Lan Yin was once again trapped in a nightmare, his every movement weighed down by dread. Yet, true to form, he began crafting paper talismans—his hands trembling, his pace agonizingly slow, as if each cut risked drawing his own blood.
For the third time, the Blue Wraith materialized before Lan Yin. But this time, Lan Yin refused to flee. He stood at the formation's heart, his legs nearly useless, dragging himself forward by clutching at the Spirit Veils, every step a battle against pain.
"What now? Won't you run? Tonight, I'm going to savor your soul."
"Heh... Tonight, I intend to face you head-on. We Hades Circle Born may lack true offensive powers, but I'm not like the rest. Watch closely, and witness what I can do."
Suddenly, Lan Yin whipped his hand upward—two Spirit Veils lashed out like pale serpents, coiling around the Blue Wraith's spectral body.
"What use is this?"
With a sickening rip, the Spirit Veils were shredded. Lan Yin stood frozen, his eyes wide with terror as the Blue Wraith hurtled toward him, claws outstretched, plunging deep into his flesh.
Lan Yin screamed—a raw, agonized cry that echoed through the darkness.
This time, I saw everything—the Blue Wraith ripped a fragment of Lan Yin's soul from his body, the piece writhing as it was torn free. The ghost's mouth gaped wide, swallowing the soul shard with savage delight.
"Delicious... Even more exquisite than yesterday. Hahaha..." The laughter twisted and echoed, chilling me to the bone.
“What did you do?”
The Blue Wraith roared in fury, but Lan Yin remained eerily calm. In a flash, the ghost transformed into a streak of green light, reappearing before Lan Yin. Its claw plunged into Lan Yin's body, and Lan Yin screamed again, his agony echoing through the ruins.
I watched as another fragment of white soul was torn from Lan Yin’s chest. At that moment, both of Lan Yin’s arms hung limp, lifeless. Slowly, I saw his arms turn black, shriveled like dying flowers.
Then the Blue Wraith let out another furious howl before dissolving into a mass of green light and vanishing.
Heavy rain began to pour from the sky, fat droplets pounding down. Using Spirit Veils to wrap around the ruined buildings, Lan Yin dragged his paralyzed body into a shattered house for shelter. His condition was dire.
"I survived... Heh, only four days left."
Strangely, after the Blue Wraith disappeared on the third day, it did not return. Lan Yin stayed in the ruined house until the seventh day, when the sun finally broke through after days of relentless rain. The city’s decay worsened, and all the paper talismans Lan Yin had crafted—the Four Sacred Beasts—were soaked and battered, some destroyed by the downpour.
Time crawled by. As night fell, Lan Yin smiled. I saw a green glow racing across the sky toward the city’s edge—the Blue Wraith had returned.
"You’ve finally come."
With a thunderous crash, the Blue Wraith landed before the ruined house.
"You really didn’t run?"
Lan Yin shook his head. The Spirit Veils already entwined around the rafters pulled him upright.
"Come on. This is the final day."
"Hmph, clever brat. When I returned, I vomited up everything I’d eaten. I never thought you Hades Circle Born had such tricks. Even if your soul is devoured, as long as it’s not completely consumed, you can survive. You manipulated your soul to disrupt my ghostly essence—trying to destroy me, weren’t you?"
Lan Yin smiled, locking eyes with the Blue Wraith, his gaze unwavering.
"Heh, you figured it out. Looks like I’m going to die here today."
Lan Yin’s words sent a chill through me. Yet the Blue Wraith hesitated, making no move, as if wary of another trap. It seemed troubled by how well Lan Yin had endured these days.
"What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to finish me off?"
Lan Yin continued to provoke him, but the Blue Wraith didn’t budge, paralyzed by hesitation.
"Why? You know you can’t win. What’s with that look in your eyes?"
The Blue Wraith roared, while Lan Yin, using the Spirit Veils, dragged his broken body closer to the ghost.
If there’s no chance of victory, so be it. In this world, nothing is guaranteed. You ghosts are the same as us humans. What I seek is to challenge something immense. You’re just a stepping stone in my struggle."
As he spoke, the paper Four Sacred Beasts around the Blue Wraith began to grow, lunging toward the ghost.
"Let me send you off, boy."
Suddenly, with a series of sharp cracks, whip-like tendrils appeared around the Blue Wraith—snapping at the paper Sacred Beasts, destroying them in an instant. Lan Yin used the Spirit Veils to bind the ghost, holding a half-broken blade in his mouth and aiming it at the Blue Wraith’s head.
"This thing can’t hurt me."
With a ripping sound, the Spirit Veils binding the Blue Wraith were torn apart. The ghost seized the scissors and gripped Lan Yin’s throat tightly.
Yet Lan Yin kept smiling, his eyes wide, staring down the Blue Wraith. The ghost plunged its hand into Lan Yin’s body, trying to tear out the last fragment of his soul.
"Like a bird soaring, like the venom of turtle and serpent, dragon’s fury, tiger’s wrath—none can match these Four Sacred Beasts: Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Black Tortoise..."
As Lan Yin chanted, the names of the Four Sacred Beasts echoed in the darkness, the oppressive atmosphere thickening.
Suddenly, Lan Yin shouted at the top of his lungs. His soul was nearly torn free when, with a thunderous roar, flames erupted behind the Blue Wraith. In an instant, a burning Vermilion Bird appeared, its cry piercing the night.
The searing flames made the Blue Wraith shriek in terror.
"Impossible!"
"At last, I can hear it... the voice of my true self."
I stared at Lan Yin in astonishment. The Blue Wraith recoiled, and the Vermilion Bird surged toward Lan Yin. With a deafening crash, Lan Yin’s entire body was engulfed in flames.
"Vermilion Bird’s Vestments?"
The Blue Wraith hovered in the air, watching.
"Finally, I’ve surpassed it. Since I was a child, I heard a voice whispering to me. Now, for the second time, I hear it clearly. I’ve finally crossed that threshold. Thank you..."
Massive wings of flame unfurled from Lan Yin’s back, his entire body wrapped in fire.
Yet, faced with this display, the Blue Wraith showed not a hint of fear.
"Hmph, with Vermilion Bird’s Vestments at this level, you underestimate me. Whipthorn Ghost Domain—open!"
As space around them fractured, the entire city began to change. Massive thorny vines erupted from the ground. I could feel the immense ghostly power radiating from the Blue Wraith.
"Sleep forever in my Ghost Domain, boy."
As the Blue Wraith lunged toward Lan Yin, the space around them shattered like glass. The Ghost Domain vanished, leaving both Lan Yin and the Blue Wraith stunned.
"Enough. This ends now. Isn’t time up?"
A figure cloaked in black mist appeared between Lan Yin and the Blue Wraith.
I was stunned. In an instant, the newcomer shattered the Blue Wraith’s Ghost Domain—a power beyond anything I’d ever seen.
"Are you here to help me? I was just getting into it."
Lan Yin smiled, but the black-cloaked figure simply shook his head.
"There’s nothing I hate more than those who don’t respect time."
"You’re..."
The Blue Wraith seemed to recognize the black-cloaked figure. Suddenly, with a hiss, the ghost turned to mist and tried to flee.
"Where do you think you’re going? Now that you recognize me, there’s no need for you to exist in this world."
A massive black claw appeared in the air, snatching the Blue Wraith. In an instant, the ghost was reduced to ashes, scattered to the wind without even a scream.