The Founding Emperors fell silent. The two of them found a spot, sat down, closed their eyes, and seemed to be communicating, unwilling for us to overhear.
Hmph, two old geezers.
Yuna Ji muttered, making a face at the Founding Emperors. Redmond sighed, and at that moment, Rachel Lan smiled and spoke.
"No matter what, let's eat something first. There's still plenty of wine left."
Rachel Lan pulled me along as she spoke. My mind was muddled, even a little overwhelmed, but when I saw Rachel's smile, all the gloom seemed to vanish. I wanted to seek out Future Ethan Zhang and have a proper talk with him. I didn't want to disappear—because right here, with my lover, family, and friends, I couldn't bear to leave them.
The aroma drifted through the air as everyone gathered around. Isabelle Frost grilled the meat, clearly not a novice at it, and today she seemed genuinely happy.
"So your instinct isn't complete. If you go to the Juchen Realm and make up for what's missing, your power will surely increase a lot. By then, I won't be able to compete with you anymore."
John Chou said this and earned a glare from Isabelle Frost, while Yuna Ji giggled.
"I'm with you, Isabelle. Give that scheming guy a good beating—it'll be so satisfying! Then we can all have a proper celebration."
"Forget it, Yuna Ji. When it comes to scheming, you're no better than me. With that cheerful facade of yours, you've done plenty over the years—and you even tricked all of us once."
Yuna Ji stuck out her tongue playfully and smiled. We started eating and drinking, while the Founding Emperors remained motionless, still sitting in silence. I had no idea what they were up to.
After a while, once we had eaten and drunk enough, the Founding Emperors stood up. Emperor Yan quietly fixed his gaze on me.
"Come with me, Ethan Zhang."
I responded with a hum. Rachel Lan let go of my hand, and I turned to look at her seriously. She nodded back at me.
The Founding Emperors slowly floated upward, and I followed them, drifting out of the woods. When we reached the wasteland, the Founding Emperors descended back down.
"We've discussed it. The choice is yours. We don't want to interfere—after all, the future of humans or ghosts is already history to us. The future belongs to those living now, and if you want to confirm something, go see for yourself."
I nodded. At that moment, Emperor Yan raised a hand, and I saw a swirl of distorted air appear, followed by a black-and-white vortex. Colors shimmered within, and I instantly sensed the power of the Juchen Realm.
I noticed Emperor Yan holding a stone—the black-and-white Chronostone.
"Go, Ethan Zhang. The power of the Juchen Realm will take you to the future, to find the person you want to meet."
I nodded, then plunged into the space created by the Chronostone. Instantly, dazzling colors surged around me. I felt myself moving—falling, rising—my sense of direction completely lost.
I drifted along this passage to the future, gradually losing awareness. My consciousness grew hazy—I hadn't felt tired in a long time, but now, what I thought about most was everything that lay ahead. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but in the end, my mind slipped into sleep.
In a daze, I woke up. The moment I opened my eyes, I stared wide-eyed—I was in a ruined city, surrounded by abandoned skyscrapers. The streets were piled high with dust, as if no one had lived here for ages. Cars were buried under black sand.
Wind howled between the buildings, echoing like mournful wails. Passing through shattered towers, there were sounds like ghosts and wolves crying. Everything before me felt familiar. Suddenly I stood up and turned around, eyes wide—a sloping road led up to the apartment building where I used to live, my Ghost Domain.
I swallowed and walked up slowly. Nothing had changed in the apartment building, but as I entered, I realized everything here was made of light and shadow. I reached out to touch the cherry blossom tree at the entrance—sure enough, it was just light and shadow.
"I know you're here—where are you?"
I shouted loudly, but my voice was quickly drowned out by the raging wind. There was no response. Slowly, I began to float—it was H City, the center marked by a bottomless black pit, surrounded by ruined cityscape. There was nothing left, only wind and sand.
"Is this the worst possible future?"
In this future, I couldn't see a hint of green—only endless black and gray, a sky without sun or light. The world was utterly silent, not a trace of life, only deathly stillness.
