A dense forest.
Amid the deathly silence of a sea of corpses and blood, a lone grave stood by itself.
Bones piled beneath the trees, and the soil had long since been stained an ominous crimson.
The air was dark and rank, almost tangible, yet there was no trace of mosquitoes, flies, or insects.
Beneath the trees, in the gloom, a blood-lettered tombstone lay concealed, silent as death.
"You" suddenly appeared.
He was still dressed in white robes and a fox-fur cloak, his frame frail. However, most of the left side of his body had turned to stone, and his aura had weakened considerably.
"You" looked thoughtful.
"Reverse"...
He had heard that name a very, very long time ago.
The other had once challenged the taboo...
He had thought the other had perished completely. He hadn't expected him to have been imprisoned by Curse inside the Second Gate.
However, unlike them, who wanted to obtain Curse's fortune,
Reverse's goal was surely to return to You Su Fen!
"He wants to replace us and leave the Second Gate."
"We can't face him again."
"There's still half a year... I have to recover my strength as soon as possible!"
At that thought, "You" let out a gloomy sigh.
Immediately, the rustling around him grew louder.
The entire forest shook without pause, and the ground rippled and heaved like flowing water.
Soon, the earth split open, and one Ghostly Being after another, their bodies a deep blue-black, crawled out.
Every Ghostly Being looked dejected. As soon as they appeared, they crawled away toward the distance...
※※※
The ruins of the abandoned village had now been reduced to a vast pit, the landscape scarred and desolate, with only the fierce wind howling.
Blood ran down the lone tombstone in streaks of writing.
Beneath the