CHAPTER 131: CH 131 CONQUEST - 4

The fox-kin girl did not sleep at all that night.

She sat in a corner of a small abandoned house; she had found the house after she followed the address given by the necrolord outside the city walls.

The sack of gold lay heavy in her lap. The vial of potion glowed faintly in the darkness. And the strange emblem burned with a faint, cold light beside her.

Her fingers kept moving between them gold, potion, and emblem over and over. Each one whispered to her a different future.

Looking at the sack of gold, she felt that might be the smartest choice she could make at first, but her heart did not agree completely. A strange feeling told her to think again about her choice.

A simple life. A quiet village far away. She could live as a human with the potion, buy land, and never be hunted again.

No one would know she was fox kin, at least for some time. She could also plan to travel to the place where her kin originally lived, although she had no idea about that since she was originally born to two slaves.

The potion promised a very sweet and tempting escape. No more tail, no more ears, no more chains. She could become someone else and disappear forever.

But the emblem... The emblem carried a weight she could not explain. Every time her eyes fell on the dragon carved into it, she felt her chest tighten. It gave her a feeling of power, but it was also tempting.

Necrolord’s words echoed in her ears. "You will belong to something greater."

For hours, she wrestled with the choice as an inner battle took place in her mind. She didn’t know what surrendering to that so-called messenger meant, but she felt weirdly drawn to that choice.

Fear pushed her toward the gold and potion. But a small, stubborn flame in her heart whispered to her about the emblem.

The thought of having the power to control her life and living without fearing anyone was only possible through the second choice.

She thought about the men who had captured her. She thought about the nobles who had bought her and then used her as a toy. She thought about every time she had begged for mercy and had been assaulted even more.

Her hands clenched into fists. The touch of those shameful men still made her blood cold and made her body instinctively shiver with fear.

Then suddenly a glimmer of hope emerged from her eyes, and she made the biggest decision of her life at that moment.

"No more," she whispered as she wiped her tears. "No more running. No more chains. I will never be weak again."

The decision was made. She pressed the emblem against her chest and closed her eyes.

A sweet sleep greeted her for the first time in her life.

When dawn came, she stood up in the small room only to find another note with another address resting by her side.

She left the gold and potion behind in the shed. She carried only the note and the emblem. Her heart trembled, but her steps were firm.

It was a run-down tavern at the edge of the capital. The windows were boarded up, the sign half-broken.

It looked abandoned. But when she pushed the door open, the smell of burning incense filled her nose.

Inside, the air was thick and heavy. The room was dark, lit only by a few candles. Strange symbols had been painted on the walls. She swallowed nervously, clutching the note tighter.

"Welcome," a hollow voice said.

She froze. From the corner of the room, Necrolord stepped out of the shadows. His scythe gleamed faintly. His hollow sockets locked onto her.

"You came," he said. His tone carried no surprise. "So, you have chosen to walk the path of my lord."

She nodded shakily. "Y-Yes."

"Good choice, but my lord needs someone who can kill without remorse. If you think you are capable of gaining the power my lord offers, then prove it."

Before she could react, a shadow moved behind her. A man looking just like the one who used to assault her every day, her previous slave master, stepped forward from the darkness. He was tall and muscular, with a scar across his face. A cruel smile spread across his lips.

"Long time no see, darling," he sneered as his blue eyes looked condescendingly at the foxkin girl. "I hope you resist the same way you always do; it’s too fun that way."

Necrolord did not say anything and just tossed a dagger to the foxkin girl, who was now shivering uncontrollably.

"If you want to serve the lord and get stronger, then killing your past will be the first step on that path," he said mockingly.

"If you can’t, then you can just leave."

The girl’s eyes widened. Her heart pounded in her chest. She looked at the dagger on the floor, then at the man towering over her slowly approaching while he licked his lips.

Her hands trembled and her blood went cold; she felt like dying every time she saw that face. She didn’t understand if this was an illusion or reality, but she didn’t bother with that for now; another battle was being fought in her mind.

Necrolord said nothing. He only watched, silent and cold.

The girl bent down slowly. Her fingers closed around the dagger’s hilt. She lifted it with shaking arms.

