Time had no meaning in Netherhold.
There was no sun to rise.
No stars to measure the hours.
Only the pulse of mana through dead stone… and the slow, deliberate breath of something ancient that now called this place home.
Me.
I was no longer a wandering soul in the void. I had purpose. I had power.
But more importantly, I had subjects.
Not followers by oath, but by resonance.
They felt my will… and responded to it.
---
I sat upon the altar—now reborn.
Once a cracked slab of cursed obsidian, it had changed. Its surface now etched in runes that glowed faintly with every breath I took. The dead stone pulsed with a rhythm not unlike a heart… my heart.
This was no longer a mere altar.
It was my throne.
> [Structure Created: Soul Throne – Shadow Regalia]
[Function: Enhances soul control and command over loyal subordinates]
[Bonus Unlocked: Loyalty Evolution Enabled for 100% Loyal Units]
I exhaled, though lungs were long gone.
This kingdom, still in its infant bones, was growing.
Not with walls, but with loyalty.
Not with armies, but with bonds.
Loyalty…
That word once meant nothing to me.
In life, loyalty had failed me. Betrayal came from those closest—those I trusted.
But here… beneath stone and silence… something different stirred.
---
"Gob," I called.
The sound echoed gently through the chamber.
Moments later, he arrived—bounding in with Glep wobbling along beside him. He was still short, round, and wild-eyed, but something about the way he stood was different now. Straighter. Firmer.
"Za-Za?" he chirped, eyes wide. "You need Gob?"
I nodded. "More than ever."
I extended a hand. A stream of violet light swept across his body, reading the very fabric of his soul.
> [Unit: Gob – Lv. 5]
[Class: Lesser Goblin (Bound to Undead Sovereign)]
[Loyalty: 100%]
[Condition Met: Loyalty Evolution Available]
[Evolutions Available: Shadow Hobgoblin – Grave Stalker – Bonechannel Imp]
"These are your paths," I said. "Choose your future."
He blinked, studying the symbols floating in the air. His fingers traced each image—one a shadowed warrior, another a lurking predator, and the third a spellmarked trickster.
Then he pointed at the second.
"That one. Grave… Stalker."
I smiled. "Clever. Instinct over strength. A hunter's mind."
---
The ritual began.
Violet light encircled his body. He fell to one knee, groaning as magic rewrote his flesh.
His arms stretched, bones reshaped. His back curved with a line of dark growths like fractured wings. His skin turned from green to ashen gray. Fangs lengthened. Eyes narrowed into glowing crimson slits.
He clawed at the floor, snarling—not in pain, but hunger.
> [Evolution Successful: Grave Stalker – Lv. 5]
[Skills Gained: Night Pounce | Undead Track | Echo Whisper]
[Bonus: +Instincts | +Tactical Awareness | +Agility]
He rose slowly, shaking his new limbs. When he looked at me, the wild grin was gone—replaced by something calm. Focused. Dangerous.
"I feel… clear," he said slowly, testing the new voice that resonated from his evolved throat. "I can sense movement. Hear heartbeats in the walls."
"You've become what this place needs," I told him.
"I will hunt for you, Za-Za," he replied. "For the kingdom."
---
Later, I turned my attention to the Bone Wraiths.
Once they only moved on command. Now, they moved before I spoke.
One of them—Wraith-3—raised a hand when I approached the south corridor. It pointed at a crack in the wall I hadn't noticed, where corrupted mana leaked faintly.
> [Autonomous Awareness Detected]
[Bone Wraith has gained Basic Tactical Conscience]
[Commands can now be issued through Sovereign Thought Protocol]
I tilted my head.
So, loyalty… was turning into initiative.
Obedience was becoming instinct.
I sat once more upon the Soul Throne and focused.
---
A map unfurled before me—etched in runes across my vision. It showed the halls of Netherhold, the borders I had explored, the chambers claimed, and the veins of raw soul-ore still untouched.
I called this system:
Sovereign Control Grid
I could now place units. Direct them. Track them.
Bone Wraiths were assigned to patrol chokepoints.
Grave Stalker was given a hunting route.
Two unassigned skeletons were redirected to reinforce the north gate.
Each unit glowed faintly on the map.
Each pulse of their presence… felt like power.
---
While I organized my forces, I felt something else tug at my attention.
Glep.
The little slime was wobbling oddly today. His color shifted between blue, purple, and faint gray. He rolled across runes and sucked in residual mana like a sponge. Even Luma floated above him in slow circles, curious.
> [Mana Absorption Detected: Glep has consumed fragments from 3 distinct magical fields]
[Mutation Pending – Hybridization Detected]
[Warning: Structure Unstable | Monitor Development]
"Interesting," I whispered.
Glep blinked. Then he did something new—he pulsed once, creating a tiny horn on his head. He wiggled it proudly.
I laughed—a dry, hollow echo from deep within my ribcage.
"Keep evolving, little one. I want to see where your path leads."
---
The day's final task took me to the Hall of Echoes.
This sacred place was alive now, humming with the energy of lost souls. Its walls glowed like constellations—stars made of sorrow. The basin in the center swirled with harvested essence.
Luma floated at the top of the chamber, weaving sigils in the air with trails of violet light.
I placed two soul cores into the basin.
Immediately, the system responded.
> [Soul Avatars Available: Wraith Scout | Boneflare Hound]
[Function: Scouting | Perimeter Defense with Soulburst]
I summoned the Boneflare Hound.
It rose from the ether—skeletal, four-legged, sheathed in smokeless flame. It did not growl. It did not wag a tail. It simply stood. Ready. Watching.
It padded silently toward Grave Stalker and sat at his feet. The two stared at each other for a moment… then nodded.
Bond formed. Loyalty aligned.
---
And I, their king, stood at the heart of it all.
Let others build castles from stone.
I built mine from loyalty, instinct, and darkness.
My people were few… but evolving.
My enemies were unaware… but inevitable.
And this throne…
This seat of bone and sorrow… was not where I would wait.
It was where I would reign.
---
That night, I returned to the upper chamber.
Below, my kingdom pulsed.
Above… only silence.
I gazed out across the stone corridors and thought:
> "What makes a kingdom truly strong?"
Not walls. Not armies.
But unity. Evolution.
Loyalty not bought… but earned.
I no longer needed the world.
But one day… the world would need to remember me.
And when it did…
It would kneel.
---
END OF CHAPTER 5