Chapter 726: The Tomb of Kings

The stranded whale shifted on the soaked sand. Its monstrous body glowed blue. Threads of electricity ran over its wounded skin, crackling under the rain. The deep sound rolling out of its throat made the water tremble around it.

Luke stepped back on instinct. The creature shifted with effort, far too massive for that stretch of beach, until it was belly-down again. Then it lifted its single eye toward him. The electricity slowly died away. Only the low song remained. Almost a lament.

“Whatever you’re saying... yeah, for a second there I thought you were about to kill me.”

The whale rumbled again.

“She’s thanking you,” Artemis said. “For killing the fire guy.” ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Luke frowned. “Wait. Since when do you understand whale?”

“I’m the Goddess of the Hunt. And before you ask, no, I don’t ‘speak whale.’ She’s sentient. The system handles the translation.”

Luke looked from the whale to the tiny island. At its center, the pyramid rose beneath the storm like a verdict carved in stone. The rain was getting heavier. The sea was rising. And time was running out.

“Artemis, ask if she can get me to the island.”

“You want to ask your marine archnemesis for a ride?”

“I can’t step in the water. If the cloak were still active, I’d jump. It isn’t. So ask.”

Artemis sighed.

“Fine. Prepare yourself for my majestic whale song.” She cleared her throat dramatically. “Hey, you hear what he said?”

The whale answered with a low song.

“She said she’s exhausted. She spent months running from leviathans,” Artemis explained.

Luke frowned. “Hold on. You didn’t even sing. How did she understand you?”

“Why would I sing? Are you stupid? She understands us. Why would I repeat you? She’s sentient, man. The system handles the translation.”

“So you could’ve just told me that, and I could’ve talked to her myself.”

“I could have. But I liked feeling important.”

The whale closed her eye, clearly uninterested in the argument.

Luke took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Look. I know we’re enemies. You tried to kill me, and I wasn’t exactly nice either. But I need to get across. Help me now, and I’ll owe you.”

He opened his storage item and pulled out a few potions.

“These are healing potions. The best I’ve made. You probably don’t know what that means, but they can close wounds. Regrow flesh. Even bone. Carry me across, and they’re yours.”

The whale opened her one eye and stared at him for a while. Thoughtful.

“Luke,” Artemis began. “You said those are your best potions. Don’t tell me they’re the ones that boost libido.”

“Did you have to say that out loud? Yes. They’re the ones with that side effect. But the healing is what matters.”

“Gods... you’re drugging another woman.”

“Woman? What do you mean?”

“This whale is a girl. A lady.”

“Oh. Right.”

Luke looked at the immense, monstrous creature covered in wounds. He would not have guessed she was a lady if his life depended on it, but he decided to keep that comment to himself.

The whale gave another rumble.

“What did she say, Artemis?”

“She wants to see them up close,” Artemis said.

Luke looked at the creature’s enormous mouth. “Up close? Are we sure she’s not going to swallow me like she did Maxwell?”

The whale let out a short sound.

“She trusts you about as much as you trust her,” Artemis said.

Cautiously, Luke approached. “I don’t know if this will be enough. That wound is ugly. But it should at least help a little... I think. Well, you’re a mammal. We’re more biologically compatible, so maybe it’ll work.”

Suddenly, the whale grew agitated. She thrashed on the sand like a fish out of water, letting out louder, more urgent sounds.

“Okay, what the hell is she saying?” Luke asked, already backing away.

“She knows you’re only trying to drug her so you can take her to bed.”

“I’m serious, Artemis. I’m running out of time.”

“I know, man. I’m doing my best to understand here.”

The whale kept thrashing, but the sounds slowly changed. Less anger. More strain. More pain.

“The whale agrees,” Artemis said at last. “She’s using everything she has to keep the leviathan wound from tearing open again. The bite went deep. Your potions tip the tug-of-war in her favor. She just needs a push.”

“Good. Then we have a deal.”

The whale began dragging herself across the sand, thrashing until she reached the water. When she finally submerged, she lifted part of her body and sang toward him.

“That’s your cue, Luke. Go to her and climb on.”

“Go to her. Right.”

