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The Imperial System: Architect of an Empire

Chapter 156: The Voice Beneath the Earth · Nov 04, 2026

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Chapter List (352)

Page number / 8

151 Chapter 151: The First Steps 2026-11-04
152 Chapter 152: Something in the Forest 2026-11-04
153 Chapter 153: The Guardian of the Ruins 2026-11-04
154 Chapter 154: The Ancient Seal 2026-11-04
155 Chapter 155: Six Days 2026-11-04
156 Chapter 156: The Voice Beneath the Earth 2026-11-04
157 Chapter 157: The Secret of the Asterion Blood 2026-11-04
158 Chapter 158: The Road Back 2026-11-04
159 Chapter 159: The Promise to His Mother 2026-11-04
160 Chapter 160: The Empty Archives 2026-11-04
161 Chapter 161: The Emperor’s Questions 2026-11-04
162 Chapter 162: The Imperial Council 2026-11-04
163 Chapter 163: The First Steps Toward a Greater Blackwood 2026-11-04
164 Chapter 164: The First Stone 2026-11-04
165 Chapter 165: The Adventure Guild 2026-11-04
166 Chapter 166: The Guild Begins 2026-11-04
167 Chapter 167: A Market Worth Traveling For 2026-11-04
168 Chapter 168: The Guild’s First Quest 2026-11-04
169 Chapter 169: Into the Forest 2026-11-04
170 Chapter 170: Beneath the Den 2026-11-04
171 Chapter 171: The Source Below 2026-11-04
172 Chapter 172: The Broken Heart Beneath Blackwood 2026-11-04
173 Chapter 173: The People Blackwood Lacked 2026-11-04
174 Chapter 174: The First Bell 2026-11-04
175 Chapter 175: A Man Aurelia Threw Away 2026-11-04
176 Chapter 176: The Weight of Sir 2026-11-04
177 Chapter 177: What the Crystal Was Built to Hold 2026-11-04
178 Chapter 178: Lines Beneath the Soil 2026-11-04
179 Chapter 179: The Man Who Never Came Back 2026-11-04
180 Chapter 180: What Walked Back 2026-11-04
181 Chapter 181: The Name Beyond the Border 2026-11-04
182 Chapter 182: A Rescue, Not a Hunt 2026-11-04
183 Chapter 183: What Blackwood Chose to Protect 2026-11-04
184 Chapter 184: The Woman in White 2026-11-04
185 Chapter 185: The Oath Before the Title 2026-11-04
186 Chapter 186: The Men Who Chose the Banner 2026-11-04
187 Chapter 187: The Line That Still Lived 2026-11-04
188 Chapter 188: The Brother Who Stayed 2026-11-04
189 Chapter 189: What Hector Brought With Him 2026-11-04
190 Chapter 190: The Heart Beneath Blackwood 2026-11-04
191 Chapter 191: The Man Who Collected Doors 2026-11-04
192 Chapter 192: The Second Witness 2026-11-04
193 Chapter 193: What the Title Costs 2026-11-04
194 Chapter 194: The Candidates Who Remained 2026-11-04
195 Chapter 195: The Road to the Coliseum 2026-11-04
196 Chapter 196: The City That Watches 2026-11-04
197 Chapter 197: Four Shields Beneath One Roof 2026-11-04
198 Chapter 198: Before the Empire 2026-11-04
199 Chapter 199: The Weight of a Choice 2026-11-04
200 Chapter 200: The Ones Others Follow 2026-11-04

Kael stared toward the western valley.

The voice still echoed inside his mind.

Come.

He didn’t move.

Darius noticed immediately.

”My lord?”

Kael slowly turned toward him.

”It spoke to me.”

Darius’s hand moved toward his sword.

”What did it say?”

Kael hesitated.

”Come.”

Grom’s expression darkened.

”The thing beneath the ruins?”

Kael nodded.

Darius looked toward the forest.

”Then we proceed carefully.”

Kael looked at him.

”You don’t think we should turn back?”

”I think we should.”

Darius’s answer surprised him.

”But?”

Darius looked directly at Kael.

”If that thing can communicate with you from that distance, then turning our backs may not matter.”

Kael went silent.

He was right.

Whatever was beneath the ruins had already noticed him.

The expedition continued.

Nobody spoke much.

The forest seemed different now.

The deeper they went, the colder the air became.

Kael felt his Ice Power responding again.

A thin layer of frost formed around his fingers.

The system appeared.

Ice Affinity Resonance Increasing

Blood Affinity Resonance Increasing

Kael clenched his hand.

The frost disappeared.

Grom noticed.

”Your power is reacting.”

”Yes.”

”To the ruins?”

”I believe so.”

Grom looked uncomfortable.

”Then perhaps the ruins know what you are.”

Kael glanced at him.

”What am I?”

Grom nodded.

”That creature called you the blood of the old ones.”

Kael looked ahead.

”I haven’t forgotten.”

Darius overheard.

”Whatever that means, we shouldn’t assume it’s connected to your family.”

Kael nodded.

”Agreed.”

Still...

A small part of him wondered.

They reached the observation post shortly before sunset.

The five scouts were alive.

