She is the legacy

The Queen

Eve took a deep breath and kicked Lena off the bed with force.

Reacting swiftly, she flicked on the light, crouching by the bed like a startled rabbit, her eyes nervously fixed on Lena, who had just been kicked off. Then, she saw a face filled with confusion staring back at her.

"Eve?" Lena blinked, her expression puzzled, as if wondering why she was seeing Eve. She no longer had that gaping mouth and eerie black eyes, but the horrifying image of her face still lingered in Eve's mind.

As Eve wiped her face with one hand, she asked, "Lena, how did you suddenly end up in my room?" Halfway through wiping, Eve realized there was nothing on her face. But that disgusting liquid had definitely dripped onto her face just now. Her senses couldn't have been wrong.

Listening to her, Lena's expression became even more bewildered. "I-I don't know. I was sleeping," she said.

"You were also choking me," Eve replied.

"That's impossible," Lena immediately insisted, her tone earnest, her gaze sincere. "I would never hurt you, Eve, even if—"

Eve tilted her head, looking at her with suspicion. Lena felt embarrassed and closed her mouth, shaking her head vigorously, refusing to say anything more.

Eve stared at her for a while, sensing that Lena's confusion seemed genuine. Unable to make sense of it herself, she temporarily chalked it up to Lena sleepwalking, wandering here unknowingly.

As for the horrifying face she saw, perhaps the dim lighting had played tricks on her eyes?

However, two days later, Eve discovered Lena had gone missing.

"Lena?" Faced with Eve's inquiry, the priest, who was close to Lena, blushed and thought carefully for a moment before uncertainly saying, "I heard Lena mention that her mother has been seriously ill recently. She probably took leave to go home."

Lena's father passed away early, and their family was not well-off. She was raised by her single mother. Lena's mother was a diligent and loyal believer, proud of Lena since she became a priestess.

There weren't many friends close to Lena. Eve asked around, and everyone's responses were similar, but no one could say when Lena left the temple. It was as if one night, Lena left quietly on her own, but all her belongings were neatly left behind in her room.

Eve grew suspicious. She retrieved Lena's personal file from the records room and, the next day, found Lena's home. To her surprise, there was no one at Lena's house. The neighbors told her that the female head of the household had passed away six months ago, and the house had been vacant for a long time. If Lena didn't go home, where could she have gone? With questions swirling in her mind, Eve returned to the temple. She had intended to find Lena's close friends and inquire further about her, but she never expected the completely unexpected response she received.

"Lena?" The priest, who had spoken with Eve just yesterday, looked slightly puzzled. Her face showed a hint of embarrassment, as if regretting her inability to help. "Sorry, could you please repeat who Lena is?"

"Are you serious?" Eve widened her eyes, trying hard not to appear strange. "I asked you about Lena's whereabouts just yesterday."

The other person's expression became even more confused. "I'm sorry, I don't recall that at all, and I'm not familiar with the Lena you mentioned. Perhaps you should ask someone else."

However, everyone else claimed they had never heard of a person named Lena, let alone knew who she was. Now, Lena not only disappeared but seemed to have vanished from everyone's memory completely.

Only Eve remembered her, recalling the gentle and reserved priestess who seemed to have a secret affection for Xavier.

Lena disappeared. Her room and belongings were taken over by someone else, and there were no personal records of Lena in the records room. However, just the day before, Eve had found Lena's records there.

Was it Lena who had a problem, or was it me? Or was there something wrong with everyone and everything? But soon, Eve noticed that more and more people inexplicably disappeared from the temple. After their disappearance, everyone except Eve completely forgot about them, and their missing parts were replaced by someone else.

On the 18th night, illuminated by the dim lamp light, Eve wrote down this number in her notebook, indicating that 18 people had disappeared from the temple so far. Above this number, there was a series of names that Eve had crossed out, all starting from that night. Eve stared blankly at the oil lamp beside her, and for no apparent reason, she thought of that night.

