Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 58: Infernal Dominion

One second he was there, and now he was in front of Atrox without stirring any air. He didn’t have the time to flinch before a bony hand rested on his head.

Atrox stiffened, and then he was gone.

When he opened his eyes, he was floating in a sea of darkness. Nothing existed except for darkness, and yet he saw things. A man with a hood surrounded by bowing figures and creatures; at his feet was a hound of fire and fur, a werewolf with red shaggy fur, and a gaunt man with pale skin. A tall creature of flesh and bones, a serpent made of severed heads coiled around his neck, its tail disappearing into the darkness.

"What in the..." Atrox could only stare, transfixed. Then he saw the crimson moon appear to the man’s right, like a glowing orb. "Who is this man? I should see his face..."

He floated closer but then froze as a bone-chilling instinct warned him not to go closer, not to look at the man’s face. Just as he debated this, the scene vanished, and he saw another one: a tall tower of gleaming metal that glowed crimson and black.

The image drew Atrox closer, and he imprinted it on his mind.

Then everything around him collapsed. The darkness fell like a weight, and he gasped, waking up in the world of hot sand and the crimson moon.

Instinctively, he raised his head, and he wasn’t surprised to see that the three creatures were gone. He looked at the outer wall and saw them there, imprinted into the stone.

Atrox raised his hand to rub his face. "Maybe I should consider drinking dry alcohol," he muttered, then froze as something occurred to him.

"My hands are healed!" What had felt like the end of the world was now back to normal. It was as if he had never been hurt. "Maybe I wasn’t..."

Atrox sighed and stood up. "I’m not surprised anymore. I’ll just go with the flow of things. That cloaked man is definitely important—the first Forbidden Knight? And he left behind instructions? And those creatures..."

He shook his head and made his way to the cathedral. "Maybe I should have taken Kren up on his offer."

There was almost nothing inside, just a flat stone surface broken only by an altar. On the altar was a rolling crimson moon.

Atrox went outside again to look at the sky, and yes, the moon was still burning bright. Inside again, he saw the small moon rolling gently.

"Must be a fake moon," Atrox said. But he couldn’t take his eyes away. It drew him like a moth to a flame. He didn’t resist as he approached, lifted his right hand with the Mark Order trembling, and gripped the moon.

As soon as he did, his eyes glowed, replaced by the crimson moon, and tears of darkness ran down his cheeks. Atrox became aware. The moon was sucked into his right hand and became the red crimson mark in the middle of his Mark Order.

He understood some things then. Pieces of information flashed into his head. He had just claimed some kind of inheritance left behind by powerful beings. It was called ’Infernal Dominion’

It was like having a whole magic tree with many branches, but this one was solely for ’Infernal Dominion’ This meant he could use all the powers in this tree! But unless he retrieved the rest of the inheritance scattered throughout the Eternal Skies, he would never have a complete tree.

Basically, it meant he could use all the essence types of ’Infernal Dominion’ but he wouldn’t have access to all the sub-essences unless he claimed the entire inheritance still out there.

He saw the information in his mind and trembled faintly. This was like having the ability to use the entirety of an Order’s power—like wielding all the elements!

"This is something that hasn’t existed in history," Atrox breathed aloud. Then he smiled. "No, it’s something that *has* existed. Kren definitely knew about it, and whoever tried to stop Kren by using Arvas knows about it too."

"Wait. I’ll think about all that later."

First, he looked into his mind at the Infernal Dominion tree. "So, the power I can use is still limited by my rank, but I have access to more than three essence types. Oh...and I’ll have to form and develop techniques myself, just like every other Knight."

He frowned. "So, I’ll be able to use more powers with each inheritance I claim until I have total control of all the powers of Infernal Dominion mpressive. No wonder they want to turn me into a weapon."

Atrox checked the sub-essences currently available to him with one inheritance claimed. The powers available were:

- Infernal Fire

- Pactbinding

- Shadowforge Creation

- Nightmare

- Infernal Imprisonment

"Not bad. Not bad at all! Five types of power. Impressive. I wonder what they all can do. I can’t wait to try them out! But how do I form techniques with them? I can guess about Infernal Fire, and I have a little idea about Pactbinding—I’ve done a lot of contract practice as a prince, after all."

Just as he thought about it, Atrox suddenly had basic ideas about all the powers. But it was only the basics. For example, Infernal Fire could be summoned to burn, and Shadowforge Creation could be used to create. But create what?

"Hmm. Maybe I should think about all this when I’m outside." He stood up and stretched, looking around the sun-covered landscape and sighing. "Will I have to fight Arvas? Should I wait and train?"

Just then, he paused as something occurred to him, and he allowed himself to smile. "I’m now a Knight. I became a Knight! A Knight! I can’t wait to see the look on Nadia’s face—not to mention my stepbrother’s."

He laughed. "Now, how do I get to the Errant Knight rank?"

He didn’t get any answers. Instead, the landscape collapsed around him, and he was plunged into darkness.