Before me, a black sphere completely covered the sky, bulging as if it could burst at any moment. Sweat streamed from my forehead as Mr. Brown watched me with a grave expression.
I could feel it—the flow of ghost aura was no longer as steady as before. It had begun to grow chaotic, and Mr. Brown was struggling to control the ghost aura being channeled into my body.
"Move faster, Resentful Ghost, Zhu Tang."
I kept shouting, and Resentful Ghost continued to unleash its power. Yet, inside Spirit Snake, the battle intent guided by Thought Ghost showed no progress—resentment would soon be snuffed out by the fighting spirit.
And I could sense that Spirit Snake was already at its limit. Every ghost soul had been pushed to the edge—this was the maximum power they could bear. Because my own ghost souls were so weak, they couldn't release any stronger power. Even using the Molted Skin, things were already overloaded.
With a thunderous bang, Mr. Brown yanked his hand back in an instant. I felt like a deflated balloon, collapsing to the ground. The black sphere in the sky vanished, and Spirit Snake, having devoured too much battle intent, had ruptured its body.
Gasping for breath, I lay on the ground. If Mr. Brown hadn't pulled his hand away just in time, things would have been much worse.
Since ancient times, snakes have symbolized both rebirth and destruction. Legends say they can devour heaven and earth.
"There's nothing more I can do, Ethan. Your ghost souls are already at their limit."
I nodded. Suddenly, with a boom, a streak of black-green light shot toward us, crashing down nearby. The crisp sound of bones shattering rang out. Monster Yuna climbed to her feet, glanced at me, then burst into wild laughter.
"It's a nice idea, Ethan Zhang. But this place has carried too much for too long. Do you really think you can resolve it all in such a short time? Aren't you being a bit naive?"
"Naive or not, that's not for you to decide."
With a thunderous crash, Yuna Ji, in pursuit, swung her staff at Monster Yuna. Monster Yuna deftly blocked the strike and widened the distance between herself and Yuna Ji.
"Keep going, Ethan."
I grunted in response. The two instantly clashed again, and all I could do was raise my arms, constantly defending myself from the flying bones hurled by their impact.
"Ethan, are you going to keep at it?"
Mr. Brown asked. I nodded.
"Continue."
Before they settled the score, I had to give everything I had. We might have failed once, but now both I and the ghost souls had gained experience. As long as we kept trying, it would work.
Spirit Snake's body began to swell. Once the process started, all the battle intent would be drawn in by Desire Ghost, following the pathway created by Yin Ghost, and guided by Thought Ghost into Spirit Snake's belly.
"Stop."
I shouted. Spirit Snake was about to exceed its maximum capacity. Desire Ghost stopped releasing power. I closed my eyes—Resentful Ghost and Spirit Snake were both straining.
Behind me, Mr. Brown kept channeling power. It took everything I had just to maintain the current state.
But I failed again. Whenever other intentions were introduced, the battle intent would swell, fighting spirit surging as if trying to drive out Resentful Ghost.
"Your ghost souls are getting weaker and weaker, Ethan."
Mr. Brown muttered. I knew it too—if this kept up, my ghost souls wouldn't be able to take it. In their prime, ghost souls are like brand-new balloons, but after a while, even if you refill them, they lose their endurance and deflate faster. That's my current state. It'll take time to recover.
The battle raged on, but Yuna Ji was clearly losing ground. Her power kept fading, while Monster Yuna showed no sign of weakening.
"I'm going back to the Shadow Realm."
I raised a hand as I spoke. The space split open, and I quickly entered the Shadow Realm, heading straight for the room where Ethan's Spectral Juggernaut was kept.
With a creak, the door opened as I reached it. I desperately needed answers, and perhaps only The Engineer could help me now.
Beside the bright control panel, Ethan's Spectral Juggernaut lay quietly in the capsule pod, fully restored. I pressed the emergency contact button.
Moments later, a skeleton appeared on the screen, chuckling with a clattering sound.
"Mr. Lu Ban, why aren't you affected by the Battle Severance?"
I asked immediately. Lu Ban shook his head.
"Because I'm not a war-dead soul. I only came here for certain reasons, and I never participated in war during my life."
I responded thoughtfully with a grunt.
"I've already figured out the specifics. Humans aren't machines—they can't reach that level of precision. That's why you can't control the process you've designed."
I nodded. Lu Ban continued his explanation.
"But there is something much more peculiar—something natural."
A jolt of surprise ran through me.