Black lightning slowly gathered toward my body, gradually sinking into me. As expected, I couldn't break through. Lydia Luo had completely lost her sense of self, and waves of stench wafted toward me.
Wraithshade sat quietly in midair, smiling as he gazed at me.
“Well, isn't this impressive? This soul—though I still don't know why it possesses the ability to block all powers—will have to be studied slowly in the future. Now, let's talk about the matter of Awakening.”
I sneered, staring at Wraithshade and began to devise a countermeasure. He would use Lydia Luo to block all my attacks, then seize the chance to strike and restrain me. That would be the most logical move. But judging by his questions about Awakening, he was eager to understand what it truly was.
“Come on, tell me—what does Awakening really feel like? I tried before, tossing the test subject's instincts into the Unreal Abyss, but unfortunately, I never succeeded in retrieving them like you did. So, I can conclude: you are an Awakener. Otherwise, you would have vanished.”
I remained silent, still observing Wraithshade’s state. Killing him was nearly impossible—over the years, he had collected countless souls, far more than I could ever destroy, even if I spent months at it. My priority now was to find a way to escape.
If I were facing a few of those Dark Banquet guys, maybe I'd still have a chance. But if the truly powerful ones showed up, I wouldn't stand a chance.
“Hurry up and tell me. In exchange, I can share a bit about the Unreal Abyss.”
My eyes widened.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
I asked, and Wraithshade shook his head, chuckling softly.
Faced with a barrage of questions, I chose silence, staring at the walls around me. I had already tried unintentionally—my Endbringer's Power couldn't break through these walls, not even leaving a dent.
“If you're thinking about how to get out, I can tell you—only shadows can freely enter and leave here. That's why no matter what you try, you can't get in. There's no light in this world, and without light, there are no shadows. Even if some of you exist here, without light, there's no shadow. And ghosts are born without shadows, so you can't enter our domain.”
“So, if I could use the same trick as you and create a shadow, I could freely come and go, right?”
Wraithshade smiled and nodded.
“But first, you need to have a shadow. That's not so easy—even after coming to this darkness and spending over three hundred years, I only finally managed to enter The Dark Banquet.”
Suddenly, as Wraithshade finished speaking, I vanished from the air. When I reappeared, Wraithshade's eyes widened as I thrust Endbringer toward him. I was positioned between Lydia Luo and Wraithshade—he never expected me to leap past Lydia Luo.
With a swish and a sizzling sound, a burst of thunderous lightning followed. With a thud, Lydia Luo behind me fell to the ground, turning into a puddle of mud.
I raised Endbringer in my hand. With a boom, several bolts of lightning shot out, instantly scattering the ghosts charging at me. But Wraithshade had already disappeared, and Lydia Luo on the ground was gone as well.
A long while later, I lay on the ground, unsure what was happening outside. If I'd thought of it sooner, I should have told John Chou how to enter the great pillars. With his abilities, he could probably figure out a way to turn the darkness into his own shadow.