[Queen Sperm Whale - Lvl 172]

Hard to stay calm when the creature had tried to kill him more than once.

“Maybe months fleeing through the Abyssal Zone made you more reasonable,” Luke said. “You know. Differences aside. Enemy of my enemy and all that. Because I’m really not in the mood to reenact the scorpion and the frog.”

The whale gave an impatient rumble.

“She told you to hurry up.”

“Okay, okay.”

Luke took out every healing potion he had left. “Here. Better do this now. If I’m catching a ride, you should start healing as soon as possible.”

With extreme caution, he poured the potions into the enormous creature’s mouth. One wrong move, one bite, and she could snap him in half. At last, the whale swallowed everything. A moment later, she began singing softer sounds. Almost friendly ones.

“She’s happy because it’s working,” Artemis said. “Not much, but exactly what she needed.”

Luke climbed onto the whale’s back. She carried him across the water, humming low songs that sounded almost grateful. In less than a minute, they reached the tiny island. They were still inside the place’s magical zone of influence, where the minerals beneath the water seemed to vibrate as if answering the pyramid.

Luke jumped onto solid ground. “I made it.”

The whale opened her mouth and slapped her fins against the water. Her song came long and deep, almost solemn.

“She said you’re even,” Artemis translated. “And she wishes you luck. She’s going to try to get back to safe waters now that the sea has risen enough for her to escape the Abyssal Zone.”

Luke nodded. “Good luck getting home. And... thanks. Seriously.”

The whale sang again. This time, the sound was softer. Almost melancholy.

Artemis took a moment to translate. “She said something like... ‘I hope the ocean currents of fate place us on the same course again.’”

Luke blinked. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Damn. Okay. That was deep.”

“Whales are smart, man. Especially magical beasts.”

“In that case. Lady whale. If anyone was the heroine on this beach today, it was you. You saved my life. Good luck getting home.”

The whale seemed satisfied.

“She also said she didn’t appreciate you invading her territory,” Artemis continued. “But she won’t chase you anymore.”

“Glad we worked that out.”

Another sound.

“You were supposed to learn your lesson and fear her,” Artemis translated. “But you kept running away.”

“Okay... fair.”

Luke raised a hand. “Safe travels, lady whale.”

The creature answered with a long, deep song, carrying a strange dignity for something so huge and monstrous. Then she slowly began to sink. The blue glow disappeared beneath the dark sea.

Luke watched for one second too long.

“Damn womanizer...” Artemis muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Artemis.”

“I’m just saying, I think there’s a new girl in the rotation.”

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“What are you talking about?”

“In her culture, a male who challenges her territory, survives, comes back, fights at her side, and offers healing afterward... well, let’s just say you scored some points.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“You also said your bodies were compatible.”

“Not like that.”

“And gave her special potions.”

“Healing potions.”

“And called her lady.”

“I was being polite.”

“Relax, Luke. I’m not judging. Good news is, whales are polygamous. She might not mind the competition.”

“Cut the bullshit.”

[Time Remaining: 3 Minutes]

The world answered like it had heard the notification. The tsunami, trapped beyond the Orange Towers until now, finally surged forward. The horizon vanished behind a wall of water. Typhoons tore across the sky. Lightning split the clouds in silence for a fraction of a second before thunder exploded over the island. The wind drove the rain almost sideways. The ground itself trembled.

Luke ran to the pyramid entrance. The door was blocked.

“Three minutes, Luke,” Artemis said. Her voice no longer sounded amused. “I swear by the gods, I am not doing the tutorial panic again. Solve this and get out of this world.”

Luke yanked the [Ring of the Sunken King] off his finger and activated the enchantment.

[Key of the Sunken King (Legendary)]: A simple, humble ring also hides its secrets. This ring has the power to open the chamber of this region’s King of [Sunken Realms]. Be warned, however: many keys have been scattered among [Beacon] items for participants who possess a Guide, and only one treasure chamber waits to be found. Good luck winning the treasure race.

“Don’t be decoration.”

The door glowed. So did the ring. For one instant, the pyramid’s ancient runes woke. Then the item cracked.

[Your item “Ring of the Sunken King” has been destroyed.]

