A Man Like None Other (Jared Chance) novel Chapter 6756

The elder gave no immediate reply. A faint change stirred far behind the blue of his eyes.

"In the beginning, 10 years passed between eruptions."

His voice was almost inaudible. "Then every five years, every three years, every year... Now there is no fixed interval. Sometimes another sacrifice is needed after only a few days."

Helplessness weighed on Elder Nether. The sacrifices had grown increasingly frequent of late.

"That proves its strength is growing. Feeding it another soul hastens its restoration, so every interval becomes shorter than the last."

"If you keep making offerings, only death awaits you," Jared said with calm clarity.

"Instead of watching it slowly recover and devour the entire Nether Abyss, we should strike while it has yet to awaken completely."

Elder Nether let his eyelids fall once more.

In the dark red glow, his wrinkles resembled cracks across an abyss, each one etched with the weight and weariness of 10,000 years.

For a long while, he remained silent. Only the soundless play of light from the red minerals and the muffled, joyful sobs of Iris' family outside disturbed the cavern.

Their crying came through layers of thick rock, faint and distant. Yet it pierced Elder Nether's final defense like a fine needle.

He opened his eyes. "Very well. I trust you. From this day forward, the Nether Abyss will offer no more sacrifices."

As he spoke the words, his body stooped a little farther, as though he had set down a burden weighing 10,000 pounds yet also lost the staff that had supported him for years.

Conflicting emotions churned in his blue eyes: relief, concern, and the resolve of someone who had finally taken his first step over the edge of a cliff.

Jared rose and saluted Elder Nether with cupped hands. "Rest assured, Elder. I will handle it."

Elder Nether waved him away, his voice heavy with the fatigue that followed the lifting of an enormous burden. "Go. I should rest as well."

Jared turned and left the cavern.

The instant he raised the curtain, dark red light flooded back over him and stretched his body into a long shadow.

The clamor outside sharpened at once. Iris' family was crying, onlookers were murmuring, and rope bridges creaked in the wind. Every sound poured into his ears.

Standing on the stone steps outside, Jared surveyed the Ghost Clan cultivators.

He did not raise his voice, but every person heard him clearly. "From this day forward, the Nether Abyss will offer no more sacrifices. I will deal with the fissure."

Silence fell the moment he finished.

The cultivators nearest the steps reacted first. In the red glow, their faces resembled a frozen lake. Then the ice shattered.

Some gaped. Others stared with eyes wide. A few stumbled half a step backward as they tried to grasp the weight of those words.

A spark seemed to race through dry timber, and uproar swept the Nether Abyss's entire seventh level.

"No more sacrifices? Is that true?"

"We don't have to make offerings anymore? No one else has to be sent to die?"

"Mr. Chance said it! The man who saved Iris said it himself!"

"Did the Abyssal Lord approve this? He actually said yes?"

Cries of joy blended with weeping and laughter. Their echoes rolled across the depths until both cliff faces vibrated.

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