Chapter 14 : Land of Death

Chapter 14

Darkness.

Heavy. Endless. Suffocating.

It was neither warm nor cold. Neither cruel nor kind. It simply was.

A void without light. Without sound. Without time.

He should have felt nothing.

But even in the abyss, his grief remained.

It sat in his chest like a blade lodged between his ribs, refusing to fade.

And then—

Something shifted.

A whisper in the dark. A flicker of sensation.

His mind stirred.

Awaken.

His eyes opened.

…

Lucas's POV

The first thing he saw was a ceiling of black stone, veined with soft, pale silver.

The second was a woman.

She sat beside him, carefully wrapping fresh bandages around his arm. Her hands were slender, her skin bone-white, her robes flowing black. When she lifted her gaze, her empty eyes glowed with a dim, spectral light.

She was not alive.

An undead.

Lucas stared at her.

The woman blinked, then inclined her head.

"You are awake."

Her voice was soft. Calm. Careful.

Not cold. Not hostile.

…Caring?

Lucas didn't move.

His body felt weightless—too light, too whole.

That wasn't right.

He should be broken. He should be in agony.

He should still be burning.

But the fire was gone.

Instead—there was only hollowness.

"You have been unconscious for three months," the woman continued, tying the last bandage with delicate fingers. "You are in the Kingdom of Evernight. Also known as the Land of the Dead."

Three months. 

Kingdom of Evernight ?

Never heard of it.

Lucas closed his eyes.

He tried to feel something. Shock. Confusion.

But all he felt was emptiness.

The woman did not press him. She simply folded her hands in her lap and spoke again.

"The Queen has been waiting for you."

Lucas's eyes opened.

His voice was hoarse. "The Queen?"

"The Queen of Death and Decay."

The words meant nothing to him.

A Queen? Of what?

He had never heard of this kingdom. Never heard of its queen.

So why the hell would she be waiting for him?

The woman hesitated, then added, "She is the one who saved you."

Lucas still said nothing.

But now, a flicker of suspicion cut through the numbness.

Saved him?

For what purpose?

The woman stood.

"I will inform Her Majesty that you are awake."

With a final bow, she turned and left.

Lucas remained still. Trying to be cautious. 

But it's useless. Because in his state, he can't do anything. 

His fingers twitched against the silk sheets. His breath was steady.

But inside—

Everything hurt.

Not his body. Not his bones.

His soul.

A festering, bleeding wound that no amount of bandages could ever mend.

He closed his eyes.

…

She came without sound.

The air itself stilled.

And then—

She was simply there.

Not a footstep. Not a whisper.

Like she had always been here. Watching. Waiting.

Lucas felt it before he saw her.

The weight of something vast pressing against reality itself. The room—no, the very air—shuddering under her presence.

And then he saw her.

She was tall—regal, poised, her violet hair cascading like liquid moonlight. Her gown, black and laced with shimmering violet embroidery, moved as though woven from the very essence of midnight.

Her eyes—voids.

Twin abysses, deep and endless, darker than the grave.

And the power that bled from her—

It was not just strength.

It was dominion.

The weight of a million souls lingered in the air around her. The whispers of the dead, the echoes of forgotten pain, the final gasps of kings and tyrants long since buried—

She carried all of it.

And beneath it all, beneath the abyss of death itself—

She was watching him.

Lucas tensed.

What the hell am I looking at?

He had seen powerful beings before. His father, wreathed in flames. The warriors of Sylvaris, who could split mountains with their blades.

But this was different.

She didn't just radiate power.

She was power.

Her lips parted.

"You have awakened."

Her voice—smooth as a river flowing through the underworld.

Lucas's throat was dry. "Who… are you?"

A faint smile. "You already know."

Lucas stared at her.

The Queen of Evernight. The ruler of this undead empire. Thania Evermourne. 

And she had saved him?

Why?

Lucas exhaled. "You saved me."

A nod. "Yes."

"Why?"

A pause.

Then—

"Because you are mine."

Lucas stiffened.

The hell?

His gaze sharpened. "I don't belong to anyone."

Thania ignored his gaze and took a step forward.

The room itself seemed to darken.

"The moment you entered my domain, I felt it."

Her void-like eyes bore into him, seeing past flesh, past body—into his very soul.

"Your grief. Your rage. Your loss. They whispered to me."

Lucas clenched his jaw.

"Do you know what it means to be the Queen of Death?"

She lifted a pale hand, fingers slightly curled.

"The dead do not disappear. Their pain, their last cries, their regrets—they linger. They sing to me."

The shadows around her moved, curling like the whispers of the departed.

"And when you burned the world—"

A pause. A breath. A single step closer.

"I heard them scream."

Lucas's chest tightened.

"Orion. Selena. Caius. Annie."

His breath hitched. Eyes wide.

She knew.

"They called for you, Lucas."

Her voice was quiet. Almost tender.

"One girl in particular, Annie I think ?… wept hardest for you."

A sharp pain twisted in his ribs—deep, aching, unbearable.

Thania's voice softened to a whisper.

"You carry death, Lucas Ignis."

Her abyssal eyes locked onto his.

"And death always finds its way to me."

Lucas forced himself to breathe.

She hadn't needed spies. She hadn't needed to pry.

The dead had come to her.

And she had listened.

His fingers curled into the sheets, nails digging into his palms.

Thania watched him.

Then, softly—

"Stay."

Lucas glared at her.

"You think I'll stay here? Just because you saved me?"

Thania's smile didn't waver.

"You have no home to return to."

A cruel truth.

"You have no family left."

A deeper wound.

Lucas's nails bit into his skin.

"I don't care."

Thania's gaze darkened.

"Liar."

Lucas said sharply. "Liar ? What the fuck do you know about me to say I am lying ?

A slow smile spread across Thania's lips. " Didn't I tell you already ? I can see your soul Lucas Ignis, The Heir of Fire. I can see your fire like Soul that's look like a dying fire. A fire that can no longer be rekindled."

" I can see it. My eyes can."

"Or do you think you are the only with special eyes here ?"

Lucas stood there, shocked. He doesn't know what to say. 

He closes his eyes for a moment and said " How can I stay here…when the ones who took everything from me are still breathing."

A soft smile appeared on Thania face 

"You want vengeance?"

Lucas lie there. Eyes upward looking at the black ceiling. 

He think if her mother who he called mother hen because of her protectiveness. He think of how he will not see her again. 

He thinks of his father. Who was always at the border to defend the empire…the empire that has caused his death. 

He thinks of Annie, that one girl who was like his shadow since he was baby. 

He thinks of his house. The Ignis. Even if he didn't grow up yet enough to care about this as a whole. 

That was his house. 

that was his family. 

That was supposed to be his responsibility as a heir. 

So, how the fuck will he accept to let this empire breathing ?

He won't. 

He will kill thru all. 

He will bury their legacy and end their entire bloodline like they have tried to do with his. 

He will burn all of them to ashes. 

Absolutely nothing will remain of them. 

Nor their body. Nor their soul. 

Not even…the memory of them. 

'I will burn all those fucking bastard.'

And then,

His voice was cold.

"Yes."

He answers Thania. 

At that time 

The little soul like fire—once white, once red

Turned black.

A weak black flame. 

But,

Thania sighed.

A quiet, reverent whisper.

"Beautiful."

End of Chapter 14.

Start of Volume 2 : Land of Death. 

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English is not my first language. So…don't sweat the details.

Thank you for reading !!!