I arrived outside the apartment building. As soon as I stepped out, sure enough, the enormous sun hung in the sky—it was daytime outside. Turning back, I glanced from afar at the apartment building behind me: empty, not a single figure in sight. I walked to the right and looked over.
That stretch of low residential buildings extended far into the distance, all the way to those blade-like mountain peaks. After I went up the stairs on the side and looked around, there wasn't a single person.
I sat down on the stairs, gazing at the area in front of the apartment building—several square kilometers, and not a soul to be seen.
Just then, I seemed to spot someone on a rooftop in the distance. Surprised, I stood up. The ghost behind the apartment building had just told me someone lived here. I quickly spread my wings and took off, flying toward that direction.
Gradually, I got closer. It was a woman, wearing a down coat, hanging clothes on the rooftop, looking quite happy. As I approached, she saw me. At first, she widened her eyes in surprise, but then seemed unfazed, as if she was used to such things.
"You're Ethan Zhang, aren't you?"
"How do you know me?" I asked in surprise.
Then I noticed that around this building, there were people—hundreds of them. Some were eating, some were chatting, all looking quite happy.
"What exactly is going on here?"
The woman's expression turned sad, then she spoke softly.
"Everyone here is someone who's reached a dead end."
"Why are you all here?"
I still couldn't understand how any of this was possible—how these people ended up here.
The woman before me then told me that before she came here, she was at the end of her rope—crushing debt, a hopeless life, unemployed, her marriage failed, no children. Just as she was about to end her life, a string of words appeared in the air.
Don't despair. Come here—everything will be alright.
After those words appeared, a piece of paper materialized, with the address, a map, and even a clear note saying there were ghosts here.
"Then how do you all know about me?" I asked again. The woman told me they'd heard it from the ghosts—the manager here is someone named Ethan Zhang.
I still couldn't make sense of the drastic changes that had taken place here in just over a month.
"Everyone who comes here finds that it's truly wonderful. No worries, just happiness every day." The woman said this, pointing to an old man below, his hair white, sitting in a wheelchair with a little girl pushing him. He looked very happy.
"That old man—his children were unfilial, and life outside was hard. But after coming here, that little girl took it upon herself to care for him. These days, he's been truly happy."
Then the woman told me all sorts of things. Most people here really had nowhere else to go. With so many people, I asked where their food came from. She explained that every night, the ghosts would deliver ingredients and pile them up in a makeshift warehouse.
I sucked in a breath—how similar this was to Exile Town. The woman invited me to stay for dinner. I thought about it; it was already afternoon, time to eat.
When I went downstairs, many people greeted me. I didn't think much of it and sat at a table with the woman I just met, and began to eat.
After eating, some people started their after-meal activities. Everyone seemed relaxed and content, smiles on their faces.
"Aren't you afraid? Of ghosts?" I asked. A middle-aged man at our table smiled and replied.
"At first, yes, we were a bit scared coming here. But we had nowhere else to go. After a while, you get used to it."
"That's right, haha. Actually, I think ghosts are much better than people." said a young man playing badminton nearby.
I laughed and didn't ask further, planning to return to the apartment building. After all, in a little over a day, Leah King would be holding a concert at Long Creek Square. I'd promised Yvonne May, so I had to take care of it. Next would be my cousin's business.
After saying goodbye to the people living here, I flew back to the apartment building. As soon as I entered, it turned into night again. I flew up to the rooftop and looked out at the residential district behind the building. Checking the time, it was already past seven.
There were more shadows now. In the residential district behind the apartment building, some ghosts had already begun to stir. People in front, ghosts behind—I couldn't help but smile.
"What's wrong? Still can't accept it?" Vincent Swallow's voice came from behind me. I shook my head.
"Not at all. My instinct is coexistence—maybe it's what I've always wanted deep down. Humans and ghosts, maybe one day, they'll truly be able to live together."
"Yeah. I once heard of a strange place called Exile Town, where humans and ghosts could live together in harmony."
Vincent Swallow said this. I let out a sound of surprise, then told him a bit about what happened in Exile Town.
"I don't know why, but I always feel, Ethan, that this place is a reflection of your heart."
When Vincent said that, I nodded. I still remembered that even though Exile Town had become twisted because of Quinn Ji, the people and ghosts there were happy.
I recalled that night—the first time I saw Exile Town's banquet-like evening, countless emerald-green lights rising into the sky. That beautiful scene is still vivid in my mind. It was there that I first saw Rachel Lan smile with genuine happiness.
I came to the edge of the apartment building and sat down, letting my legs dangle over the side, suspended in the air.
"Maybe, for a long time, I've been hoping for it—coexistence between humans and ghosts. Is that such a strange idea?"
"Not really, Ethan. It's the first time I've seen a place like this. Back when I was alive, I saw plenty of evil ghosts who ate people, and wicked humans who controlled ghosts. It always seemed like two opposing worlds. I've witnessed the evil of ghosts and the evil of humans. No matter how things change, it's always humans and ghosts."
I smiled faintly, pushed off with my hands, and jumped down from the apartment building.
"I'll go take a look."
My wings spread from my back, and I hovered steadily in the air.
"Go see with your own eyes, feel it with your heart, Ethan—your deepest will." Vincent Swallow said slowly behind me. I nodded, flapped my wings, and turned into a streak of crimson light, flying over.
I could sense it, even if just a little—this place existing here was deeply connected to me.
After arriving at the residential district, I quietly observed the ghosts moving below, unable to resist looking up.
"Who are you, really? Can you come out and talk?" I asked with a smile. Suddenly, a faint streak of black appeared in the sky, slowly opening into a rift. Bands of malevolent energy, like ribbons, drifted down as if welcoming me. I flew toward that black rift.
As soon as I entered, I saw a world half black, half white, completely intertwined. My golden-eyed doppelganger was there too, quietly sitting in a chair.
"Did you create this place?"
"Of course not, Ethan Zhang—this is you!"
My golden-eyed doppelganger spoke, reaching out a shadowy hand and pointing upward.
"Your instinct—coexistence. Go ahead and ask him."
Amid wisps of black smoke, my golden-eyed doppelganger slowly faded away before my eyes.
"You finally found me, Ethan Zhang."
A high-pitched voice echoed from the black-and-white mixed space above, laced with excitement.
"Is it you? The one who created this place?"
"I am your instinct, just as you wished, Ethan Zhang. The coexistence of humans and ghosts, just as you imagined—all of this is your deepest desire, driving me to build it all."
"Is that so."
The flames on my body faded. I sat down, feeling something solid beneath me—a comfortable chair appeared behind me.
"The struggle between humans and ghosts, this cycle of conflict, isn't what you want to see. That's why I was born here—called Coexistence. I am your sword, your heart, your eyes, your soul. Everything as you wish. Keep walking this path, as always—drown in this instinct called coexistence."
I stood up. With a crack, the space around me shattered.
"Still, even if this place is black and white, day and night are forever apart—it's uncomfortable."
I looked around. With a rumble, the walls of my apartment building collapsed. The houses on both sides faded away, and two roads appeared, connecting front and back.
The cracking sounds continued as the space in front of the apartment split open bit by bit. I saw the place where people lived—specks of light and moving silhouettes.
All these things kept shifting within my heart.
"Every road leads to only one end, Ethan Zhang." The voice of instinct echoed from above.
"Ah, just one end—the end of the road."
I laughed heartily. All around, pink cherry blossoms fell like rain from the sky, drifting everywhere. I caught sight of Samantha Simons.
"I want to become king—at the end of this road, there will be only a king."
I slowly raised my head, gazing at the full moon, a faint crimson glow radiating all around.