Eternal Night: Building an Empire from Scratch

The morning arrived quietly. For Edgar, the last night was much quieter and more peaceful than any other day.

A faint grey light passed through the curtains as Edgar slowly opened his eyes.

For several seconds, he remained still, staring at the ceiling while the events of the previous night slowly returned to his mind.

He turned his head toward the other side of the bed and found Hera still asleep beside him.

Her silver-white hair was scattered across the pillow, while her peaceful expression looked completely different from the nervous girl who had entered his room the night before.

Edgar let out a quiet sigh. ’...Was that really the right thing to do?’

Even though the deed was done, Edgar still felt that he had been too aggressive.

Their relationship was good, no doubt, but he could still understand that she was under pressure to return the favor.

Edgar stared at her for a few seconds before deciding not to dwell on it.

Whatever had happened between them was something they would have to deal with eventually.

Though, now that he had committed to it, Edgar wasn’t going to give up on her no matter what.

For now, there were much bigger problems waiting for him.

Edgar leaned closer and gently kissed her forehead before slowly getting out of bed.

He dressed himself without making much noise and quietly left the room.

---

Edgar soon entered the main hall, wearing a new set of clothes.

Gordon was already there, speaking with several soldiers while looking over a stack of reports.

The veteran knight immediately noticed Edgar, straightened his posture, and bowed his head.

"My lord."

Edgar nodded as he walked toward him. "How are things going?"

Gordon gave him a reassuring smile. "Everything is under control."

He pointed toward the reports in his hands.

"The soldiers have secured the important areas, and the people have already begun returning to their normal lives."

Things had been really hectic in the Bazaar because of all the preparations for the war that the Northern Sect was making to deal with him.

But now that Edgar had taken over the place, it had given everyone much-needed space to relax.

Edgar nodded with satisfaction. "Good."

He looked toward the large windows for a moment before continuing.

"I’ll return to the Fortress and check on things."

For some reason, he felt like everything was going a little too well. It was creating an anxiety in him that was hard to ignore.

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to accompany you?"

Edgar shook his head, his voice calm.

"There’s no need." He turned toward the exit while adjusting his clothes. "I should be back sometime in the afternoon."

Gordon nodded. "Understood, my lord."

Edgar stopped near the doorway and looked back. "Keep an eye on Hera while I’m gone."

Things had calmed down, but that didn’t mean people wouldn’t try to harm her now.

She was a much easier target for those who wanted full control of the Bazaar than the Northern Sect.

Gordon’s expression remained serious as he nodded. "Of course."

Edgar gave him a final nod before walking away. At the same time, he put two Soul Guardians in charge of security.

---

Several hours later, Edgar finally arrived near his main Fortress.

The moment the Gorilla Commander reached the outer settlement, Edgar jumped from its shoulder.

His boots landed firmly against the ground.

He barely had time to straighten himself before something immediately caught his attention.

Hundreds of bodies were scattered across the ground outside the Fortress.

The place was riddled with them. It would be hard for him to even walk through such a dense jungle of bodies.

Edgar’s expression turned grim. ’...What happened here?’

These weren’t ordinary Nightmare corpses. Most of the dead creatures looked like enormous deer, each one nearly two metres tall.

Their bodies were covered in strange wounds, while dark blood stained the ground around them.

Several workers were already dragging the corpses toward the Fortress as Edgar walked toward them.

Andrew noticed Edgar almost immediately and waved his hand.

"Young master!" The young boy hurried toward him.

Edgar looked at the piles of corpses before turning toward Andrew. "What happened last night?"

Andrew wiped his hands against his clothes before answering. "We were attacked by a large number of Nightmares."

The boy smiled brightly even though his words sounded anything but good.

Edgar’s eyes narrowed as he glanced around. "How many?"

"I don’t know exactly." Andrew glanced toward the dead creatures. "There were too many to count during the attack."

Edgar remained silent for a moment before turning away, and then he remembered something.

"Did you contact the Soul Guardians?"

Andrew immediately nodded. "Yes."

His expression became slightly confused.

