Zhou Zhanxie silently stared at the ever-expanding vortex of Hell beneath her feet. As she listened to the overlapping, heart-rending wails of the unjustly dead rising from its depths, her eyelids trembled slightly, as though she had recalled some terrible memory.
Even so, she made her choice almost immediately.
Zhou turned to Shane, who was steadily supporting all three of them, using his Mental Power to resist Hell's pull. Her voice was resolute and firm.
"I might be able to soothe these amalgamations of resentment."
The pull from Hell steadily increased, frantically sucking matter from the real world inside, progressing from fallen leaves and loose dirt to rubble and dead trees.
The gale whipped at Zhou's clothes, but it could not bypass Shane's Mental Power to drag her in.
Zhou Zhanxie took a deep breath, her delivery growing steadier as she spoke.
"I've encountered this kind of ownerless resentment from the unjustly dead more than once. Before it develops, it isn't really an evil spirit, just lingering thoughts trapped between yin and yang."
"I took it into myself and helped it move on once before. I can do it."
As she spoke, Zhou took a step forward of her own accord and softly pleaded.
"Trust me. Let me down."
Shane's eyes slowly fixed on Zhou Zhanxie's pupils. "I've used that trick of telling half the truth and hiding the rest far more often than you have."
Zhou Zhanxie was momentarily at a loss for words. Once Shane looked away, her eyes began darting about uncontrollably.
Now that Constantine's mouth has been smashed in, Shane has no one to check with. Maybe if I insist a little more...
Shane shifted his gaze to Constantine, who lay limp in midair beside them. Half his face was shattered bone and mangled flesh, and