The stones at the entrance opened with a deep rumble. Luke looked at the metallic sphere attached to his gear. What remained of Cadmus.

“Well, partner... I made it. I’ll take something worth remembering you by.”

The quest appeared before him.

Quest: Tomb of the King

Objective: Enter the hidden chamber of the Tomb of the King.

The Sunken Kings were the rulers of the Volcanic Regions of the Sunken Realms. In each region lies the Tomb of one of the arrogant, greedy kings. In those tombs, their bodies rest before their treasures, for not even death could free them from greed. By finding the chamber and sacrificing your Key Item, you may claim a single treasure. Remember: do not be greedy. Attempting to claim more than one treasure will bring unpleasant consequences.

“One treasure. Don’t get cute.”

Outside, the ocean roared. Inside the pyramid, though, everything felt too quiet. The sound of the storm dulled the moment Luke stepped in. The walls vibrated in harmony with the sea.

Three minutes. Less now.

Luke ran down the stairs. The corridor was dark and damp. It smelled of old metal, wet stone, and something too ancient to be called dust. When he reached the end, crystals lit one by one. The chamber did not look like a tomb. It looked like a temple. Or a laboratory. Or both jammed together.

Glass pedestals were scattered throughout the hall, each one supporting floating objects. Jewels in strange shapes. Weapons made from materials Luke did not recognize. Crystals larger than the ones in Cadmus’s palace. Relics suspended in fields of light. On some platforms, corpses were displayed inside translucent domes.

Kings.

All preserved. A chill ran through Luke that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Yeah. This is alien as hell.”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” a voice said.

Luke drew his kukri before he even turned. Between the crystals stood a thin creature wearing a ceremonial robe. Amphibian skin reflected the hall’s blue light. The body was humanoid. Four eyes watched him calmly. Too calmly.

“So this tomb wasn’t empty,” Luke said. “You’re a native.”

“Correct. But I am not alive.”

The creature took a step, and his body flickered for an instant. Not flesh. Light.

“An illusion?”

“A guardian. A remnant. A memory with a purpose. Greetings, individual Luke Moon. I am the last king of this realm.”

Luke narrowed his eyes. “Cadmus?”

The creature smiled sadly. “No. My name is Caddan. Son of King Cadmus. Prince of this realm. And, after my father’s fall, king for a time too brief to matter.”

The pyramid shook. Tiny particles of stone fell from the ceiling.

Caddan lifted his eyes. “The system is calling for this world’s termination.”

“What’s going to happen to this world?”

“The integration has begun its final stage.”

“Meaning?”

“This world, yours, and all others chosen will be fused into a single planet.”

“And this region?”

“Swallowed by the ocean. Everything here will sink into the depths.”

Luke tightened his grip on the metallic sphere. “I came to bring Cadmus. Or what’s left of him.”

Caddan’s smile faltered. Barely. But Luke saw it. “What’s left?”

“A sphere with part of his consciousness. He guided me for a while.”

The pyramid shook again, harder. A thread of water ran down the stairs. Luke rushed to the chamber door, slammed it shut, and braced it.

“The water has arrived,” Caddan said.

“Then talk fast. What killed your people? You were this advanced. How the hell did it all end?”

Caddan stood motionless among the crystals.

“The Light in the Sky.”

Luke turned. “Cadmus said that would be a problem for my world.”

“My father said many things too late.”

“He regretted it.”

“Regret comes easily when there’s nothing left to lose.”

Luke stared at the guardian. “You talk about him like you hated your own father.”

Caddan walked between the platforms. Crystal light passed through his body, breaking his image into pieces.

“I did not hate him. That would have been a simple feeling. He was a king before he was a father. And when the crisis came, I inherited a broken world, a dying people, and questions he could not answer.”

Water slammed against the door. Once. Twice. On the second hit, the stone groaned like it was about to split.

“What do you want to take?” Caddan asked.

Luke looked around at the legendary weapons, the armor, and the jewels pulsing with enough power to change someone’s life. Any participant would kill for a chance at this, and Luke probably would have, too, on a better day.

“Luke,” Artemis said. “Please tell me you’re looking at the weapons.”

“I’m looking.”

“That is not the same as choosing one.”

