Chapter 140: # - : The Thing Beneath the Kingdom
Chapter 140: # Chapter: The Thing Beneath the Kingdom
It had been beneath the kingdom the entire time.Amon did not move.
The voice lingered inside his mind long after the words ended.
Not because it repeated.
Because the presence behind it was too large.
Danger Sense did not point downward anymore.
It simply flooded his awareness.
Every instinct he possessed screamed the same message.
Leave.
Now.
Amon ignored it.
Theron stared at him.
"What happened?"
Amon looked toward the floor.
"Something noticed us."
The formation master’s face tightened.
"From the gate?"
"No."
Amon’s eyes narrowed.
"Below it."
Theron went still.
The palace shook.
Not violently.
Slowly.
A deep movement passed through the earth beneath them.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The unconscious vessels on the floor began trembling.
Amon raised Azrael.
Black lines appeared beneath their skin.
Theron stepped backward.
"They’re changing again."
"No."
Amon watched closely.
The lines were not the same prison script the foreign entity had used.
These symbols were older.
More complex.
They moved beneath the skin like roots.
Then all eleven surviving vessels opened their mouths.
No eyes opened.
No bodies rose.
Only their mouths.
The same ancient voice came from every throat.
"Who stopped my harvest?"
Theron froze.
Amon stared at the bodies.
"Me."
The moment he answered, the Fate Devouring Seed reacted violently.
[Warning.]
[Higher fate recognition established.]
[Master has entered direct causal exchange.]
Amon’s expression remained unchanged.
The entity became silent.
Then the bodies smiled.
Not naturally.
Their mouths stretched too far.
"Interesting."
Amon tightened his grip on Azrael.
"You’ve been taking fate from the capital."
"Taking?"
The voice sounded amused.
"I was given tribute."
Theron looked toward Amon.
Amon ignored him.
"By who?"
The vessels remained silent for several seconds.
Then one body spoke alone.
"The architect."
Amon’s eyes narrowed.
"The Black Architect."
The smile widened.
"You know the title."
"Who was he?"
The creature laughed.
The sound came from all eleven bodies again.
"A servant who believed himself a partner."
The Fate Devouring Seed pulsed.
Amon focused.
"Did he build the barrier?"
"He built what I permitted him to build."
Theron’s face went pale.
Amon continued.
"In exchange for the harvest."
"Yes."
"What did the kingdom receive?"
"Protection."
The answer came immediately.
The entity sounded almost offended by the question.
"Your walls endured."
"Your cities grew."
"Your bloodlines survived."
"Your rulers prospered."
The vessels tilted their heads.
"I upheld my agreement."
Amon stared at them.
"And what did you do with the fate?"