Kaelan slowly sat down on the chair near the window.
Even though the shadow restraints had disappeared, he remained on guard. His twin daggers rested firmly in his hands, ready to strike at any moment.
The mysterious man continued leaning casually against the window, as if he were visiting an old friend rather than breaking into one of the most heavily guarded estates in the Empire.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Kaelan finally spoke.
"...Who are you?"
The masked man answered without hesitation.
"Shadow."
Kaelan frowned.
"I don’t mean your name. Who are you? Why are you here? And who sent you?"
The man simply shrugged.
"I already told you. I’m Shadow. No one send me. I came here on my accord. And I’m here because I have something very special to discuss with you."
Kaelan’s brows knitted together.
"...Something special?"
Shadow gave a mysterious chuckle.
"You see... I’m Shadow. And I worship Death."
Silence filled the room.
Kaelan simply stared at him. He blinked once.
Then twice.
He patiently waited for the man to continue. Several seconds passed.
"...What?"
Shadow frowned behind his mask. "Why aren’t you reacting?"
He sounded genuinely confused. He had just revealed something monumental. He openly admitted to worshipping Death itself.
The young duke’s son should have been terrified. He should have looked horrified.
At the very least he should have shown some fear.
InsteaKaelan merely looked puzzled.
"...Death?"
After waiting for another explanation that never came, Kaelan cautiously asked,
"Who is Death?"
"..."
Shadow stood completely still.
Then, "Dammit! You don’t know who Death is?! You fool!"
His frustrated shout echoed throughout the room.
"When I say Death... I mean Death. The God of Death!"
Only then did Kaelan’s eyes widen in surprise.
Seeing that reaction...
Shadow finally felt a little satisfied.
There. That’s the expression he was expecting from Kaelan.
"...The God of Death?"
Kaelan frowned thoughtfully.
"...This is actually the first time I’ve ever heard of such a god."
"...Cough."
Shadow nearly choked.His shoulders twitched slightly beneath the cloak.
His god was completely unknown.
"Damn this era..."
He muttered under his breath.
Kaelan looked genuinely confused.
"I’m serious. As far as I know... The only deity worshipped throughout the Human Empire is the Sun God. Even the elves offer prayers to Him."
Shadow suddenly laughed.
"Haha... Of course they do. In this era... No one remembers Him anymore."
Kaelan tilted his head.
"What do you mean? I’ve studied history since childhood. There has never been any mention of a God of Death. Not even in the oldest historical records."
Shadow quietly fell silent.
For the first time since entering the room...
He seemed lost in thought.
"...Yeah. Maybe you’re right. Perhaps He wasn’t active back then...Or perhaps He couldn’t descend into this world. ...Or maybe... He simply hadn’t awakened yet."
A faint smile appeared beneath his mask.
"But now... Our God is ready. He shall descend into this world."
Kaelan scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"...Right. I think I understand..."
To be honest...
The overwhelming fear Kaelan had initially felt was gradually disappearing. The mysterious intruder no longer seemed like an emotionless assassin.
If anything he behaved like an overly enthusiastic believer trying to recruit new followers.
Still Kaelan never relaxed his guard.
Anyone capable of infiltrating the Nightfall Estate unnoticed remained unimaginably dangerous.
"So... What exactly does any of this have to do with me?"
Shadow’s playful tone disappeared.
His voice became lower. It was cold and more serious.
"You are a very fortunate young man."
Kaelan instinctively swallowed. The atmosphere inside the room immediately became heavier.
"I’ve come here today...to offer you a proposal."
"A proposal? What kind?"
Shadow folded his arms. "The greatest honor you’ll ever receive."
He spread his arms dramatically.
"I’ve decided...to allow you to join my cult dedicated to the God of Death."
He pointed directly at Kaelan.
"You’ll become the second-highest-ranking member. Right below me."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Kaelan stared at him as though wondering whether he had misheard.
He was the heir of House Nightfall. The future Duke of Ebonreach. And this mysterious man had just asked him...
To join an unknown cult devoted to a god no one had ever heard of.
Kaelan desperately wanted to tell him he had lost his mind.
Unfortunately he also wished to remain alive.
Maintaining a polite smile, he carefully replied,
"Sir Shadow... I appreciate the offer. But may I ask something?"
Shadow nodded.
"Go ahead."
"Why should I join your cult? I don’t believe in your god. I’ve never even heard of Him. And... I honestly don’t see anything that would persuade me to join."
"Hmm..."
Shadow rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You have a point. There should be a compelling reason."
He began counting on his fingers.
"You don’t have anyone you desperately want revenge against. So that motivation is out. You’re also talented. You aren’t some powerless nobody dreaming of becoming the strongest. So you have no reason to seek forbidden power."
He raised another finger.
"You haven’t lost someone precious whom you’re desperately trying to bring back to life."
He let out a disappointed sigh.
"...Sigh. You’re really not suitable for becoming the protagonist of a novel."
A vein bulged on Kaelan’s forehead. Out of everything that had happened tonight.
For some reason...
That comment irritated him the most.
’Why am I suddenly being judged as a novel protagonist...?’
Suppressing the urge to argue, Kaelan sighed.
"...Exactly. So if I have no reason... Why do you want me in your cult? I hope you can just leave me alone... I will keep our meeting as a secret and forget about it like this all never happen."
Shadow smiled beneath his mask.
Then his next sentence erased every trace of humor.
"...Don’t you want to know why the demons tried to assassinate you?"
Kaelan froze.
His expression immediately changed.
"...What? How... How do you know about that?"
A quiet, eerie chuckle echoed through the room.
"Hehehe... I know many things."
Shadow casually continued,
"I even know where your uncle Cassian is."
Kaelan’s pupils contracted. His heartbeat quickened once more. His father had spent years searching for Cassian Nightfall.
Countless intelligence networks had failed. Yet this mysterious man spoke about it as though it were common knowledge.
At that moment. Kaelan realized something.
This wasn’t an ordinary cultist.
The man standing before him possessed information that even one of the Empire’s greatest ducal families couldn’t obtain. And he could also tell that the man name shadow was stronger than his own father.
And that made him far more dangerous than Kaelan had initially imagined.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter