Eternal Dominion
Thunderous rumbling echoed nonstop as gigantic bone monsters dug trenches across the desolate plains, heading toward the banks of the River of Oblivion.
John Chou crouched on the ground, having dug a small pit. Beneath the surface lay nothing but bones—not just human, but animal, and some strange ones he had never seen before.
Yuna Ji laughed heartily, her eyes brimming with excitement.
These colossal creatures obeyed her every command. No matter what Yuna Ji asked of them, they would do it without hesitation.
"Young master, what are you doing over there? Since that little girl Yuna Ji can command these monsters, maybe she can lead us back to the Living World! We should return—there’s nothing here for us."
"Don’t you think it’s strange, Mr. Brown? These bones..."
Mr. Brown picked up a bone casually, examined it for a moment, then tossed it back to the ground.
"Nothing strange about it—it’s just the bones of the dead."
John Chou chuckled and shook his head.
"That’s exactly what’s odd. This is supposed to be the Shadow Realm, not the Living World—so why are there so many bones here? There’s a massive amount of them."
John Chou stood up holding a bone and waved it in front of Mr. Brown.
"This is a real bone, not a fake. Everything here is so strange."
Yuna Ji stood with her hands on her hips, directing those massive bone monsters as they dug trenches. Earlier, Mr. Brown had explained to her that the River of Oblivion was the river souls crossed after death on their way to reincarnation, and that it contained human spirits. Yuna Ji decided to dig out some new channels to draw those souls in, hoping she might find the person she was searching for.
"Let’s check out that river we’ve already dug over there."
John Chou muttered, and the two of them drifted over to Yuna Ji.
What puzzled John Chou most was that Yuna Ji was just a White Robe, yet the bone giants she commanded grew stronger and stronger. The only explanation he could think of was the battle-hardened Yuna Ji they’d encountered before, the one with the instincts of absolute combat.
"John Chou, hee hee, what do you think? I can control these guys. Soon, we’ll be able to..."
John Chou shook his head.
"No need. I just want to find a way back to the Living World as soon as possible."
After a brief explanation, Yuna Ji called over one of the bone giants. The three of them climbed on its back and headed toward the distant, shadowy mountain wall.
"Who exactly are you looking for?"
Mr. Brown asked, and Yuna Ji's face darkened, a hint of sorrow appearing.
"Some are my family, some are friends, some are my kin... and some are the ones I love."
"If you find them, what’s the point?"
John Chou asked, and Yuna Ji lifted her head to look at him.
"I just want to see them one more time."
Mr. Brown glared at John Chou, and John Chou laughed, shaking his head.
"I think you shouldn’t rush to dig out the river. After all, you know nothing about this place."
As they spoke, they arrived at a small green pool. Yuna Ji walked over and stared quietly at the black-green water. She felt something in her heart, and it seemed as if she could hear voices at her ear.
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly, John Chou’s expression shifted. He glared at Yuna Ji, hostility burning in his eyes. At that moment, Yuna Ji’s eyes turned a deep black-green as she squatted on the ground, obsessively digging for something.
"What’s wrong, Miss Ji?"
Mr. Brown was about to step forward and ask, but John Chou grabbed his arm and held him back.
"It looks like that monster still hasn't completely left her body—some part of it remains."
After a long silence, Yuna Ji unearthed a bone. The ground below was packed with bones. She searched through a mound of skulls, painstakingly assembling a human skeleton. By the water’s edge, a complete set of white bones emerged—then, impossibly, something happened.
A streak of bright white light from the sky shot into the bones in an instant. John Chou and Mr. Brown saw it clearly—it was a human soul.
A harsh creak split the silence—the skeleton moved. Yuna Ji snapped back to herself, staring in disbelief at the bones before her. Fear trembled in her voice as she whispered:
"What’s happening? What just happened?"
John Chou offered no explanation. He watched in silence as the skeleton struggled, its mismatched bones making each movement agonizingly slow.
John Chou didn’t say a word. He strode to the skeleton and smashed his fist into it. With a dull thud, the skeleton toppled but didn’t shatter. Its jaw worked furiously, as if desperate to speak, but no sound escaped.
"Who are you... Where is this place?"
The skeleton spoke, shocking all three of them. After a moment, they realized that this skeleton had once been a soldier who died on the battlefield.
