The Soulless in the Shadow World were awakened from their slumber.
They were the inhabitants and building blocks of this world of shadow and dreams. Before they were awakened, they had all been "fused" with the world in some way. They were the stone carvings and murals found everywhere in the Shadow Stronghold, the twisted faces on dead trees, the strange stones in corners, and the shadows formed where clouds overlapped as they moved. They were hidden in every corner of this world, but whenever outsiders intruded, they all "awoke" in an instant, appearing everywhere in the blink of an eye.
Led by Heiserana, Hao Ren's group fought while retreating. After scattering countless phantom ghosts, they finally withdrew into the castle's towering, sturdy structure. Only after they forcefully shut the heavy oak door—so huge it was almost absurd—did the endless, shrill screams in the courtyard finally quiet down, fading into intermittent, nearly inaudible whispers of wind.
However, retreating into the building did not mean they were safe. The soulless guardians were everywhere in this world. Hao Ren warily watched the broad, lofty Gothic corridor. Countless slender pillars pressed against the walls divided it into dozens, even hundreds, of sections. The narrow, high windows between the pillars were like countless pairs of eyes hanging overhead, coldly looking down on every intruder. Beneath each window burned a pale candle flame, and as the candlelight swayed, it cast an especially eerie glow over the oil paintings hanging below.
Like any medieval noble estate, the "Reflection Castle" was filled with tasteful oil paintings and framed pictures. To match the atmosphere of the building, all the paintings were gloomy and bizarre in style and content. Within the frames, there were only blurred portraits with no facial features, hidden beneath sheets of darkness. Hao Ren had