Read Novel Full Chapter 591: I’m dead
Chapter 591: I’m dead
Darkness.
It was the first thing Lucas became aware of.
Not the comforting darkness of sleep.
Nor the peaceful darkness of closing one’s eyes.
This darkness felt endless.
Heavy.
Ancient.
His consciousness slowly returned, accompanied by an unbearable ache that seemed to permeate every part of his being.
Then came the pain.
It wasn’t the sharp pain of broken bones.
Nor the burning agony of the corruption that had consumed his body.
This pain was different.
It seemed to originate from his very soul.
Lucas gasped.
His eyes snapped open.
For a long moment, he could only stare upward.
There was no sky.
Only an endless expanse of swirling black and crimson clouds that churned silently overhead.
There were no stars.
No sun.
No moon.
The strange light illuminating everything seemed to come from nowhere at all.
Lucas slowly pushed himself upright.
Every movement sent another wave of agony through him.
He looked down.
His eyes widened.
He wore nothing.
His body was completely bare.
He instinctively covered himself before looking around in confusion.
“What…”
His voice sounded weak.
“…where am I?”
No answer came.
Instead…
He finally noticed the sounds.
Crying.
Screaming.
Whimpering.
Countless voices.
The sheer number of them made his blood run cold.
Lucas slowly turned his head.
His breath caught.
People.
Everywhere.
Not dozens.
Not hundreds.
Millions.
As far as his eyes could see, countless souls stretched across the endless landscape.
Old men.
Women.
Children.
Warriors.
Kings.
Beggars.
People from every imaginable background.
They stood, knelt, crawled, or simply lay upon the dark ground.
Every single one of them wore the same expression.
Agony.
Some clutched their heads.
Others screamed into the empty sky.
Many simply wept without end.
The sound was overwhelming.
It was as though the sorrow of countless lifetimes had been gathered into one place.
Lucas slowly rose to his feet.
His legs trembled.
Not from weakness.
From pain.
His entire soul seemed to burn.
He instinctively placed a hand against his chest.
The corruption was gone.
His wounds were gone.
His broken neck no longer hurt.
Yet…
The agony remained.
It was deeper than flesh.
It was something his soul itself was experiencing.
Lucas clenched his teeth.
“What is this place…?”
He took a cautious step forward.
Around him, the countless souls barely acknowledged his presence.
Some wandered aimlessly with empty eyes.
Others cried out names that would never be answered.
A young child reached toward someone who wasn’t there before collapsing into tears again.
An elderly man knelt upon the dark ground, repeating the same prayer over and over.
Nearby, a woman sobbed uncontrollably while staring into nothingness.
None of them looked at Lucas.
It was as though every soul had become trapped inside its own suffering.
The air itself felt unbearably heavy.
Each breath carried despair.
Each heartbeat echoed with loneliness.
Lucas looked into the distance.
The endless plain seemed to stretch forever.
There were no buildings.
No mountains.
No rivers.
Only an infinite wasteland beneath the crimson-black heavens.
He turned slowly in every direction.
The crowd never ended.
No matter where he looked.
There were more souls.
More suffering.
More despair.
His heart sank.
A terrible realization began forming in his mind.
“…I’m dead.”
The words barely escaped his lips.
Memories flooded back.
The arena.
Khan.
The corruption.
The desperate struggle to stand.
The Empress.
The girls.
The final crack.
Lucas slowly closed his eyes.
“So…”
he whispered.
“I really couldn’t keep my promise.”
A wave of sorrow washed over him that somehow rivaled the agony surrounding him.
He imagined Lira crying.
Selene refusing to let go of his hand.
Princess Nyx.
Henrietta.
The Ice Belle.
Elder Gideon.
Lady Mariana.
King Highmoor.
The Empress.
He had left them all behind.
Lucas lowered his head.
For the first time since awakening in that strange place, he allowed himself to grieve.
Not for his own death.
But for the pain he knew those he loved would now be enduring because of it.
Around him, the countless souls continued their endless cries.
The mournful chorus rose beneath the blood-red heavens, filling the boundless underworld with a sound so sorrowful that it seemed capable of breaking even the strongest heart.
And standing naked among the endless sea of the dead, Lucas realized he had crossed into a realm from which no living man had ever returned.
Lucas no longer knew how long he had wandered.
Days?
Years?
Centuries?
The concept of time had long since lost all meaning.
There was no sunrise.
No sunset.
No seasons.
Only the endless crimson sky and the eternal cries of countless souls.
The agony never ceased.
Every moment felt like his soul was being scorched from within.
The pain never grew weaker.
