[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-deus-necros":3,"chapter-deus-necros-deus-necros-chapter-288":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Deus Necros",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1361703,1801,"Chapter 288: Request","deus-necros-chapter-288",288,"\u003Cp>The Cardinal's voice, already thin with frustration, rose into a sharp, trembling pitch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What you're doing goes against the Holy Order!\" he barked, spittle flashing under the dying torchlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Van Dijk turned his gaze toward him with a look that was neither amused nor angry—merely tired. A wolf regarding a barking dog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know, Clement,\" Van Dijk said, his voice low, steady as the slow pull of a blade from its sheath, \"I was here when your 'Order' was still nothing but a group of ragged preachers, begging scraps in the alleys of Lufondal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a step forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mot said nothing—did nothing. He only watched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was here,\" Van Dijk continued, \"when you were little more than a cult, pulling desperate fools into your promises of the Four Gods' mercy. I was here when the city branded you heretics.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another step. Closer. The chains clinked faintly at his ankles, but they no longer restrained him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was here,\" Van Dijk whispered, \"seven hundred years ago.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Cardinal took a half-step back, instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And yet...\" Van Dijk smiled faintly. No warmth. No joy. Just inevitability. \"Why do I still live, Clement?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Cardinal's mouth opened, but no words came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Van Dijk tilted his head, observing the old man like a curious specimen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll tell you,\" he said, his voice almost soft. \"Because I did nothing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clement frowned. \"What—?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I haven't actively participated in the world's affairs for centuries,\" Van Dijk continued, voice sharpening. \"I didn't seek revenge. I didn't correct the wrongs. I didn't rebuild what they took from me. I grew stronger. I learned. I waited.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He folded his hands behind his back, posture relaxed—almost regal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you know why, Cardinal?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The question hung in the air. Heavy. Suffocating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clement didn't answer. But the hunger in his eyes was clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Van Dijk obliged him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because I am immortal,\" he said simply. \"And to me... you are all children. Your lives are like falling leaves. Beautiful, struggling... but ultimately brief. You work, you fight, you bleed... and you die. Forgotten.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He let the words settle into the cracks of the chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For a True Vampire,\" Van Dijk said, \"time is but a river. And we—\" he smiled thinly— \"we are the stones that the current cannot erode.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Cardinal's knuckles whitened around his staff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even True Vampires can die!\" he snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Van Dijk's smile never faltered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed,\" he said. His voice grew quieter. Sadder. \"Even my father died. My brothers. My dearest sister...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He closed his eyes for a moment, as if feeling the weight of those names.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They were all True Vampires. Their blood pure. Their power immense.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And yet they fell.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes opened, burning gold in the dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you know why?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't wait for an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because they were weak.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words cracked like a whip through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am not.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The torchlight flickered violently for a moment, as if reacting to the force in his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So believe me, Clement,\" Van Dijk said, stepping even closer, voice dropping to a near-whisper. \"If you think my capture at the Black Tower was your doing—you are mistaken.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clement stiffened, but said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I allowed myself to be taken,\" Van Dijk continued. \"Because I needed time. Time to understand what treachery brewed within my walls. I let my disciple escape.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Cardinal seized on it instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aha!\" he cried, jabbing a finger. \"You admit it! You aided a fugitive!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Van Dijk's eyes turned to ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what,\" he said slowly, each word laced with quiet venom, \"are you going to do about it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chamber fell into a strained silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Mot shifted, stepping forward—this time not with hostility, but with calm deliberation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Van Dijk,\" the boy said, his voice unusually formal. \"My lord wishes to speak with you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Van Dijk arched a brow and tilted his head downward to the boy's small frame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\" he asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mot's body tensed for a breath, then his eyes shifted again—changing in that grotesque, impossible way. His irises stretched into squares. His pupils dilated into something alien, beyond comprehension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, Mot spoke—but the voice that came forth was layered. A child's tone overlaid with something vast and ancient. Something wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One who seeks the End,\" the voice said, reverberating without sound, seeping into the very stones, \"it is advised that you calm your wrath. Though it is but a spark in a sea of fire, it would be enough to ignite the land. Do not destroy this place. This is not an order, but a request. For its preservation shall serve you in ways you do not yet see.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The torches guttered once, as if gasping for air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, as quickly as it had come, the presence withdrew. Mot blinked twice, confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did he say?\" the boy asked innocently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Van Dijk straightened, expression unreadable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned his gaze back to Clement—who stood frozen, wide-eyed, having heard nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So only I heard,\" Van Dijk muttered under his breath. \"Figures. It's always the damn scary ones that talk directly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He let out a slow, resigned sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well,\" he said, voice dry. \"Second time I get to talk to a god personally. I suppose I should listen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped back toward the torture chair, chains and glyphs utterly meaningless now, and sat down with a casual grunt as if he were sitting on a royal throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But at least,\" he added, leaning back with a grin, \"someone bring me a proper meal. I'm getting tired of pretending I enjoy blood-stained porridge.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Cardinal still looked stricken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two bishops glanced at each other, visibly rattled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had exhausted every torture method they knew. Every sacred rite. Every physical punishment. Nothing had cracked Van Dijk. Nothing had broken him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now... it seemed nothing could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clement opened his mouth—to argue, to order something—but Van Dijk beat him to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm simply doing,\" he said, voice lilting with dark humor, \"what your boy's god advises.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drummed his fingers idly on the chair's arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chilling here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Cardinal turned sharply toward Mot. The boy merely nodded, serene and unbothered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clement looked like he was about to explode. He threw up his hands with a frustrated growl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For the love of the Four, Van Dijk, you're insufferable!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stomped toward the exit, nearly knocking over one of the bishops in his wake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm getting the Pontiff!\" he barked as he stormed out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heavy doors slammed closed behind him, leaving the chamber once again cloaked in uneasy darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Van Dijk sighed contentedly and closed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, peace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A silence he welcomed.\u003C\u002Fp>",1105,"2026-06-05T21:15:50.753Z",1,"novelbin.me","778a402858421d703f7f1c470a47d72d427b49450055a650ec8fa787907502e9","deus-necros-chapter-289","deus-necros-chapter-287",791,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdeus-necros-cover.jpg"]