Deep within the Dark Forest stood a castle.
The castle was small, occupying only a few li of land. Compared to the palaces of the Yulan Empire, which often sprawled over hundreds of li, it counted as a modest residence. But it was unusual-pitch-black throughout, built from a metal Loa had never seen before. The metal reflected no light, absorbing whatever shone upon it, as though a layer of black holes shrouded the castle.
The three Purple-Gold Rat Kings flew straight into the castle with Loa and Wangcai, passed through a corridor, and stopped before a door. It was wooden, dark brown, without carvings or decoration, as plain as the door of a farmer's woodshed.
Harry pushed the door open.
"Please wait a moment," he said. "Father will be here shortly."
The study was small, with bookshelves covering three walls, crammed with books and scrolls. The desk was black, made from the same material as the castle's outer walls.
Loa stood before the desk, Wangcai crouched at his feet, and the three Purple-Gold Rat Kings stood to one side, waiting quietly.
Then a faint silhouette slowly solidified in the chair behind the desk.
Loa sensed no aura at all. No Battle-qi fluctuations, no magical fluctuations, nothing. It was as though the man had been sitting there all along, simply unseen until now.
He wore a very plain black robe, his long black hair falling loosely to his shoulders and his beard reaching his chest, like an elderly man. His eyes were his most striking feature-not large, even somewhat small, but bright, like two polished pieces of obsidian, deep and tranquil, with a gleam that seemed to see through everything.
A faint smile rested at the corners of his mouth, neither broad nor slight, like an elder greeting a younger member