Chapter 104 — The Word Below
The woman in black and silver armor stopped at the entrance to the underground chamber.
Brook looked at her.
"You aren't coming?"
She shook her head.
"No one enters this place without the King's permission."
Henry looked past her.
"But Hades is already inside."
The woman gave him a flat look.
"Exactly."
Henry slowly nodded.
"Right."
Crowley stepped toward the stairs.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Brook glanced at him.
"You're in a hurry."
Crowley didn't answer.
He started down.
Brook followed.
Sera came next.
Henry sighed and looked at the woman.
"If we don't come back, tell people I was brave."
She stared at him.
"No."
Henry frowned.
"That's cold."
"You'll probably scream."
Henry pointed at her.
"I already don't like Remus."
Brook's voice echoed from below.
"Henry."
"I'm coming!"
The stairs spiraled deep beneath the palace.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became.
Brook ran his fingers along the stone wall.
The writing continued all the way down.
Words.
Thousands of them.
Some carved.
Some glowing.
Some crossed out.
Sera slowed.
"Look at this."
Brook stopped beside her.
One word had been carved repeatedly into the wall.
OPEN.
Then beneath it:
CLOSE.
Then:
OPEN.
Brook looked at Sera.
"Is that normal?"
Sera shook her head.
"I don't know."
Crowley stopped ahead of them.
"Don't touch anything."
Henry smiled.
"That's becoming a theme."
Crowley looked back.
"Henry."
"Not touching."
They reached the bottom.
The underground chamber was larger than any of them expected.
Ancient pillars rose into darkness.
A circular pool sat at its center.
The water was perfectly still.
Hades stood near the edge.
He didn't turn when they approached.
"You took too long."
Brook looked at him.
"You invited us."
"I summoned you."
"That's basically an invitation."
Hades finally turned.
"No."
Brook smiled faintly.
"Still getting used to you."
Hades ignored him.
His attention moved toward Sera.
"Can you read the writing?"
Sera looked around.
"Some of it."
"Try."
She approached one of the pillars.
Brook followed.
The words were ancient.
Some of them were familiar.
Others weren't.
Sera touched the stone.
"These are commands."
Hades nodded.
"Yes."
"Thousands of them."
"Yes."
Sera looked toward him.
"Why?"
Hades looked at the pool.
"Because one wasn't enough."
Brook frowned.
"For what?"
Hades didn't answer.
Sera continued reading.
"Still."
A word glowed.
"Bind."
Another.
"Return."
"Forget."
Her voice slowed.
"Remember."
Henry looked at the wall.
"Those are spells?"
Hades shook his head.
"Not spells."
"What are they?"
"Instructions."
Henry looked confused.
"To what?"
Hades answered quietly.
"Reality."
Nobody spoke.
Brook looked at the pool.
"You weren't joking about Word Magic."
"I rarely joke."
Henry whispered to Sera.
"I noticed."
Hades looked at him.
Henry immediately looked away.
Brook stepped toward the water.
Death appeared beside him.
Brook didn't even look.
"What?"
Death stared into the pool.
There is something beneath it.
Brook's body tensed.
"What?"
I cannot tell.
Brook frowned.
"You can see lifelines."
Not this one.
Brook looked down.
The water remained still.
Then—
a ripple.
Brook stepped back.
"Something's moving."
Hades immediately raised one hand.
"Everyone away from the water."
Henry drew his weapon.
Crowley did the same.
Sera backed away.
Brook remained near the edge.
Hades looked at him.
"Move."
Brook glanced at him.
"Why?"
"Because whatever is below recognizes you."
Brook's expression changed.
"How do you know?"
Hades pointed toward the water.
The surface reflected Brook's face.
Then it changed.
Behind Brook's reflection stood Michael.
Lucifer.
Death.
All three appeared in the water.
Brook slowly turned.
Nothing stood behind him.
When he looked back—
the reflection was gone.
The pool exploded.
Water struck the pillars.
Henry threw an arm over his face.
Sera stumbled backward.
Brook drew his sword.
Something rose from the water.
A hand.
Pale.
Thin.
Then another.
A figure slowly pulled itself onto the stone platform in the center of the pool.
Long wet hair covered its face.
Its skin was almost white.
Black water dripped from its clothes.
Crowley raised his weapon.
"Who are you?"
The figure lifted its head.
Its eyes were completely black.
It smiled.
Sera whispered:
"No."
The figure looked directly at her.
Then at Brook.
Finally—
at Hades.
Its smile disappeared.
"Still alive."
Hades's voice became colder.
"So are you."
Brook looked between them.
"You know this thing?"
Hades didn't answer.
The figure stepped forward.
The water beneath it remained floating around its feet.
Sera noticed.
"How is it doing that?"
The figure looked at her.
"Words."
Sera froze.
Hades raised his hand.
"Do not speak to her."
The figure smiled.
"Afraid she'll learn?"
Hades's expression hardened.
"Afraid you'll corrupt her."
Brook looked at Hades.
"What is this?"
The figure's eyes moved toward him.
"Something your king forgot."
Crowley's expression changed.
Brook noticed.
