Chapter 205: Harthol City (2)
Deep beneath the earth lay a vast underground chamber. Torches embedded in the walls flickered with an eerie blue glow, casting faint, shifting light over blood-red inscriptions. The dim radiance barely held back the oppressive darkness.
At the center of this black abyss stood a hexagonal altar carved from obsidian, and the air reeked of rot and blood, thick and cloying. Scattered across the floor were countless human bones and entrails.
A lone man stood amidst the grotesque scene, gazing at it with detached indifference. This was all necessary. These sacrifices were a sacred offering—a price that had to be paid. The man, the Fallen Pope of the Sun, Jedex, stepped toward the altar.
A prayer to the Black God slipped from his lips. "Answer me, my lord, Tesranach..."
Darkness unfurled from the altar. The polished obsidian surface twisted and writhed, exuding waves of pitch-black miasma. Thick shadows billowed outward, forming ghostly faces and spectral hands that clawed at the void before vanishing.
Screams and wails of agony rang through the chamber, echoing in an endless chorus of despair. Yet Jedex did not so much as blink. He had already devoted everything to the God of Death, and thus, these tormented cries were no different from birds singing in the forest.
"Your foolish servant humbly petitions you." He offered only his sacrifices and his prayer. "Grant me the wisdom of the profound darkness..."
The ritual was a success. Through the countless deaths offered in tribute, the mortal world and the Sanctuary of Death were now connected. The divine voice of Tesranach reached Jedex through space and time.
It was a prophecy.
"Ooooh..." His body trembled as the weight of the god's words struck his mind like a hammer. With a voice trembling in ecstasy, the slave of the Black God whispered, "I shall obey, my master."
***
On the sixth day after departing from the royal capital, Drunta, Karnak and his group were finally crossing the border from Eustil Kingdom into Lipaul Kingdom.