Chapter Twenty-Eight: Spirit

Twilight let out a deep sigh of relief. Now that Ashahell had been sent out of the hall, he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

This wasn't because Ashahell was currently weak, nor was it because the inferior deadlings outside were capable of stopping him.

It was because Twilight had noticed something peculiar about the golden door.

When he had slammed it shut earlier, the inferior deadlings had been incapable of opening it, no matter how much they crashed into it.

However, due to the intense danger Ashahell had posed at the time, Twilight had pushed the observation aside, focusing only on ways to either kill Ashahell or escape.

But toward the end of their battle — especially after emerging from his state of enlightenment — he had noticed that the inferior deadlings still hadn't broken through the golden door.

This led him to two possible conclusions.

First, the door was unbreakable.

Second, it could only be opened from the inside and not the outside.

And with a bit of logical thinking, it became clear that the second option was most likely true.

Following that train of thought, Twilight had chosen to throw Ashahell out of the hall, knowing that the golden door couldn't be opened from the outside.

And his decision proved to be a wise one — despite the door vibrating violently, it still held strong, a clear sign that Ashahell was giving it his all to break through the door, but to no avail.

Although he knew he was now essentially trapped inside this hall, Twilight had no other choice.

Walking through that golden door would have been the same as signing his own death sentence.

With that, he released his control over the black smoke and Aura of Despair before slumping to the ground, his breath ragged.

Although his spirit energy reserves weren't at a critical level, he was still mentally drained.

Not only had he been subjected to the same dread he had inflicted on Ashahell, but the Aura of Despair had taken a serious toll on his mind.

It was already a miracle that he was still standing and not in a coma.

This was also the reason he had abandoned the idea of killing Ashahell today.

However, that didn't mean he had given up on ending Ashahell altogether.

The grudge between them was now irreconcilable, and Twilight couldn't deny that he was an extremely vengeful person.

After some time spent recovering, Twilight's eyes flashed with inspiration.

Instantly, he sprang to his feet, turning his gaze toward the death site of the Night Wing.

Initially, he hadn't been able to see its spirit because he lacked a guide.

But now, he had thought of a way.

Although he doubted it would work, there was no harm in trying.

The spirit qi in the air surged toward Twilight, clinging to him like a second skin.

This, in turn, granted him an overwhelming sense of clarity, for he could sense his surroundings as though they were a part of him.

In this state, the world before his eyes shifted.

And as he gazed at the pile of bones belonging to the Night Wing he had slain earlier, he saw a small, floating, ethereal white flame.

As he approached, the flame slowly shifted, transforming into the ethereal form of the Night Wing itself.

A spirit!

'It worked!' Twilight roared inwardly, clenching his fists tightly.

Although he had known there was only a slim chance of success, he had gone through with his plan anyway.

The concept behind it was relatively simple: his spirit manipulation talent allowed him to control both spirit qi and the spirits of living beings.

Though it hadn't explicitly explained "how" he could control the spirits of others, he speculated that the key lay in his ability to manipulate spirit qi.

Aside from that, Twilight couldn't think of any other way to see spirits, let alone control them.

Normally, manipulating spirit qi to perceive the Night Wing's spirit would have been a daunting challenge.

However, after his recent mastery over Dread and Despair, inspiration had struck, allowing him to command the ever-present spirit qi to reveal the Night Wing's spirit.

And to his surprise, his crude plan had worked.

Splendidly at that.

Twilight stepped forward, standing before the Night Wing's spirit, and stretched out a hand.

Then, he attempted to "control" the spirit beast.

To his shock, he succeeded on his first try.

"Screee."

The Night Wing's spirit screeched as it flapped its wings, soaring into the air.

Twilight inhaled deeply as he guided the spectral creature toward his weakened summon, which was just a step away from death.

Although he wasn't sure if it would work, he wanted to try fusing the spirit with the summon.

Perhaps it would lead to a remarkable transformation... or a complete failure.

In no time, Twilight arrived before his summon and leaned over it.

Then, the spirit beast swiftly descended, flying into the summon without any resistance whatsoever.

Before Twilight could react, the Sovereign System's voice echoed in his ears.

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[System:

[You have attempted fusion between a spirit and your summon.]

[It has been detected that the spirit is highly compatible with the summon.]

[Carrying out fusion...]

[Congratulations! You have attained a spirit.]

[Congratulations! You have awakened your spirit sea.]

---

For a moment, Twilight remained silent, his eyes lingering on the system notifications.

Then, after a brief pause, he snapped out of his daze and smiled.

His plan had worked.

And judging from the changes he could already observe in his summon, it had worked better than he had expected.