As for why this happened, the three members of the Dark Banquet are still only half-understanding. Now, only the Artisan remains; the Undertaker and the Sleeper have both left, and several hours have already passed.
"I'm hungry."
Sylvia Blue spoke, and her stomach growled as well. The Artisan smiled and said:
"Go to the room over there, there's food."
As he spoke, a door appeared to our left. Sylvia Blue happily twisted the knob and ran straight in, and the aroma of food wafted out.
Rachel Lan smiled and followed her in. Heavenly Soul and I weren't hungry, or rather, we didn't feel any hunger.
I quietly stared at the restless Deathbane Wraiths outside the Yellow Light Barrier. Thinking back, the Deathbane Wraiths I saw before were completely different from these. These were nearly two meters tall, aggressive, and seemed hostile to everything before them—at least, that's how I felt after subduing one of them.
"How's the situation?"
The Undertaker had just come in when the Artisan asked.
"Not good. What exactly is the cause? Ethan Zhang, please come with us."
I stood up, and Heavenly Soul followed. The Artisan and the Undertaker led us straight into a Black Sphere, like an elevator. We moved through the darkness, but I noticed the quality of the darkness around us was different.
"I'm planning to take you directly into the highest dimension of darkness, so you can speak directly with the Dark Will."
I nodded. With nothing clear right now, the only option was to ask the Dark Will directly.
"Why don't you ask it yourselves?"
I asked, and the Artisan shook her head.
"Precisely because we tried, but the Dark Will didn't respond at all. That's why we want you to try—after all, the Dark Will seems to have high expectations for you."
The Black Sphere finally stopped. I saw above us what looked like a lake, but the surroundings were bright.
"Go ahead, stand on that lake."
The moment I left the Black Sphere, I was already standing on the lake. It was like a lake under moonlight; aside from the silver glow around me, I could hardly see anything else—no other colors, nothing else. It was a strange place. I began to release my Specter Web, but still, I could only sense the power of darkness.
Then I closed my eyes and sat down directly in the lake, intending to release my instincts.
A wisp of gray energy flowed from my spine, and the instant I opened my eyes, my instincts manifested—a gray humanoid figure appeared on my back, but I still couldn't sense anything.
So I sat quietly like that for several hours, without any response.
"Looks like I can't do it either."
We returned to the white room below. Sylvia Blue and Rachel Lan had already eaten, and the Sleeper had arranged a separate room for them.
"We can't hold out much longer."
The Sleeper spoke, pointing at the barrier constructed of light.
The image on the right wall began to zoom in. I noticed that cracks had appeared in the light barrier, and the Dark Forest below seemed to be bulging upward, as if pressed by an external force.
"If we could find the Yan Emperor and Huang Emperor, maybe we'd know what's going on."
The Undertaker spoke, and I stood up.
"Why don't I go back to the lower world and have a look? I'll go search."
"It's too dangerous, Ethan Zhang."
I nodded; I understood that well, but it had to be done. The best option was to go directly to the domain of the Yan Emperor and Huang Emperor—maybe I could sense their presence and use my instincts to find them, especially since Heavenly Soul was with me.
"I'll go with you."
Heavenly Soul immediately said. I thanked him.
We returned once again to the Ring City. Heavenly Soul and I flew quickly westward, toward the dark land outside the Yan Emperor and Huang Emperor's domain, which had not yet been swallowed.
"Wait, Ethan."
We had just left the city when Heavenly Soul called out to me.
"Don't you think it's strange?"
"What do you mean?"
Heavenly Soul explained.
"Rachel Lan and Sylvia Blue are humans, right? The Dark Will hasn't recognized them, but their presence here is confusing—and mine is too."
I looked at Heavenly Soul in confusion, and he continued.
The Sleeper had mentioned before that in the Living World, the Eternal Ones and Reincarnators, aside from being unable to return to this darkness, hadn't noticed anything unusual about it.
And everything we're experiencing now feels just like a nightmare.
"A nightmare?"
Heavenly Soul nodded.
"Maybe this darkness we're in is just a dream created by the Dark Will, and we're trapped inside it. If the dream shatters, we might truly die. Don't you have that Wish Balloon Ouyang Meng gave you?"
Suddenly enlightened, I looked around at everything.
"If I take out that Wish Balloon and manifest this dream, does that mean this place is a world of dreams?"
Heavenly Soul smiled and nodded.
"How did you figure it out?"
"Something feels off. My instinct is the source, and when I probed, I couldn't sense the source of this darkness. Previously, the source of this darkness was the Dark Will, but now I can't detect it at all. So I started thinking—we must be trapped in a dream."
I murmured in agreement, and Heavenly Soul and I found a place to land. All around us was a field of black shattered stones. I sensed the Wish Balloon Ouyang Meng had given me inside my body. Once I found it, I raised my hand, and gradually, a violet glow appeared—a purple balloon materialized in my hand. I held onto the string; if I let go and this isn't a dream, the balloon will vanish. But if it is, the Wish Balloon's dream will manifest.
The moment I let go, the balloon flashed with violet light and began to crack open, a streak of bright white light shining out.
"Just as I thought."
Heavenly Soul laughed. I quickly grabbed the string, and the balloon, which was about to burst, returned to its original state. I put it back inside my body.
"Ethan, the power of this Wish Balloon isn't enough to counter the Nightmare Cataclysm created by the Dark Will."
I nodded.
"That's true, but Sylvia Blue and Rachel Lan are also trapped in the dream. I want to save the balloon for them. Sylvia should be fine, but I have an idea."