Chapter 167: Welcome to the Midnight Kingdom’s Capital

Before the group set out on the special raid event to seize the second fortress—before Luke had even left the new area of the tutorial—things had been anything but simple. The journey up to that point had been long, marked by loss, choices, and a silence that never quite left him. And now, as his steps carried him toward the entrance of the second mechanism’s fortress, his mind betrayed him—dragging him back to where it had all begun.

To the exact moment he opened the barrier gate—shoving the severed arm of a Midnight Warden into the slit of the lock. That’s when he heard the voice.

“Hmm… was that the end of your little edgy monologue?” The female voice cut through the air like a dagger.

“Who’s there?” he asked, spinning around. His eyes scanned the darkness ahead.

The reply came with a dry, impatient tone.

“I’m down here, genius,” the voice replied, flat with boredom. “Took you long enough to notice.”

There was no echo. The words didn’t travel through the air. They landed directly in his skull—clear, sharp, almost artificial. Around him, the forest remained perfectly still, as if the world outside hadn’t heard a thing.

Luke froze. He looked around—nothing. No one was there. For a split second, he even glanced at Charlie, startled, thinking she might’ve spoken. But even she was turning her head, trying to locate the source.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” the voice said. “Down here. Around your neck.”

His gaze dropped slowly—then stopped.

“The necklace…?” he murmured.

“Yes. Congrats, genius. It’s me. The necklace. Nice to meet you. Name’s Artemis.”

He stood frozen, eyes fixed on the object around his neck like he was seeing it for the first time.

“You’re like… alive?” he asked, still trying to process.

“Define alive. Like, beating heart? Blood pumping? No. But if self-awareness counts, then yeah—I’m very much alive.”

Luke remained at the edge of the new Wild Zone region, Charlie still at his side. But the sudden realization that the necklace he’d been wearing was sentient… that was a lot to digest.

“When could you start talking?” he asked.

It was the most obvious, stupid thing to say, but at that moment, it was the only question that made any sense.

“Do you remember the first time you spoke? Yeah. Neither do I. And frankly, I don’t care.”

“You know what I meant,” he muttered.

Charlie stood close, watching intently at the necklace, as if expecting it to start floating midair. Around them, the narrow path wove between twisted trunks and thick roots. A soft breeze stirred the fallen leaves, carrying the scent of damp earth and moss. Whatever fascination Luke had felt for the Midnight Kingdom’s capital faded in the face of this new discovery.

“I wasn’t always a necklace, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Artemis continued. “And now that we can finally talk, why don’t you go ahead and open your inventory? Read the description.”

Luke frowned but complied. He summoned the interface and tapped on the necklace icon. A window opened before him. Lines of text began to form, one after another, glowing against the dark interface. The window’s edges shimmered faintly, as if reacting to some unstable magical force within the item. Tiny glyphs spun slowly in the corners of the screen, marking the type of enchantments woven into its core.

[Artemis Invention (Unique)
Description: A prototype crafted by Samael, the Inventor.
‘A gift to help you on your journey. Good luck. It was collecting dust in my workshop anyway.’

PS: I am not liable for any discomfort it causes. – Samael

Enchantments:

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author’s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

[Spatial Storage (Rare)]: Grants access to a pocket dimension where items can be stored.
[Artemis (Unique)]: This necklace contains the soul of Artemis.
Requirement: Soulbound]

“‘The soul of Artemis…’” Luke muttered under his breath.

“See? I used to have a body,” said the voice, oozing sarcasm. “Then I did… some things. Not exactly great. A guy named General Icarus nearly wiped me out, my soul wandered the multiverse for—I don’t know—forever, until Samael decided to seal me inside this necklace. Long story.”

Luke blinked slowly. He’d heard a lot of bizarre things since arriving in this world, but a talking soul trapped in jewelry was definitely a new one.

He raised an eyebrow. “So why are you only speaking now?”

“Because Samael told me to shut up. I wasn’t allowed to speak until you made it past this part of the tutorial.”

“Samael the Inventor…? I thought this necklace was just… I don’t know, some random system item.”