"Crowley?"
Crowley remained silent.
The figure laughed.
"Of course."
Brook's grip tightened.
"What do you know?"
The figure looked at him.
"I know why you came."
Brook stepped forward.
"Then tell me."
The figure smiled.
"You think you're looking for Remus."
It pointed upward.
Toward the city.
"But Remus was never lost."
Brook frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The figure turned toward Sera.
"You should ask her."
Sera stared.
"Me?"
The figure nodded.
"You touched the border."
Sera remembered the stone outside the forest.
"It reacted to me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
The figure's smile widened.
"Because it heard you."
Sera looked confused.
"I didn't say anything."
The figure tilted its head.
"You don't need a voice to speak."
Brook felt Lucifer move.
Not aggressively.
Uneasily.
Brook.
"What?"
Lucifer stared at the figure.
Don't let it say another word.
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
Lucifer didn't answer.
Michael appeared.
His expression was serious.
It is using language as a weapon.
Brook tightened his grip on his sword.
"Then let's stop talking."
The figure laughed.
"Good."
Brook moved.
He teleported.
Not far.
Just enough to disappear from one side of the platform and appear beside it.
His sword cut toward the figure's neck.
The figure raised one hand.
Brook's sword stopped.
Midair.
Brook's eyes widened.
The figure whispered:
"Still."
Brook couldn't move.
Not completely.
His body resisted.
Michael surged.
Brook forced his arm downward.
The blade moved.
Slowly.
The figure's eyes widened.
"You resist?"
Brook smiled through clenched teeth.
"Apparently."
Lucifer laughed.
That's my boy.
The figure stepped backward.
Brook broke free.
He swung.
The figure avoided the strike.
Brook drove his shoulder into its chest.
They crashed into one of the pillars.
The figure grabbed Brook's coat.
Brook punched it.
Once.
Twice.
The third strike landed across its jaw.
The creature stumbled.
Brook followed.
A kick to its knee.
The figure dropped.
Brook raised his sword.
Hades shouted:
"Brook!"
Brook stopped.
The creature smiled.
It whispered:
"Weight."
The entire chamber shook.
Brook's body suddenly felt heavier.
His knees bent.
Stone cracked beneath his feet.
Henry shouted.
"Brook!"
Brook dropped to one knee.
The creature stood.
Hades moved.
"Enough."
The word BIND appeared across the chamber.
White bands erupted from the walls.
They wrapped around the creature.
Its arms.
Its legs.
Its throat.
The creature struggled.
Then looked toward Hades.
"You still use chains."
Hades walked toward it.
"And they still work."
The creature smiled.
"Do they?"
The word BREAK appeared.
The chains shattered.
For the first time—
Hades looked surprised.
The creature looked at Sera.
"Say something."
Sera stepped backward.
Brook forced himself up.
"Don't."
The creature smiled.
"Why?"
Brook looked at it.
"Because I said so."
The creature laughed.
Then it spoke one word.
"Silence."
Sera opened her mouth.
No sound came out.
Her eyes widened.
Henry moved toward her.
"Sera?"
She couldn't answer.
Brook turned toward the creature.
His expression changed.
Lucifer smiled inside him.
Not because it was funny.
Because Brook was angry.
There he is.
Brook raised his sword.
The figure looked at him.
"Now you want to fight."
Brook's eyes darkened.
"No."
Lucifer's influence crawled through him.
His instincts sharpened.
The air felt different.
Brook smiled.
"I want to hurt you."
Hades immediately looked at him.
"Brook."
Brook didn't move.
The figure's smile slowly disappeared.
For the first time since rising from the water—
it took a step backward.
Then it whispered:
"You carry Hell."
Brook took a step forward.
"And?"
The creature stared at him.
Then smiled again.
"Then you understand."
Brook tilted his head.
"No."
He disappeared.
Michael pulled him through space.
Brook reappeared directly in front of the creature.
His fist crashed into its face.
The impact sent it across the chamber.
Stone shattered.
Water erupted from the pool.
Brook landed.
Lucifer laughed.
Again.
Brook began walking.
The creature slowly stood.
Black blood ran from its mouth.
It looked at Brook.
Then toward Sera.
Then Hades.
And finally—
the black book resting on the platform behind the pool.
Brook followed its eyes.
The book.
"What's that?"
Hades's expression immediately changed.
"Don't touch it."
The creature smiled.
"Too late."
The book opened.
A page turned.
Sera stared.
A word appeared.
Her eyes widened.
Brook saw her lips move.
But no sound came out.
Hades shouted:
"Sera!"
The creature laughed.
Brook teleported toward her.
But the moment Sera looked at the page—
the entire chamber shook.
The pool began draining.
Not downward.
Upward.
Water rose toward the ceiling.
And beneath the platform—
something enormous opened its eyes.
The figure smiled.
"Now."
Hades stared at it.
"What have you done?"
The creature looked at Brook.
"I reminded Remus of the word it forgot."
Brook looked toward the darkness beneath the water.
A voice whispered through the chamber.
One word.
"Open."
The darkness below them moved.
And something answered.
End of Chapter 104