"How do you feel?"
I stared, silent and tense, at the Wraithlord before me. His body, pitch-black as the void, was laced with hellish red Imprints—twisting, labyrinthine marks that pulsed with a sinister glow. Every so often, tongues of flame flickered across his skin, casting grotesque shadows. The Wraithlord's eyes bulged open, and with agonizing slowness, he began to rise.
"Still can't move or speak?"
I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Beside me, Mother Goddess Nuwa watched in icy silence, her brows drawn tight, her face carved with cold indifference. She was now eternally bound to this realm—since the moment I branded her with the Hell Imprint, escape had become impossible.
The Wraithlord would soon tear free from this illusory world. The instant he is reborn, reality itself will recoil, casting him out and forcing him back to his own domain. This vessel—crafted by Mother Goddess Nuwa herself—is the only body truly compatible with his soul. Only his creator could forge such a perfect prison.
"Mother, I promise you—I will shape a world where your smile can exist. Then, our family will finally be free to live together, unbound by fate or fear."
The Wraithlord dragged himself up from the ground, each movement fraught with pain. I managed a brittle smile, my eyes darting warily to the fractured space around us, where cracks spidered outward, threatening collapse. The aberrant beasts had already encircled us, ready to burst in. Mother Goddess Nuwa strained, her power barely holding them at bay.
The aberrant beasts had sensed I was not Ethan Zhang. Their rage boiled over, disbelief etched in every snarl and twitch. Though I insisted I was Ethan Zhang, their eyes glinted with hatred—they would not accept it.
"You're not planning to take advantage of this, are you, Ethan Zhang?"
The Wraithlord still eyed me with suspicion. I shook my head.
"Don't worry. You can't move freely yet because your body and Seven Souls haven't fully merged. Once they do, your strength will return. When you re-enter the world of Yin and Yang, your Threefold Soul—Heavenly, Earthly, and Human aspects*—will begin to unite, and then you will be restored completely."
*Threefold Soul: In Chinese spiritual lore, the soul is divided into three parts—Heavenly (spiritual), Earthly (corporeal), and Human (personality/identity).
The Wraithlord gave a faint, bitter smile, pressing a trembling hand to his forehead. Mother Goddess Nuwa's face grew grave—the aberrant beasts were poised to shatter Nuwa's Mirage and unleash chaos. I watched the Wraithlord, the air thick with dread.
"Here, take it back!"
The Wraithlord lifted his hand, conjuring a sphere of swirling violet and black energy—dark, pulsating, almost alive. As I took it, a cold jolt ran through me: Ethan Zhang's memory. I smiled, letting the memory seep into my body, refusing to consume it outright.
"You still don't plan to restore your memory?"
I shook my head.
"It has to wait for the right moment."
As I spoke, a pale blue wind drifted past me—Eugenia was trying to break through. I smiled at Mother Goddess Nuwa.
"I hope you can hold out a bit longer, at least until he starts being expelled from this world."
I said, and Mother Goddess Nuwa nodded slightly. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she was likely searching for a way to break free from the Hell Imprint. Yet once branded, the Imprint cannot be removed.
All seven of the Wraithlord's souls had been branded with the Hell Imprint. These marks crawled across his essence, fusing slowly, stabilizing and uniting the Seven Souls before binding them to his vessel. I watched the Hell Imprints on the Wraithlord's body—now the red glow blazed ever fiercer, and fiery sparks burst forth in erratic, violent spurts.
Soon, these eight Hell Imprints would fuse as one. Once the Wraithlord was fully unified, the laws of this world would drive him out.
"Ethan Zhang, don't worry. I will do as promised."
I grunted in response. Now, I no longer feared the Wraithlord's betrayal—he was branded with the Hell Imprint. The aberrant beasts kept breaking through Nuwa's Mirage.
"Give it all you've got, Nuwa. If they break through, they'll scatter the Wraithlord we've struggled to unify."
I smiled at the Wraithlord, who was now trying to stand. He kept moving his fingers, though they still seemed stiff. A trace of baleful energy seeped from his fingertips, but it quickly dissipated, out of his control.
