Waves of white light emerged from the Heavenly Soul’s body. At the same time, the once charred ground began to show signs of dim vitality. Tender green wild grass sprouted from the earth, and under the sunlight, some flowers started to take root, bud, and then bloom one after another.
The entire world was being transformed. Under the intense light radiating from the Heavenly Soul, flowers and grass kept spreading, covering the scorched earth left by the Earthly Soul. The foul, smoky air gradually dissipated.
“I didn’t expect you to still possess such powerful energy—the so-called power of life.”
“It’s not about existence. Like you, all power is born from illusion. Your Endbringer, Ethan Zhang’s coexistence, and my instinct—they are called Origin...”
Suddenly, in the surrounding world, countless lush green saplings broke through the ground. Gradually, these saplings grew taller and transformed into towering ancient trees.
Bit by bit, a vast, vibrant forest appeared, stretching as far as the eye could see. The sunlight in the sky was bright and intense. The power from the Earthly Soul seemed to be affected; the black mist around him shrank in size, and he burst out laughing.
“Origin, is it? My instinct is called Endbringer, yours is Origin, and Ethan Zhang’s is Coexistence. Heh, interesting.”
“All of this has long been inevitably connected. Come back, Earthly Soul, Ethan Zhang. The obstacles that Ethan Zhang will need to overcome in the future—you should know. In this world, there are far too many evil ghosts and humans who have broken free from worldly constraints. Ethan Zhang must surpass them, but if he’s incomplete, he’ll never make it.”
As the Heavenly Soul spoke, he reached out a hand, seemingly hoping to reconcile with the Earthly Soul.
With a whoosh, accompanied by a surge of black energy, the Endbringer in the Earthly Soul’s hand released a force that instantly destroyed the vast forest under his feet. Yet, even as the forest burned, new shoots quickly sprouted from the ground, restoring everything in the blink of an eye.
"It's useless. Ethan Zhang is not dead yet. I won't let you take control, even if it means mutual destruction."
"How cruel... You and him have always been like this, always on the same side. Why? Why do you support him? He's the weakest of us three, so why?"
"Because of possibility. You and I can never possess it—only the Human Soul can. In truth, we are merely parts of Ethan Zhang; you belong to yin, I to yang. He, the Human Soul, Ethan Zhang, is built upon us—he is the one with a heart."
With a thunderous roar, the Earthly Soul charged at the Heavenly Soul once more, wielding the Endbringer. This time, it blotted out the sky, plunging everything into darkness. The world was shrouded in black; sunlight vanished, and trees and flowers withered.
"Come on, even if we both perish, it doesn't matter. Instinct—called Origin..."
Suddenly, beams of light pierced the darkness, shooting down from the sky. All around, clusters of brilliant light appeared, like tiny suns.
The forest began to tremble again, with giant trees uprooted. Yet, under the growing radiance of those lights in the sky, everything halted—and began to recover.
The Heavenly Soul roared, raising the White Beauty, and slashed at the Earthly Soul. With a clang, the two swords collided, then—crack—the White Beauty broke.
With a boom, half of the Heavenly Soul's body turned to dust. Drops of white blood dripped through the air.
"You're no match for me. Too weak. Even here, in his domain, you can't stop even a tenth of my strength. How could you ever stop me?"