Under the radiant light, the shattered world began to revive. The scorched earth gradually turned brown, plants sprouted anew, and as the long-standing gloom in the sky dissipated, the entire world was once again bathed in sunshine.
The bodies of the dead gods radiated immense power, endlessly reconstructing every aspect of this world. Yet all of this defied the natural order. Hell sank into the shadowy depths below, and those colossal eyes finally closed once more. Everything returned to silence.
The survivors stared in awe at the unbelievable sight before them. Everyone was entranced by the beauty—those still alive had never seen what a world illuminated by sunlight truly looked like. From birth, they had only heard the elders of their tribe describe the vibrant world under the light, but had never witnessed it themselves.
Now, everyone was stunned—this scene was far more moving and beautiful than anything they had ever heard growing up. The air carried a fresh scent, free from rot and burning.
The gods also decided to leave this world, sealing it off completely with darkness, separating the shattered realm of illusion from reality. But now, the dead and other entities would all become souls—someone had to take charge of these things.
And the three souls of the Wraithlord also needed to be guarded. In the end, after much discussion, the Wraithlord's three children accepted the responsibility of managing hell. With the gods' help, hell was soon constructed.
But at this moment, a problem arose—everyone was astonished by Tan Tian's transformation. A living corpse, devoid of any joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. In just a few months, Tan Tian decided to leave the people behind.
"I've become a monster now, I have nothing left. From now on, I'll leave humanity behind, lest one day I hurt someone."
Tan Tian didn't inform anyone else—he only told Loraine Locke of his departure. Originally, he intended to end his own life, but to his frustration, he had already become an immortal monster—not human, not ghost, just a corpse. Yet in Tan Tian's mind, the price he paid was worth it. Though he no longer understood what happiness was, seeing the surviving children of the tribe, he decided to leave.
"Where are you planning to go?"
Loraine Locke asked seriously, fully aware of how dangerous Tan Tian's condition was. If one day he turned against the world, no one would be able to stop him. He would become as unstoppable as the Wraithlord.
"I don't know."
Tan Tian rose and stepped out of the Realm of Illusion. He glanced back at the village where he had lived for decades, then left without hesitation.
"Wait, Tan Tian..."
Cries rang out as Huangfu Ruofei ran out, breathless. She didn't want Tan Tian to leave. He had saved everyone—so why was he forced to go? Huangfu Ruofei knew that some villagers had already begun to ostracize Tan Tian. Many looked at him with fear, spreading rumors that one day he might do what the Wraithlord had done. Some even suggested he should be killed.
"I've already become a monster. The moment I stopped being human, I made up my mind—to leave humanity behind. Go back, Ruofei."
Tan Tian comforted Huangfu Ruofei, forcing a stiff, awkward smile before turning and dissolving into the yellow earth, sinking into the ground and vanishing without a trace.
Many in the village breathed a sigh of relief at Tan Tian's departure. The construction of hell continued. The remaining five gods joined Mother Goddess Nuwa to help the Wraithlord's three children build hell. During the process, they discovered that some souls, after death, were exceptionally pure—able to return to the world and replenish lost vitality, even becoming new life.
Ultimately, the gods created a cyclical system of yin and yang. As long as the seven emotions and six desires were taken from the dead, their souls would become pure enough to enter the cycle, journeying to the sunlit world as new life. Meanwhile, the foul and corrupt energies would sink underground, sustaining hell's stability.
Afterward, the gods entrusted the remaining work to the Wraithlord's three children.
"If one day you find a solution, you can free your father. For now, I'll take these seven pieces with me—the solution hasn't been found yet."
Leaving these words behind, Nuwa departed from hell. The Wraithlord's three children watched as, within the two spaces created by the gods, the Wraithlord's Earth Soul relentlessly struck at a pillar of light, the Human Soul pored over white leaves, and the Heavenly Soul traversed between the realms of yin and yang, endlessly searching for its destination.
