Heaven, Earth, Me

Andrea's confidence took the Sun God by surprise. He just said that everyone in the group would need to be selfless and allow her to gain all the rewards. Then, instead of seeing hesitation that they would become greedy like it usually happened, the woman immediately agreed to his words. He could clearly feel that Andrea was extremely sure that no one here would covet her treasures. 'This group is very… Unique. They might be of help.'

He decided to test Andrea's conviction. "You are not fearful."

It was not a question but a statement, confusing Andrea. She answered, thinking that this might be part of a test. "I am indeed not fearful. Why would I be?"

The Sun God smiled, his straight eyebrows and facial features creating a handsome expression. "Why wouldn't you? My treasures are not everyday treasures. I have cultivation methods and an incredibly rare treasure to enhance Natural Treasures. Do you not think that these will be coveted by your peers?"

Andrea blinked twice. "Coveted…?" Looking at the girls, she asked back, her tone clearly flabbergasted. "You think that they will steal my treasures?"

The Sun God nodded, his tone full of conviction. "Of course. These are treasures that can change the fate of a person." 

Andrea answered flatly. "More than steal them… I am afraid that if I dare reject one of them, I'll be beaten up until I accept it with a smile."

Yasenia smiled widely, but her eyes were clearly not smiling at all. "Oh~? Were you thinking of avoiding the treasures?"

Andrea felt a terrible chill climb up her spine, even when the word "cold" could never be linked down with the location they were currently at. She stuttered and placed her hands forward. "W-Wait, love. I have never said that! I was telling the Sun God!"

He then felt a pair of golden slit eyes landing on his body, and looking at the source, she saw Yasenia smiling. "The treasures are for her and only for her, right?"

The Sun God blinked and nodded. "That's the plan, yes. You and the rest will receive nothing." 

"That's great to hear. Why were you scaring me?" Yasenia sighed in relief, making the Sun God's lips twitch. 

'A bunch of weird people… Anyway, I should start.'

The Sun God recovered his initial kingly tone and explained. "There are three trials that your group will need to cross through. The first trial is to unravel the formation that is sourcing this area of the Magma Caves with energy from the core of the World. When you do so, be careful and return to this room, as everything outside will become quite dangerous. Dying to that would be a shame."

Yasenia hummed in her mind. 'So, the first trial is basically the same one as the one in the Lost Moon Palace… Do they lack imagination, or is it because they are lovers that they want to do the same first trial? Or… Is he trying to escape like the Moon Goddess?'

The Sun God commented. "The Second Trial is to pacify the guardian preventing the [Dawn Of Nova Sol]. The method is up to you, but I recommend not fighting it, as it is a Sixth Realm beast." 

The dragoness's eyebrow twitched. '... It's the same… The names are almost identical as well…' 

Even the girls were catching the clues that it was the same thing. Andrea sighed in her mind. 'I really hope that the third one is not something about cutting his chains restraining him to this place or something…'

The Sun God spoke once more, his tone solemn. "The last trial is just for you, Andrea."

Andrea's heart skipped a beat. She asked, her face full of determination. "What is it?"

The Sun God spoke with a slightly softer tone but without losing the formal attitude. "You need to dominate the [Nova Sol Dragon] and make it submit to your will. If you can do that, you'll be able to bond with it and become what this inheritance is aimed to."

"No!"

The refusal didn't come from Andrea but from Yasenia and Ebirah. Ebirah stuttered, pointing at the Sun God with her cheeks puffed in anger and her gorgeous crystal-like pink lobster tail smacking the ground. "Y-You! How dare you! I am Andrea's contracted beast! Not that ugly and stupid Nova whatever! Me! Do you hear!? This lobster princess is Andrea's contracted beast!"

Yasenia snorted, her tail similarly slapping the ground in anger. "Besides that, I am the only dragon Andrea can dominate and ride! How can I let another dragon know the joy of being ridden by Andrea!? Do you want to cuck me!?"

The Sun God's eyebrow twitched a few times, and he looked at Andrea for help. Andrea looked at the ceiling and muttered. "Such pretty chandeliers… They are so well made." 

"..." 

Rubbing his forehead, he looked at Yasenia and Ebirah and explained. "The inheritance that this location gives is related to dragons and I, the Sun God." He raised his right hand and lifted one finger. "The objective of the first trial is to test your group synergy and also your knowledge of one of, if not the most important art, in my opinion. Formations."

He raised his second finger, and he spoke again. "The second one is a test of both strength and wit. Without both, you won't be able to coax that beast." Finally, he raised the third finger. "The third part of the trial is the most important. Hence, the trial is reserved for her to do alone. She must make a powerful dragon with the Sun attribute submit to her will to pass it." 

Yasenia puffed her large chest arrogantly, making it jiggle enough that the motion was visible even with her current clothes. "She has made me submit several times! That should count!"

The Sun God blinked and asked, raising his eyebrow with a teasing smile. "Are you a dragon with a high-level Ancient Beast Bloodline Rank and with the Sun attribute? I don't think so, right?"

