seize her," Riley declared.

Not an inquiry.

A fact.

The Frost Queen offered no words.

Her quietude spoke volumes.

Suddenly—

A change rippled through.

The atmosphere.

The surroundings.

The fabric of existence.

Riley advanced a step—

And his form flickered erratically.

CRACKLE...!

CRACKLE...!

BZZT!!!

In an instant, his frame wavered, warping as if it half-existed in this realm. Shadows danced around him in shattered bits, like glitches ripping throu