On that night, Lena sleepwalked into her room, as if possessed by something, trying to strangle her. After that, Lena disappeared, and many others disappeared too. Since that night, Eve had never woken up at night again.

Though she didn't have a habit of waking up during the night, this was just too strange. It felt as if she had been deliberately drugged. With that thought in mind, Eve opened a drawer and retrieved the hidden lens crystal. She placed it in a discreet spot near her bed and drifted off to sleep with immense questioning and unease. The next day, Eve was startled by the images recorded in the lens crystal.

The projection on the crystal showed late at night, five or six people opening her door and entering one after another. Eve recognized their faces; they were all priests of the temple. However, their expressions were extremely eerie. Just like Lena that night, their eyes had no pupils or whites; they were just empty black voids. Their mouths were wide open, as if calling out for something.

Since the lens crystal could only display images and not record sound, Eve had no idea what they were saying.

Suddenly, they all simultaneously looked up, their gazes directed towards the direction of the lens crystal. From Eve's perspective, it was as if those pairs of black-hole-like eyes were staring directly at her.

Eve: ...

This is bad. Help!

Eve clutched the lens crystal tightly and hurried towards the council chamber of the temple, seeking help from the High Priest. However, the High Priest's behavior was even more peculiar; she even crushed the lens crystal that Eve handed to her.

"Don't be afraid, Eve." The High Priest gazed at her with her eyes, which appeared slightly cloudy due to age. A strange smile appeared on her usually solemn face, as if she were trying to force a smile with stiff facial muscles. Her pronunciation was also very odd, completely different from the standard pronunciation of the common language she usually used. It was lower and more indistinct. The High Priest reassured Eve that everything would be alright.

Eve smiled brightly on the surface, but inwardly, she was thinking, who would believe such nonsense?

Eve could only write letters to Xavier and the Archbishop of the Imperial Capital separately, detailing the temple's situation and sending them via the specialized paper birds for communication. According to the timeline, Xavier was still on his way to the Imperial Capital, so maybe upon receiving her letter, he would immediately turn back. Then there would be nothing to worry about, because Xavier was a formidable fighter.

Next, she would go to the library and search through the archives for any clues about the recent strange occurrences at the temple. Eve spent several days in the library, tirelessly searching for any leads. Finally, she found relevant information in a work by a great mage—demons.

Demons were magical creatures; their language naturally resonated with the elements. Every word they spoke possessed immense and unparalleled magical power.

Humans couldn't hear their voices or see their words; otherwise, they would be drawn into an uncontrollable vortex, unable to resist their influence. Although demons couldn't cross the barriers set by the New Gods, powerful demons could manifest themselves through consciousness projection, seducing gullible humans and abducting them.

Despite practicing magic for so long, Eve had encountered elves, dragons, giants, and goblins, but she had never encountered demons.

Demons were the collective term for all abyssal creatures of endless filth, originating from the Old Realms isolated from all time and space, and were the kin of the Old Gods. Thousands of years ago, the Old Gods were overthrown by the New Gods and banished to the Old Realms.

In the current continent, the belief system follows the New Gods. Simply put, the Old Realms are a vast prison established by the New Gods, where all creatures resisting the New Gods are banished. All beings in the Old Realms are collectively referred to as demons, and the Old Gods, who were also banished to the Old Realms, are worshiped there. For thousands of years, only one great mage successfully entered the Old Prison and returned, documenting her firsthand experiences in a series of works as reference material for studying demons. However, most people regard her books as fantastical fiction, especially considering her experiences, such as "as a weak mage, I was relentlessly pursued by handsome demons, what should I do?" — it's just too far-fetched.

Moreover, no one has ever seen demons with their own eyes. Demons are merely mythical creatures that have never appeared, existing only in religious myths and long-standing legends. Of course, some people firmly believe in the existence of demons. If something like mass disappearances occurs, most would blame demons for it.

Eve kept her mind focused as she read through the accounts about demons. At the same time, a hint of curiosity arose in her mind: How do demons abduct humans?