Luke’s eyes passed over blades, armor, jewels, relics.

Then he made his choice.

“Knowledge.”

“Knowledge is not an object in the tomb.”

“Then give me an object that leads to it. I want to know about the The Light in the Sky.”

“I cannot give what is not among the claimable treasures.”

Luke clenched his teeth. Time was running out. The pyramid was sinking. His eyes moved over the domes holding the preserved corpses.

“These bodies... they’re the kings?”

“Yes.”

“Are they fully organic? Because they don’t look like it.”

“No. Each king carried a bloodline enhanced with genetic material from creatures of the Abyssal Zone. Our soul cores were transferred into strengthened bodies. We were not called Sunken Kings for nothing.”

Luke looked at Cadmus’s metallic sphere. Two minutes, maybe less, and he was standing in front of a room full of miracles. A legendary weapon would make him stronger. Armor might keep him alive. But his hand tightened around what was left of Cadmus, and an absurd idea formed before he could kill it.

“If I take one of these bodies...”

Caddan’s four eyes narrowed.

Luke held up the sphere. “Can I rebuild him?”

Caddan went silent.

“Answer me.”

“Even if you manage to repair the structure, Cadmus will no longer have the receiver that kept him fed. Without mana, he will fade again.”

“I can recharge the robot’s battery with my mana.”

“He will also lack a system.”

“I know how to give him a system.”

For the first time, Caddan seemed truly surprised. “You speak as if that were simple.”

“It isn’t. But it’s possible. Now tell me the important part: was that sphere really Cadmus? A soul? Or just a copy?”

Caddan stared at the sphere. Water struck the door again. This time, the stone creaked.

“It was more than a copy,” he said at last. “Less than a living being. One of my father’s proud mistakes. An attempt to continue existing without accepting his own end. The other spheres scattered throughout the world absorbed fragments of his mind, feeding that persistence.”

Luke took a deep breath. “So there’s still something of him in there.”

“Will you waste your treasure on that? On a king who probably hid who he was from you?”

Luke froze.

Caddan noticed.

“He never told you, did he? If he did, it was only when he could no longer deny it. That was Cadmus. He always chose what to preserve and what to bury.”

Luke lowered his gaze to the sphere. For an instant, he did not see the ancient king. He saw the guide, sometimes the worst guide in the world, sometimes the best.

“I probably would’ve done the same,” Luke said. “I’m good at screwing things up with people who matter, too. Takes me too long to figure out how I feel. But right before he died, he mentioned you. He asked for forgiveness.”

Caddan did not answer.

“You knew Cadmus the king,” Luke continued. “I knew what was left after everything fell apart. Maybe neither version is a lie.”

The guardian looked away. Water was already seeping through cracks in the chamber.

“Choose a body, then,” Caddan said. “But choose carefully. Each bloodline carries a different inheritance from the Abyssal Zone.”

Luke passed the domes, reading the inscriptions the system translated.

[Cadkron, King of the Gluttonous Leviathan Bloodline]

[Caddun, King of the Crustacean Leviathan Bloodline]

[Cadvor, King of the Whale Leviathan Bloodline]

Water began leaking under the door.

“Luke,” Artemis said. “Move.”

More inscriptions appeared.

[Cadmorr, King of the Jellyfish Leviathan Bloodline]

[Cadryon, King of the Eel Leviathan Bloodline]

[Cadthur, King of the Kraken Leviathan Bloodline]

Luke stopped. One word pulled at something deep in his bones.

Kraken.

“That one.”

The dome opened with a hiss. Ancient cold spilled out, and for one second, Luke had the impression he heard something moving far beneath the world. Maybe it was only the pyramid giving way. Maybe not.

He pulled the corpse into the pocket dimension.

[You have claimed your treasure.]

[Preserved Corpse of Cadthur, King of the Kraken Leviathan Bloodline]

[Claim right consumed.]

The entire chamber shook. The other platforms lost part of their glow.

“Sorry about stealing your ancestor.”

“You earned the right to take a treasure,” Caddan said. “Even if you chose a corpse.”

Luke turned back to the sphere. “When I fix Cadmus, I’ll tell him I found you. Want to leave a message?”

