"Give it back to me, return my instinct to me..."
In a daze, I opened my eyes wide, not knowing how long my consciousness had been lost.
"Good morning, Earthly Soul. I apologize for yesterday, but your words provoked Lord Replicator, and I couldn't stop him."
I snorted coldly, leaning against the surface of the glass jar, staring at Wraithshade.
My feelings were complicated at the moment. Everything from yesterday was still vivid in my mind. In that final instant, I was furious, trying to reclaim my instinct, but I failed. My instinct was sealed inside the Instinct Stone.
Suddenly, I opened my eyes wide and sat up, pressing both hands against the surface of the glass jar, quietly watching Wraithshade hold the Instinct Stone, its surface etched with streaks of lightning.
"Your instinct is right here, but for now, it can't be released. Earthly Soul, if you tell me about the realm, maybe I'll consider giving your instinct back to you."
I stared quietly at Wraithshade, just about to speak when I stopped myself.
"Even if you ask for a hundred years, it'll still be the same. I don't know what realm you're talking about, nor do I possess such a thing. There's nothing more to discuss. You should go."
I said this and leaned back, but Wraithshade remained seated in front of me, clearly not intending to leave.
I couldn't figure out what Wraithshade was really planning. His intentions were impossible to guess. It couldn't be as simple as the realm—he must have some other purpose.
"Alright then, if you still refuse to talk, I'll just throw away your instinct."
"What do you mean?"
I immediately asked, watching Wraithshade warily as he shook the Instinct Stone in his hand.
"You know, instinct comes from the Unreal, so it can return to the Unreal. Even if you've awakened Endbringer's instinct, you're now completely severed from it physically. If I toss the Instinct Stone into the Unreal Abyss, what do you think will happen?"
"Unreal Abyss?"
I stared quietly at Wraithshade, and he nodded.
"In this darkness, only I know the exact location of the Unreal Abyss. That's why, even though many at the Dark Banquet are stronger than me, I'm still ranked in the top ten."
"You..."
I gritted my teeth and shouted. Wraithshade stood up, then turned around with a smile.
"I'll ask you one last time: if you still refuse to talk, I'll go to the Unreal Abyss right now and throw this Instinct Stone, sealed with Endbringer's power, into it—let Endbringer return to the Unreal."
Instantly, I tensed up, my heart pounding, my mind growing chaotic.
"Fine, since you refuse to say anything, I'll go now."
Wraithshade's figure slowly sank into the floor. I roared in anger, but quickly calmed down. Accompanied by his laughter, I sat down—Wraithshade was already gone.
"Suit yourself, if that's what you want."
There was no way to tell if these words were true or false, and I didn't want to think about it anymore.
Another interminable wait began. I had no idea when Wraithshade would return, but I felt no impatience. The sense of the realm was still in my body, but I couldn't use it to move outside.
I quietly overlooked the room, this vast space, trying to pass through the walls but failing. It seems this realm is closely tied to my instinct.
Gradually, I started to feel restless, but then a shadow appeared before me—it was the Replicator.
"Earthly Soul, where is Mr. Wraithshade?"
I chuckled and shook my head.
"He took my Instinct Stone to the Unreal Abyss, planning to throw my instinct away."
For a moment, the Replicator's face turned grim. He immediately turned away, roaring through gritted teeth.
"What the hell is that bastard trying to do?"
Dazed, I felt dizzy and noticed the Replicator approaching.
"Hey, what's going on, Earthly Soul...?"
I could no longer hold onto my consciousness. I opened my eyes wide, watching my body fade away—I was dying.
In the boundless darkness, I drifted quietly, unable to feel anything.
"Am I dead?"
I muttered, smiling helplessly and bitterly. I had never imagined this would happen. Maybe Wraithshade really did throw my instinct into the Unreal Abyss.
I couldn't feel anything. The aura of Endbringer had completely vanished, and I floated quietly in this darkness.
I had no idea where I would go, or what would happen next. My consciousness remained, and that surprised me most of all.
