Infernal Ascendancy
Chapter 53: The Graveyard of Reason

Chapter 53: The Graveyard of Reason

Royal Palace – Azreal’s Room

A soft hum echoed through the chamber as glowing glyphs shimmered in the air above a floating panel. Hulk stood tall beside it, arms crossed, while Sarah tapped away at the runes, eyes narrowed.

"Lady Sarah," Hulk said, his voice low but concerned. "Did you find anything else?"

"Just a moment," she replied, her fingers dancing across the glowing surface. Lines of ancient code scrolled by faster and faster, until—

Ding.

The panel pulsed.

Deciphered.

"I’ve got something," Sarah said, straightening. Her voice turned grim. "It’s about Val’Karas."

"That’s great! What did you get?" Hulk stepped closer, eager.

Sarah was silent for a beat. The panel floated higher, casting a red glow over her face.

"We’ve been tricked."

Hulk blinked. "What do you mean?"

"We have to get Lord Azreal back. Now."

"You know he went to get Lady Aria."

"Exactly," Sarah muttered. "And that’s the problem. I had a bad feeling about that girl."

Hulk frowned. "What’s going on?"

Sarah says "Val’Karas... that’s not just some cursed ruin. That’s the resting place of the former King of Hell—Y’tharion."

Hulk’s eyes widened. "No way. I thought he was sealed inside the Final Gate of Hell?"

"It’s complicated," Sarah said, pulling up more files. "The records say the gods sealed him in Val’Karas. But Xaltheon sealed him again, together with the gods’ powers, inside the Final Gate."

"Wait... If Y’tharion was sealed in Val’Karas... then who’s in the Final Gate?"

Sarah looked at him, eyes serious. "That’s the question we’ve never had answers to. But that man—Sin—he knew. He sent Aria and Azreal there on purpose."

"Why?" Hulk asked.

"The Marks."

Hulk straightened. "What about them?"

Sarah replied, her voice tense. "Azreal’s Mark has always reacted to the God’s Mark and Y’tharion’s Mark. We thought it meant something... connected."

Hulk’s eyes narrowed. "If Y’tharion really is in Val’Karas... then all three marks will be in the same place."

Val’Karas – Graveyard of Reason

Aria knelt at the center of a glowing ritual circle. Hooded figures surrounded her, chanting in unison, their voices echoing through the ruined stone chamber.

"Anima clausa vinculis divinitatis, Exsurge ex somno, in dolore renasce. Ignis deorum et daemonum accendatur, Evigila nunc, luminum portatrix."

The circle beneath her flared an eerie red. Aria struggled, chains of light holding her in place.

"Stop it! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!" she shouted.

Sin stood just outside the circle, arms folded, a smirk on his face. "Relax, Aria. It won’t take long. Well... it’ll hurt—but not long."

"What are you doing to me?!"

"We got bored waiting for you to awaken naturally," he said with a shrug. "So we’re giving you a little... push."

"Awaken? Guardian? What are you even talking about?!"

Sin stepped forward slowly, his cloak brushing the stone. The magic circle pulsed like a heartbeat.

He slowly circled her, his voice echoing through the chamber.

"Do you feel it, Aria?

That fire inside you...

It was never just yours."

He looks up at the ceiling, his eyes glowing faintly.

"Let me tell you a story the heavens buried... a story they’re afraid to speak aloud."

He slowly circles Aria as she struggles against the magic chains, listening despite herself.

"Before the concept of gods and demons, before mortals learned to fear the skies, there existed only one law—the Balance. And protecting that balance was a being not born of divinity, nor of darkness.

She was a creature of pure will. A guardian born from the soul of the world itself. She was known only as... the Nine-Tailed Fox."

The flames in the ritual lamps flare as he says the name, and Sin smiles faintly.

"She wasn’t created by the gods. She existed before them. And that scared them.