His mind simply learned to endure it.
At first, he had screamed alongside the others.
Then he had cried.
Eventually…
He became silent.
He simply walked.
Sometimes he collapsed.
Sometimes he knelt.
Sometimes he stared endlessly into the distance, surrounded by an ocean of suffering that stretched farther than his eyes could reach.
He had spoken to a few wandering souls.
Most never answered.
Those who did had long forgotten their own names.
Some repeated the same sentence endlessly.
Others laughed hysterically.
Many simply stared through him as though he did not exist.
Hope itself seemed to have died in this place.
Lucas had almost begun believing he would wander forever.
Then…
Something changed.
The oppressive darkness around him suddenly became… lighter.
The endless cries did not disappear.
Yet they seemed distant.
As though something was gently pushing them away.
Lucas slowly lifted his head.
Far ahead…
A soft silver light appeared.
It stood out against the crimson wasteland like a lone star in an endless night.
Unlike everything else in the Underworld…
The light was warm.
Gentle.
Peaceful.
The surrounding souls noticed it too.
Many instinctively backed away.
Some covered their faces.
Others fell to their knees.
None dared approach it.
Lucas watched as the light slowly drew closer.
With every step it took, the dark ground beneath it shimmered faintly.
The cries around it softened.
The very air seemed calmer.
Eventually…
The light took shape.
A woman.
Or rather…
A spirit.
She possessed an ethereal beauty unlike anything Lucas had ever witnessed.
Her long silver-white hair flowed weightlessly behind her despite the complete absence of wind.
Her skin seemed almost translucent, glowing with a gentle radiance that illuminated everything around her.
She wore flowing robes woven from shimmering strands of pale light, embroidered with symbols Lucas had never seen before.
A delicate circlet rested upon her brow.
Behind her, tiny particles of silver light drifted through the air like falling stars.
Her eyes…
They were unlike human eyes.
They held neither age nor youth.
Only endless serenity.
When she smiled, the unbearable atmosphere of the Underworld seemed to ease ever so slightly.
Lucas found himself unable to speak.
Not merely because of her beauty.
But because her very presence inspired a profound sense of peace in a realm where peace should not exist.
She stopped a few paces before him.
The countless suffering souls surrounding them instinctively moved farther away.
No one dared come close.
For several seconds…
Neither spoke.
Then the spirit inclined her head gracefully.
“Lucas.”
Her voice was soft.
Gentle.
Yet it carried with perfect clarity despite the endless cries surrounding them.
Lucas blinked.
“You…”
His voice was hoarse after what felt like an eternity.
“…know my name?”
She smiled warmly.
“I do.”
Lucas remained cautious.
“I don’t know who you are.”
The spirit placed one elegant hand over her heart.
“My name is not one your people would be able to pronounce.”
She spoke without arrogance.
“As such…”
“You may simply call me a Keeper.”
Lucas frowned slightly.
“A Keeper?”
She nodded.
“One of the Keepers of the Underworld.”
“The guardians entrusted with maintaining order within the Realm of Souls.”
Lucas looked around at the endless suffering.
His expression grew complicated.
“This…”
He gestured toward the countless agonized souls.
“…is order?”
For the briefest moment…
Sadness crossed her face.
“It is not my place to judge the realm.”
“It is only my duty to protect it.”
Lucas fell silent.
The Keeper studied him quietly.
“You have endured well.”
Lucas gave a weary laugh.
“I didn’t have much choice.”
“No.”
She agreed softly.
“You did not.”
Another silence settled between them.
Then the Keeper’s expression became more formal.
“The reason I sought you is not to discuss your suffering.”
Lucas straightened slightly.
She continued.
“I have been sent here under direct command.”
“By the Great Lord of the Underworld.”
Lucas’s tired eyes widened slightly.
“The…”
He hesitated.
“…the ruler of this place?”
The Keeper inclined her head.
“The sovereign before whom every soul must eventually stand.”
Lucas stared at her.
“Why would someone like that…”
He looked down at himself.
“…want anything to do with me?”
The Keeper’s serene smile returned.
“That…”
she said gently,
“…is precisely the message I have come to deliver.”
The silver light surrounding her brightened slightly.
Even the cries of the surrounding souls seemed to fade into the distance.
“The Great Lord of the Underworld…”
She looked directly into Lucas’s eyes.
“…has summoned you.”
“And you are to be brought before the Throne of the Dead.”
The endless wasteland seemed to grow even quieter.
Lucas stood frozen.
He had expected to wander this place forever.
Instead…
The ruler of the Underworld had called for him.