Chapter 1 Sleepless Spectres

The soulless ones slumbering in the shadow world were disturbed.

They were the inhabitants and bricks and mortar of this world of shadow and dreams. Before being awakened, they were all fused into this world in a way. They were the stone carvings and murals found everywhere in the Shadow Fortress, the twisted faces on withered trees, the strange stones in the corners of walls, the shadows created by overlapping clouds. They were all hidden in various corners of this world, and when outsiders broke in, they would all "awaken" in an instant, becoming omnipresent in the blink of an eye.

Led by Hesperiana, Hao Ren and his party fought and retreated, scattering countless phantoms and ghosts until they finally retreated into the castle's tall and sturdy structure. After they slammed the heavy and exaggeratedly large oak door shut, the endless, shrill screams in the courtyard finally quieted down, diminishing into a series of faint wind noises.

However, retreating into the building did not mean safety. The soulless guardians were everywhere in this world. Hao Ren watched vigilantly as he stood in the wide and towering Gothic corridor. The corridor was divided into dozens upon hundreds of sections by countless slender pillars close to the walls. The narrow, high windows between the slender pillars seemed like countless pairs of eyes hanging high overhead, coldly overlooking every intruder. Beneath each window, pale candlelight burned, and the flickering light cast the oil paintings hanging under the windows in an especially eerie light.

Like any medieval aristocratic mansion, the "Reflection Castle" was filled with oil paintings and picture frames that showcased its style. And as if to match the atmosphere of this building, the style and content of all the oil paintings seemed gloomy and bizarre. The picture frames, on the other hand, only showed blurry portraits without facial features, hidden in a patch of shadow. Hao Ren had to be careful of these "paintings", because in the interplay of light and shadow, they might suddenly come to life at any moment.

As if in response to Hao Ren's vigilance, several oil paintings near the gate suddenly began to burn just as the group was catching their breath. As the pale flames devoured the images, semi-transparent apparitions struggled to break free from the smoke. They held long swords, like fully armed aristocratic knights, and one "knight" even held a flag depicting wild roses and a long sword. These soulless ones, awakened in the form of apparitions, let out shrill screams, and then charged towards the intruders.

Their response was Hesperiana's whip filled with magical light and Hao Ren's hail of bullets.

"These things really can't be killed!" After taking care of this batch of ghost-like soulless ones, Lily couldn't help but shout loudly, "By the way, where did these Soulless Guards come from? When did Vivian have such a troop under her command?"

"The soulless ones are things born from Vivian's dreams," Hesperiana explained as she led the group to transfer quickly in the seemingly endless long corridor, "The soulless ones only appear when she falls asleep. The longer she sleeps, the more powerful the soulless ones become. These soulless guardians are born from Vivian's past memories, and the people and things she has come into contact with may turn into soulless ones and appear in this shadow world. To be honest, apart from those demon hunters who don't want to die, no one has ever dared to disturb Vivian's sleep, because any offense may cause the soulless ones to awaken and vent from the dream. There was even a city-state in history that was destroyed in this way—the daring guys dug through Vivian's cave in order to steal the 'Legacy of the Ancient Gods', and as a result, the entire city was swallowed by nightmares overnight, leaving not even a trace."

Hao Ren thought silently in his heart: Actually, those demon hunters are not willing to come and find Vivian for trouble... If they weren't afraid of having their old nests raided, would they be full enough to provoke this capricious evil star?

"Wow, Bat... Vivian is quite powerful," Lily stuck out her tongue, almost blurting out the nickname she was used to, "So, are we going to fight all the way in? Didn't you say you could control the soulless ones?"

"I'm going to the tower that can control the soulless ones!" Hesperiana was a little impatient, "Don't push your luck, the route I'm taking you is already the one with the fewest soulless ones! Other places are probably already crowded with those monsters. No matter how great your abilities are, you'll still be exhausted outside."

As she spoke, a strange scream and a malicious, sinister laughter suddenly came from all around. Hesperiana immediately tightened her whip. She noticed that the team had passed through the corridor and arrived at a rectangular hall that looked like a crossroads. There was an open, dark door in each of the four directions of the hall, and laughter came from the depths of each door. A gorgeous and heavy chandelier swayed above the hall, as if a shadow wind that humans could not perceive was blowing through the entire room.

The temperature in the hall was dropping, and a layer of frost had condensed on the floor tiles at some point.

