The chamberlain tilted his head slightly, studying ’Dark Star’ with renewed focus. Although Jacob’s words slightly deterred him, he was more annoyed by his disrespectful demeanor.
After all, both of them, the official Dark Dukes, while he was the chamberlain of the Noxvalis Castle, have someone who has the Dark Prince’s ear, so a Dark Duke like Dark Star should be more respectful to him.
He coldly scoffed, "Bold words. Yet many bold men have spoken of this matter, and few lived to tell more. Information alone does not open these gates, Dark Duke."
Jacob’s gaze sharpened, obsidian-like, his voice lowering to a blade’s whisper as his patience running thin, "I speak not of rumors. I speak of proof. Proof that only His Highness will judge. And if you dare obstruct me...then you will shoulder the weight of denying the Prince what is rightfully his."
At this moment, for a fleeting moment, there seemed to be a faint white flare in Dark Star’s eyes.
In truth, he let a glimmer of his Eyes of Judge and a trace of his ghastly killing intent escape from the gluttony mask—just enough to make the guards’ ghost flames gutter and nearly collapse, and even the Chamberlain and his lackey shiver.
This was the result of refining Yin and Yang Cores and his understanding of Yin and Yang Laws, which enabled him to have profound control over the dormant Universal Godly Artifact!
The Chamberlain’s face slightly paled, but he remained calm; however, his fingers twitched at the sleeves of his robe. He felt it—the conviction, the unyielding weight of Jacob’s will back his terrifying killing intent, which made him wonder just how many people he had butchered. He even thought for a second that this killing intent was even more frightening than the Deathless Prince, a Necromancer King!
This made him change his impression of ’Dark Star’ completely, for this was no trembling Duke begging for favor. This was a predator who feared nothing.
A silence followed, thick as death.
’It can’t back down just like that, or my reputation might take a hit. This might be an illusion. However, what if he really had that information that His Highness sought so actively? I’ll be punished then...’
After a moment of calculation, slowly, the Chamberlain raised his hand. The bone chains rattled once, and the guards withdrew.
"Very well," He said, his voice lowering into something more formal, yet his eyes were filled with pettiness.
"You will have your audience, Dark Duke. But remember..." His glowing eyes narrowed faintly, "...the Prince does not tolerate deception. What you bring him must be the truth, or you will never leave this castle, even if you are an official Dark Duke."
He turned, gesturing with one pale hand. The colossal doors opened wider, spilling an eerie pale light onto the black mist bridge.
"Follow me." He coldly commanded.
Jacob’s expression did not change, nor did he give the chamberlain any extra glance, and without a word, he stepped forward into the shadowed maw of the Deathless Prince’s domain.
The chamberlain moved ahead in silence, his skeletal attendants clattering behind with the sound of rattling chains. Jacob followed, his stride unhurried, his dark elven features carved from ice, betraying neither awe nor hesitation.
The interior of the Castle of Noxvalis was a labyrinth of shadow and grandeur. The corridors stretched impossibly long, vaulted ceilings lost in gloom, supported by pillars carved from black bone etched with silver veins of runic script.
The walls themselves seemed alive, faintly pulsing with necrotic energy, whispering in voices too soft to be understood.
Chill torches of pale-blue flame burned in sconces, casting twisted silhouettes along the floor. Occasionally, a noble shade drifted across the hall, bowing slightly toward the chamberlain before melting back into the walls like mist.
The deeper Jacob walked, the heavier the air became. The weight of countless deaths pressed down like a suffocating mantle.
Even a true Dark Duke might feel unease here, but Jacob’s gaze remained steady, calm as if he was walking in his own yard.
At last, the long corridors ended at a pair of colossal gates. Unlike the outer gate, these were not carved with skulls but with scenes of conquest, as countless races fell beneath the banner of Noxvalis City, their souls devoured by a towering figure crowned with bone. The faint light of death runes crawled across the carvings like living serpents.
The chamberlain halted before the gates, drawing himself to his full height. His attendants raised their chains, striking them once against the floor—clang. The resonance rippled into the gates, awakening the wards.
With a voice far more formal and respectful than the one he had used with Jacob, the chamberlain intoned, "Your Highness, the Deathless Prince—Voice of Noxvalis—this humble servant presents Dark Duke Dark Star. He claims to bear proof concerning the Dark Mission and the traitor of the Alchemy Guild. Your humble servant believes this matter is worthy of Your Highness’s attention and judgment."
His words were careful, polished—but Jacob caught the subtle venom in them. The chamberlain had deliberately raised the stakes, making it clear to the Prince that if Jacob’s proof were not extraordinary, it would be nothing less than an insult to his throne—a clever trap cloaked in obedience.
A silence fell, heavier than death itself, and then came the voice.
It was deep and resonant, yet chilling, as if it emanated from within Dark Star’s very bones. Each word echoed like a dirge sung in the abyss.
"...Enter."
The gates shuddered and slowly swung open with a groan that rattled through the castle’s marrow.
The throne hall revealed itself in dreadful majesty. It was a vast cathedral of bone and shadow, its ceiling lost in the pitch-black above. Hundreds of obsidian braziers lined the chamber, filled with pale blue fire that neither flickered nor warmed, only illuminated the deathly splendor.
Along the walls were ranks of black-armored undead knights standing motionless, their hollow eyes glowing faintly, each one exuding an aura at least equivalent to a Legendary Lord.
But it was the throne that commanded all.
Upon a dais of ten steps sat the Throne of Noxvalis, carved from a single monolith of shadow-crystal fused with bone. Its form was jagged and cruel, like the seat of a ruler of death.
On this throne, he sat; the Deathless Prince!
A towering lich clad in robes darker than night, his skeletal frame draped in necrotic majesty. A faint crown of bone hovered above his head, bound by chains of spectral flame.
His eyes were twin abysses, endless and merciless, their depth carrying the silence of countless years. His very existence was suffocating, as if the hall itself lived only through his will.
At his sides knelt two colossal figures—silent, unmoving. At first glance, they seemed statues carved of obsidian. But Jacob’s eyes instantly discerned the truth. Their faint fluctuations of power betrayed them. These were not statues!
They were Legendary King Rank experts, now reduced to undead thralls, bound in eternal servitude by the Deathless Prince’s will.
Jacob’s mind sharpened, ’So this is the infamous Necromancer King of the Dark Kingdom, the Deathless Prince...he could slay legendary kings and bind them, turning legends into ornaments, his death law should be almost at the Quasi-Myth rank!’
The chamberlain, who just moments ago had exuded arrogance, immediately bowed low, his skeletal attendants prostrating themselves. He dared not lift his head before the throne.
"Your Highness," He said, his voice almost trembling despite himself, "This servant has fulfilled your will. The matter is now in your hands."
Then, stepping backward, the chamberlain retreated swiftly toward the exit, not sparing Jacob even a second glance until he reached the threshold.
Only then did he cast a final malicious look, his eyes gleaming with quiet delight, as if already envisioning Jacob’s impending ruin.
The Deathless Prince made no move to stop him, but the doors behind Jacob groaned shut with a final, echoing boom.
In that instant, the vast hall grew silent, as though even the flames themselves held their breath as only two figures remained.
Dark Star (Jacob), and the Deathless Prince!