The man laughed madly on seeing this. "Oh, confident, are we? Come on then. Show me your—"

But he never finished what he wanted to say.

With a heart-wrenching cry that tore from the depths of her chest, the girl lunged forward and drove the blade into the man’s throat.

Blood sprayed across her hands. The man staggered, eyes wide in shock. He fell to the floor, choking.

She screamed like hell; she screamed till her throat gave up. She still squeaked trying to speak, only stopping when exhaustion hit her, and she lost consciousnessdue to sheer emotional trauma.

She had never killed anyone before. But now, as she had looked at his dying eyes, she felt something strange. Not guilt. Not regret. But a fierce, burning fire.

Necrolord’s hollow voice cut through the silence.

"Good."

He stepped closer as he looked at the unconscious girl.

"From this moment, you are no longer a slave. You are no longer prey. You are reborn as one of my lord’s chosen, a warrior, a death bringer."

The emblem in her hand glowed brighter and brighter before she disappeared with the emblem.

The emblem transported her into Klaus’s sanctuary.

Back at the tavern, the thunder lord came out of the shadows behind "What is her name?"

Necrolord tilted his head. "As a slave has no identity, they are not given any names, so she is yet to be named, and since she is the first person to join my lord, he will personally name her when he meets her."

Thunderlord nodded slowly.

"Now," Necrolord said, "her training will begin."

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inside the sanctuary.

When the foxkin opened her eyes again, she was standing on ground made of polished black stone.

The air around her was heavy yet strangely warm. Above her stretched a sky that was not a sky at all, an endless swirling vortex of grey clouds like they would hail and snow the earth.

This was no ordinary place. It did not feel like the mortal world. Her instincts whispered that this was a realm far above anything she had ever known.

In front of her she saw a massive hall made out of the black stone. Its walls were tall, built from smooth obsidian that gleamed faintly under the purple light.

Strange runes were etched across every surface, glowing with quiet power. The gates to the hall opened slowly, as if they had been waiting only for her.

Her feet moved on their own. She stepped through the gates and entered.

The inside was vast, almost endless. Statues of dragons lined the sides, each one carved in different poses, some roaring, some coiled, some with wings spread wide. But all of them radiated majesty.

In the middle of the hall stood a throne made of bones, skulls, earth, fire, and ice crystals, glowing faintly with streams of death energy.

And on that throne sat a handsome youth.

He was not wearing armor. He did not need to. His very presence filled the room, pressing against her chest like a mountain.

His silver eyes gleamed faintly as he looked down at her. The shadows themselves seemed to bend toward him.

The girl fell to her knees instantly, trembling. Her body could not endure that overwhelming aura.

"Rise," Klaus said; his voice was calm, yet it echoed through the hall as if a thousand voices spoke with him.

Her knees shook, but she obeyed. She forced herself to stand. Her hands clutched the emblem tightly as if it were her only anchor.

"You chose well," Klaus said, his gaze piercing into her very soul.

"Many would have taken the gold and the potion. Many would have chosen the easy life of hiding. But you did not. That means you have the will to walk this path."

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her throat felt dry.

Klaus leaned slightly forward on his throne. "Tell me your name."

Her lips trembled. "...I...I have none, my lord. Slaves are not given names."

For a moment, silence filled the hall. Then Klaus’s lips curved into the faintest of smiles.

"Then I shall give you one."

He lifted his hand. A wisp of fire appeared on his palm.

"From this day forth, you are no longer a nameless slave. You are the first member of the zero division. and the leader of all the juniors that will be joining you soon."

"I want to give you a name that speaks of the freedom that you have gained and the power that you will now wield."

"I will name you Lyssandra, it means ’defender of freedom’ or ’she who liberates,’" Klaus said, and with that, a dark energy appeared in his hand.

The flame flew into her chest. She gasped as warmth spread through her entire body. It was unlike anything she had ever felt. For the first time in her life, she felt whole. She had a name. She had an identity, and she felt an innate strength that she did not feel before.

It was the eternal mark that Klaus had just left on her.

"Lysandra Welcome to the sanctuary; from now on you will live your life on your own terms."

Tears welled in her eyes. She bowed deeply, her voice shaking. "Th... Thank you, my lord. I... I will not fail you."