"How could the 'Grand Steward' be in this place," Hesperiana's face showed a solemn expression, "Isn't he supposed to be patrolling the cemetery?"

"What the heck is the Grand Steward?" Lily asked curiously, "Does Vivian even have a steward?"

"The soulless ones are all empty shells without souls or thoughts, but they will still spontaneously form an organizational structure and a leader system. The Grand Steward is the leader in the Soulless Guard who is specifically responsible for the inner court defense. Under normal circumstances, he patrols around Vivian's sleeping place, which is the 'cemetery'... but I don't know how he managed to wander to this place."

"Tsk... Vivian's slumbering place is actually so troublesome this time." Hao Ren clicked his tongue and raised the long gun in his hand slightly.

As his voice fell, a series of rattling bone collisions suddenly sounded. Immediately afterwards, except for the door that the group had passed through before, a swaying giant figure appeared in each of the other three doors in the hall.

They were three giant-like skeletons, each more than three meters tall. They carried heavy black long swords and wore crowns woven from mist on their heads. In the rib cage of the skeletons, a团 of blood-red light constantly swelled and contracted, like a heart—in this black and white world, Hao Ren saw such a distinct color for the first time. (Note: 团 is not translated here)

Only Vivian's power could produce color in this black and white world. There was no doubt that the three skeletons meant Vivian's "confidant guards".

"Are there three Grand Stewards?" Lily was startled by the three huge skeletons (of course, it may also be because her appetite was greatly increased), "How did three of them suddenly pop out?"

"These three are one!" Hesperiana shouted as she charged towards one of the skeletons, "Destroy them at the same time! Otherwise, this guy is completely unkillable!"

At the moment when the battle broke out in the Shadow Fortress, in the outside world, a group of black-clothed hunters finally found the desolate territory located on the small hill.

Demon Hunter Lockheed dismounted. He squatted in front of a house, his eyes flashing with silver-white light. Clusters of faint human-shaped light then appeared in his vision, and these human-shaped lights swayed back and forth, as if reenacting the activities of Hao Ren and his party here not long ago.

"The aura has lingered here for a long time," the Demon Hunter Master said in a low voice, "The Elder is also inside."

"This is where that ancient vampire sleeps," another demon hunter looked at the ancient castle ruins on the small hill. "That damned guy, is he kidnapping the Elder here to offer him to the vampire as a sacrifice?"

"That 'vampire' doesn't want this kind of sacrifice," Lockheed obviously knew what kind of person was slumbering in this place, "The entrance should be in that ancient castle. After we go up later, split up and look for it. Everyone remember, we are facing an ancient being who has existed in this world since before the age of mythology. She is extremely special. Our task is only to hold her back, delay her until she wakes up. Don't risk your lives in order to compete for credit—even the Elder Council doesn't dare to act like a hero, do you all understand?"

"Understood!"

"Begin the operation!"

In the "Crossroads Hall" of the Shadow Fortress, three heavy thuds announced the end of the battle.

The so-called "Grand Steward" was several times stronger than the ordinary soulless guards, but that was all. In this shadow realm, the soulless ones had always crushed their enemies with their endless numbers and endless resurrections. But the Grand Steward had strayed from his subordinates and wandered here "alone", which was equivalent to losing the greatest advantage of the soulless ones. After a fierce battle, Hao Ren and his party finally smashed the three skeletons, which were surprisingly sturdy, into pieces, and the entire hall was ravaged by the power of magic and gunfire in the battle.

The cracks on the walls and the ground began to wriggle and heal themselves. The broken bones of the "Grand Steward" slowly rose into smoke and floated towards the three gates. He would soon be resurrected in a room in the Shadow Fortress. As long as Vivian had not completely awakened, this soulless one would forever wander in this illusory building. In the end, the three skeletons left only one complete skull. The terrifying head rolled to Hesperiana's feet, and the latter stretched out her foot, kicked it, and frowned with a thoughtful look.

Hao Ren glanced at the little bat spirit: "Did you find anything?"

"The Grand Steward would never leave the cemetery area on his own initiative unless he was ordered to, or forcibly expelled by an irresistible will," Hesperiana pressed her fingers against her chin, a gesture that was exactly like Vivian's habit, "I felt a lot of inconsistencies in this guy's actions during the battle just now, which means that he is in a state of contradiction, so there must be changes in the cemetery..."

"It's the malefic entity," Hao Ren said, "She has already begun to move."

"We must split up," Hesperiana said suddenly.