"A battle to the death?"
To understand what was happening, John Chou assembled another skeleton himself. After the soul entered, the skeleton came to life.
"What exactly is going on?"
Yuna Ji and Mr. Brown looked at John Chou, full of confusion, hoping he would explain.
"You’d better stop. If you keep doing this, it might lead to consequences we can’t control."
At that moment, it was as if Yuna Ji understood something. She hurriedly began assembling another skeleton—the third to be revived.
"So that's it. Everyone who dies in battle ends up coming through this river."
All these skeletons were the same. When first revived, they were dazed for a while, gradually regaining consciousness. They were all soldiers who had died in battle.
Yuna Ji started assembling a fourth skeleton, but John Chou placed a hand on her to stop her.
"I told you, stop doing this. You have no idea what consequences it could bring!"
"Whatever happens, I just want to see them again. Isn’t that the same for you? Mr. Brown said you risked being caught by the Shadow Realm to rescue him, didn’t you?"
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John Chou stared blankly at Yuna Ji.
"Suit yourself. Whatever happens, I’m not responsible."
For days, Mr. Brown and Yuna Ji kept busy assembling skeletons. Each time a skeleton was revived, Yuna Ji would ask its name. These skeletons, like the bone monsters, could not disobey her orders. So, she had some of the newly revived skeletons help, explaining the situation to them.
More and more skeletons were born, and the pace kept accelerating. After souls entered the skeletons, their dazed period grew shorter and shorter. Many skeletons dug for bones and assembled others nearby. Some of the revived skeletons felt a sense of comfort—after all, they were alive again, even in this form. Maybe, just maybe, they could see their loved ones once more.
John Chou just watched anxiously from the side. Over the past few days, he had tried killing a skeleton, but what frightened him was that it came back to life in a nearby pit.
On the fifth day, chaos erupted. Two skeletons started fighting after a collision, and soon others joined in. Thousands of skeletons brawled, even after being revived, the fight resumed. The scene became uncontrollable until Yuna Ji shouted, and only then did the skeletons stop, obeying her like a disciplined army.
Three rivers had now been opened, and more and more skeletons were being revived here. Yuna Ji began appointing the smarter skeletons as managers, tasking them to find the people she was searching for. Her delegation was precise and well-organized, like a seasoned commander on the battlefield.
Yuna Ji grew more and more motivated, and the number of skeletons kept increasing. Every single one was a fallen soldier or general.
"So many people listen to me, hehe, I’m the king here, John Chou."
Seeing Yuna Ji’s excited face, John Chou could only give a wry smile.
"Yes, you really are the king here—maybe even the emperor."
Looking out over the plains, skeletons numbered in the tens of thousands. All of them worked beside the bone monsters, hauling sand and dirt, faithfully carrying out Yuna Ji’s orders.
I regained consciousness and quietly watched Yuna Ji. She hung her head, silent, while Mr. Brown shook his head helplessly.
Now, none of this can be avoided. Everything the young master worried about long ago has come to pass. No one can control what happens here. This place is the gathering ground for the foul energy produced by bones after death in the Living World. Once a soul merges with these bones, it can never be separated.
Far off on the horizon, clouds of dust appeared as hordes of cavalry rushed toward them. The skeleton soldiers atop the city walls panicked, brandishing their weapons. Then Bing Mang stepped forward, raised his hand, and gave the order to open the gates. The approaching army was the Rebel Legion—over a hundred thousand cavalry, it seemed. I saw flaming Fire Bulls and, in the front row, a petite skeleton shining with a faint blue light, almost like Yuna Ji.
The cavalry began entering the city. Liang Bing told us that besides the Fire Bulls, the Rebel Legion’s three great generals were here, and Shui had also arrived.
The cavalry poured into the city, the Fire Bulls hurried in, and the soldiers on the walls went down to prepare for war.
"Bing Mang, it’s General Golden Plume. He’s coming this way and should arrive soon. The other generals are on their way too—the situation is dire."
"Zhang Qingyuan, Xiao Jiu, I hope you can help us. General Golden Plume is truly formidable. The three of us together aren’t his match."
I nodded, but then it occurred to me—it was Summon Peng. As for the other generals, I knew them all. They were the rulers of the Eternal Dominion that Yuna Ji had built.