SWDnovel Chapter 59 [Kael'thas]
Chapter 59 [Kael'thas]
————[City of Annihilation]
Deep within the Abyss lies an ancient and ferocious city, whose very existence is a desecration of light and order.
The city is entirely constructed of a material called Dark Blood Obsidian. This stone is born in the unique environment of the abyss. It is dark like congealed blood, yet it gleams with a cold, metallic luster in the dim light, constantly absorbing the negative energy around it.
Countless towering spires pierced through the sulfurous clouds, their bodies wreathed in ever-burning dark red infernal fire and lightning. From afar, the entire city resembled a colossal, ferocious beast crouching in endless darkness, radiating a chilling sense of oppression.
The city walls stand tall like mountains, inlaid with countless enormous, still twitching, dripping hot lava demon skulls.
Within the hollow eye sockets of these skulls burned eerie green flames of the soul, like eternal sentinels, coldly overlooking the city's streets that writhed and stretched like twisted veins. On these streets, abyssal monsters of all shapes and sizes thronged, and the air was perpetually thick with the pungent stench of sulfur, blood, and despair.
At the heart of the city lies the Dark Corruption Palace. This palace boasts an even more exaggerated and ferocious design, completely mimicking the head of a colossal abyssal beast, the Devourer's Fang, roaring towards the sky.
The main entrance to the palace is the gaping maw of the behemoth, filled with sharp teeth. The interior is dark and deep, seemingly leading directly to the behemoth's esophagus, devouring all light and sound.
The palace's surface was covered with layers of bone armor and metal scales that looked like they were naturally formed, with a dark red light, like lava, flowing endlessly between the gaps.
Deep within the Demon Palace lies the Throne Room.
The space here is more vast than imagined, and the dome is supported by thick, shadowy crystal pillars that seem to have been forcibly fused together from countless struggling and wailing souls.
The light was extremely dim, with the only source of light coming from the countless [Wailing Soul Crystals] embedded in the walls. These crystals contained souls suffering eternal torment, emitting a dim, flickering phosphorescent light that could drive one insane.
The air was thick and sticky, as if it were soaked in cold blood, and every breath carried the smell of rust and decay.
At the end of the hall, nine steps forged from the bones of a pale behemoth and the pitch-black [Annihilation Iron] lead to the [Throne of Painful Souls], which symbolizes the highest authority in Dark Erosion City.
The throne itself seemed to be twisted and entwined from countless souls solidified in extreme pain, occasionally revealing blurry and distorted faces that emitted silent shrieks.
Kael'thas leaned lazily on his throne.
Kael'thas (???)
[Identity: Lord of Dark Eclipse City, Abyss Noble]
His incomparably handsome face appeared even paler and more eerie under the shimmering light of the soul crystal, and his narrow, dark eyes were unfathomable, as if they could absorb all the light and vitality around him.
He wore a dark red noble robe woven from Bloodworm Silk and Shadow Spider Velvet, which perfectly hugged his tall and slender body. The abyssal runes embroidered with Nether Gold thread on the cuffs and collar seemed to writhe slowly like living creatures.
His fingers, seemingly casually resting on the armrest of the throne, were tapping intermittently on the skull on the armrest that emitted a faint, shrill sound.
He simply sat there, and the cold, deathly, yet vast and boundless pressure emanating from him made the immense palace feel like a frozen hell, so heavy that it was suffocating.
Below, a vast array of abyssal monsters of various shapes and exuding a sinister aura knelt in a dark mass.
Among them are lords who rule over a region of demonic realms, high-ranking demons known for their cruelty and cunning, and even a few abyss sorcerers with obscure auras.
However, at this moment, these beings, who would normally make weaker planes tremble, were like the most lowly maggots. Their huge bodies trembled violently, and they pressed their heads, tentacles, and limbs against the cold, icy ground covered with binding magic patterns. Even their souls trembled, wishing they could bury themselves completely into the ground.
"so……"
After a long silence, Kael'thas finally spoke. His voice was deep and resonant, with a strange magnetism, like the most beautiful cello playing, yet at its core lay an extreme coldness capable of freezing the very essence of the soul. Each syllable was like an icicle piercing the depths of the consciousness of the monsters below, causing their trembling to intensify abruptly.
"Tell me, where is my dear, disobedient niece Celia, who stole my treasures... hiding now?"
Dead silence.
A suffocating silence permeated the air as if it were a tangible reality, with only the faint sobs emanating from the thousands of soul crystals on the walls weaving together to create a maddening background sound.
The kneeling monsters trembled like withered leaves in the wind, their bodies soaked with cold sweat (or similar bodily fluids), leaving dark stains on the ground, but none of them dared to raise their heads, and none dared to make a sound.
Kael'thas's flawless brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, his fingertips, resting on the Screaming Skull armrest, paused for a moment, then tapped lightly.
thump.
A soft sound, yet in the deathly silent hall, it tolled like a death knell, striking the hearts of all the demons. Several of the weaker demons even twitched violently.
"I have given you time, mobilized resources, and even allowed you to use some of the power of the [Demon Prison Legion]..."
His voice remained calm and indifferent, as if he were narrating a trivial matter unrelated to himself, but the terrifying storm beneath it made the air almost freeze and explode: "Go hunt down a traitor who has fallen in rank, suffered severe damage to his origin, and is like a stray dog."
"And the result?"
He leaned forward slightly, his dark gaze, like two tangible, icy rays, sweeping over the prostrate crowd below. "Is this how you repay my trust—with such disappointing silence?"
boom--!!!
The terrifying pressure was like a volcano that had been accumulating for thousands of years suddenly erupting, or like an endless sea of darkness overflowing!
The floor of the entire throne room suddenly sank several inches!
Spiderweb-like fine cracks instantly spread across the incredibly hard [Dark Blood Obsidian] floor!
Among the kneeling demons, a particularly burly abyssal fire demon lord, covered in thick, dark gold bone armor and possessing three pairs of curved, skyward-reaching horns, trembled violently.
As if struck head-on by an invisible giant hammer of stars, it let out a muffled roar of suppressed pain. Dark golden, scorching demonic blood seeped uncontrollably from its mouth, nose, corners of its eyes, and even the gaps in its scales, dripping onto the ground and burning up hissing white smoke.
Under this desperate pressure, an abyss stalker dressed in a tattered gray robe stained with unknown dirt, resembling a shriveled goblin, scrambled out of the line.