“Why do we keep walking without reaching the end? Did we take the wrong path… What do you all think-“

On the sixteenth level of the Silent Spiral, Ashe was walking along an endless wall. Upon entering the sixteenth level, they saw only this wall in the infinite darkness.

After Igor told him everything, he returned to the fifteenth level with Gwen, leaving Ashe to traverse the unknown trial of the sixteenth level alone.

Ashe quickly reached the wall, but no attack could affect it, and he couldn’t fly over it, so he had no choice but to walk along it. After a while with no change, he grew somewhat impatient and instinctively wanted to ask for others’ opinions.

But as he spoke, he realized how vast the space truly was, how empty the sound felt, surrounded by pitch blackness, making him feel small. Fear born from the darkness and anxiety from the unknown gradually crept into Ashe’s heart, causing him to instinctively press against the wall beside him, seeking some semblance of support.

In truth, previous trial locations were no smaller than this, yet Ashe never felt fear; the Virtual Realm was even more unknown, yet Ashe never felt anxious.

Because in reality, there were Igor and the others, and in the Virtual Realm, there were the Sword Princess, Witch, and Vesser. With them around, no world felt empty, no darkness felt frightening. Whether returning to reality or the Virtual Realm, Ashe could loudly proclaim, “I’m back.”

Or in Ashe’s more crude words, “With someone by your side, even if you die, there’s someone to bury you, and thinking of that brings comfort.”

Upon reflection, although Ashe had traveled for so long, he had never truly been alone. Even during the Prison Break’s downtime, he spent it with Freya, the silly Bewitcher college student; even when mistakenly entering the Divine Fire Trial, he fought alongside the Twin Observer.

But now, Harvey and Chikara remained on the tenth level of the Silent Spiral, hosting a grand funeral for the insane Senlo’s first sorcerer.

Igor and Gwen went back to find Tamashi, to confront the Mercury Trojan Horse full of malice.

Ashe had no choice but to venture alone to the lower level, to hunt Silver Lantern once more.

Thinking of this, Ashe couldn’t help but let out a self-mocking laugh. He came to Senlo’s main quest to hunt Silver Lantern, and even though he had abandoned the quest midway, he still had to continue before leaving, as if the dead main quest suddenly jumped out to attack him.

-Can’t things just end without being so thorough?

Silver Lantern…

Ashe recalled the intelligence Igor had shared with him earlier, and couldn’t help but sigh softly.

“Then why not just not go?”

Ashe was startled and turned to look, “Here I am, I’ve been following you for so long and you didn’t recognize me.”

He finally confirmed that the voice came from the shadow on the wall-his shadow.

The shadow waved at him, “Hi, finally able to talk to you, I’m so excited. Can we shake hands?”

Ashe wore a puzzled expression but still touched the shadow’s hand on the wall. The shadow said happily, “You really are a gentle person. Would you stay here and chat with me?”

“No,” Ashe said, “I need to reach the lower level to stop Silver Lantern. Can you help me find the Fog Gate to the next level?”

“Why?” the shadow asked, “You don’t really want to go, do you?”

“You know Silver Lantern and Tamashi are the same type of people. Their lives are short, their beliefs firm, so they can burn everything for their dreams. They’re like fireworks; as long as they shine brightly, that’s enough. What they pursue is that moment of ignition.”

“Silver Lantern has prepared for her dream for so many years; her life is completely bound to her dream. She’s willing to disregard her life and death, as long as she achieves it, even if she dies the next second, she’d be content. How could you possibly stop her?” the shadow advised, “You might as well immediately go back to find Igor and the others, then use the Mercury Trojan Horse’s Void Gate to go to another Kingdom. Maybe it’s Stars or Gospel!”

Ashe retorted, “Aren’t you hoping I’d stay?”

“Right,” the shadow scratched its head, “But I know you definitely won’t stay. There’s no Sword Princess or Witch here… Oh, right, next time can you bring them here, so I can see their shadows…”

Ashe remained noncommittal and asked, “Does this wall have an end?”

“No, this wall is endless, you can’t get through it,” the shadow shook its head, “This is a very-powerful trial! You can only stay here and chat with me, but isn’t that nice too?”

“Impossible, every trial can definitely be passed,” Ashe said with a strange look at the shadow, “Even if by force, I’ll break through.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m just a shadow, I can’t affect this trial,” the shadow shrugged, “But why do you have to go through? Stopping Silver Lantern is very dangerous. Even if you can retreat to Wishflux Celestium at any time, you can’t predict accidents.”

