In an instant, I raised both hands and drove Belle into the ground. A torrent of Deathbane Aura surged out from my body, flooding the air and completely isolating the Yin Energy.
"So fast."
I muttered under my breath, and in that instant, my body was compressed. Every joint crackled loudly as an invisible force crushed me with brutal intensity.
The Deathbane Aura was already starting to collapse. If the aura protecting my Ghost Soul shattered, my soul could be pulverized instantly.
There was nowhere left to run. I roared in fury, and in that moment, the murderous intent buried deep in my heart erupted. My Deathbane Aura surged, growing impossibly strong. With a thunderous roar, I spread my arms wide and forced back the crushing power before me.
The crackling intensified. I stared in shock as the ground began to freeze, and the Yin Energy that had been suppressing me faded away. Damien hovered motionless in the air, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"The condensation of murderous intent—I've never seen it before."
"It's coming."
As I drew Belle, I transformed into a streak of black light, lunging straight at Damien.
With a metallic clang, I stared in disbelief—a pale, lifeless hand had gripped my Belle. With a swift motion, I severed the hand right off.
Belle darted upward at a sharp angle. With a swish, the pale-skinned creature before me was sliced clean in two, while Damien had already moved far away.
The creature, now split in half, was bizarre—its flesh uncannily lifelike, almost indistinguishable from a real human. I watched in silence as it fell to the ground. With a gurgle, a thick slurry oozed from the severed sections, then began to merge, reforming into a whole before me.
"Are you... a revenant...?"
I swallowed hard, glaring angrily at the creature that had just reassembled itself. He looked dignified, carefree, dressed in a long white robe with his hair tied back—his bearing was calm and steady. I swallowed again, feeling a strange familiarity. In a flash, memory surged and I shouted his name.
"Luo Yichen, is that you?"
The man before me smiled faintly.
"It's me, Ethan Zhang."
It really was Luo Yichen. Back when Zhang Wuju and I fought the Immortal Society to the bitter end, another revenant—Luo Yu—had appeared as well. They sabotaged our plans, and Zhang Wuju died because of it. In that instant, fury erupted in my chest.
"Don’t be rash, Ethan Zhang. Your killing intent is practically prickling my skin. Impressive—just a few years, and you’ve grown this much. But you still can’t control it, can you? If you keep letting it run wild, you’ll destroy yourself."
I didn’t need Luo Yichen to tell me—I was well aware of my own condition. My body was in terrible shape. All I could do was force myself to suppress the beastly urge to kill, constantly holding it down. Damien watched quietly from the side.
"Class Leader, you should go back. It won’t do without you guarding that side. Leave this to me. Ethan Zhang, I suppose you and I have a bit of fate."
"Tch."
I cursed, then stared at Luo Yichen. He’d once been Luna Quay’s subordinate, but later defected with six other revenants. Luna Quay had told me to find them, but aside from that one encounter and the traitor revenant, they seemed to vanish from the living world.
"Without control over your emotions, you’re nothing but a beast, Ethan Zhang. I’ll say it again—master your killing intent. If you can’t even do that, how will you ever understand this place? How will you ever bring Yuna Ji back?"
I tilted my head back and roared, but gradually calmed down. My breathing slowed as I stared at Luo Yichen. How had revenants come to exist in this world?
"If you’re wondering how I got here, I can’t answer you. That’s just how it is for revenants. Enough about that—don’t repeat what just happened, or people here will die."
"Tell me—what is this place, really?"
Luo Yichen didn’t answer. Instead, with a rush of wind, he drifted right up to me.
"A being without emotions—a revenant. What kind of existence is that? What’s its purpose?"
I swallowed, my mind racing to James Grant, Luna Quay, Yuna Ji. Luna Quay’s feelings had long since been spent; his love for Yuna Ji was lost to his revenant nature, and Yuna Ji loved James Grant—not a corpse. I even thought of Lance Quinn, who was the same.
