Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1181: Envoy of Death

The hidden statue found in the original Abyss Empire’s vice capital turned out to be none other than the Envoy of Death, Jeoseung Saja. This was the first time Kahn had met someone directly related to God of Darkness ever since he entered Vantrea more than 6 years ago.

”You know of me, sir?” asked Kahn as the massive statue, with its ashen-white face and black lips, stared at him.

The expressionless and lifeless entity that oozed the aura of death stared with its cold and piercing gaze, sending shivers down Kahn’s spine as it responded.

”How can I not? You’re the centre of the chatter in the realm of deities.

Recently, we found that your subordinates created using the Synthesis Divine Ability have become apostles of a few of them.

Even Demeter, who is at odd with my liege, the God of Darkness, has chosen one of them as her apostle recently.

Someone like me, who is mostly busy guiding souls to the underworld, couldn’t escape those gossips either.” iterated the statue.

”But the biggest surprise was that even Yama, my colleague, has taken one of them as his apostle.

This is the first time that has happened ever since we became deities.” revealed Jeoseung Saja.

”And my subordinates are just lucky to have been graced by their magnanimity.” said Kahn as he slightly bowed with his entire upper body, following the traditional Korean way of showing respect.

”Lucky my foot. Kravel tells me that you had prepared for all this beforehand so that in this new timeline, things would go in your favor.” said the envoy with a bemused tone.

”Well, the one who did isn’t here anymore.” replied Kahn.

Suddenly, the massive stone eyebrows on the statue creaked.

And the very next moment...

”HAHAHAHAHA!! HAHAHAHA!!!” The statue let out a thunderous laugh that sent shockwaves through the whole cavelike settlement.

”Interesting... things will be chaotic, it seems.” responded the statue.

”Is this your true form?” asked Kahn.

”No, while I do look like a human in reality, the statue you see is just a medium I can temporarily possess.

It was created as a failsafe in case the Abyss Empire or the Cult of Darkborne no longer exists. So that the next Hero of Darkness can find the Abyssal Altar through me.

And the fact that you are here after what happened 300 years ago... seems like the backup plan was useful after all.” responded the envoy.

”May I ask what kind of relationship you have with Yama, the King of Hell?” asked Kahn out of curiosity.

”I guide the souls to the underworld, which you people call Hell.

Then Yama decides whether they deserve reincarnation or not. If yes, then he decides what will they become in their next life... a plant, a fish, or just one of the predominant species in the world.

And if not... they all get sent to the Eternal Abyss.” explained the deity.

”Eternal Abyss? The realm where God of Darkness resides?” asked Kahn.

”Yes. It is a domain where the most cruel, vicious beings that have taken millions of lives go. Sometimes, the death count is so high that the souls do not deserve any form of reincarnation at all, and their existences must be erased completely.

However, even with the soul obliterated... There are still minor remnants that can instead return to the real world and possess other beings, causing an unnatural phenomenon such as wraiths or ghouls. Some can even cause another worldwide carnage given how strong their souls were in the original life.

Only the God of Darkness can stop them from ever entering the real world and stop the cycle of reincarnation completely.

Meanwhile, he punishes them with an eternity of solace and suffering in an escapable realm where their souls are permanently sealed.

Compared to that, the torture and pain a lot of sinners feel in Hell can be considered a gruesome but forgettable experience.” explained jeoseung saja.

”Whether one gets tortured for decades or centuries, or gets reincarnated right away, depends on the karma they’ve accumulated throughout their life.

I just gather millions of such beings and lead them to the underworld.” iterated the envoy of death sternly.

”Then what about Heaven?” asked Kahn with a curious countenance.

”Hah! There is no such thing as ’Heaven’. We only have the Realm of Divinity, where some creatures and those who managed to become a deity can reside after the ascension.

And even there, everyone has their own realm where they project and design it as per their will.

That concept of ’Heaven’ is just what some sentient species have created to make themselves feel hopeful.

Though it’s not true, even someone like me and Yama would prefer to have people believe in it.

It just saves us a lot of work.” explained the envoy.

”I see. Thank you for the answers.” said Kahn in an appreciative tone.

Jeoseung Saja’s gaze then turned to Morrigan.

”You must be the new High Priestess.” he spoke in an authoritative tone.

”Yes, great envoy. It is my honor to serve the God of Darkness.” replied Morrigan as she kneeled in front of the statue.

”Good thing that we have at least a few competent people this time.” he spoke, and then his sight locked on Argos.

”You... there is an oddly familiar, yet distinct aura about you.

Have we ever met before, child?” asked the envoy.

”No, I believe not. I’m too young to know someone of your great legend.

I’m currently acting as the guardian for the Hero of Darkness and the new representative of the Cult of Darkborne.

Although I myself do not serve the God of Darkness, it was the only way for me to deter the other empires from outright hunting and killing Kahn.” explained the vampire sovereign in a respectful tone.

”Huh... For some reason, it does feel like we’ve met before.

Or maybe we did while I was leading your soul to the underworld in your past life.

Some of the powerful beings in the past have had a distinct aura to their souls, just like you.

Shame, even if we did meet, you wouldn’t remember it after entering the cycle of reincarnation since your memories are wiped out.” elaborated the envoy, adding new information to how the underworld worked.

”Could be. I hope you will look upon me favorably when I die in this life.” said Argos jokingly.

”I shall remember your aura. Hopefully, the world survives. Or I will be bored since I won’t have a job anymore.” responded Jeoseung Saja casually.

Rumble!

Rumble!

The 100-meter-tall statue suddenly started shrinking, and in ten seconds, a small 10-centimeter replica of the envoy of death was left behind.

The statue flew towards Kahn, and a purple thread of netherworld energy entered Kahn’s heart, connecting itself to his soul.

”Hmmm.... it is indeed a very strong soul. I see that you once shared 1/10th of your soul with someone.

Huh?... who is this?!” Suddenly, the statue trembled in disbelief.

”Is this the Divine Weapon of the Hero of Fire?!” asked the envoy of death.

Swoosh!

It quickly returned to the statue after finding the existence of Amaterasu.

”Huh! Why do you have this one?!” enquired the envoy.

”Didn’t you know that I killed the Hero of Fire and absorbed his divine key?” asked Kahn in return.

”Oh, so that’s how it happened. Well, I usually don’t mingle much with others.

You can consider me a bit of a workaholic by nature. After I became a demi-god, it was this nature of mine that made the God of Darkness accept me under his wing.

He recently did the same for Kravel too, I believe.” revealed Jeoseung Saja.

One after another, like a talkative person, he was revealing a lot of information.

Kahn could tell that Jeoseung Saja was no different than Elric Johnson. Workaholic and introverted.

But once people like them got someone to talk to... they just end up revealing too much since their sense of boundaries are a bit blurred.

By no means, such a person be considered a blabbermouth, just that these kinds of people hold too many thoughts in their minds and unintentionally end up speaking more than they should once they get a chance.

The envoy of death was no different than that colleague who gets the job done but barely talks with anyone in the office. But once you get to know them and enter their very small inner circle... they trust you and share a lot of stuff with you subconsciously.

Any 9-5 job office employee could relate to these kinds of people.

In a way, Kahn welcomed this behavior because he was also learning a lot about the modus operandi of Hell, the God of Darkness, and the so-called Realm of Divinity.

Who knew what interesting information he would learn soon, just because the Envoy of Death was an introvert loner just like him from the first life.

”Alright, let’s not fret here for long. We should leave since my part here is done.” said Jeoseung Saja, and the small statue summoned a Josean Era style pitch-black sword.

”Let’s go to the Abyssal Altar of Darkness.”