The dragoness's eyebrows raised. "Indeed, I don't have a high-level Ancient Beast Bloodline Rank." 

"Then, that settles it." The Sun God shrugged.

Yasenia smirked. "You didn't let me finish, Sun God."

"Hm?" The man looked at the dragoness, confused. 

Yasenia said with a wide smile. "I am a Dragon with a PEAK-level Ancient Beast Bloodline Rank! Ha!"

Such an answer came as a surprise for the Sun God. Creatures of that level of bloodline should be impossible to find in the lower realms, where he placed this particular inheritance. "... Lies."

"[Cosmos Dragon Imperial Suppression]."

BOOM!

Yasenia's aura swelled and then exploded outward, swallowing the entirety of the place in her profound presence. Her bloodline pressure made the beasts in the group feel an invisible weight pressing on their shoulders. 

Meanwhile, the Sun God's eyes widened for the first time. "You…" He frowned deeply for a few moments, and he asked. "Are you my descendent?"

The dragoness blinked twice, dispelling her aura. "Me? No. I am not."

The Sun God looked at Yasenia closely for a few moments, but he eventually stopped the analytical gazing. Instead, he spoke aloud. "It doesn't matter. My original self created the trials, as I am nothing but a mere Soul Strand following orders. Andrea needs to do that. If you want to kill the beast after Andrea contracts it, that's up to you."

Yasenia grabbed her chest. "Gah! I am unable to refute that!" Ebirah despaired when she heard Yasenia's words, and both fell to their hands and knees, lamenting. 

Andrea approached both of them and crouched down, patting their heads. "There, there. You both know that I won't betray you."

Yasenia looked up, her eyes teary. "Darling! Since you are going to do it either way… if you dare be defeated… I'll… I'll…" Yasenia blinked and stated powerfully. "I'll cry!"

The image of Yasenia crying flashed in her mind, and Andrea felt her heart squeeze. Her face turned extremely serious, and she looked directly into Yasenia's eyes. "I swear that I won't lose."

Yasenia felt her heart skip a beat when that pair of light green eyes looked at her intensely. 'I want to mate with her…NOT! Ah! My horny brain is going astray again!' Yasenia stood up and turned around, her cheeks blushing slightly. "Ahem. That's good to hear. Yes, yes. You'll also need to pamper me lots and lots after!"

Her adorable reaction made everyone feel their hearts skip a beat. 

Meanwhile, Andrea looked sideways and saw Ebirah looking at her while poking her fingers together. Her adorable face was full of sorrow, as if she were a puppy about to be abandoned. 

Andrea smiled softly and leaned down, kissing her forehead. "Ebirah, you will always be my most precious companion." Andrea smiled widely, making Ebirah blink cutely. "Always, okay?"

Ebirah's cheek blushed a bit, and she looked down, kicking the floor with her heel. "O-Okay…" 

Evelyn looked at the exchange and sighed in awe. "Masterful. Two sentences, and she has made the two women's stomachs flutter with butterflies." 

The Sun God looked at them for a few more moments, and eventually, he asked aloud, interrupting the atmosphere with his solemn and deep tone. "What's your decision, Andrea?"

Andrea looked back and nodded firmly, her deep and attractive female voice mimicking his tone. "I accept."

The Sun God smiled. "That's great. Now, go." He waved his hand, and everyone in the room was pushed back and out of the throne room. 

Once outside, a terrifyingly strong heat wave surrounded her, making everyone instantly frown except one person. That last person didn't frown; he screamed. "AHH! IT BURNS! IT BURNS!"

Looking over, everyone remembered that there was one additional person with them: Fulo. 

Cecile waved her hand, creating a cold aura around him that lowered the temperature enough for him to no longer feel as if he was being cooked alive. 

Even then, his reaction was slightly surprising. Yasenia asked him, curious. "You can't bear the heat of this place? How so? Your constitution should make you extremely resistant to heat, right?"

Fulo shook his head. "N-Not this level of heat! Compared to this place, the temperature in my village would be considered cold!" 

Andrea remembered the Sun God's words, and the frown between her eyebrows deepened. "The place we need to go is… down. Closer to the center of the world. Temperatures will increase exponentially when we approach as well… Fulo is in grave danger." 

Yasenia sighed and looked at Kali. "Honey, anything good for him? We really need something to protect him."

Kali closed her eyes as she roamed the large mountains of medicine in her spatial ring. Eventually, she found something. Then, she turned her hand, making a pill jar appear on her hand. "This is a powerful pill, but… Love, it is a quasi-transcendent pill I made out of pure luck."

Yasenia looked at the jar and felt her heart bleed slightly. However, killing the boy without reason at all was just too cruel. She sighed and looked at the scared boy for a few moments. Then, she nodded. "Use it. While being ruthless is not something we should be afraid of, we also shouldn't lose our compassion entirely."

Kali nodded and flicked her wrist, shooting the pill straight into Fulo's mouth. The effects were immediate, making him feel absolutely nothing about the temperatures around him. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

With that problem solved, they started their descent into the heart of the world.