What had happened...

When Yue Ge opened his eyes, the world before him was pitch-black darkness. His body felt unnaturally heavy, as if stricken by severe illness. It took him a long moment to regain control, struggling to sit upright.

He was still inside the warehouse. The surrounding shelves stood neatly arranged, showing no signs of damage. Yue Ge clutched his head, straining to recall what had occurred. He remembered coming here to retrieve something... and then being ambushed by someone.

...

Ah... right. He finally remembered.

He had seen the Reaper again.

And then...

"Agh..." Yue Ge gritted his teeth, letting out a low growl. He was unaware that his nails were nearly tearing into his own skin. He simply needed an outlet for the turmoil, slamming his fist down until the floor cracked beneath it.

He had lost.

He had lost to the Reaper—utterly, without resistance. He’d thought he’d made peace with it, that he wouldn’t hesitate anymore. But when the moment truly arrived, Yue Ge realized some things couldn’t be forced with a mere "I can do it." If he hadn’t wavered, the Reaper would never have so easily seized control of his consciousness.

Time rewound to when Yue Ge was still searching for Nilin.

The moment he fully awakened his Essence, the Reaper unexpectedly appeared. Its arrival had nothing to do with whether Yue Ge activated his power—it came solely at its own discretion. After all, Yue Ge was its designated successor. Unlike their last encounter, however, the Reaper’s presence this time was subtle. Had it not spoken, Yue Ge might never have noticed it.

It manifested through Yue Ge’s Death Aura—a mere projection of consciousness, not its true form. Consequently, the suffocating Death Aura that usually accompanied it was absent. That was why Nilin remained completely unaware. Had the Reaper’s true form arrived, its overwhelming aura alone would have paralyzed her with fear.

"Shall I assist you?" were the Reaper’s first words.

Yue Ge hadn’t yet located Nilin. Her ability wasn’t invisibility—it was merging her body into shadows, compressing herself from three dimensions down to two. Ordinary methods couldn’t find her. And she certainly wasn’t standing still while he searched.

Truthfully, without the Reaper’s intervention, Yue Ge would have been powerless against Nilin. Unless he could saturate the entire warehouse with Death Aura, he stood no chance.

"At this rate, you’ll never find that little rat," the Reaper mocked. "You still don’t grasp the meaning of the power in your hands."

"You taught me that much yourself," Yue Ge retorted coldly, though he couldn’t deny it.

"Care to make a wager?" the Reaper asked, its tone dripping with amusement.

"On what?" Yue Ge’s fingers tightened around his blade.

Honestly, he didn’t know how to face the Reaper. Brutal as its methods were, it had undeniably granted him this power. Yet Yue Ge knew better than anyone: nothing came without a price. The Reaper had its own desires—it was merely waiting to collect its due.

The Reaper drifted beside him, grasping the hand holding the blade. "You disappoint me. You wield the power to slay gods—everything before you should be mere insects—yet you’re taunted by a rat. This isn’t how power should be used... It’s distasteful."

"Shut up..." Yue Ge instinctively yanked his hand back, swinging the blade at the Reaper. But it passed through empty air. His expression darkened as he dissolved the weapon. He already knew what the Reaper would say next.

Unfazed, the Reaper reformed and pointed. "The rat is right there. Can you truly strike her down? What are you afraid of? Listen—the Death within your blade hungers. Deny it fresh, delicious death much longer, and it may just refuse to obey."

"I said shut up!" Yue Ge snapped, his usual calm shattered by sudden, seething rage.

"See? You’re angry again," the Reaper sneered. "Face reality."

Yue Ge froze, stunned. The Death Aura that once flowed through him as naturally as his own limbs now lingered around him, radiating an icy chill that pierced his bones.

For the first time, he realized this power wasn’t just a tool. He hadn’t paid the price other Chosen Ones paid to wield their Essence—or rather, the cost wasn’t fully his to bear.

Just as Bai Ya had wondered: Yue Ge needed no sedatives, showed no physical changes after absorbing Essence. It defied all known laws of Essence.

He *had* changed... The proof stood before him now—this cold-handed, trembling figure. The Reaper was tearing away his self-deception. Resolutions meant nothing unless acted upon. And now, stripped of the unnatural calm his Essence once provided, he wavered.

Slowly, Yue Ge covered his face, hiding the fear and uncertainty twisting his features.

"Say it," the Reaper commanded, its spectral hand hovering over his head. "Say, ‘I will kill her.’"

"Kill..." Yue Ge whispered, the words catching in his throat.

Kill... whom?

An image flashed in his mind: his own blade sinking into Nilin’s heart, blood gushing over his hands.

And he understood. He had never truly resolved to do it.

"Human..." the Reaper murmured. "You’ve lost."

The drifting Death Aura surged forward, effortlessly scattering Yue Ge’s consciousness.

He remembered nothing after that. Only darkness stained by a single, vivid crimson—the only color in the void.

When Yue Ge awoke and stared silently at the corpse on the floor, he finally knew what it was.

—The color of blood.

He had crossed that line after all. Yet instead of triumph or relief, only sorrow filled him.

"What was that... helping me ‘awaken’?" He gave a bitter, hollow laugh, lost.

He couldn’t share this burden with anyone—not even Bai Ya would understand. In this world, everyone accepted death as inevitable. If he told her he’d killed someone, she’d likely show no reaction at all.

As Yue Ge pondered how to handle the scene, the entire building suddenly shook.

Not a dizziness-induced illusion—a violent, undeniable tremor shaking the ground itself.

"Rrrroar..." A deep growl echoed in every mind.

Something had awakened.

"Emergency alert. All personnel in the building, evacuate immediately."

"Repeat: Emergency alert. All personnel in the building, evacuate immediately."

A man’s voice crackled over the intercom—Lingkong’s voice.

Yue Ge’s tablet buzzed. He pulled it out to see a call from Bai Ya.

"Yue Ge, is it done?" Her voice was urgent, unusually so.

"Barely half," Yue Ge sighed, avoiding details. "What’s happening?"

"Something major." Bai Ya hesitated, then whispered:

"The god has awakened."