"Perhaps I can't hold on much longer, Ethan Zhang."
The Wraithlord eyed me suspiciously. I slowly floated upward, forced to use the only power left in me to help Nuwa reinforce her Mirage. Black and white streams of energy began to fill the cracks in the walls of space. I could only use the power of Outcome Marker* to influence Nuwa's Mirage, constantly restoring cause and effect. This was dangerous—the power of the attacking aberrant beasts would accumulate, and when I stopped, it would all be unleashed at once.
*Outcome Marker: In Chinese metaphysics, '因果' (Yinguo) refers to the law of causality, fate, or karmic consequence. Here, it manifests as a supernatural force that can restore or manipulate reality's balance.
The Wraithlord struggled to stand, attempting to wield his power and float, but his effort failed—he crashed to the ground. His fingers twitched, desperate for control. I scanned our surroundings, tension coiling within me as the very fabric of space splintered and cracked.
Even my own chest bore visible cracks now. The power of the aberrant beasts kept breaking in, but I quickly used Outcome Marker to redirect the invading force.
"Don't trust him."
Suddenly, Mother Goddess Nuwa spoke, her voice grave. The Wraithlord immediately looked at me.
"At a time like this, Nuwa, empty words mean nothing to us."
I stared at the Wraithlord in a daze. He stood up again, leaning on a nearby stone, gasping and bowing his head in pain. I walked over and patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry. This agony is the harbinger—the eight Imprints are beginning to merge, tearing at your soul. Soon, you'll be free of this place. But don't forget your promise to me."
The Wraithlord nodded coldly, smiling. I needed him for one thing: to retrieve my Coexistence Instinct from Rachel Lan's body. This was my top priority. Once I got it back, the Endbringer and Origin I stored in Hell would begin to resonate with Coexistence. Then, I would have a chance to return to the Living World in ghost form.
(Irrelevant passage: This chapter isn't over ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!)
My ghost body, once destroyed, had drifted to the world of Yin. The Wraithlord told me his three children had guarded my lost form, restoring it from oblivion.
This is why I risked everything—my cooperation with the Wraithlord was always meant to be temporary. After dying, I returned to the Mirage. When the time comes, Black Moon will bring Endbringer and Origin to the Yin-Yang World. If the Wraithlord injects the three instincts into the restored ghost body, I can transfer my consciousness from the Mirage and revive as a ghost. But the laws of the Yin-Yang World limit my stay there. Still, I can help the Wraithlord clear out the Living World before returning to Hell.
If, in the chaos, I reclaim the scattered remnants of my soul from the depths of Nether Hell, then I may yet return to the Yin-Yang World. The Wraithlord's acceptance of the Hell Imprint had caught me off guard. For now, everything moved forward, step by step, beneath the shadow of fate.
"I can't hold on much longer. If you have to, restore Ethan Zhang's memories first, then try to reason with those aberrant beasts, after all..."
I shook my head, grinning wickedly.
"It's not time yet. Only when I truly descend into the Living World will I restore those memories and know everything about being Ethan Zhang."
"When that happens, you might stand against me again!"
I grunted, then crouched in front of the Wraithlord.
"Do you think Ethan Zhang's will can surpass mine?"
The Wraithlord let out a chilling laugh. I noticed his fingers, once stiff, now moved with unsettling agility. He rose, shaking his body as streaks of baleful energy writhed across his skin, power surging back to life. With a single motion, he conjured a sphere of pure black—a knot of Yin Energy, dense and suffocating.
"You look well enough. If you go to the Living World, you'll have to face the Infernal Judges and Ghost Sovereigns. The instincts of the Ghost Sovereigns are tricky!"
"None of that can stop me. I'll kill that zombie first."
I understood immediately and nodded.
I grunted, turning away. A streak of pale blue energy pierced the space, condensing instantly into the form of Eugenia—a spectral manifestation that sent a chill through the air.
As I spoke, I moved in a blur to Eugenia's side, pressing a hand to her shoulder. In an instant, she vanished from Nuwa's Mirage, swept away by my will. Behind me, the Wraithlord floated upward, a feverish grin twisting his features.