"This time, no one can stop it."
I smiled faintly as I spoke. The Wraithlord sat quietly beside the Lake of Desire, still waiting. Soon, his Heaven Soul and Earth Soul would arrive, and the Threefold Soul would begin to merge.
A hint of excitement appeared on the Wraithlord's face. He already knew Luna Quay's location. After the Threefold Soul merged, he would eliminate those zombies.
I planned to follow the Wraithlord. Once John Chou and the others' plan was set in motion, I intended to try, in the instant I obtained the source of the baleful energy, to glimpse what I had seen before. If I tried again, maybe there would still be a chance.
"Earth Soul, do you pity this world?"
I shook my head. The Wraithlord turned to glare at me with a vicious expression; the human-like look he had before was gone. Now, the Wraithlord was fully awakened.
I shook my head.
"It's not pity, but a sense of irrationality. The whole world is filled with irrationality, which is why it can be called a world. If everything were rational, it would no longer be a world—just a delusion."
The Wraithlord laughed.
"So I will create a rational world."
"It's only what you believe to be rational."
I replied, and the Wraithlord burst out laughing.
"You disagree?"
I nodded.
"Of course I disagree, but what can I do?"
I said mockingly. The Wraithlord nodded, clenching his fists. At that moment, a faint white glow appeared on the distant surface of the lake. Then I saw a figure wrapped in black mist, with golden eyes, slowly approaching.
"I've waited too long already."
The Wraithlord spoke as he stood up. As the black mist gradually dissipated from the golden-eyed figure, I realized it was the Heaven Soul of the Wraithlord—identical to him, angular and strange like a sculpture. The black mist seeped into the Wraithlord's body as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
The black mist kept pouring into the Wraithlord's body. Then I saw the Heaven Soul of the Wraithlord smile. Its body, like scattered light, gradually fused into the Wraithlord. The instant the Wraithlord opened his eyes, his golden-red gaze radiated overwhelming power. His form seemed to suddenly grow heavier, and the ground beneath him sank, crushing everything below. The waters of the Lake of Desire began to evaporate.
At that moment, the Wraithlord glanced back at me.
"Feels incredible, Earth Soul. I'll give this to you—if you happen to survive."
I stood up and tossed over the Blank Desire Tome. I caught it in my hand.
"With power like yours, are you still afraid of failure?"
The Wraithlord smiled and shook his head.
"If, after I seize the world, there are no more opponents, it will be boring. Keep struggling, Earth Soul. I might spare your life."
"That’s a pretty harsh thing to say!"
I put away the Blank Desire Tome, raised my right hand into a fist, and instantly the world around me twisted. When he released his fist, everything returned to normal.
After the Seven Souls merged, he already possessed such immense power. Now, with two souls beginning to fuse into the Wraithlord’s ghostly body, they would soon fully unite. With just a wave of his hand, he could unleash world-ending force. As expected, everything now seemed hopeless for the world. Just as the Wraithlord said—he would crush all hope.
"What about Rachel Lan? What do you think? Is she a threat to you?"
I asked tentatively. The Wraithlord waved a finger, and in an instant, the whole world was turned upside down. I stood up, floating in the air, watching everything begin to shatter, unable to withstand the Wraithlord’s power.
"If that's your last hope, it's laughable. It's true that a power has begun to grow within her that might threaten me, but compared to my strength, any threat is just a grain of sand in the world. If I want to crush sand, one finger is enough."
"You seem awfully relaxed. Don't you think your confidence might get you killed someday?"
"Sorry, Earth Soul, I'm not the same as I was tens of thousands of years ago. Back then, I underestimated the gods—I thought I was smarter and could neutralize all their powers. The result was my death. But life always finds a way. So did I. Even after death, I opened my eyes again as a ghost. Quite an experience, isn't it?"
I smiled faintly, watching the world completely shatter. The Wraithlord's power kept growing. The world of desire wouldn't last much longer. When the Threefold Soul merged, this world would collapse entirely.