Suddenly, I opened my eyes wide. Before me was a small lake at the foot of a mountain. I stood on the ground, impossibly walking to the lakeshore, staring at the gray surface—it was me, a black humanoid figure.
I sat by the lake, watching gray mist drift across its surface. I didn't know where this was. Faint light shimmered above the water.
"What is going on?"
I glanced back at the city below the mountain. I could see it clearly—the people moving within the city were all visible. Smiling, I stood up and stepped into the lake.
With a ding, I suddenly found myself at the center of the lake. Ripples spread across the surface. I opened my eyes wide, staring at two figures standing by the shore.
"Little Gray, Little White, you two."
With a snap, the two figures vanished like bubbles.
"You..."
I reached out my hand and gradually noticed the color of the lake sinking. The gray surface slowly turned black, ripples growing stronger as the wind howled.
It was a black wind. I stared in surprise as the trees caught by the wind began to wither. Their leaves turned from green to yellow, then shriveled to black, and finally became dust, vanishing in the breeze.
The once moist earth dried up and cracked. I opened my eyes wide, watching the city below undergo the same transformation—the people had become skeletons, their bones crumbling in the wind, turning black, and finally to dust scattered on the ground.
The trees began to weather, the entire process unfolding rapidly. The black surface of the lake beneath my feet, its ripples gradually calmed.
I floated quietly on the lake, watching as its surface expanded outward. Soon, I was surrounded by black water. Looking up, the sky was bright white, yet black and white cast no reflections, as if each existed in a separate realm.
Jets of water sprang up around me, more and more rising from the lake. I swallowed nervously.
With a thud, my heart beat. I stared in amazement at this black humanoid body, hearing a sizzling sound. Around me, black lightning surged, racing across the water and up the jets.
"So it is, huh? Heh, Endbringer—welcome back..."
Suddenly, I opened my eyes. The Replicator was still in front of me, watching intently. My body was wrapped in the power of darkness, and he looked at me in confusion.
"What's going on, Ethan Zhang?"
A shadow appeared. Wraithshade stood behind the Replicator, his cloak billowing, eyes sharp and cold as he stared at me.
"Wraithshade, what do you mean? Where's the instinct?"
"It's already been thrown into the Unreal Abyss."
Immediately, the Replicator's eyes widened. He strode forward and grabbed Wraithshade by the collar.
"You..."
With a snap, Wraithshade brushed away the Replicator's hand, then walked up to me.
"Can you explain, Earthly Soul, why are you still alive? Or rather, where exactly did you go?"
I snorted coldly and shook my head helplessly.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
There was excitement in Wraithshade's eyes, while the Replicator looked frustrated, glaring at Wraithshade, but seemed relieved.
"Heh, so it was just a joke, Mr. Wraithshade. Please, don't joke about things like this."
"No, I'm not joking. You forget, I'm a man of my word. I really did throw the Instinct Stone into the Unreal Abyss."
For a moment, the Replicator's face froze. He widened his eyes and came over to my side, carefully observing for a while.
"Impossible. If you really did that, Earthly Soul would have vanished. Though I did see signs of disappearance just now, it stopped immediately. Mr. Wraithshade, what kind of experiment are you conducting?"
Wraithshade stared at me with cold eyes.
"Can't explain, can you? Earthly Soul, I really did throw your instinct into the Unreal Abyss. Yet you're still here, which means you've already reclaimed your instinct."
I slowly stood up and stretched, then looked at the Replicator beside me. He immediately raised a hand in anger, aiming at Wraithshade.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Despair—death is absolute despair for many things. If something doesn't want to die, it will unleash unimaginable power to survive. That's how instinct is born. Yet I can't understand it. I've died three times, but not once..."
"That's not true death; it's just one of your tricks, hardly counts as dying. True death is cold, helpless, dark. You creatures of darkness are only lingering on its edge, watching from the border. Let me show you what real darkness is."
With a bang, I slammed my fist against the surface of the glass jar. Instantly, it cracked with a sharp sound. The Replicator stared in disbelief, eyes wide.