I sat quietly on a thick tree trunk. The edge of this world was visible now—so small, hemmed in by colossal, ancient trees that pierced the sky. A bleak sorrow crept into my heart; the Heavenly Soul was gone.
"Wraithlord, the Heavenly Soul has left. Can you come out now?"
I called out, but there was no response. Eyes wide, I drifted toward the center.
"Wraithlord, you bastard, come out."
I shouted again, and gradually, surprise crept over me. The world seemed to have sunk into utter silence—no sound at all. There used to be the occasional gust of wind, but now everything was a blank white, frozen in time. I moved through the towering trees, but saw nothing except the woods themselves.
It was the first time I’d seen the Heavenly Soul so furious. Deep down, I knew exactly what the Wraithlord wanted to use me for, but none of it mattered anymore. I needed power—true power.
For the first time, such fierce thoughts surged within me—real thoughts, my own.
There was no sound at all. I landed atop the tallest tree in the center and quietly fell into deep thought.
Everything from the past kept flashing through my mind. I pressed my hand to my forehead, feeling the heaviness settle in. I never imagined the Heavenly Soul would be so powerful.
Only now did I understand why, that day before the Divine Law, Ethan Zhang could so easily obtain tremendous power—it was the Heavenly Soul supporting him all along.
"I wish I had that kind of support too, Ethan Zhang," I murmured, but it was pointless now. Heh."
I could no longer sense any trace of the Wraithlord. It was as if, just as the Heavenly Soul had said, he had truly vanished into this land of desire and become one with these trees.
After a long while—who knows how much time passed—I still couldn't find a single way out. I tried using my own strength to break these trees, but they were so tough I couldn't even leave a mark.
I finally gave up. What I wanted most now was to see the Blank Desire Tome, but the Wraithlord was nowhere to be found.
After a long, long time, anger began to well up inside me—because in this world, there was truly nothing left.
It was just like my own world—everything was gone. My abilities weren't truly mine; only in that dark, fateful encounter could I use them, and even then, it was just a fleeting glimpse.
Before my eyes, Ethan Zhang and the Heavenly Soul grew ever more distant. The gap between us was now impossible to close in such a short time.
I was deeply frustrated. The weakest part of my heart began to surface—I even felt like crying, but I didn't know how, or why. After all, I had nothing left.
Even now, I longed for power, longed to see the contents of the Blank Desire Tome, but I couldn't. I stood up, slowly drifting toward the ground, my body floating lightly in the air.
With a sigh, before I landed, I stopped and looked at the ground already covered in white roots. I sat down, letting my mood settle. In this world of nothing but white trees, though it was dull, my heart found an inexplicable calm.