She didn’t kneel. She didn’t obey. When the gods handed down unjust punishments or waged meaningless wars across the realms, she interfered. She burned their decrees, saved mortals fated to die, and shattered divine laws without hesitation.

The gods called it rebellion. She called it justice."

He stops behind Aria, his voice now lower, more reverent.

"So the gods did what all cowards do when faced with something greater than them.

They branded her a monster.

They banished her from the heavens."

A gust of cold wind sweeps through the room. Aria shivers.

"They struck her down with all their might, casting her to the mortal world.

But she didn’t die, Aria...

She raged."

The ground trembles slightly as Sin speaks more passionately now.

"She raised armies of spirit beasts and elemental titans. She tore open the sky with her flames. She vowed to end the reign of the gods and create a world where power didn’t rule—where balance and freedom did.

She waged war on heaven."

He looks at Aria, his voice turning somber.

"But even gods have infinite followers, and even a guardian can grow weary. Her power faded. Worship dwindled.

They sealed her, trapped her essence in slumber, and buried her name in history.

But before she fell, before she closed her eyes for the last time..."

He walks toward her again and stops right in front of her.

"She chose a vessel.

A successor.

Someone worthy to carry her will when the world needed her again."

He places his hand over his heart.

"She placed her flame in a bloodline... and waited."

He leans down, whispering:

"That flame burns inside you, Aria."

Aria’s eyes widen in shock, her body trembling slightly as she feels the power stir.

"The gods... they noticed. They knew. The moment you were born, they marked you—their little pawn, chosen to bear the Mark of the Divine. Not out of honor... but control.

They gave you the Mark not because you’re blessed, but because you’re dangerous.

You’re not meant to walk beside the gods, Aria.

You were born to tear them down."

He rises to his full height, his cloak flickering in the firelight.

"Your pink flames, your defiance, your very soul—it’s all her.

You are the key. The only one who can awaken her again.

And with her reborn... this world of false divinity, fake justice, and hollow heavens—it all ends."

He steps back, arms spread.

"I will bring her back.

And together, we will create a world where there is no heaven... no hell... only life. Only balance.

A world where none will suffer at the hands of blind gods again."

He turns to her, his tone soft, almost kind.

"Come with me, Aria. Let’s awaken her. Let’s remake the world. Together."

Aria clenched her fists, fighting back tears.

"You’re lying! I trust Azreal! If this was true, he would’ve told me! You just want to twist everything!"

Sin chuckled, walking back to his seat.

"Then I guess you’ll believe it... once you see her."

He nodded.

The chanters raised their voices again.

"Per sanguinem maledictum et flammam sacram, Potentiam tuam invocamus, nomen loquimur. Astra exsolvite, fatum rescribite, Evigila, Aria—aperi portam!"

Royal Palace – Azreal’s Room

"If all Sin needed was to get the three marks in the same place," Hulk said, pacing, "why didn’t he do it earlier? Why now?"

Sarah shook her head. "I don’t know... but maybe the files can tell us."

She tapped more runes. Code ran again.

Then—

"Found it. Look at this."

A new panel appeared.

"Val’Karas used to be a thriving kingdom under King Y’tharion," she read. "He tried to merge Hell with the Mortal Realm. When the gods stopped him, they didn’t just kill him. They sealed him—deep under Val’Karas."

Hulk narrowed his eyes. "So that’s why the land feels cursed."

Sarah nodded. "Time flows strangely there. Communication magic fails. People either vanish, go mad, or return with strange powers. Ancient texts call it the Graveyard of Reason. They say Y’tharion’s will still lingers—tempting the weak to free him."

She paused.

"To keep watch, the gods built the Third Gate of Hell right above it."

Hulk’s jaw tightened. "Aria was taken from the Third Gate... so someone on the inside helped."

Sarah looked up at him.

"There’s a traitor in the Third Gate."

"Hey! If you’ve enjoyed the story so far, let me know by voting or commenting. Your support helps me keep writing iand improving this world!"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.