"Do you want your emotions back?"
I asked, word by word. Luo Yichen nodded.
"We’ve tried everything in the living world. Nothing worked. Old Tantan came up with a way to bypass the Heavenly Law—he wanted Luna Quay and Yuna Ji to be together. But it’s pointless. The Heavenly Law won’t allow it. You’ve seen how powerful it is, haven’t you?"
"Tell me—what is this place, really?"
I shouted again, emotions surging, but forced myself to suppress the anger. If my killing intent broke loose again, I wouldn’t be able to control it.
"I’ll take you somewhere."
Luo Yichen extended his hand. I took it, and in an instant, I was stunned. Before me, nine floating islands spiraled downward from above.
"What we seek here is what makes us human—it's essential. No matter what, we must regain our emotions. Xu Fu is different. What he seeks isn’t humanity, but something no human should possess—immortality."
(Skip: This is a navigation prompt, not part of the novel.)
I didn’t argue with Luo Yichen. His face showed no emotion, but I remembered—didn’t Lance Quinn always laugh and joke?
"Quinn’s smile looks normal, but he doesn’t know what laughter is. Since the day he opened his eyes as a revenant, he’s been utterly without feeling. Even after evolving into a Bonebreaker, he couldn’t gain emotions. That’s a revenant. I once saw him in the living world, observing people’s laughter. Every day, he practiced, watched all sorts of comedies and pranks, desperate to learn how to laugh. Hahaha…"
Suddenly, Luo Yichen laughed—but it wasn’t a real smile. It was twisted, rigid, almost nauseating to behold.
"He doesn’t even know what longing is, yet he tries to learn to laugh. Ethan Zhang, we’ve made progress—we’ve found a way to bring emotions back to these dried, dead corpses."
I stared at Luo Yichen in surprise.
"This isn’t just about restoring your emotions, is it?"
"No, it’s for some greater purpose. What exactly, I don’t know. I want to ask you for help, Ethan Zhang."
I didn’t refuse right away. In my mind, I saw Yuna Ji and Luna Quay; when James Grant heard about Yuna Ji, tears streamed down his face. Those moments made my heart ache. Because I understood, I couldn’t turn away.
"It’s impossible to bring anything from here back to the living world. Even the three creators are powerless. But you’re here, and long ago—when your instinctual coexistence awakened—we knew: Ethan Zhang, only you have a way to take these things back."
My heart twisted. I didn’t want to help these people, but I also wanted to help—because right now, I knew nothing.
"Why do you think James Grant keeps escaping?"
I stared wide-eyed at Luo Yichen.
"He’s never really crossed paths with us, but his body is our boss. We keep our eyes on the Emperor God and the other three. James Grant must never become an experiment. Yet he founded Scarlet Night, bringing endless trouble to this world."
"So the people here are just your test subjects?"
I pointed to the islands below. It started to make sense—the animals, plants, everything here was made up of the people of this world.
"Power comes in degrees, people have ranks, survival of the fittest. You have no right to judge us, Ethan Zhang. Just like you refused to let those people eat the Joyfruit, and one of them died—wasn’t that an experiment too?"
My mind buzzed. I had no rebuttal. My eyes grew worried, and I choked up.
"Whether you choose to cooperate, Ethan Zhang, is up to you. Work with us, and you’ll accomplish something in the short term. Refuse, and you’ll be nothing but dust in this world before long."
With that, Luo Yichen grabbed my hand again. In a rush, I was back in the forest where I’d started.
"Well, I suppose you already have your answer, Ethan Zhang. Tell me—will you cooperate or not?"
I sneered at Luo Yichen and shook my head.
"I still can’t work with you. Because... this place hurts—the so-called heart."
I raised my thumb and pointed to my heart. Luo Yichen grinned—a hideous, twisted smile.
"Then rot and wither here, until you become dust, Ethan Zhang."