As the current carried Audric's body downstream, he found himself amidst a very strange dream.
He was in an orrery, a very large and fancy one, that modeled the entire known universe. Everything from the Original Center to the beginning of the Outer Rim was portrayed before him. The walls were lined with shelves, filled to the brim with an uncountable number of books.
Most importantly, in an alcove in the back of the room, was a man, meditating on a mat.
The most notable feature about him was his handsomeness. He wasn't QUITE as handsome as Audric, but still more handsome than the vast majority of men.
He appeared to be completely stationary, but as soon as Audric approached him, he opened his eyes.
They were identical to Audric's own. A startling realization came over him.
"Dad?"
The man was silent, but moved to approach him. Before he knew it, the man had wrapped him in a bear hug.
"Welcome home, son. I know you have a lot of questions, but we don't have a lot of time. Allow me to explain this place."
Audric quickly nodded, still slightly stunned at the prospect of meeting his father here.
"This place is a metaphysical rendition created by the Indrus Eye's genetic memory. Each time a new member of the Indrus bloodline awakens the Eye, this dimension evolves and adds a new room, styled to the awakener's personality. This room is mine."
"Do I have a room?"
"I'm not sure. Where are you right now in the overworld? Are you still in the Unkeon System?"
"I don't think so. When Uncle Taz and Aunt Gina took me to get awakened, some sort of mishap occurred and I got separated from them. I have no idea where I am now, but I know that whatever planet I'm on limits my eyes to grayscale. I can't see any ambient mana at all."
Audric's father paused at this revelation.
"No ambient mana at all?"
"Not that I've seen, no."
A frown marred Audric's father's face.
"This is a rather concerning development. If there is no ambient mana, and you were separated from the others upon entry, then there is only one viable scenario: you didn't enter a Realm, you entered an Inheritance Domain. This is the first time I'm hearing of one with no ambient mana, but all you have to do to return is complete the trial. As for what the trial is and the best way to complete it, you will have to find out yourself."
"Yes!"
"Unfortunately, we are quickly running out of time. I will run out of energy to support this domain in less than two minutes, so properly heed my next words."
"I will!"
"Good. I have preserved this room for your use, so you should be able to access it whenever you go to sleep. Unfortunately, to host both of our minds in this room simultaneously drains much of my energy, so we will only be able to meet once every half-month."
He pulled out a small bell.
"If you ring this, I will hear it and enter the domain as soon as possible. In the meantime, while I recover, I will call in some favors and look for any and all information related to Inheritance Domains so that you might get a clearer perspective of your situation."
He hugged Audric once more.
"I'm proud of you, son. I am eager for the day I get to see you with my own eyes. Good luck."
~A MOMENT LATER~
Audric awoke from this dream with a smile on his face. However, he quickly realized that he was still in the eye dimension. Next time he saw his father, he'd be sure to ask what it was called, as 'Eye Dimension' wasn't a very good name.
He took a brief look around before noticing a very conspicuous envelope placed on a nearby desk. It was addressed to himself.
'Audric,
I left this note here in case I didn't get to tell you everything. This orrery, my room in the Indrus Plaza, contains all of the knowledge I have amassed over my life. It is tradition in the Indrus Clan that each successor of the Indrus Eye be taught by the previous successor, in order to pass down as much knowledge as possible.
This library contains everything that our ancestors (and myself) have learned over the course of their lives. The Galactic Orrery, on the other hand, comes solely from me. It should help you locate information easier, though you may have already noticed bits and pieces of things you've never learned or seen popping into your mind.
If you need to find any specific information, ask the orrery and it will provide.
I love you, son.
-Anvar Indrus'
Audric read the note with a gleam in his eyes. Knowledge was exactly what he needed at the moment in order to get out of this sticky situation.
He walked over to the console of the orrery.
'Now how does this work?' He wondered.
"Input search query." The console's mechanical voice echoed throughout the room.
"I would like information on Inheritance Domains, please."
"Understood. Accessing... Access Granted. Displaying..."
Now, displayed on the console, was an archive of all catalogued information on Inheritance Domains.
"Time to get reading then..."
~SEVERAL HOURS LATER~
There wasn't much recorded knowledge about Inheritance Domains, but from what he could gather, most were either the remains of powerful civilizations or powerful individuals.
These entities would leave behind a test of sorts, in order to find worthy successors after they, themselves, had passed away.
Interestingly enough, there were many of these domains that were considered "publicly available", left behind by great figures who didn't want their belongings hoarded by a single individual or group.
However, a great majority of these Inheritance Domains, including the one he was currently in, were unidentified and/or privatized by the large powers of the universe.
His own clan, the Indrus Clan, had fifteen Primary Domains, and hundreds of Branch Domains.
His mother's clan had far more than this, but her clan was larger size-wise, so it made sense.
It was common practice for elders or powerful individuals to leave their legacies in these Inheritance Domains if they were to die without a successor, in hopes that the legacy may flourish long after they were laid to rest.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of this information did not apply to him, as this Inheritance Domain was categorized as 'unidentified'.
Additionally, he had read nothing about a domain without mana. In fact, domains required an immense source of mana to function, so it was almost impossible for this domain to be active without some form of alternative energy source.
However, after many search queries, he couldn't find anything that made sense.
The most similar that he could think of would be Soul Force, but that would require a Phylak (Fi-lack) Battery, which was a storage unit conjured using soul magic. It required the souls of trillions of dead things to function, and was considered a banned and evil form of magic by the majority of the known universe.
Banned magic aside, this rabbit hole topic lead him to the conclusion that this was not a solo trial. Meaning, there were likely people who had attempted this Inheritance Domain in the past, and perhaps even some who were still in the midst of the trial that he might encounter at some point.
His conclusion was largely based on the fact that the Stargazer Corps had sent a party to explore this Domain, but had reported back that it was a false flag. Meaning, they didn't find it. They may have potentially failed to meet some requirement, or the Domain was not active at that moment.
Now, this piece of evidence seems to be supporting the conclusion that this was a solo-instance dungeon, but the key factor in this scenario is not the false flag, but the fact that their commanding officer had gone missing while on Unkeon-4.
This news had made waves within Fent, as it wasn't everyday that the planet had guests, much less important ones. And when someone that important goes missing on a planet like Unkjeon-4, most people immediately correlate it to foul play.
Places like Fent were good for "removing problems" with little evidence and no witnesses.
Nevertheless, these facts lead Audric to the conclusion that this was not only a cooperative trial, but the commanding officer of the Stargazer Corps party was likely trapped somewhere in here, just like he was.
With a new goal to find other trial takers, Audric resolved himself to get stronger as quickly as possible. He could no longer rely on others to be his strength until he found trustworthy people.
Until then, he was on his own.
With that thought in mind, Audric decided to exit the Indrus Plaza dimension and re-enter the real world. He had slept for long enough.
It was time to wake up.