Soon enough, Eve found the answer.

"Oh, Lord of all living beings, Father of all things. Protector of humanity, embodiment of kindness, generosity, mercy, fairness, and justice. We follow your will as we honor your virtues, praising your love for generations to come.

“…&%€…@)=‚äääoi！…“

Inside the cathedral, as the prayers began, a series of peculiar sounds escaped from the lips of the High Priest, sometimes sharp, sometimes deep—sounds that definitely couldn't be produced by a human.

Eve saw her Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and two tumor-like bulges on either side of her neck pulsating wildly. Eve, closest to her, was the first to be affected. Her brain buzzed instantly, and her consciousness blurred.

All she could see were the splendid and colorful lights refracted from stained glass windows, standing on the ground as if on a constantly flowing tide. Her legs went weak, her body powerless, as if she wanted the tide beneath her feet to carry her away, but someone helped her—a pair of hands reaching out to her. They gripped her shoulders, held her arms, entwined around her legs.

Eve felt dizzy and disoriented, as if a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand tiny shooting stars streaked across her field of vision, carrying with them an ominous yet dazzling array of colors. Her soul spun and detached from her, ascending towards the ceiling

above her head. As she spun, she witnessed the c*****e unfolding in the cathedral-devotees who had come to pray, driven to frenzy by the sound, attacking each other, tearing at each other until they transformed from living beings into lifeless corpses.

She felt no fear at all; in fact, she even experienced a kind of fuzzy joy. Ah, it's almost time.

She was lifted up by countless hands and placed on a small mound formed by the pile of

bodies, surrounded by 27 hearts and other organs arranged in a circle. If Eve still had

consciousness, she would know that these belonged to the

disappeared individuals.

But at this moment, Eve gazed hazily at the ceiling of the cathedral, where the angels of God were depicted, beckoning to her and her soul.

Unable to describe, unable to hear clearly, the sound continued. Beneath the pile of corpses, a black swamp appeared, slowly engulfing the bodies and Eve lying atop them, dragging them down incessantly.

In the final moment before being swallowed by the black vortex, Eve reached out her hand,

vaguely trying to grasp the angels with white wings.

Finally, Eve woke up from her stupor. She abruptly opened her eyes, sat up, and gasped for

breath, panting heavily. When she finally realized it, she was no longer in the cathedral's

sanctuary. Instead, she found herself in an empty, palace-like hall.

She involuntarily surveyed her surroundings. The palace wasn't originally black; it was submerged in a dark, bloody paint, like a sea engulfing the inner walls of the palace. Each wave seemed to be directed at her body, as if she were the only speck of light in this dark tide.

Someone stood beside her, though calling them a person was not entirely accurate. Despite the figure's slender body concealed within a long black robe, and their face covered by a hood, a goat-like horn protruded from outside the hood, adorned with a silver ring.

The figure reached out a hand, seemingly trying to help her up from the ground. The entire palm and five fingers were slender and elongated, with black nails resembling claws more than fingers.

The hooded figure's skin was pale white, like inorganic lime. Each finger had a black line on the back, with the black lines intertwining on the hand, forming a pattern resembling an eye before continuing upwards, disappearing under the robe covering the arm.

Seeing Eve's delayed response, the figure spoke in the strange pronunciation of the common language of the continent: "Are you scared, Your Majesty?"

Just moments ago, Eve had been feeling anxious, but now she couldn't help but find the figure's pronunciation amusing. "Thank you, I'm much better now," she replied.

The hooded woman clicked her tongue.

"But where are we? And why are you calling me 'Your Majesty'?" Eve asked, raising her hands cautiously, carefully avoiding the woman's black claw-like nails. As their hands gently touched, Eve felt as though she were gripping a layer of hard white steel—icy and rigid. "And who are you?"

Eve held her hand, her eyes sparkling like glass, trying to peer through the hooded woman's face.

Curiously, she asked, "If you call me 'Your Majesty,' then who is my king?"