Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1874 A Guest Within My Heart

The interior was shrouded in darkness.

Only a thin line of crimson spilled through the narrow fissure high in one corner, casting an eerie glow across the chamber.

It appeared to be a spacious hall.

Broken stone littered the floor, mingled with the decaying remains of wooden tables, shattered chairs, and other long-forgotten furniture.

Time had reduced it to little more than debris, yet it was obvious that people had once lived here.

Silence reigned within.

It was suffocating and deafening.

And in that silence, a lone figure slept on the shattered ground.

A beautiful young woman with auburn hair lay sprawled among the broken stones.

Parts of her leather breeches had been torn apart by jagged rocks. Her hands were covered in long, bloody scratches, likely from a hard fall. Her hair was disheveled, and a small bruise stained the corner of her forehead.

Despite her injuries, she slept peacefully.

The distant clash of steel and the ghostly cries drifted through the same narrow fissure that admitted the crimson moonlight.

Yet she remained undisturbed, as though the horrors beyond the walls could never reach her.

Genevieveʼs eyelids twitched slightly. She exhaled softly, whipping up dust near her face. The distant sound of carnage reached her ears at last. Then a pang of pain shot from her forehead, making her grimace.

Her eyes opened slowly, her mind still groggy as though recovering from a long bout of deep sleep. She would have taken her time waking up and stretching lazily had it not been for the hard, uncomfortable, shattered ground beneath her, and the ominous screams coming from outside.

Fear flooded her veins and she sat up straight, head pointed toward the narrow fissure in the ceiling.

The crimson light, the eerie sound of ghosts, and the clash of metal made Genevieveʼs heart beat faster. For a moment, she forgot about the injury to her head and the place all around her.

She simply remained silent. Her breathing turned subconsciously low, as though she was afraid she might attract whatever it was out there screaming… fighting…

Countless dark silhouettes moved beyond the narrow fissure, their long, ominous shadows being cast into this forgotten hall below.

However, no one stepped through the fissure.

Seconds bled into minutes. At last, Genevieve let out a shaky breath. Her eyes trembled as she finally averted her gaze from the ceiling above to her immediate surroundings.

Ignoring the sharp pain in her head, she quietly rose to her feet and scanned the hall. It didnʼt take long for her to piece together what this place had once been.

Someone had lived here.

The shattered furniture, crumbling stonework, an unassuming talisman hanging from the wall, and scattered remains of everyday life all pointed to that conclusion. Judging by their condition, however, this dwelling had been abandoned for a long time.

To her left, a doorway had collapsed beneath a mound of stone and rubble, making passage impossible. To her right, a broken wooden door hung crooked on its hinges, opening into a room swallowed by darkness.

Genevieveʼs heart skipped a beat as she looked into that darkness.

This was not what she had imagined when she dreamed of her first true adventure beyond the walls of Davos.

The mist had swallowed them and cast them into this dreadful place. She was separated from the rest of her team, and she knew not whether they were alive or dead.

The crimson light and the distant sound of slaughter relentlessly drilled into her resolve, making her regret ever accepting this mission.

As dread continued to consume her, her thoughts grew sluggish, and her body refused to move.

Then she remembered.

The invocation her grandfather taught her when she was a child. Or perhaps… those words might have very well come from her late mother.

Genevive clenched her fists and took a slow, deep breath.

I acknowledge my fear.

I give it no command over me.

It is a guest within my heart.

Not the master of my will.

Again.

And again.

She continued to recite the invocation in her mind over and over again.

The terror and anxiety in her trembling eyes slowly gave way to calm resolve. Her breathing eventually steadied. The trembling in her body also ceased.

And when it was all over, there was still fear in her light blue eyes.

But it no longer held power over her.

It was a guest within her heart, not the master of her will.

Genevieveʼs blue eyes regained their clarity, and she scanned her surroundings once more. This time, she carefully examined every detail, searching for anything that might reveal where she was. Or how to escape.

Then, a deep shadow swept across the crimson-lit floor.

A moment later, heavy, shuffling footsteps echoed through the silence. They were accompanied by the unmistakable sound of something being dragged across the ground.

Genevieve immediately knew the sound hadnʼt come from this forgotten structure that she found herself in.

No.

It had come from above.

She quickly tapped the bracelet around her right wrist and infused it with mana. A faint blue barrier covered her body first. Following that, her figure vanished from sight.

A few moments later, a figure slid through the fissure in the ceiling and crashed heavily onto the stone floor.

In a concealed state, Genevieve silently retreated toward the wall. From over a dozen meters away, she carefully observed the newcomer.

The eerie light of the crimson moon spilled through the fissure, illuminating this newcomerʼs visage.

The moment she saw it, an involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

Rotting flesh. Sunken cheeks. Clouded, glassy eyes. And the unmistakable stench of decay.

A zombie!

Its body jerked violently as it pushed itself upright, its joints bending at unnatural angles. Its neck twisted with a sickening crack as it slowly scanned the hall.

Left. Right. Down. Up.

The creature looked at the fissure deeply, seemingly checking if more of its kind would follow behind him.

Every twitch of the creature sent a fresh wave of unease through Genevieve. She forced herself to remain calm.

I acknowledge my fear…

She steadied her breathing and silently prepared to eliminate the monster before it could react.

Then, suddenly, the zombie stopped.

Its head slowly turned… toward her.

Impossible! Genevieveʼs blood ran cold.

She was invisible. Her presence was concealed. And yet, the zombie somehow stared straight at her.

Its rotten lips slowly parted.

Then, in a dry, raspy voice, it spoke:

”Found you.”