The door closed behind us.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Sealing us inside.
Darkness pressed in for only a moment before emerald flames ignited along the walls, casting the chamber in an eerie green glow.
Ancient.
Watching.
"This place…" Abraxas Malfoy muttered under his breath, his voice quieter than before.
"…it's wrong."
"No," I replied calmly, stepping forward without hesitation.
"It's pure."
The chamber stretched far deeper than I expected—not a single room, but a sprawling underground complex of corridors, chambers, and winding passages.
A labyrinth.
But not one designed to confuse.
One designed to judge.
My footsteps echoed softly as I walked ahead, my wand raised just slightly—not out of caution…
But readiness.
"I can feel it," I murmured.
Magic.
Dense. Coiled. Ancient.
This wasn't ordinary enchantment.
This was founder-level magic.
A test not of students…
But of heirs.
"I assume you know where you're going," Abraxas said, regaining some of his composure as he followed.
"I do."
And I did.
Fragments of knowledge—borrowed from another life—aligned perfectly with instinct.
With blood.
The first chamber revealed itself soon after.
A circular room carved entirely of dark stone, its walls etched with serpentine patterns that seemed to move if stared at too long.
At its center—
A pedestal.
On it rested a small, ornate object.
A wand.
Abraxas frowned. "That seems… too easy."
"It isn't."
I stepped forward.
The moment I crossed the threshold—
The room shifted.
Magic surged violently, pressing down on me like an invisible weight.
Testing.
My lips curved slightly.
"Pathetic."
I didn't resist it.
I overwhelmed it.
My magic pushed outward—controlled, refined, dense beyond what should have been possible for a sixteen-year-old.
The pressure shattered instantly.
The room stilled.
Judgment passed.
I picked up the wand.
It pulsed faintly before going still in my hand.
Accepting.
"…Right," Abraxas muttered. "Of course it was that simple for you."
I said nothing.
Because this was only the beginning.
The deeper we went, the more the trials changed.
No longer brute force.
Now—
Precision.
A corridor filled with shifting illusions attempted to distort reality itself.
Walls bending.
Paths twisting.
Whispers creeping into the edges of the mind.
"Turn back…"
"You are not worthy…"
"You are alone…"
Abraxas hesitated slightly.
I didn't.
"Silence."
The word carried weight—not just sound, but intent.
My magic surged outward, cutting through the illusions like a blade.
They shattered instantly.
Because I understood something they did not.
"I am not being tested…"
I thought quietly.
"I am being measured."
And I had already surpassed the standard.
The final chamber loomed ahead.
Larger than the rest.
Darker.
Heavier.
At its center stood a towering statue.
A man.
Cold. Proud. Eternal.
Salazar Slytherin.
His stone eyes seemed to follow me as I entered.
Judging.
Weighing.
Then—
They glowed.
A voice echoed through the chamber.
Low.
Hissing.
Ancient.
"Heir…"
I stepped forward without hesitation.
"I am."
Silence.
Then—
"Power… I sense."
"Of course you do."
Abraxas shifted slightly behind me, clearly unsettled.
"Ambition…"
"Yes."
A pause.
"Control…"
I didn't answer immediately.
Then—
"I do not lose it."
The chamber went still.
For a moment—
Everything held its breath.
Then—
The statue moved.
Not physically.
But magically.
A pulse of power spread through the room, scanning, analyzing, judging every aspect of my being.
My magic.
My soul.
My intent.
And then—
"…Accepted."
The word echoed like a verdict.
The statue's chest split open slowly, revealing a hidden chamber within.
Inside—
Knowledge.
Scrolls.
Artifacts.
Magic long forgotten.
A faint smile formed on my lips.
"Legacy."
Not stolen.
Not discovered.
Inherited.
I stepped forward, claiming what was rightfully mine.
Behind me, Abraxas exhaled slowly.
"…You really are something else, Riddle."
I didn't look back.
"Remember that."
Because this—
This was only the beginning.
I wasn't just surpassing my past self.
I was surpassing history itself.
And now—
I had the tools to prove it.