I heard Lin Qiao roar like a wild beast, veins bulging under that stone-colored skin.
"Terra Grip!" he shouted, swinging his arms and trying to grab the Echo Wraith like he could choke smoke with his bare hands.
He looked more like a monkey to me — flailing around, scratching his back, jumping like he was throwing a fit, while that Wraith was still clinging to him like a leech.
I swear, if someone saw this from afar, they'd think it was a zoo fight, not a battle for life.
"Uu-aa, uu-aa…" I made the sound without even thinking.
Then I blinked. What the fuck—why am I making monkey noises now?
I shook my head, half laughing, half annoyed. "Great. I'm evolving backward."
I watched the soil gather up his arms and crawl over his skin, turning him into a walking statue. The Wraith's smoky hands went straight into him — and for a second, I thought that was it.
But nothing happened. No drain. No scream.
I blinked. "Huh. So it actually works."
The Wraiths kept clawing like idiots, their hands just sliding around inside that stone shell, doing absolutely nothing. Like they were trying to suck a brick dry.
I snorted. "Yeah, go on, ghosts. Try chewing rock. Tell me how it tastes."
Lin just stood there, stiff as a wall, cracks running over his body but still holding strong.
Guess the monkey finally learned to fight without jumping.
Oops, I forgot about Wen Zhihao.
Where he is?
What the hell happened to him?
Last time I saw, he was throwing those smoke heads into trees, and now oh—
There he was, pale as chalk, knees shaking like he was standing on glass.
Four of those things were stuck to his back like leeches.
I squinted. "Wait… weren't there only one?"
So that Distortion Field skill wasn't just for show, huh? Maybe they used that… or maybe they just multiplied. Who knows?
Their hands were buried deep in his back — Resonance Drain. I knew that one.
Sucking out his life force straight through the spine, clean and slow.
Just watching him made my skin crawl — veins darkening, skin freezing, light leaking out of him slow, like something inside me was drinking it too.
And that's when it hit me — the smell.
That faint, sharp scent of dying blood, of soul leaving body.
It made my chest tighten, my pulse jump.
For a second, I could almost taste it.
My lips curled into a grin I didn't mean to make. I could feel it stretching on its own — wrong, but it felt right.
That hunger again — crawling under my skin, whispering like an old friend.
Telling me to move closer, just a little, and take what's left before the Wraiths do.
But I didn't.
"No… not now," I almost said it out loud.
My chest was burning, pulse too loud in my ears.
No… not yet.
Let them fight to death. Let them bleed first.
I— I want to watch them die. I want to smell their blood.
Agh… no… yes… I want to…
But then the whisper came again inside my head.
Go on… You want it.
You know you do.
Drain them yourself.
Why… why did it sound familiar?
Was that my voice?
I gritted my teeth, hands clutching my hair.
"Shut up," I hissed. "Not now."
They were your enemies. They came to kill you. Why wait?
"Who the fuck are you?" I yelled—asking the air, or myself? I didn't even know anymore.
The voice crawled up my spine, cold and slowly, like it was breathing through my skin.
Who else, Shen Yan? Who do you think's talking? It's me. Always was. You.
My eyes shut tight on their own.
In the dark behind them, I saw something — a shadow.
No face, no features, but somehow… familiar.
It stood there, smiling like it knew me.
I tried to move, but I couldn't.
My heartbeat slowed, my breath heavy.
Was it waiting for me to speak… or was it the one speaking through me?
It felt like I was arguing with my own echo — both sides hungry, neither backing down.
I clenched my teeth, shaking my head. "Not now," I muttered, almost growling it. "Not yet…"
Hahaha — pathatic... Stop hiding behind yourself. They came to kill you; kill back.
Tear them now. Smell the blood. It's yours if you can take it.
The hunger laughed somewhere inside me. I could feel it smile.
I pulled a breath in hard and let it out slow.
Bit my tongue just enough to feel the sting — anything to stop the craving, to hold back from tearing them apart.
But the urge didn't stop. It just scratched inside my head, crawling, whispering, still hungry.
If I didn't see it, maybe I could hold it back. I held my breath hard — stupid move, like air could block out the smell of blood or the sound in my head.
The ground under my feet told me enough — the tremors, the sound of impact, the air trembling from the clash.
I could feel every hit crawling up my legs, shaking my bones like the ground itself was pulsing from their fight.
Their cries mixed with the roars — what was that sound? The ground cracking? Splitting?
I didn't know. It all blurred together and somehow sounded almost right…
a perfect symphony of chaos.
Wait… I couldn't hear anything now.
Silence. I couldn't even feel the tremors in my legs anymore.
Just the wind… and my own heartbeat, steady again.
Was it over? I couldn't tell.
I needed to turn and see.
I turned slowly.
Yeah… it was over.
The Wraiths were dead — all five of them.
Wait… they didn't turn into smoke?
My grin widened. Good. If they'd vanished, I couldn't have devoured them.
Perfect.
I slid my tongue across my lips, feeling that dry heat rise in my chest again.
The hunger twisted inside me — eager, impatient.
I looked at the two of them — Lin Qiao and Wen Zhihao. They hadn't died. I couldn't believe it.
"Ha-ha." I laughed, my head tilted up a little.
Perfect. Now I could drain their life force with my own hands.
I told myself I should feel bad. Maybe even pity.
Lies. I didn't. I just felt alive. I was buzzing — thrilled, hungry, stupidly happy — watching them knelt on ground and gasping like fish.