“More importantly, Igor and the others aren’t by your side now. If Silver Lantern goes mad and directly initiates Doomsday, you won’t even have time to pull them into Wishflux Celestium for refuge. With the Void Gate passage and Wishflux Celestium as a trump card, you could safely avoid Senlo’s Doomsday, but if you insist on going alone, you might end up being the only one surviving.”

“Or are you saying that the lives of all Senlo people are more important to you than Igor and the others?” The shadow seemed curious. “Do you hope that strangers will applaud you? But no one knows what happened with the Silent Spiral, and no one will know you’re acting as a savior.”

Ashe: “You’re so annoying.”

“Isn’t it just that you can’t argue with me?” The shadow said, hands on hips. “I know what’s bothering you-it’s guilt! You feel you have the ability to save the Senlo Kingdom, and you’ve happened upon this situation, so you must at least try your best. Otherwise, if the Senlo Kingdom truly perishes and millions vanish into dust, you’ll feel it’s because you shirked responsibility, which will weigh on your conscience.”

“But a guilty conscience is better than letting Igor and the others die, right? A guilty conscience is better than putting yourself in danger, right?” The shadow continued, “Besides, you’re the kind of person who doesn’t compromise on big issues but doesn’t sweat the small stuff. You’ve had plenty of guilty moments-like when you first started working, you felt guilty taking the bonus, wondering if you were exploiting the capitalist.”

“You even managed to self-regulate after becoming a Cult Leader, so why can’t you handle a guilty conscience? When you meet the sword Princess, you can touch her conscience every night, and your own conscience energy will soon be replenished. If that’s not enough, you can touch the Witch’s conscience too. That should be enough, right?”

Ashe pondered, “Touch their conscience?”

The shadow said, “If you can bring their shadows in here, I’ll demonstrate…”

“No, I mean, is touching the only option?”

“If I weren’t stuck in the wall, I’d have to give you a punch.”

The shadow said, “So what now? Pretend nothing happens, go back to Igor and the others, use the Void Gate to escape to another Kingdom, then establish two Void Gates-one to Gospel to cling to Lise’s leg, and one to Stars to touch the sword Princess’s conscience.”

“The only issue is Tamashi, but you and Igor are both adept at dealing with this crow. He’ll surely be willing to give up revenge and saving the world to obediently leave with you.”

Ashe pondered, “Your suggestion is indeed good.”

“But I just want to take a distant look at Silver Lantern, and then I’ll leave.” Ashe asked sincerely, “Can you let me go over and take a look?”

Shadow: “…Saying that is pointless. If you really see Silver Lantern, if your gaze can move away from her, I’ll admit defeat.”

“Why do you make me sound like a pervert?” Ashe shrugged. “But you know my determination, don’t you?”

The shadow was silent for a moment. “You originally just wanted to go home, not save the world. You weren’t prepared for this, so why wade into these troubled waters?”

“Who said I wasn’t prepared? I came with preparation,” Ashe said. “Without preparation, how could I surpass the Trial guarded by Senlo’s top sorcerer? Without preparation, how could I make the Mercury Trojan Horse watch me leave?”

“Wasn’t that the work of your friends?”

“They are my preparation,” Ashe said. “They supported me to get here. Without them, even if I wanted to save the world, I couldn’t.”

“The coldest Harvey is willing to stay behind to fend off strong enemies, the most calculating Igor not only didn’t dissuade me but went back to help Tamashi, leaving me without worries.” Ashe stopped and said to the shadow, “Isn’t this preparation sufficient?”

“I don’t particularly want to save the Senlo Kingdom either, but the Transcendent Cult has been kind to us, the people of Black Robe Town are interesting, and many have helped us along the way… More importantly, fate has pushed me to this point.”

“So, you’re forced?” The shadow immediately asked.

“Yes.” Ashe nodded. “To avoid guilt crushing my conscience, I am indeed compelled.”

“But my sense of justice at this moment is also beyond my control.”

“The curse here must be loneliness, right?” Ashe looked up at the endless wall. “As long as you feel lonely, you’ll never surpass this wall.”

“Thank you for reminding me.” Ashe looked at the shadow. “You’ve made me realize I’m never alone.”

White mist began to appear within the shadow, and he shouted, “Don’t blame me for not warning you, Ashe! If you fail and lose everything, you’ll regret your decision now and hate yourself for making mistakes!”

“If I give my all and still fail, then I can freely blame the world, not myself.” Ashe reached out to clear the Fog Gate within the shadow, saying, “Moreover, the only thing I’ll regret is not what I did wrong, but what I didn’t do.”

“Really can’t do anything with you…” The shadow muttered:

“Then, in the future, don’t let the shadow hold you back.”