"Want to try, Earth Soul? I won't fight back—attack me however you like."
I shook my head.
"Too bad there's not enough time. If I had mastered all the power in this book, I could fight you."
"Maybe."
With a thunderous crash, I saw the sky shatter, revealing a pitch-black space filled with floating debris. Then a beam of black light descended, instantly evaporating all the water in the Lake of Desire. At the center of the lakebed stood a wild-haired man, who began walking toward the Wraithlord.
The rumbling continued—it was the Earth Soul of the Wraithlord, whose power now surpassed even the Wraithlord himself. I was shocked.
"How did he escape the seal?"
I asked. The Wraithlord laughed and replied.
"Seal? There’s no such thing."
I nodded in understanding. The world around us was vanishing, dissolving into black smoke. The Earth Soul of the Wraithlord approached, his eyes cold and devoid of emotion. Suddenly, he punched the Wraithlord.
(Irrelevant meta-text, skip translation.)
With a thunderous bang, the Earth Soul of the Wraithlord howled like a beast. The Wraithlord’s body was pierced through, leaving a gaping hole. I swallowed hard.
"So many years have passed. My anger, humiliation, and resentment should have filled the whole world by now."
The Wraithlord murmured. The Earth Soul turned into a stream of black water and flowed into the hole in the Wraithlord’s chest, completing the fusion.
"Excellent. Perfect."
As the Wraithlord spoke, I was instantly enveloped in black light. The last thing I saw was the Forest of Desire being utterly destroyed, shattered into fragments. Countless shards of desire fell like colored rain.
The moment I opened my eyes again, I was floating above Haven City, at the original site of Ethan Zhang's Apartment Building. The building still stood, to my surprise.
"You can fool others, but not me."
As the Wraithlord spoke, he stared wickedly at the apartment building. I saw the Hell Imprint on his body begin to glow red, like molten lava, burning his flesh. He looked to be in agony.
"Such a trivial thing could never hold me."
With a thunderous crash, the Wraithlord broke free of the Hell Imprint. His body was restored, and the red marks shattered in the wind, turning to dust. Now he stood above the apartment building, and I saw a gray humanoid figure appear instantly—it was Ethan Zhang's Ghost Domain.
"Sorry, the contract is void!"
I stared in shock as the apartment building vanished. The Wraithlord struck downward, sending waves of heat. I gazed at a kilometer-wide crater—the building was gone, and Ethan Zhang's presence had vanished too.
The Wraithlord straightened up, a cracking sound echoing.
"Not bad at all."
"So the Hell Imprint was broken so easily?"
I asked, and the Wraithlord burst out laughing.
"Everything in Snowstorm River taught me too much. I'm no fool!"
The Wraithlord scratched his head with a finger, then looked west. Luna Quay was in a cave west of Haven City—Yin Choujian told me the exact spot himself.
"Once I deal with the zombies, this city is next."
The Wraithlord gazed at Jiulong Square, the only place still lit in the city. He could have destroyed it with a wave, but didn't. I felt power surging toward us. The Wraithlord beckoned, and I was instantly pulled to his side. Wrapped in black light, I stood before a cave.
"Tan Tian gave the Golden Soulstone to Luna Quay—what proof do you have?"
I asked, confused. The Wraithlord pointed to his head, then pressed his eye.
"I saw it with my own eyes."
The Wraithlord entered the cave, revealing a cruel smile.
"My Heaven Soul has been watching that zombie. I saw him hand the Golden Soulstone to Luna Quay. This is the perfect hiding place, but he still made a fatal mistake."
Seeing the Wraithlord so certain, I couldn't help but laugh. The Wraithlord raised a hand.
"From here on, the world will fall into my hands. Hell thought it could control me, but nobody can stop me now."
With a thunderous crash, the Wraithlord burst into a realm of blue sky and white clouds. I stepped in after him. Suddenly, black patches appeared on the clouds all around.
"You'll die. Hand it over and I'll let you go!"
On a lonely floating island, Luna Quay smiled and walked to the edge.