Caddan remained still.

The door shuddered.

“Last chance to say something to your father,” Luke pressed.

“I have nothing to say.”

“You sure? Because if you think he was too proud to say what he should have, maybe you’re ending up just like him.”

The silence that followed weighed more than the trembling pyramid.

Then Caddan gave a quiet laugh. No humor. No life. Almost no anger.

“Tell him he is forgiven.”

The door gave way. Water burst into the chamber with brutal force. Luke was thrown back, but he managed to stay on his feet. The level rose in seconds, swallowing the lower platforms. Crystals began going dark one by one. The tomb of kings was dying around him.

“Farewell, individual Luke Moon,” Caddan said.

“Wait! If everything is being integrated into my planet, can I find this place again?”

Caddan smiled. “Already thinking of the remaining treasures?”

“I’m thinking of bringing Cadmus back here.”

The smile vanished. Luke stared at the guardian through the rising water.

“A father-and-son reunion. Too late, maybe. Still better than never.”

“Why do you care?”

Luke hesitated. The answer came out too honest.

“Because I’ve spent the last few months blaming my mother. Hating her for leaving me. But you know what? I still want to see her.”

Caddan fell silent. The water was already hitting Luke’s chest.

“This place will sink into the Abyssal Zone,” the guardian said. “Depths where colossal creatures live. You are unlikely to ever reach these waters.”

Luke smiled faintly. “Don’t bet on that.”

The pyramid tilted. Everything groaned. The entire chamber began to sink.

“See you again, Prince Caddan.”

“Farewell, individual Luke Moon. Good luck with your life. May you find a good woman and stay with her until the end of your days. One woman, Luke Moon. Do not be greedy.”

Luke let out a short laugh, even as the water climbed to his neck.

“Your father said something like that. You’re more alike than you think.”

The last crystals went dark. Blackness swallowed the tomb.

Then Caddan’s voice came one final time. “Individual Luke Moon.”

Luke turned his face toward him. The guardian barely existed anymore. Only four pale eyes glimmered among the dying crystals.

“When I analyzed the corpse of the The Light in the Sky, I discovered what it was. Not even my father knew. No one on this planet did.”

Luke went still. “Corpse?”

“Yes. The Light in the Sky was a corpse. And it brought a corruption with it. Something that spread through all of us until nothing remained.”

The water covered Luke’s mouth. Caddan’s voice continued in the darkness, transmitted through the dying crystals, as if the tomb itself were speaking before death.

“Near the end, I reached that thing. I touched its flesh. I tried to tear an answer out of it. That was where I died.”

Luke’s heart pounded harder.

“But I obtained one piece of information,” Caddan said. “The race of that dead god.”

The ocean’s pressure crushed the chamber.

“A god...?”

“Yes,” Caddan said. “The Light in the Sky was a dead god.”

A pause.

“And the race of that dead god was...”

The chamber collapsed into black.

“Angel.”

For a heartbeat, even the system seemed silent.

[Teleporting participant Luke Moon...]

And then the ocean vanished. No pressure. No current. No crushing dark. Luke was sitting in an armchair, and for one second, his body refused to believe it. But there was no water. There was warmth, a lit fireplace, the smell of burning wood, and slow, irritating applause echoing through a room far too elegant.

“Congratulations,” a voice said. “Incredible. You won the event, Luke Moon.”

Luke opened his eyes. He was in a cozy room decorated with the kind of luxury chosen by someone too rich to prove anything. Thick rugs. Dark walls. Expensive glasses on a low table. Fire in the hearth.

In front of him, a man in a black suit smiled.

“You got the armchair wet,” he said. “Rude.”

His smile widened.

“But I’ll admit, it was worth the dramatic entrance.”

Luke shot to his feet, muscles still tense, breath still caught in his chest, his hand going to his weapon before he could think. He was not on Earth. He was not at the Baumman house. He was nowhere familiar. But he knew that smile. He knew those eyes.

The man tilted his head, green, serpentine eyes gleaming in the firelight.

“What’s wrong, Luke Moon? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Luke’s grip tightened around his weapon. The name tasted wrong in his mouth.

“Asmodeus?”