Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3040

Four figures were making their way up a steep, dark slope, surrounded by billowing clouds of eerie white mists. They were the King of Nothing, the Lord of Shadows, Nephis of Immortal Flame, and a tall, graceful knight wearing a suit of stone like armor — the Jade Saint.

The mist parted before them, pushed away by the Will of the King of Nothing, then flowed to swallow the emptiness behind them moments after they passed.

Their steps echoed in the eerie silence, and although nothing seemed to threaten them in the desolate expanse of swirling fog, all four seemed ready for battle.

Half of Sunny's mind was preoccupied with observing his surroundings, searching for signs of trouble. The other was remembering the terrifying time he had spent traversing the Hollow Mountains as a Saint, half-crazed and barely able to maintain his existence in the annihilating tides of nothingness.

"You don't have to worry."

Mordret's voice sounded dispassionate.

Sparing him a glance, Sunny raised an eyebrow.

“Really? I'd say there are plenty of reasons to worry. I saw all kinds of horrors the last time I was in these parts."

Mordret nodded silently.

“Indeed, the Hollow Mountains hide many perils. But we are on the very outskirts of the range — the true horrors all dwell deeper."

That was somewhat reassuring to hear.

They were indeed on the outer edges of the Hollow Mountains. As for why they were climbing higher instead of trying to find a way down... There was a reason for that, as well.

The news spreading among the subjects of the Human Domain implied that Nephis had gone to a previously unexplored Death Zone, but that wasn't entirely true. Somebody had, in fact, explored the Underworld in the past — Broken Sword and his cohort, for one.

More importantly, Nephis herself had already been to the Underworld, even if it was in a Nightmare as opposed to reality. The kingdom of the Demon of Destiny had, no doubt, changed a lot in the thousands of years since. But some of her knowledge still applied, which influenced their decision of where to enter.

Most of those who knew about the existence of the Underworld imagined it as a single space buried deep underground, in the bones of the earth, but they were not technically correct. In fact, the Underworld consisted of roughly three layers, each more dangerous than the previous one. Additionally, it was not one titanic cavern, but rather an interconnected system of many enormous hollows.

The uppermost and the safest stratum of the Underworld was hidden inside the mountains themselves — after all, the Hollow Mountains had not received that name randomly. They were actually hollow inside, each peak forming an enormous vertical cavern that widened from top to bottom.

There had been settlements of the Stone Saints inside the hollow peaks once, and it had been here that the Underworld connected to the outside world — or rather, to the outside realms. At the peak of the Stone Saint civilization, the upper stratum of the Hollow Mountains was a commercial hub, with many outsiders coming here to trade or to find passage to other realms through the Underworld.

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