Cursed Immortality

Chapter 1277: The Silent Citadel

The moment Jacob stepped ahead of the point that the Undead Armies were avoiding, everything changed ahead of him. It was as though an invisible curtain had separated this place from the outside world.

There was silence, an absolute silence that felt ancient. Jacob’s Eyes of Judge flickered faintly within the hollow sockets while his perception quietly swept across the surroundings.

But still nothing; not a single undead, or a lone wandering spirit, no patrol, sentries, and not even formations meant to detect intruders. It was as if this entire region had been abandoned countless ages ago.

Yet Jacob knew better, as those profound-colored spectrums hadn’t lied. Every invisible current he could perceive still flowed deeper into this forgotten place.

Without slowing his pace, Jacob continued forward, and the canyon gradually narrowed. Towering black cliffs enclosed both sides like colossal walls carved by some forgotten deity. Their surfaces were unnaturally smooth, devoid of erosion despite countless ages.

Occasionally, enormous skeletons protruded from the stone itself, and they were clearly not buried but embedded as though the mountains had grown around them.

Some skeletons possessed six arms; others bore wings spanning several kilometers. A few even possessed multiple skulls crowned with spiraling horns unlike any undead Jacob had encountered before.

Moreover, every one of them radiated an indescribable antiquity, yet all had died here, and Jacob merely glanced at them before continuing onward.

The profound spectrums became increasingly concentrated, and they no longer resembled drifting currents. Instead, they flowed with unmistakable purpose like tributaries feeding a single unseen ocean.

After another quarter of an hour, the canyon suddenly opened, and Jacob stopped; before him stood an enormous abyss. It stretched beyond his vision, its depths swallowed by darkness so complete that even ordinary soul perception would fail to penetrate it.

But it wasn’t the focus of his attention; instead, suspended above that abyss floated an ancient fortress that resembled a citadel.

It was the Bone Citadel that was also the residence of the Undead Lich King and his Dukes of Death, and it commanded the undead armies. But right now, this fortress possessed none of a ruler’s arrogance; instead, it resembled a mausoleum.

Its foundations were carved entirely from unknown black stone that seemed older than civilization itself, with towering walls that rose like cliffs, and countless colossal pillars protruded from its sides, each sculpted into gigantic vertebrae supporting immense arches.

Long-forgotten bridges connected isolated towers, while enormous chains thicker than mountains extended from every direction, anchoring the fortress into the surrounding canyon walls. The chains did not restrain the fortress; rather, they seemed to restrain the abyss beneath it.

Jacob quietly observed everything: not a single strand of Death Authority leaked from the ancient structure, no formations were active, and no guards stood watch.

It simply floated there in eternal stillness, for it was the very heart of the Undead Skyfall Canyons!

A moment later, Jacob silently appeared atop one of the enormous bridges leading toward the fortress, and his footsteps produced no sound; even the air remained undisturbed.

The gigantic gates before him stood partially open, which was strange, but Jacob sensed no threat or existence of the formations, so he entered.

The moment he crossed the threshold, an overwhelming sense of antiquity descended upon him as this place wasn’t merely old; it belonged to another era entirely.

The corridors stretched endlessly beneath vaulted ceilings supported by pillars fashioned from the fused skeletons of countless unknown races, some resembling dragons and others resembling giants. Many possessed anatomies that Jacob couldn’t even begin to identify.

The stone beneath his feet bore no dust despite the passing of countless years. Instead, it possessed the polished sheen of a place once walked by countless beings.

Every wall surrounding him was covered in murals, and unlike ordinary carvings that glorified kings or wars, these murals resembled an unbroken chronicle; the history of an entire race.

Jacob slowed slightly, and his gaze swept across the first mural, where countless skeletal beings stood beneath unfamiliar stars. Unlike those of modern undead, their bones were flawless, with every skeleton possessing elegant proportions.

Some of those undead wore crowns forged from black suns; others held staffs surrounded by galaxies of ghostly stars, and towering palaces floated through space behind them. It was as if entire worlds seemed to kneel before their civilization.

The second mural depicted endless races bowing toward a single colossal throne; some possessed draconic wings, others appeared entirely spiritual, and several resembled divine giants whose heads touched heaven.

Yet every one of them knelt, not in fear but reverence, as the throne itself remained strangely blank. As though whoever had carved the mural had deliberately omitted the figure seated upon it.

Jacob’s eyes lingered briefly, and then continued on towards the third mural, which showed war, and not ordinary war at all, as stars shattered, entire worlds collapsed, and countless divine figures fought across heaven itself.

The skeletal civilization marched beneath banners woven from darkness and soul fire while incomprehensible beings descended from beyond the skies.

The heavens themselves appeared broken. Even after countless ages, the violence contained within those carvings remained overwhelming.

Further ahead, another mural appeared; this time, the skeletal civilization had disappeared, and the countless divine kingdoms shown earlier had likewise vanished.

Now, only ruins remained: broken thrones, collapsed stars, extinguished suns, and then countless black chains descended from above.

Every remaining mural beyond that point repeated the same image of chains, suppression, and darkness. Until finally, the last mural depicted only an endless abyss nothing else.

Jacob quietly stared at it for several moments, for there was no explanation or inscription, only silence, as though history itself had been erased beyond that point.

With faint curiosity, he moved on as beneath every mural stretched countless ancient inscriptions, and their symbols were unlike any written language Jacob had encountered.

Each character constantly shifted the longer one observed it, with straight lines curved, and curves split into countless smaller symbols. Some resembled stars, and others resembled bones. While several transformed into countless overlapping meanings before returning to their original form.

Jacob grimaced as even the Eyes of Judge failed to identify them, for there were no flaw spectrums, no rank colors, or traces of Laws. It was as though those inscriptions existed outside every system he understood for now.

He attempted to memorize several symbols, yet moments later he discovered he could no longer clearly remember them, almost as though the inscriptions refused to remain within the memory of a mere mortal.

Jacob’s expression grew slightly more solemn, ‘Interesting…’

Without lingering further, he continued deeper into the fortress, and the profound-colored spectrums remained his only guide.

Eventually, the endless corridors opened into an enormous throne hall, and the chamber alone rivaled entire cities. Gigantic pillars rose like mountains, supporting a ceiling where countless crystal stars remained embedded, still faintly glowing despite countless ages.

At the very end stood a colossal throne, and unlike every throne Jacob had ever seen, this one wasn’t forged; it appeared to have grown naturally from the same ancient black stone as the fortress itself.

Its backrest resembled enormous skeletal wings that embraced the heavens, and the armrests were carved from countless intertwining skulls. Behind it floated a gigantic circular mural depicting an eclipsed sun surrounded by countless stars.

Everything remained perfectly preserved as though its owner had merely stepped away moments ago, yet the throne was empty.

Jacob’s gaze quietly swept across the chamber, and then his Eyes of Judge suddenly flickered because beneath the throne, hidden within countless overlapping suppressive formations, seemed to lie another chamber!