I've been in this place for almost a month now. No matter how I try to sense it, I still can't figure out whether the thing up in the sky is a person, or something else entirely.
Today, I plan to have a proper talk with Jules. I want them to let me out first.
Jules is easier to reason with, but Darren is impossible to communicate with—he might even get angry. I watch Jules sitting on a floating mountain above, staring blankly at the kaleidoscopic sky. I drift over to him.
"Speak, Ethan Zhang. What do you want?"
"I'll be direct, then. Can you let us out?"
As expected, the moment I asked, Jules immediately refused.
"Right now, I can't solve the problems here. And outside, there are many things waiting for me. Jules, I promised you all: when I have the power to resolve everything, I'll come back."
"We can't trust you."
A simple rejection. No matter what I say, it seems Jules will never let me leave—unless I can reveal what that thing inside really is.
It looks like communication has broken down. At that moment, Darren appears.
"Let them go, Jules."
I stare at Darren in shock. He actually spoke, and what he said stunned me even more.
"Why, Darren? Don't you want to resolve everything here?"
"Rushing won't help. The problem here was never something Ethan Zhang could solve alone. It requires someone from that clan, a direct descendant of that lord."
Jules looks at me in confusion, then after a long pause, finally speaks slowly.
"So, Ethan Zhang, you’re connected to that lord’s direct bloodline now? Fine, I’ll let you out. That includes the thirty-one members of the Ghost Burial Squad."
I’ve already given those thirty-one people enough desire to survive. Again and again, I sent my ghost souls to attack them, claiming that everything here was caused by Blackfang.
Jules and Darren take me and Isabelle Frost, drifting in the opposite direction of the Grey Zone. Soon, we arrive at a place where black and white currents swirl violently together.
"Remember this, Ethan Zhang. Once you’re out, know exactly what you need to do."
I nodded.
"You won't get another chance to start over. If you fail, time itself will deliver a harsh punishment."
"Ah, I'll keep that in mind."
Before our eyes, a swirling vortex of black and white appeared, spinning wildly. Suddenly, Isabelle Frost transformed into a beam of light, and then, on my skin, a Red Spider Lily bloomed, growing in reverse until it sank into my body.
"Miss Isabelle, please go on your own."
But Isabelle Frost ignored my complaint completely.
I nodded to Jules and Darren, then with a whoosh, dove into the vortex. All around me was twisted black and white—nothing was visible. The interwoven lights stung my eyes shut.
When I opened my eyes, I smiled. Fireworks burst brilliantly in the sky, one after another, lighting up the pitch-black night.
All around, people cheered. I floated up, and below me were thirty-one people—their bodies undergoing shocking changes. Thirteen years of time erupted all at once as they returned to the world of the living.
Most striking was Quentin Yuan, who now looked nearly thirty. The clothes he wore going in no longer fit. There was no cheering—thirty-one pairs of eyes stared at me.
"Where is this?"
Calvin Wang couldn't hold back and asked.
"Congratulations. I got bored, so I sent you back to your own time. Be grateful—live well."
But not a single member of the Ghost Burial Squad believed me. They still seemed lost in the time-looped Outcast Village, their faces numb and expressionless.
"Do as you wish. Remember, I'm Blackfang's boss—Fang."
As I spoke, I turned into a cloud of black mist and headed toward the place where Felix Zhou was.
Felix Zhou and Victor Duan sat in a shop, drinking. It was January 2, 2013, 2 a.m.—for them, only two hours had passed, but for me, months had gone by.
"Come with me."
I called out to them. After they got up and followed, we reached the village entrance, where the parking lot was packed with cars. I sat on a car roof.
"So fast? You already dealt with it?"
Felix Zhou looked at me in disbelief. I smiled, but didn’t explain—just nodded.
"I need help. Soon, I plan to form an organization called Blackfang. Are you two interested?"
"Sorry, I don't intend to get involved."
Felix Zhou said nothing, turned, and was about to leave.
"Go ask the one who raised you first. He must be bored too. I know everything about Outcast Village."
Just as I finished speaking, Felix Zhou froze, his smile vanishing.
"No way to contact you, Ethan Zhang?"
I tore off a strand of my Specter Web and, with a wave, sent it floating to Felix Zhou. He took it in his hand.
The sound of a car engine roared. Felix Zhou drove off in a black sedan, heading further north.
"Can I choose to join?"
Victor Duan asked. I nodded.
"No worries, Ethan Zhang. What if I tell others about you?"
I said nothing, just stared quietly at Victor Duan.
"Would you?"
"No."
Victor Duan smiled, drifted over, and reached out a hand. I stood up and shook it.
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"Black Moon, are you there?"
I muttered. With a whoosh, a black fissure split open beside us, and Black Moon drifted out, dressed just like me—except without a hood. Instead of eyes and a mouth, his face had three crescent moons.
"You can appear without a sound, but you actually noticed, Ethan Zhang? In just these two hours, do you know what happened?"
I nodded. Victor Duan didn't ask further.