"Wayne Gale? That's such an ordinary name. He always called himself that—does it mean something deeper?"
Human Emperor Connor Hayes dared not make a move. He watched as the Heavenly Court gods sent the entire prison cage, man and all, plunging into the Yong River. Suddenly, the world-ark shrouded in black mist and chains burst from beneath the surface, sending waves crashing sky-high.
Within the swirling black fog, shadowy figures could be glimpsed moving about the ship—flickering, indistinct shapes.
Connor Hayes had seen this Ghost Ship before on the banks of the Yong River. Back then, Quinn Shepherd had stopped everyone from boarding, even killing a Heavenly Court prince on the shore.
"Wayne Gale, you have a deep connection to this Ghost Ship. Long ago, you were its master—a Feather-Guard officer. You escaped and vanished for hundreds of thousands of years, but your subordinates remained aboard, becoming part of the Ghost Ship itself."
Up in the sky, a being of Emperor’s Throne rank aboard a Heavenly Court world-ark laughed and said, "Look how much your old subordinates miss you, Wayne Gale. They’ve all come out to greet you. You thought you could hide within the Heaven Alliance, sabotaging the Heavenly Court’s plans time and again. You deserve death a thousand times over—but you’re still useful to us."
The prison cage sank into the Yong River, while the Ghost Ship fully surfaced—some strange power was actually exchanging matter between the river and the Celestial River itself!
At that moment, the man inside the cage suddenly erupted. Metallic clangs rang out as the thick chains binding him snapped in the middle, one after another!
Those chains lashed out, binding the Ghost Ship. With a mighty swing, the cage burst from the water and landed on the ship’s deck.
Crash—
One by one, the chains flew up and fused seamlessly into the chains encircling the Ghost Ship, as if they had always been part of the same thing.
"Bastards!"
A towering figure leapt down from the world-ark in the sky. Countless chains shot out from the world-ark, whipping toward the Ghost Ship!
Heavenly Court gods also surged forward, driving their world-ark to hurl chains at the Ghost Ship, trying to drag it out.
"Eastern Azure Emperor, do you dare set foot on this ship?"
The madman in the cage stood up, his movement splitting the cage apart with a thunderous crash. His burly frame billowed with dense black mist, his whole body turning vaporous as he merged with the Ghost Ship.
In moments, he had become the black fog shrouding the Ghost Ship. The world-ark above couldn’t pull the Ghost Ship upward—on the contrary, it was being dragged down instead.
Wayne Gale’s voice echoed out from the black mist, chuckling darkly: "If you board this ship, you’ll become one with me—merged with the Ghost Ship! You have no idea: for me, this ship is a cycle of samsara. Sending me here only starts the loop all over again!"
The Ghost Ship sank into the river. The Eastern Azure Emperor dove after it, but the ship’s chains lashed out, trying to ensnare him—even the Heavenly Court world-ark was being dragged toward the river’s surface.
Heavenly Court soldiers hurriedly unfastened their chains, barely avoiding being pulled into the black mist themselves.