"Ethan Zhang, where are you? If you're here, please come out—I want to talk to you."
I kept calling out loudly, but there was nothing except the sound of wind and sand.
I had no idea how much time had passed. I sat atop the moving ruins, facing the apartment made of light and shadow, staring in silence. This future was too terrible for all of us—so terrible there was neither despair nor hope, even worse than the Dark Place I had seen.
Grief welled up inside me as I quietly watched everything here. At that moment, a faint blue light surged out from my body.
"So I really did return to the future, huh? Heh, not bad—what a scene."
My eyes widened instantly as I saw the Ghost Ancestor beside me, laughing heartily.
"Was this your doing?"
Suddenly, I felt a stream of air sweep past the back of my head. With a buzz, a roar sounded beside me—a beam of black light enveloped the Ghost Ancestor, who looked at something behind me in astonishment.
"Who are you, really? How could you possibly possess such power, you..."
He turned to stone. The Ghost Ancestor beside me slowly transformed into hard, black stone—now he looked just like a statue.
"It's you, Ethan Zhang."
Long hair drifting in the wind, a calm yet weathered face, a voice steady and deep. His muscles stood out, his body like steel. Future Ethan Zhang was standing right behind me.
"I don't want this lunatic interrupting our conversation, so I've sealed him away for now."
I nodded. That deep, weighty voice stunned me for a moment. Future Ethan Zhang sat down, smiling kindly.
"Why reveal everything about the future?"
"Yes, why indeed?"
Future Ethan Zhang turned to me, responding with a smile. There was nothing hidden in that smile—just pure simplicity.
"Everyone is gone now. I miss them all, but everything is already in the past."
"Do you want me to disappear?"
I looked seriously at Future Ethan Zhang and asked.
"How should I put it? The path I chose at first—coexistence, for all things in the world—maybe it was wrong, or maybe it was right. Because I don't know when time will prove it. The path I chose, the path of coexistence, only the far future can reveal if it was right. Sadly, I've searched countless futures, seen countless Ethan Zhangs—one thousand years, ten thousand years, even further..."
Future Ethan Zhang's voice was pale and weak. He sighed and shook his head.
"Only black sand remains, no light at all—not even wind. In the not-so-distant future, after everything on the surface is destroyed..."
I swallowed.
"No Underworld either, right? Both humans and ghosts are extinct."
Future Ethan Zhang nodded.
"Answer me—do you want me to disappear?"
Future Ethan Zhang gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Don't ask me that—you know the answer yourself. Because I am you, and you are me. Even though you said before that you're not me, because the future hasn't happened yet, you can't deny it: I am your future."
At that moment, I noticed the great sword Future Ethan Zhang always carried was gone. I looked in surprise, and he seemed to read my mind, giving a helpless smile and saying:
"I've lent the weapon to someone else."
In that instant, I stared wide-eyed at Future Ethan Zhang. Suddenly, his face was filled with a smile full of hope.
"Are there others here?"
This was the most shocking thing I'd heard today, sending chills down my spine.
"Could it be the Ghost Ancestor or Tantan?"
Future Ethan Zhang shook his head.
"Those two have been dead for a long time."
"Did you kill them?"
Future Ethan Zhang shook his head, then stood up and gazed into the distance.
"You're asking about things that haven't happened yet. Ethan Zhang, tell me—why did you come here?"
"To pray..."
I uttered a word, staring blankly at Ethan Zhang. He laughed heartily.
"That little girl always causes me trouble. I thought you hadn't noticed."
I nodded helplessly and replied.
"Able to wield power like baleful energy, using sword and gun, and the names of those two weapons—Prayer and Dawn Moon."
Future Ethan Zhang laughed happily, his long hair flying in the wild wind.
"Prayer for a better future, and comfort for my mother Rachel Lan—those are the origins of the two weapons. As for their names, I can tell you, they were chosen by Ruoxi."
In that instant, I stared wide-eyed at Future Ethan Zhang, whose face brimmed with hope.
"In this world, my daughter is everything to me—the only light in endless darkness, and the last hope Rachel Lan left behind."