"One day, we'll find a way."
Emperor God declared firmly, while Xiao Yan and Phantom nodded in agreement. Sorrow lingered in their eyes—this was not the outcome they wanted, but they were powerless to change it. Throughout the war between humans and ghosts, the three mostly watched from the sidelines, unable to intervene. In the end, in utter helplessness, they chose death.
At that moment, a black shadow appeared in hell—it was Death Curse. He quietly stared at the Wraithlord's three children.
"Which side do you truly stand on? Everything that's happened is because of you three."
I stared in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening before me. Beside me, Nuwa waved her hand and the scene instantly changed.
It turned out that after being cursed, the three had already found a solution, but did nothing. With their immense power, they could have expelled the curse, yet they chose death. Only such a unique power could kill their bodies. Afterwards, they discussed some matters with Death Curse.
In the end, they tested the method on themselves. After becoming ghosts, they understood what it meant to be such a being, and discovered a way to separate the three souls and seven spirits, thus freeing Nuwa. Death Curse saw all of this, yet couldn't understand—they must have truly loved their father deep down.
"Only humans can save Father."
Phantom spoke coldly, and Death Curse burst out laughing, then shook his head.
"It's absolutely impossible for you to make him human again."
Death Curse immediately understood what the Wraithlord's three children intended. The Wraithlord's body was already dead—once dead, it could never become human again. His body had been destroyed in the shattered realm of illusion.
"We'll retrieve Father's body. Death Curse, won't you join us...?"
Death Curse shook his head and prepared to leave hell.
"Whatever happens to hell doesn't matter to me. My only warning to you is this: don't try to resurrect your father. I've known him longer than any of you. When he was still human, perhaps he was a good father to you, but after becoming a ghost, hatred born of love turned him into what he is. What you haven't seen is the other side of your father as a human. Even if he becomes human again, I don't think anything good will come of it. Just as the world has yin and yang, people have good and evil. You don't know what he went through in those early years of his existence, but I do—and I can tell you with certainty, he is evil. That can't be changed. It wasn't becoming a ghost that made him evil; it was his evil that created ghosts."
After finishing, Death Curse repeatedly warned the Wraithlord's three children before leaving.
Just after leaving hell and entering a quiet, shadowy forest, Death Curse encountered Sanyan.
"You look quite satisfied. Aren't you going to hell?"
Facing Death Curse's question, Sanyan shook his head.
"That place can't accommodate you or me. We're the same kind—neither seeking power nor willing to shoulder responsibility. We just want to watch how this world continues. I plan to keep communicating with the one I met in the dream; maybe I can bring him out. Are you planning to live in this forest?"
Death Curse nodded.
"No matter what the future holds, the problems humans and ghosts must face are countless. It's best to quietly observe. One day, we too may reach our end."
"Heh, I feel the same. I'm actually looking forward to everything that comes next, whether for humans or ghosts."
Meanwhile, in the sunlit world, a problem arose—the Realm of Illusion could not be eliminated. No matter what power the gods used, the village always remained connected through darkness to the shattered realm of illusion, and it seemed to have developed a consciousness of its own.
Facing such a bizarre situation, the gods tried many methods. To prevent the power of the shattered realm from affecting the newborn world, they had to sever the connection. Only by using all-consuming darkness as a barrier could they completely isolate the world from the shattered realm.
Because the Wraithlord died in the shattered realm of illusion, this worried the gods most. After long observation, they found that while the Wraithlord was alive, his human power hadn't vanished—it had scattered throughout the shattered realm. They feared that if he ever awakened again, the world would be doomed once more.
In the end, the gods devised a solution: move the entire village into the darkness. Though some connection to the world remained, no one driven by instinct could enter that darkness. Instinct was born from intense emotion and required great strength. As the population grew, Nuwa's direct descendants died off one by one. Their instinctive power, sustained by Nuwa's strength, gradually diminished until it vanished.