Chapter 1150: Only once

Abyss, Third Level. Krik Demon territory.

Standing on Eparus’s shoulder, the Deathly Soul-Reaper opened its mouth and roared. The sound that emerged was impossibly ancient and desolate, a cry that was at once tragic and yet teeming with vibrant life. It carried no force or pressure, yet it spread like a wave across the entire third level of the Abyss.

To most abyssal creatures, it was just another roar in a realm of endless noise. Many powerful beings, disturbed from their torpor, extended their senses to find the source but discovered nothing.

In a hidden pocket of space within the third level, the roar penetrated the veil. A slumbering Abyssal Ruler stirred, its brow twitching as it drifted toward wakefulness.

The entire dimension trembled, as if some terrible monster was about to rise. But the roar faded as quickly as it had come. Sensing no immediate danger, the ruler’s eyes, which had been on the verge of opening, sealed shut once more.

Back in the Krik Demon territory, the Deathly Soul-Reaper placed a hand on its own chest. It was a bizarre sensation. Inside this avatar of death, Orion could feel a heartbeat—the beat of the Heart of the Abyss.

The power he had just awakened in his true body had somehow synchronized across all his avatars. This was something a mere Lord’s Stone could never accomplish. Orion understood then that he had stumbled upon something truly extraordinary.

"My lord," Eparus’s voice rumbled, shaking Orion from his thoughts. "What... what has happened to you?"

Orion’s other followers couldn’t see any change, but the Scourge Wardens, as favored children of the Abyss, felt it instantly. A sudden, profound sense of kinship washed over them. In Eparus’s mind, the figure of his lord swelled, becoming impossibly mighty and majestic.

"It’s nothing," Orion replied, his voice as level as ever. "Continue. I’m listening." If his women had been there, they would have detected the thread of pure joy hidden beneath the calm.

"My lord, the Abyss exists in a constant state of evolution and destruction. Through countless ages, our ancestral memory suggests that around three hundred layers still remain. Of course, that number is in constant flux. A layer could be annihilated even as we speak."

Eparus was being objective. Layers of the Abyss could be destroyed for any number of reasons: obliterated in the wars between gods, drained of their world essence by some parasitic evil, or even purged by self-proclaimed forces of light who despised the Abyss.

"Three hundred layers?" Orion mused. "So the Abyss is a great being composed of at least three hundred different worlds?"

Eparus did not agree with this interpretation. "My lord, you cannot think of the Abyss in such simple terms. It is endless. It is not just a collection of diverse worlds, but also a realm of forbidden zones and countless Abyssal Tributaries. Our ancestral memory even speaks of a world below the first layer—a place that must not be entered, a place that must not be named."

Orion had to admit his own ignorance.

Just as Eparus was about to say more, Thronlis strode forward, holding five Lord’s Stones in his cupped hands. He dropped to one knee before Orion.

"My lord, Thronlis presents you with these precious spoils of war!"

He was clearly aware of the gravity of their earlier deception. This was an apology, paid in blood and treasure.

A faint smile touched Orion’s lips. He reached out, and the Lord’s Stones flew from Thronlis’s hands into his own.

"Rise," Orion said, his voice clear and resonant. "For your deception, I grant you all a full pardon."

His words fell heavy, yet the silence that followed was one of release, as if a great burden had finally been cast aside.

Behind him, the faces of the Scourge Warden giants broke into expressions of pure joy. His pardon meant that he would stand with them, that he would shelter their race.

"But know this," Orion’s voice turned to ice. "This happens once. Only once. If I ever discover that you have deceived me again, you won’t have to wait for the Doomguard to find you. I will destroy you myself."

As he spoke, the crushing pressure of a demigod’s will descended, locking onto every Scourge Warden present.

"I do what I say. And I have the power to do it."

Orion’s cold promise was like a thunderclap in their minds. But he was unaware that his voice, now amplified by the Heart of the Abyss, carried an even greater weight. To the Scourge Wardens, it was not the threat of a demigod they felt, but the absolute, undeniable judgment of a god. They fell to their knees as one, not in fear, but in pure, instinctual worship.

Orion simply assumed they were swearing their loyalty and paid it no further mind.

"Vex, raise the banner!"

This captured Krik Demon territory would serve as his temporary base of operations. It was time to recruit.

"Yes, my lord!" the bloodfiend Vex answered, hefting the massive standard of the Conquest Legion. He marched forward, flanked for protection and prestige by the Dracolich Phorzak and a hulking abyssal dragon.

"Go."

At Orion’s signal, Vex leaped to the highest point of the demon fortress and slammed the flagpole into the stone. Then, his body dissolved into a pool of blood that was absorbed into the fabric of the banner itself.

"I AM ORION STONEHEART!" Orion’s voice boomed, magically broadcast from the flag across all the surrounding territories. "I MARCH TO CONQUER THE HIGHER PLANES OF THE ABYSS, TO CLAIM RICHER LANDS AND GREATER RESOURCES FOR THOSE WHO FOLLOW ME! ALL WHO WOULD SHARE IN THIS GLORY, GATHER HERE IN THE LANDS OF THE KRIK AND JOIN MY CONQUEST LEGION!"

The declaration echoed across the land. The shivering, terrified Abyss lords of the neighboring domains finally understood the identity and purpose of the terrifying army that had appeared on their doorstep. They were conquerors from a lower world, and their sights were set on the higher planes.

At that moment, a great many of the weaker lords breathed a collective sigh of relief.