Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

As for why they only attack people outside the city?

No one can explain why.

But all the ghosts present were absolutely certain.

Their deaths were not directly related to the spirits and demons outside the city.

"When the fog came in... those nobles who had transformed into monsters had not yet reached the city."

An old woman's spirit spoke slowly, her tone eerily calm.

"Most of us simply disappeared into the fog..."

"He was killed when that 'thing' in the fog crawled into his brain."

Lin Gui pressed, "What 'thing'?"

I can't quite explain it.

A ghostly mage who was helping Lin Gui write the letter interrupted.

He adjusted his non-existent glasses and said:

"It's like someone is talking in your ear... or like you're thinking it yourself."

"A scene will appear before your eyes..."

So they began to describe the hallucinations caused by mental pollution.

It is absurd and bizarre, and because it is so outlandish, it actually diminishes the terror that should be present.

Other residents who were originally rolling around on the various tracks in the post office also joined in.

A plump ghost of a cook gestured and said:

"I was pickling cabbage in the cellar at the time."

Suddenly, I saw that all the cabbages in the room had sprouted legs and were lined up to run outside!

"I was so anxious, I chased after them shouting, 'Come back! You haven't put the salt in yet!'"

"While chasing him... he collapsed to the ground and knew nothing more."

Several ghosts nearby emitted rustling, light laughter-like mental fluctuations.

A serious accountant ghost sighed:

"The account books kept floating in front of my eyes."

"The numbers above keep fluctuating wildly, and the debt situation will never be balanced."

"I calculated and calculated with all my might... and finally spat a mouthful of blood onto the ledger."

He shook his head, his soul still reeking of collapse.

The youngest, an apprentice ghost who was probably only fifteen or sixteen years old, whispered:

"I...I saw the bakery girl I have a crush on."

"She told me that she was actually a man."

"It scared me so much that I woke up immediately."

"Oh, it's 'dead'."

He scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

These hallucinations are bizarre and varied; some are comical, some are obsessive, and some are so ordinary that they are heartbreaking.

But they have one thing in common:

They are all extremely personal, pointing directly to the things that each person was most familiar with, most attached to, or most desired during their lifetime.

There were no demonic attacks, no bloody slaughter.

Only one grand, silent event, tailor-made for each soul...

Gently strangle.

As Lin Gui listened, his hand, which was taking notes, slowed down more and more.

He suddenly recalled the descriptions he had heard in Bounty City about the city-states that had been swallowed up:

"There was no destruction, no screams, the city was intact, but the people were gone."

So that's how "no" is.

In everyone's most immersive illusion,

It was "smoothed out" without anyone noticing.

"So... how did you all end up like this?"

Lin Gui put down his pen and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.

"These glass beads can help you maintain your sanity and solidify your soul..."

"Where did it come from?"

According to the mermaid's spirit, these beads are clearly found in large quantities on the silent seabed.

How did it end up inside the Wall of Sighs in the heart of the mainland?

And judging by the quantity, it's a huge amount.

Upon hearing this, the whispering spirits around them suddenly fell silent.

A complex emotion, a mixture of bewilderment, fear, and a touch of gratitude, permeated the air.

After a long while, an elderly man who had been a sorcerer in life and whose soul's outline was somewhat solidified slowly spoke:

"bead……"

"It fell from 'His' body..."

His voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.

Lin Gui pressed, "He? Who is he?"

The old mage's spirit remained silent for a moment, seemingly recalling something, or perhaps resisting the trembling brought on by that memory.

"I don't know His real name."

"But we all 'felt' it..."

"He is the source that led to that disaster."

"That... demigod demon."

His account was fragmented, interspersed with scattered additions from other spirits, gradually piecing together the scene at that time:

That day, after the thick fog swallowed everything,

In a state of absolute silence and nothingness,

All remaining consciousness "felt" it.

An "existence" that is incomprehensible, unseen, and indescribable.

It slowly "glided" over Blackwater City.

It's not walking, it's not flying.

It's more like a kind of "squeezing" and "direct passage".

Just like ghosts can pass directly through a physical wooden door.

No one can remember His appearance.

Only vague impressions of "vast", "dark" and "dead silence" remain.

And as He "passed by,"

Tiny, shimmering "fragments," like dust shaken off skin.

They drifted down from His indescribable body.

The stars twinkled and sprinkled over Blackwater City.

These "fragments," upon contact with the ground, buildings, or the lingering resentment of the deceased that has not yet completely dissipated...

It then solidified into the glass bead form we see today.

Spontaneously, it absorbs, envelops, and solidifies the remaining, confused consciousness in the nearest place.

"It's like...sowing a handful of seeds."

The old monk said quietly.

"And we are just dust that happened to fall on top of it."

As Lin Gui listened, he felt that something was strangely off.

Behind her, Eve, who had put down her book at some point, quietly stepped forward.

Her purple eyes held a clear hint of doubt as she asked gently:

"If these beads truly came from the demigod demon that triggered the black tide..."

"Then why haven't we seen anything like this on our way to Blackwater City?"

She looked at Lin Gui, and the two exchanged a glance.

They all remember it very clearly.

Follow the bounty hunters into the Wailing Wall and along the safe route to Blackwater.

I've never seen even half a similar glass bead scattered on the ground.

After the question was raised, a silence fell over the counter.

The spirits who had been quietly adding details suddenly fell silent.

The glass bead floated slightly, its eerie light flickering within.

It's as if they themselves have never thought about this question.

Or perhaps they dare not think about it too deeply.

such as--

The scattering of the "beads" on that being's body was not unintentional.

Instead, they deliberately targeted the people inside Blackwater City who had failed to escape...

"Spread" over.

Those who escaped the city became demons.

Those who remained in the city became ghosts.

Why did He do this?

What exactly is the purpose?

Upon closer reflection, a chill ran down my spine.

No one dared to think any further.

But Lin Gui suddenly remembered a detail he had almost forgotten.

The soul of that legendary mermaid lies dormant in the silent depths of the sea.

The moment it sensed the presence of the demigod "Zathos"...

In an instant, he lost his reason and transformed into a bloodthirsty, insane, and aggressive evil spirit!

He subconsciously stopped writing, his grip on the pen tightening slightly.

His gaze slowly swept over the floating, quietly waiting glass beads around him.

And within the beads, there are the peaceful, even grateful, faces of the spirits.

A chilling thought uncontrollably surfaced:

So what about them...?

Could it be that one day, under certain conditions...

It also became like that—

A monster out of control?