"I sent the emergency signal like you instructed, but they didn’t respond."

Edgar’s expression became serious.

’...They didn’t respond?’

Then he remembered what had happened the previous night.

He had spent most of the Eternal Night experimenting with his runes.

After that, he spent the rest of the night with Hera, which made him focus completely on her.

He had barely paid attention to the Soul Network. ’I completely ignored the network.’

Edgar sighed internally, thinking his ignorance could have cost a lot of lives.

That could have become a serious problem if not for the better Fortress.

Still, Edgar asked with concern. "Did anyone die?"

Andrew immediately shook his head. "No."

Edgar looked at him carefully. "Anyone injured?"

"Some minor injuries, but nobody was seriously hurt."

Edgar’s expression relaxed slightly as he let out a sigh. "That’s good."

Andrew hesitated before adding something. "The tide wasn’t particularly strong either."

Edgar stopped walking. "...What?"

Andrew looked confused by his reaction.

"It wasn’t a very powerful Nightmare tide." He pointed toward the corpses. "Most of these were killed before they could even get close to the walls."

Edgar stared at the dead creatures one more time.

Hundreds of enormous Nightmares had appeared outside his Fortress, but the attack hadn’t been strong enough to cause any serious damage.

That didn’t make him feel relieved because it had happened before. The whole phenomenon made him suspicious.

’Why would a weak tide attack my Fortress immediately after I left?’

Something about this didn’t feel natural as Edgar slowly walked toward the Fortress entrance. "I’ll look around."

Andrew nodded and followed him without a word.

---

Inside the Fortress, everything appeared normal.

Workers were already cleaning the blood from the outer areas while farmers moved between the fields.

When they looked at Edgar, they all bowed, and many even sighed in relief.

His return reassured them that the matters related to the Soragon Bazaar had been dealt with.

Edgar continued deeper into the settlement until he spotted Oswald.

The old man was walking alongside several farmers while discussing something with them.

The moment Oswald noticed Edgar, his expression brightened.

"Young master!" He quickly walked toward him. "I am glad you are back safely."

Edgar nodded. "How are things?"

"Everything is fine." Oswald smiled before his expression suddenly became serious.

He hesitated for a long second, debating with himself, before he whispered. "There is something you need to see."

Edgar noticed the look on his face and asked. "What happened?"

Instead of answering, Oswald turned around and started walking. "It’s better if you see it for yourself, young master."

Edgar followed him without asking any more questions.

They walked through the settlement and eventually climbed toward the opposite side of the Fortress Wall.

Andrew followed behind them, and when Edgar reached the top, Oswald stopped.

"Look down."

Edgar stepped toward the edge, and his eyes immediately widened.

Below the wall, several workers had already cleared away most of the Nightmare corpses.

But beneath them, something had been carved into the ground.

Large letters stretched across the earth, and the message was impossible to miss.

RETURN THE KING’S BRIDE.

Edgar’s expression immediately became cold.

The words were written deep enough to remain visible even after the Nightmare blood had soaked into the ground.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Andrew stared at the message with confusion. "Young master..."

The young blonde’s eyes remained fixed on the words as he remembered the Nightmare that had killed the Yamhad Clan.

’...The king’s bride.’

There was only one person who could possibly be referring to.

...Hera.

The realization made the atmosphere around him feel noticeably colder.

Edgar slowly clenched his fist. "So they’re finally making their move."

Oswald’s expression became grim. "What should we do now, young master?"

Edgar drew in a deep breath and kept himself in control as he stared toward the distant forest.

Andrew looked nervous and asked again. "What should we do?"

Edgar remained silent for several seconds as another thought entered his mind.

"The moon." He turned toward Andrew. "When is the next moon?"

Andrew immediately understood what he was asking. He thought for a moment before answering.

"In one week."

Edgar’s eyes became colder.

"One week..."

The words on the ground suddenly seemed much more threatening.

Whatever was hunting Hera had finally stopped hiding, and now Edgar knew exactly when they intended to return.

’We need to prepare for the biggest battle yet.’

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