Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 59: So it begins

In a very dark room where the only source of light was the single purple candle burning on the table, a woman sat, looking at the chessboard in front of her in silence. It had been years and years since she’d moved a piece, but tonight, she’d moved two pieces.

The darkness in the room was so thick that her face couldn’t be seen clearly, but her purple eyes were like twin stars. Finally, she raised her head. "You go by Kren now, right?"

The shadow in the room shuddered just by hearing her voice, but one shadow was thicker than the others. It adjusted its glasses. "Yes, my Lord."

"Kren... that’s a name that doesn’t belong in the Hinterlands, for sure. You’ve done well this time." The voice was soft, like darkness pressing down on the mind.

Kren shuddered. He felt like, if she spoke for too long, he’d get lost in her words. He bowed his head. "I didn’t get him to make the oath."

She didn’t answer for a long time. "Yes, you didn’t. But it’s also good. Put too many chains around them, and they’ll be distracted by it. They’ll fight it. But what of the one they can’t see?"

A black-gloved hand reached out and caressed a piece—a wooden piece etched with the symbol of a red moon.

Kren then proceeded to tell her everything about the mission, every detail. "My Lord, I wasn’t able to confirm who sent Arvas."

The woman nodded. "So there’s someone out there who knew about me... us. I thought I killed all of them. To even know to lock onto the Borderlands—impressive. But can they stop the motion that’s already been set?"

"Kren, your priority is to look for this Arvas."

Kren was startled. "But he’s dead."

"Is he now?" The woman snapped her fingers, and it echoed like a thunderstorm. The darkness deepened, crowded around Kren, and crawled into his mouth. He didn’t shout as he doubled over and vomited a sticky green liquid that moved like slime.

"That’s a form of tracker. It will grow on you and eventually take control of your brain. It’ll send information to its owners."

Kren wiped his mouth and watched as the slime shivered into dust. He was disgusted, his mouth curling in revulsion. "My Lord, does this mean Arvas isn’t dead?"

"Yes, he’s not. Just like I now know his master is not dead. Their power is like trying to kill a plague," she said. The purple in her eyes deepened.

"Then... what should I do about Atrox?" Kren asked carefully because it seemed what he thought was going on wasn’t what was truly happening.

"Do what you are doing. Keep your eyes on him. I will leave that to you while I shift my gaze to another place. Go now."

Kren collapsed into the darkness and disappeared.

The woman remained in silence for a long time, staring at the moon-carved piece in front of her. Then she said in a voice tempered with longing, "So it begins."

An old voice, rough with misuse, answered her from behind—a voice that creaked and groaned like bones grinding together. "It begins? Or it continues?"

---

When Atrox opened his eyes, he found Slya looming over him, looking down with worry. He closed his eyes again and groaned. ’This is the second time I’ve opened my eyes to her after something happened’

"What is it?" he asked in a dry voice.

"I thought you’d die."

That made Atrox open his eyes to look at her. Her face was smooth, and she shrugged when he gave her a look. "What? You’ve been lying there for like four hours."

Tiber snorted to the side. "She’s right. I thought you wouldn’t wake up again after the door spat you out."

Atrox sat up and looked behind him to the door. The forbidden door was rusted and withered, but the two halves remained standing, bright. ’The door spat me out? Isn’t that a little rude?’

Then he remembered everything that had just happened, and his face lit up, doors and all forgotten. Out of curiosity, he looked at Tiber and Slya, who were standing close to him, and then at Taiwo, who stood away, down on the platform.

"Did you hear? I have the Forbidden Mark," he asked, watching them for their reactions.

Tiber nodded and scratched his head, while Slya gave him a look as if she wanted to crawl into his head to learn all the information he knew. They didn’t give off the fear or disgust he had assumed they would. Maybe they’d had time to adjust.

But Taiwo flinched, her eyes landing on the bodies of the workers that littered the ground.

"Honestly, I don’t care about any of that. Not after you saved my life," Tiber said.

Slya huffed. "If I can be a Forbidden Knight, then I’ll be glad—even if I’m only a Squire like you."

Atrox grinned and stood up. He was stronger than before. The muscles on him had grown tough and dense, his face had filled out, and his green eyes were sharp. His black hair was now longer, past his ears, and it lay thick on him like a mass of darkness. "Getting to the Knight rank must have its benefits."

Slya and Tiber stared at him in sheer shock. They spoke together as one. "Knight?!"

Atrox lifted his hand, and ruddy essence flooded his palm—a crimson brightness that shimmered with heat. Specks of black floated in it. This was the Infernal Dominion, and through it, he could perform all the powers and skills within the Infernal Dominion.

With a simple mental command, he created a bright fire that leaped in his hand. It made the air in the room heat up with such intensity that Slya and Tiber moved away from him.

Infernal Fire. The fire that judges. Hellfire.

Atrox raised his hand and threw it. The fire leaped from his hand hungrily, slammed into the wall with a sharp crack, and burned a hole of melted rock into it.

Atrox grinned again. "Yes. I’m a Knight rank."