Dawn was just breaking. The Forsaken still lay behind the timber rampart, fast asleep, as if they would not awaken until the sun was fully risen.
Behind me, Sylvia Blue, who had fought through the night, now sat by a small river not far away, her feet splashing in the water, looking genuinely happy. I hadn’t slept last night, but few monsters came—thanks to Sylvia, who dealt with most of the creatures lurking around the forest.
Now, the forest’s outskirts had turned into barren ground. Aside from rocks and a few streams, not a single tree remained. What worried me more was the distant patch of black—after just one night, it was clearly visible. The streams of Curse Power were about to encircle us, and this place would soon become an isolated island.
I looked up toward the sun, unsure how much longer I could bask in its light. Sunbeams poured straight down through the gaping hole in the sky, and a streak of colored clouds appeared at the horizon. I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the glare and looked—Entity 004 was there.
The colorful clouds slowly drifted down beside me. Entity 004 glanced around, stroked his beard, and laughed.
“As expected, we still have to rely on that little girl at times like this. In such a short time, only she could raise a city.”
“Hey, old man, what happened to your Celestial Palace?”
Entity 001 was already awake and floated over. Entity 004 shook his head helplessly and sighed.
“No matter how much it resembles one, it’s not the Celestial Palace anymore—it’s been devoured. Sorry, after all the effort you spent helping me.”
Entity 001 clapped her hands, giggling, then gazed off into the distance.
“Once all this is over, I’ll build you an even grander Celestial Palace. Don’t worry—I’ve got plenty of ways.”
“It’s not deep enough! We need at least three hundred meters.”
Agent Seven came closer and glanced down the slope.
The bottom of the slope had already exposed black rock, resembling a deep ravine. Entity 001 frowned and looked back at the forest behind her.
“If we keep digging, this whole place will be in danger. I’ve already changed the terrain around us; if we go any deeper, the forest beneath our feet could collapse because the foundation won’t hold.”
Entity 004 slowly floated onto the slope, observed quietly for a while, then spoke.
“Let’s go another hundred meters down.”
Agent Seven nodded slightly—there was no other choice. Entity 001 began to move; earth and stone loosened, and faint tremors could be felt beneath our feet, growing stronger by the moment.
Gradually, a powerful force twisted the black rock at the base of the slope. The incline grew steeper and stretched further down. In no time, a two-hundred-meter-long slope was finished, and the excavated earth and stones were piled in the distance, forming neatly arranged hills above the ravine.
“Now for these timber ramparts—their thickness and height are too weak. Use every usable tree in the woods.”
Agent Seven said this, and Entity 001 laughed.
“Let’s get everyone a place to stay first. There are still two who haven’t arrived—so that’s ten rooms, right?”
Words can’t describe this power. In just a few minutes, the timber ramparts thickened to five meters, and every so often, a separate wooden cabin appeared atop the ramparts, fully furnished—though everything was made of wood.
Rumbling sounds kept coming from the forest as giant, legged trees moved toward us. Green leaves wrapped around the outside of the ramparts, which curved upward, facing the black streams of Curse Power ahead.
It looked strange, but this was the most effective defense for now—especially the layers of leaves outside the ramparts, which grew directly from the walls. The roots of those giant trees were now anchored deep in the earth, making the ramparts encircling the Devouring Forest as solid as iron.
Most of the trees had vanished, and the ramparts kept growing. For Entity 001, this was routine—she raised her hands and effortlessly twisted the mass of objects, fusing them into the ramparts, which grew as if alive.
“That should do it—the vertical drop is at least five hundred meters now.”
I stood on the platform atop the ramparts and looked down—the ravine below was already hard to make out.
“I need to rest. You all handle the rest. Ethan Zhang, come with me.”
Entity 001 muttered and flew toward a cabin, apparently marking it as her own. I glanced back—Rachel Lan had already emerged from the forest, staring in astonishment at the massive project completed in less than a morning.
Once inside the room, I suddenly realized that both the window and door had vanished. Entity 001 stared at me intently, as if she had something deeply secretive to tell me.
“Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“You must promise not to tell anyone else.”
I nodded.
“As you’ve seen, each Forsaken’s power is different. Do you know why?”
“Is it defined by the faith that died?”
I’d thought about this long ago, but I never understood what these powers truly were. So far, I only know about Entity 001’s power—the rest of the Forsaken’s abilities are still a mystery.
“My power was born after this world came into existence. It’s called Creation.”
I swallowed in astonishment—this ability existed only in myth.
“Don’t be surprised. This power can only be used in this world; it can’t affect reality. But it isn’t unlimited—whatever I create must possess vitality to change its mass and become something new. This forest is the only place in this world that still has vitality.”
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I nodded and asked a question.
“You mentioned needing soldiers before. Are you planning to turn those mindless Forsaken into soldiers?”
Entity 001 nodded, but the Forsaken couldn’t move at night—a fatal flaw. Her expression darkened as she raised a hand; a dark red thorn crawled out from her sleeve.
I swallowed—there was an ominous power in that thing, unsettling and bizarre.
“Imagination—that’s another name for my power. The reason I’m called Entity 001 is because in reality, I’m someone whose faith died long ago and who loves to imagine, so I exist in this illusory world and have survived until now. Now I’m giving this power to you. At night, you can control it by instinct—the method is simple: this Thorn of Imagination is the medium.”
“How do I do it?”
I asked immediately. Entity 001 raised her hand, and a window opened behind me. She pointed outside.
“Every night, the number of Forsaken in this forest is the same. I haven’t counted the exact number, but their mass never changes. Once you control my power, all you need to do is reshape their mass and turn them into soldiers. The Mimics will come out of the Curse Power and do everything they can to destroy this place, devour life, and bring the world to its end—returning it to its original state.”
“What do you mean?”
Entity 001 spoke as if she’d known all along, but now her face showed a hint of difficulty. I shook my head, took the Thorn of Imagination from her hand, and slipped it into my pocket.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to say more. Thank you—without you, we couldn’t have survived this crisis.”
Now I found myself worrying about the Earthly Soul—the whole world was turning into a black ocean, and he was nowhere to be found.
“He’s behind you.”
Entity 001 suddenly muttered. I stared at her in surprise—she’d read my thoughts with ease, which was astonishing.
“You called it by another name—Imagination, right?”
Entity 001 nodded, and I smiled.
“So I don’t need to imagine every single part—just envision the whole, and I can twist the mass of those Forsaken with vitality, turning them into soldiers?”
“It looks like you’ve understood. Then I don’t need to explain further. As for what I wanted to say before, you’ll understand when the time comes. We Forsaken gave this world intelligence and were assigned numbers, though I don’t know the world’s true intent. Maybe, when the time is right, the world itself will appear before us.”
After Entity 001 finished speaking, she looked at me. But I was lost in thought—what she’d said sounded unbelievable, that the world itself had consciousness. Yet it wasn’t the first time I’d heard such a thing.
“Is it strange? This kind of thing?”
I shook my head and looked out the window, smiling.
“I went through something like this long ago.”
In Exile Town, the powers of the four Ghost Sovereigns—Samantha Simons and the others—combined with Yuna Ji’s previous visit, gave rise to Quinn Ji. He was the consciousness of Exile Town, and in the end, he really did become a ghost, gaining a physical form. As for me, I was never supposed to become human, but after feeling warmth, I became one.
Maybe this world is the same—desperate to achieve something, but ultimately unable to, so it seeks self-destruction, ending everything and returning to its original state.
Agent Seven was right. These intelligent Forsaken, created for this world, seem like its burial objects—sacrifices. The word sprang to mind: burial. There’s nowhere to escape, only waiting for death.