Read Novel Full Chapter 592: The Underworld
Chapter 592: The Underworld
The Keeper turned gracefully.
Without another word, she began walking across the endless wasteland.
Lucas followed.
Unlike before, where every step had been accompanied by unbearable pain, walking beside the Keeper somehow lessened the agony gnawing at his soul. It did not disappear entirely, but it became bearable enough that he could finally observe his surroundings instead of merely enduring them.
The countless souls parted as they passed.
No one dared obstruct the Keeper’s path.
Some lowered their heads.
Others knelt.
Many simply watched in silence, their hollow eyes following the radiant spirit until she disappeared into the distance.
Lucas noticed that none of them attempted to follow.
Almost as though they knew they were forbidden.
They walked for what could have been hours.
Or perhaps years.
Time still possessed no meaning in the Underworld.
Eventually, the endless wasteland began to change.
The black earth became smooth obsidian.
Towering pillars of dark stone emerged from the horizon.
Ancient statues, each hundreds of meters tall, lined an immense avenue. Every statue depicted hooded figures holding scales, chains, books, and swords, their faces hidden beneath deep hoods worn smooth by the passing of countless ages.
An overwhelming pressure filled the air.
It was unlike cultivation.
Unlike spiritual pressure.
Unlike anything Lucas had ever experienced.
It felt…
Absolute.
The Keeper stopped.
She looked toward the horizon.
“We have arrived.”
Lucas followed her gaze.
His breath caught.
Standing before them was a palace unlike anything he had ever imagined.
It dwarfed mountains.
Its walls were carved entirely from black stone that seemed to absorb every trace of light around it.
Countless towers pierced the crimson heavens.
Gigantic gates, adorned with ancient runes and reliefs depicting the passage of souls, stood open in silent welcome.
Rivers of pale blue fire flowed through channels surrounding the palace, illuminating bridges of obsidian crystal.
Above it all floated enormous black chains stretching into the endless sky, disappearing beyond sight as though anchoring the palace itself to eternity.
The structure possessed no beauty in the mortal sense.
Yet its sheer majesty inspired awe.
It was ancient.
Timeless.
A place that had existed long before kingdoms were founded…
And would continue to exist long after they had crumbled into dust.
Lucas unconsciously swallowed.
“This…”
he whispered.
“…is where the Lord of the Underworld resides.”
The Keeper inclined her head.
“It is.”
They crossed the bridge in silence.
The palace gates opened further of their own accord.
No guards stood watch.
None were needed.
Lucas instinctively understood that no soul would dare invade this place.
Inside, vast halls stretched endlessly in every direction.
Black pillars reached so high that their tops disappeared into darkness.
Blue soul flames floated silently through the air, providing the only illumination.
There were no servants.
No sounds.
Only an overwhelming stillness.
The Keeper eventually stopped before a pair of colossal doors.
Each stood several hundred feet tall.
Without touching them, she bowed her head.
“My Lord.”
Her voice echoed softly.
“I have brought Lucas.”
For several moments…
Nothing happened.
Then…
The enormous doors slowly opened.
A cold wind drifted outward.
Lucas stepped inside.
The chamber beyond was unimaginably vast.
At its center stood a throne carved from what appeared to be a single block of endless black stone.
Upon that throne sat a solitary figure.
His body was concealed beneath flowing robes darker than the void itself.
His face…
Could not be seen.
A dense, shifting shroud of darkness covered it completely, revealing neither features nor expression.
Only two faint crimson lights glowed where eyes should have been.
The moment Lucas looked toward him—
An indescribable pressure descended upon his soul.
His knees buckled.
He nearly collapsed.
It felt as though the weight of countless worlds had settled upon him.
Not through malice.
Simply because the being before him existed on a level his soul could scarcely comprehend.
The Keeper quietly stepped aside before lowering herself to one knee.
“My Lord.”
The figure upon the throne remained motionless.
When he finally spoke…
His voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.
Deep.
Ancient.
Carrying the authority of death itself.
“Lucas.”
The young man forced himself to remain standing despite the pressure.
“You know who I am.”
It was not a question.
Lucas lowered his head respectfully.
“I know only that you are the Lord of this realm.”
The figure remained silent for several moments.
Then he spoke again.
“Your life upon the mortal plane has ended.”
The words echoed through the throne room.
“There is no error.”
“No mistake.”
“No injustice requiring correction.”
“You died.”
Lucas quietly lowered his gaze.
He had already accepted that truth.
The Lord continued.
“Your soul now belongs to the Underworld.”
Lucas nodded slowly.
“I understand.”
Another silence followed.
Then the crimson lights beneath the dark shroud seemed to brighten ever so slightly.
“However…”
The single word echoed through the chamber.
“There exists a task.”
Lucas slowly raised his head.
The Lord of the Underworld regarded him in silence before continuing.
“A task that cannot be entrusted to the dead.”
“Nor to my Keepers.”
“It must be carried out by one who still possesses a connection to the mortal world.”
Lucas frowned.
“My Lord…”
“Why me?”
The answer came immediately.
“Because among those who have recently crossed into my domain…”
“You alone possess both the strength and the will to see it through.”
Lucas remained silent.
The Lord’s voice reverberated throughout the immense hall.
“I shall return your soul to the mortal realm.”
Lucas’s eyes widened.
His heart skipped.
“You will live once more.”
“But only temporarily.”
The chamber fell silent again.
“You will complete the mission I assign.”
“Whether you succeed…”
“…or whether you fail…”
The crimson lights beneath the shroud remained fixed upon him.
“When your appointed time comes…”
“You shall return here.”
“There will be no second bargain.”
“No escape.”
“No alteration of fate.”
“You belong to the Underworld now.”
“I merely permit you to borrow what remains of your mortal existence.”
Lucas absorbed every word.
His return to life would not free him from death.
It would only delay the inevitable.
The Lord leaned back upon his throne.
“What awaits you upon your return will not be easy.”
“The living already mourn your passing.”
“The world believes your story has ended.”
A long silence settled over the throne room.
Then the Lord spoke once more.
“And now…”
“I shall reveal the mission for which you have been summoned.”
The Keeper remained perfectly still.
Lucas unconsciously held his breath.
Even the blue flames illuminating the throne room seemed to stand motionless, as though the entire Underworld itself awaited the Lord’s next words.
The immense throne room fell into complete silence.
Even the pale blue soul flames suspended throughout the hall seemed to stand perfectly still.
Lucas remained where he was, his eyes fixed upon the ancient figure seated upon the obsidian throne.
The Lord of the Underworld spoke once more.
His voice was neither loud nor soft.
Yet every word carried the weight of immutable law.
“The mission I shall entrust to you did not begin in the world of the living.”
“It began here.”
Lucas listened without interruption.
“For countless ages…”
“The Keepers of the Underworld have maintained the balance between life and death.”
“They guide souls.”
“They preserve order.”
“They ensure that neither the living nor the dead transgress the boundaries established since creation.”
The Lord paused.
“For countless ages…”
“They remained faithful.”
“Until one did not.”
Lucas frowned.
The crimson glow beneath the dark shroud intensified ever so slightly.
“One Keeper abandoned his duty.”
“He rejected the purpose for which he was created.”
“He chose ambition over order.”
“He chose dominion over service.”
The throne room seemed to grow colder.
“He fled.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed.
“He escaped…”
“From the Underworld itself.”
The words echoed through the endless chamber.