"After all the effort you spent, forcing Ethan Zhang to exhaust every bit of strength in his body and drag me out—what exactly are you trying to accomplish?"
Deathbane Ghost loosened his grip on the Deathbane Sword. The gray blade tumbled toward me, but just as it was about to pierce me, the entire sword sank into my body. The wound, bleeding profusely, began to heal, and my damaged ghost soul started to repair itself. It felt as if my hollowed-out body was gradually regaining its strength.
In that split second when I was about to be crushed by Deathbane Ghost, it was the Heavenly Soul who lent me a hand, connecting my instincts to Roxie’s primal force and channeling her power into me.
"What exactly..."
I struggled to my feet. Just as I was about to speak, Deathbane Ghost floated to my shadow and slashed at it with the Deathbane Sword. Black deathbane energy erupted violently, but as if striking a phantom, my shadow instantly slipped into the ground, moving across the surface and flying toward me.
With a whoosh, Deathbane Ghost—who had been sitting cross-legged in the center—suddenly appeared before me and kicked the ground. With a bang, my shadow was blasted out of the earth and crashed onto the floor. Just as I got up, another Deathbane Ghost behind him raised the Deathbane Sword and slashed down.
With another whoosh, my shadow once again sank into the ground like a phantom, splitting into several strips of darkness that converged toward me.
"Is this a contest of division?"
Deathbane Ghost muttered. The one standing before me instantly split into countless copies, striking down the approaching shadows one after another. The black shadows began to gather again, twisting into the shape of my shadow, but Deathbane Ghost relentlessly pursued them.
With two metallic clangs, my shadow blocked Deathbane Ghost’s sword, then drifted twenty or thirty meters away, raising one hand in challenge.
The Deathbane Ghost turned its head to look at me, and I swallowed hard.
"You gained your shadow after death, or perhaps, when you were still alive, your original natural shadow was already replaced. To achieve this before you ever touched the ghostly path, as an ordinary human, there were thousands upon thousands of chances."
"What are you trying to say?"
I choked out a reply, as the Deathbane Ghost slowly raised its Malice Blade, pointing at my shadow.
"So that entity must have come from darkness itself. A shadow is a creature of darkness. Have you forgotten? Before you came here, when you signed the Pact of Darkness, did that beggar truly control your shadow? No. He could only control those who possess shadows, and you are not human anymore, you are a ghost. But when Roxie and the Earthbound Soul held you in check, could that entity really control you in the Living World, in the face of the Earthbound Soul’s Sundusk power? I don’t think so. Roxie is a human, but you and the Earthbound Soul are not."
The Deathbane Ghost’s stream of words left me deeply shocked. I stared at my own shadow, unable to say a word. That entity had been with me for a very long time.
"Principle is principle. No one can violate it, not even those with Genesis Instinct. Everyone who’s seen your shadow—including Han Choujian, though he only suspected—never had concrete evidence, so he kept silent. Others, because of your unique Genesis Instinct, didn’t find it strange that you had a shadow. But I’m different. I’ve existed since the birth of Malice."
"Indeed, Ethan Zhang."
A chill echoed through the air. A serpent’s head slithered from my shoulder—it was the Spirit Snake, somehow restored.
"Our perspectives have been twisted, given to that entity. Do you remember how you and your shadow used to constantly clash?"
I gave a quiet hum in response, and the sinister laughter of the Shade Ghost echoed. A black wind scraped down my spine and landed nearby, morphing into a Shade Ghost.
After a long silence, my shadow began to laugh, its eyes gleaming with malice. It clapped its hands and spoke with a twisted grin.
Immediately, I realized what was happening. My shadow began to swell, its hair growing longer, transforming into a figure with wild hair and a body utterly mismatched to my own. Yet it remained like a silhouette, with only a white mouth and golden-red eyes, its voice deepening into a guttural growl.
Clenching my fists, grinding my teeth, I stared at the shadow that once belonged to me. Breath rasped through the air. In an instant, Curse Ghosts, Desire Ghosts, Grief Ghosts, and Wraith Ghosts appeared at my side.
The figure before me sat on the ground, resting its chin on one hand, staring at me. At that moment, I began to realize why the Dark Banquet’s members could so precisely pinpoint my existence. If I was born of darkness, wielding its power, and they used darkness itself as a medium—yet the power of darkness is intangible, invisible, without form, existing only in illusion. It cannot truly serve as a medium.
The most crucial thing was the Genesis Instinct that had grown within Roxie’s body. Thinking carefully, even the Dark Banquet could not possibly know about it. I kept slapping my own forehead in frustration.
Images flashed through my mind—this entity was always pretending to care, constantly giving advice, sometimes even helping out.
Shade Ghost beside me asked a question, and the Mimicker laughed softly.
"Boundless darkness, devouring and embracing all. Look forward to it—this is a dark feast a thousand years in the making. As for hints, with your current abilities, do not attempt anything reckless. Once you fall into darkness, you will never again possess the light."