Chapter 137: The Nether World

?Something stirred deep within her soul.

?She didn’t know why she had ended up in this void. She couldn’t remember what had happened before she arrived, nor could she recall the cause of the sudden emptiness in her mind.

?But she knew one truth.

?Her Lord was calling for her.

?And she wanted to answer.

?Nyxara slowly closed her eyes.

?She anchored her focus onto the familiar voice, allowing it to guide her through the boundless darkness.

Her body began drifting toward its source, accelerating as the spiritual tether between them pulled taut.

?The void gradually faded.

?The countless chained souls dissolved into the distance.

?And the voice became crystal clear.

?"Nyxara."

?She reached out toward the sound.

?Then—

?Her eyes snapped open.

?Nyxara sat upright so violently that Cassian nearly lost his grip on her.

??And before he could utter a single word, she twisted around and threw her arms tightly around his neck.

?Cassian blinked in mild shock.

?One moment he had been examining his unconscious Champion, trying to diagnose the cause of her sudden mental collapse. The next, she had practically launched herself into his embrace.

?Her arms tightened desperately around his shoulders. Her body trembled against his chest, and for several long seconds, she said nothing at all.

?Cassian remained still, allowing her to anchor herself against him.

?Then he felt her slender fingers clutch tightly at the fabric of his newly worn shirt.

?"My lord..." Her voice was barely a whisper, thick with uncharacteristic vulnerability.

?Cassian lowered his gaze, his tone steady. "I’m here."

?Nyxara shook her head, pressing her face deeper into his chest. "I was scared..."

?The admission came out as a strained, trembling breath. "I was so scared."

?Her grip tightened further, as though she feared that loosening her arms for even a second would cause him to vanish into thin air.

?Cassian’s expression softened completely.

?He didn’t interrupt her. He didn’t demand answers.

?Nyxara drew a shaky, uneven breath. "For a moment, I thought I was trapped back there again..."

?Her voice quavered softly. "That place... I couldn’t remember anything. I couldn’t understand what was happening, and there was nothing around me except absolute darkness. I didn’t know where I was... or how I had gotten there."

?She paused, her knuckles turning white as she clutched his clothes. "I thought I would be trapped there forever."

?Cassian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

?The Nether World?

?He looked down at the elf clinging to him. Her usual stoic, refined composure was entirely gone.

The confident Undead Champion who could face terrifying enemies without batting an eye was trembling in his arms, seeking warmth as if she had just escaped a waking nightmare.

?He didn’t know the full explanation yet, so he didn’t force her to speak.

?Instead, Cassian raised his hand and gently rested his palm against the back of her head, stroking her violet hair.

?Nyxara shuddered at the touch, letting out a long, ragged exhale as she buried her face deeper into his shoulder.

?For a long time, neither of them moved.

?Cassian simply held her, letting her regain her bearings at her own pace. He could investigate the anomaly behind her loss of control later. He could question her once her mind was stable.

?Right now, he was simply relieved that she had returned to him.

?His Champion was alive. She was conscious. She was here.

?That was enough.

?Nyxara’s trembling gradually subsided, though she made no attempt to pull away from his chest.

?Cassian kept his hand on her hair, his voice low and soothing. "It’s all right," he murmured softly. "You’re safe now."

....

Nyxara had finally calmed down.

?Although she remained seated beside Cassian, her grip on his clothes had loosened, and the trembling that had plagued her earlier had gradually subsided.

Her violet eyes still carried traces of lingering unease, but she no longer looked as though she expected something terrible to happen at any moment.

?Cassian gently brushed a stray strand of violet hair away from her face.

?"Are you feeling better now?"

?Nyxara nodded softly. "Yes, my lord. I’m sorry for worrying you."

?"You don’t need to apologize." Cassian studied her expression for a moment before continuing. "Now, can you tell me what happened?"

?Nyxara fell silent.

?Her gaze drifted toward the metallic floorboards as she struggled to structure her thoughts before finally speaking.

?"I think it happened because I explained something I wasn’t supposed to know."

?Cassian’s blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Something you weren’t supposed to know?"

?Nyxara gave a slow nod. "The information I shared about the Nether World... I knew it was true, but I don’t understand how I knew it. The moment you asked me where that knowledge came from, something violently fractured inside my mind."

?She paused, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the fabric of her dress.

?"It felt as though an invisible hand had reached deep into my consciousness. Then I heard... or perhaps felt something. I can’t explain it properly. The next thing I remember is being surrounded by absolute darkness."

?Cassian listened attentively without interrupting.

?He could already piece together the underlying logic.

?Every troop and Champion brought into existence through the Lord’s Domain received a baseline foundation of knowledge from the Nether World upon summoning.

It was an essential part of their manifestation, providing them with an understanding of the cosmos, their combat abilities, and their absolute bond with their Lord.

?This was why his forces instinctively understood their purpose without requiring lengthy explanations.

?They knew who they were, what they could do, and why they served him. They possessed an innate grasp of their skills, their authorities, and the fundamental rules governing their existence.

?Even their unwavering loyalty was partially rooted in the intrinsic nature of their summoning.

?However, the specific existential mechanics Nyxara had shared earlier were vastly different.

?Ordinary summons didn’t possess that knowledge.

?If they did, the question of whether souls from outside the Lord’s Domain entered the Nether World wouldn’t have remained a mystery for generations.

Scholar-Lords would have mapped the relationship between death, reincarnation, and the Nether World centuries ago.

?Yet Nyxara had articulated those fundamental principles with the complete confidence of someone who had studied them extensively.

?And the moment Cassian asked her to trace the source of that knowledge, she had suffered an immediate, violent backlash.

’?Was that some kind of cosmic failsafe?’

?His expression grew increasingly stern.

?The implication was deeply disturbing.

?But that raised an even bigger question.

?How had she obtained that high-level knowledge in the first place?

?Cassian glanced down at his Champion.