Chapter 737 – My Son Almost Died
The lift descended with a deep tallic hum, gold runes sliding down the walls like stock charts crashing in slow motion. The air changed the deeper they went. Above, the Greed Tower slled like polished marble, infernal espresso, ozone from projection sigils, and ambition. Down here?
Dust.
Old magic.
tal that rembered war.
Zavros did not reply.
He stood behind Lux inside the descending chamber, hands clasped behind his back, posture straight like the King of Greed he was supposed to be. But his mind was anything but straight.
It was chaos.
His only son had just calmly outlined an economic apocalypse contingency plan based on his own assassination. Like he was hedging a portfolio. Like he was calculating interest rates. Like death was a quarterly variable.
Zavros watched the back of Lux’s head. Perfectly styled hair. Suit still crisp despite being almost vaporized hours ago. Tie adjusted. Cufflinks aligned.
How is he walking like this?
The spear mory flickered in Zavros’s mind too. The King. The pressure. The way reality itself bent. The way Lux did not kneel.
And now Lux wanted an artifact from the deepest vault.
’My son almost died.’
Lux stepped forward as the lift doors opened with a low hiss.
Golden light spilled into a corridor that had not seen footsteps in decades.
They walked.
No guards.
No staff.
No assistants.
Just father and son.
Their footsteps echoed against obsidian floors. The walls were layered with ancient contracts etched directly into stone. So were faded. So still glowed faintly. Nas of demons long erased from political mory.
Zavros stayed silent, but his mind would not shut up.
’I left him.’
’For two centuries.’
’Honeymoon. Love. Lust. Romance. Escape.’
He told himself he deserved it. He told himself Lux was capable. He told himself Greed blood ant resilience.
’But what did Lux fight while I was gone?’
’What kind of negotiations? What kind of betrayals? What kind of pressure twisted him into soone who treats his own death like a strategic asset?’
Zavros’s jaw tightened.
Lux walked ahead, hands in his pockets, casual. But not careless.
Never careless.
The deeper they went, the colder it beca. The temperature here did not obey physics. It obeyed preservation.
They passed vault after vault.
So doors were sealed with chains made of crystallized sin.
So humd softly.
One door pulsed faintly with red light. Zavros did not even glance at it. That one was confiscated from Wrath after a failed coup. Too volatile. Too hungry.
Lux glanced sideways. "You’re thinking too loud."
Zavros blinked. "I said nothing."
"You don’t have to."
Lux did not turn around. He just kept walking.
The last vault corridor opened at the very end. This one looked older than the rest. The gold here was not polished. It was darker. Duller. Heavy with age.
The door was massive. Triple layered. Covered in inscriptions even Zavros did not fully understand anymore.
This vault was not for assets.
It was for liabilities.
Artifacts that nobody wanted to own. Too unstable. Too corrupting. Too politically radioactive.
That was why Lux never had authorization.
Until now.
They stopped.
The silence here was thick. Not empty. Thick. Like the air itself was resisting intrusion.
Lux stepped aside slightly and gestured toward the panel.
"Now I need your authorization."
Zavros stepped forward.
His palm pressed against the biotric scanner. Gold light flared. Bloodline recognition engaged. Greed sovereign override confird.
The door did not open imdiately.
It shuddered.
Like it was annoyed.
Then slowly, with a deep grinding resonance that vibrated through bone and marrow, it parted.
The aura hit them instantly.
Lux and Zavros both recoiled at the sa ti.
It slled tallic and sweet. Like old coins soaked in honey and blood. The taste of it lingered on the tongue. The air pressed against skin like humidity in a dragon’s lung.
Zavros coughed lightly. "Five minutes. Better we don’t be here too long."
Lux wiped the corner of his mouth and straightened. His eyes sharpened.
"Make it ten."
Zavros shot him a look. "This is not a shopping mall."
Lux stepped inside anyway.
The interior was vast. Shelves carved from obsidian. Floating containnt spheres. Artifacts sealed in glass coffins. So wrapped in chains. So suspended in void-like stasis.
Each one pulsed with a faint signature.
Lux’s system flickered faintly.
[Warning: Unregistered artifact density high]
[Greed affinity elevated]
[Unknown resonance detected]
Lux inhaled slowly.
This place felt... alive.
He moved forward, slow steps echoing. His shoes clicked softly. The sound felt intrusive.
Zavros followed, eyes scanning everything.
If sothing jumps, I burn this whole chamber.
Lux walked past a black crown that whispered faint promises.
Past a mirror that did not reflect him.
Past a blade that seed to be breathing.
He was supposed to look for The Eye of Truth. A spherical artifact capable of recording absolute reality without distortion. Indestructible proof.
Dead man leverage tool.
Romantic.
Corporate.
Completely unhinged.
But then...
He felt it.
A pull.
Not loud. Not violent. Just... curious.
Lux tilted his head slightly.
Not the Eye.
Sothing else.
He walked toward a pedestal near the far wall. The artifact there was sealed inside a cracked crystal casing. No label. No catalog number.
Zavros frowned. "The Eye is three shelves left."
"I know."
Lux stopped in front of the pedestal.
The artifact inside was a small object. Simple. Almost disappointing.
A ring.
Plain gold.
No gemstone.
No inscriptions.
But the air around it felt heavier.
[Unknown Artifact]
[Greed resonance compatible]
[Warning: Psychological imprint detected]
Lux’s eyes narrowed.
Zavros stepped closer, uneasy. "Do not touch random objects."
"I don’t do random."
Lux studied it.
It was not calling loudly. It was not seductive. It was not screaming for ownership like the crown.
It was... familiar.
Like a ledger entry forgotten but still accruing interest.
Lux tilted his head slightly and murmured under his breath, "System. Full identification."
The vault air humd faintly. The faint golden UI shimred near his peripheral vision.
There was a pause.
Longer than usual.
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