Barely.

Two were injured.

One had a broken arm.

Another had deep cuts across his chest.

Kael immediately ordered the healers to treat them.

Darius approached the scout who had discovered the ruins.

”What happened?”

The soldier swallowed.

”The creature disappeared.”

”What?”

”It went toward the ruins.”

”Why?”

”We don’t know.”

The scout looked at Kael.

”It saw him.”

Kael frowned.

”Who?”

The scout pointed at him.

”You.”

The camp became silent.

Kael stepped closer.

”What happened?”

The scout lowered his voice.

”When the creature saw you through the trees...”

He paused.

”It stopped.”

Kael’s expression hardened.

”Then?”

”It looked afraid.”

Darius glanced at Kael.

The same reaction again.

Fear.

Night fell.

The Black Dragon established a defensive perimeter around the camp.

No one approached the ruins.

Kael sat beside the fire with Darius and Grom.

A map lay between them.

The ruins were marked in black ink.

”The seal is deteriorating,” Kael said.

Darius nodded.

”How much time?”

”Five days.”

Grom looked toward the darkness.

”Then what?”

”We don’t know.”

Kael stared at the map.

”That’s the problem.”

Darius pointed toward the southern forest.

”We could evacuate the surrounding villages.”

”There aren’t any nearby.”

”Then Blackwood.”

Kael looked at him.

”If something escapes, we need to be prepared.”

Darius nodded.

”I’ll send word to Captain Roland.”

Kael thought for a moment.

”Tell him to strengthen the eastern and western gates.”

”Understood.”

”And double the night patrols.”

”Yes.”

Grom looked at Kael.

”You expect it to escape.”

Kael shook his head.

”I expect nothing.”

He looked toward the ruins.

”I prepare for everything.”

Hours passed.

The camp grew quiet.

Kael remained awake.

He couldn’t sleep.

Every time he closed his eyes...

He heard the voice.

Come.

Eventually, Kael stood.

Darius, who had been resting nearby, opened his eyes.

”My lord?”

”I’m going to look.”

Darius immediately stood.

”No.”

Kael looked at him.

”From here.”

He pointed toward a hill overlooking the ruins.

”We won’t approach the entrance.”

Darius considered it.

Then nodded.

”I’ll come with you.”

Grom stood.

”So will I.”

Kael smiled.

”I expected that.”

The three walked toward the hill.

From the top, the ruins were clearly visible.

The ancient stone structures stood beneath the moonlight.

Nothing moved.

Then—

A faint blue light appeared.

Kael’s Ice Power reacted violently.

Frost spread across the ground beneath his boots.

The system appeared.

Resonance Detected.

Ice Affinity: +1%

Blood Affinity: +1%

Kael stared.

”Again.”

The blue light grew brighter.

Then the ancient doorway opened.

Not completely.

Only enough for a thin beam of light to escape.

Darius raised his sword.

Grom lowered his spear.

Kael remained still.

Something moved inside.

A figure.

Human-shaped.

Tall.

Thin.

It stepped toward the doorway.

Kael’s heart began pounding.

The figure stopped.

It looked directly toward the hill.

Toward Kael.

Even from that distance...

Kael knew.

It was looking at him.

Then the voice returned.

But this time, it wasn’t inside his head.

It echoed across the entire valley.

”Asterion.”

Kael froze.

Darius looked at him.

”You heard that?”

Kael nodded.

The voice continued.

”The bloodline returns.”

Kael’s eyes widened.

”How do you know my family?”

The figure stepped forward.

Only its silhouette could be seen.

Then it spoke again.

”Because your bloodline was born from ours.”

Kael’s breathing stopped.

Darius stared at him.

Grom tightened his grip on his spear.

The figure raised one hand.

The ruins shook.

”Come, child of the Imperial Blood.”

Kael took one step forward.

Darius grabbed his shoulder.

”No.”

Kael looked at him.

The figure laughed softly.

”They kept the truth from you.”

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

”What truth?”

The figure’s voice became almost gentle.

”Ask your father.”

Kael froze.

The figure disappeared into the darkness.

The doorway slammed shut.

The blue light vanished.

Silence returned.

Kael stood motionless.

Darius slowly released his shoulder.

Grom stared at him.

”Kael...”

Kael didn’t answer.

His eyes remained fixed on the ruins.

The voice had said one thing that shook him more than everything else.

Ask your father.

Kael had spent years believing he understood his family.

His mother.

His father.

The Imperial bloodline.

But now...

Something ancient beneath the earth had connected them all.

And Kael suddenly realized there were secrets about his own blood that even he didn’t know.

The system appeared.

Major Historical Revelation Detected.

Imperial Bloodline Investigation unlocked.

Objective Created:

Discover the Origin of the Asterion Bloodline.

Reward: Unknown.

Kael stared at the notification.

Then he slowly closed his fist.

”Then I’ll find the truth.”

Behind him, Darius looked toward the ruins.

”Whatever happens...”

Kael nodded.

”I know.”

The three returned to camp.

But Kael never slept that night.

Because for the first time...

The greatest mystery in front of him wasn’t the ancient ruins.

It was his own family.

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