A fierce white light flashed by.

The world became bright.

Louis and Qian instinctively closed their eyes.

As the white light gradually faded away.

When they opened their eyes, everything around them had changed.

"Where is this..."

Louis gazed at the surroundings, dazed.

It was a medium-sized house.

Qian looked down and said, "It's my home."

Louis was stunned for a moment:

"Have we returned to the Prime Material Plane?"

Qian shook her head:

"This is still the Fallen Shadow Nether Realm."

Rogen, who had been walking ahead in a daze, seemed to finally come to his senses.

He walked slowly in the empty room, and Louis followed him out of curiosity.

Then he saw Rogen stand in a corner, bending down.

Louis peeked over.

It was a magical portrait.

The painting depicted Rogen and his lover.

He stood there for a long time.

Suddenly, a woman came over, placed a porcelain vase on the table with empty eyes, blocking the photo.

Then she walked directly towards a corner.

Rogen seemed a bit puzzled.

A sound of a stove being lit came from nearby.

They all walked over.

Louis froze for a moment.

This kitchen... he had seen it before.

Only it wasn't here, but in a dream.

Then...

A voice reading a recipe, repeated in his dreams, came.

The woman was continually putting chopped yam pieces into boiling water for blanching, then quickly taking them out and rinsing them in cold water, draining them.

Her movements were sharp, and she quickly mixed the processed yams with dry starch.

Once the surface of the yams was evenly coated with a thin layer of starch, they were placed back into the oil for reheating.

She was a bit flustered and started another stove, cooking white sugar with oil, stirring continuously until the syrup turned from white to golden brown.

But each time she took out the yams, they were over-fried on the surface.

They lacked the beautiful color that had appeared in the previous dreams.

Qian's nose tingled.

Louis shook his head.

Making caramelized yams elegantly and deliciously isn't easy.

Rogen and his lover were not skilled at cooking.

Now Rogen stood there, seemingly at a loss.

He wanted to reach out and touch his lover, but she had no reaction.

Qian remained silent for a long time, not speaking.

Louis was silent for a moment, then whispered:

"When did you realize Auntie's soul had returned?"

Qian said, "Last year, I dreamed of her."

Louis remained silent.

Could it have been last year's Festival of Slumber?!

By the timeline... at that time Rogen hadn't been a War Ghost for long.

Was she unable to let go of Rogen becoming a War Ghost?

Louis didn't know.

After repeatedly trying and failing to make the caramelized yams look right, the woman seemed to realize she couldn't complete this dish.

She sat there quietly.

After a long time, she changed into a dress, ate the not-so-perfect caramelized yams, and walked towards the door.

Rogen followed behind her, receiving no response no matter how he called out to her.

Louis and Qian also followed behind them.

Outside was the bustling Tino City.

Or rather, the bustling Tino City in Rogen's lover's memory.

Yet all the decorations had a certain unspoken stillness.

Louis knew why this was.

Because it was the Festival of Slumber.

Despite the lively celebrations, a holiday for the deceased is inherently more solemn.

It was already dark outside.

The woman walked all the way to the busiest street, quietly watching the bustling crowd from a corner, lost in thought.

Louis suddenly realized.

Without Rogen by her side, even though she was already a wife, the still young and beautiful woman attracted a lot of attention.

Some people gathered around, trying to invite her to dance.

Rogen, who seemed to have cleared his mind, was somewhat anxious.

Fortunately, the woman rejected everyone.

She quietly watched the surrounding people dance in the bonfire's flickering light, lost in thought.

The bonfire dance was about to end, and Rogen's expression was a bit disappointed.

Louis sighed.

This must have been the bonfire dance that Rogen missed.

He had arranged to attend the next dance with his lover.

At that time, he should have been fighting zombies with the Dark Crow Guard.

Later...

Later, he missed the date again.

Tino City was attacked by the Undead Legion shortly after this point in time.

This might be the regret Rogen couldn't avoid all these years.

Just as the dance was about to end and everything was about to quiet down.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, Rogen's lover suddenly stood up.

Moonlight bathed the solemn plaza.

No bonfire, no music, and people gradually dispersed.

She casually made a gesture as if being invited.

Louis was stupefied.

In a blur, he seemed to recall the scene from fragmented memories where Rogen first invited his lover.

Looking back again.

A dress just like the one back then...

No, it was exactly the same outfit.

She bowed slightly.

In the utter silence, it was as if she could still feel Rogen's presence, dancing alone on the increasingly empty street.

Rogen's spiritual body suddenly stepped forward.

The moonlight flowed gently.

Illuminating the returning soul and the departed War Ghost.

The boundary between life and death seemed blurred at this moment.

The hands of the two spiritual bodies didn't touch.

Yet their synchronized movements gave Louis and Qian the illusion that they genuinely could make contact.

As the surrounding bonfires dwindled to embers, the wife unconsciously leaned back.

Rogen reached out as if to embrace her waist, just like he did when holding her at the dance in the past.

This time.

The tips of their fingers finally touched.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back."

Two voices rang out almost simultaneously.

Along with that was the Past Life Knife in Louis's hand shaking violently.

Qian quietly watched that scene, eventually revealing a relieved smile.

In the next moment, a lead-gray stream of light flickered before her.

Louis couldn't hold onto the Past Life Knife, watching it fly into Qian's body.

The lead-gray light merged with the Past Life Knife.

A crisp sound rang out.

The Past Life Knife directly split into two.

Qian raised her head dazedly, and the two dancing people were looking at her with utmost tenderness.

When her mother handed the other knife to her, her nose tingled.

This time, there was no electric light on the Past Life Knife.

"It's a lot," Rogen said to Louis.

Louis shook his head: "It's not a lot."

The wife then looked to Qian and said, "It's been hard, but don't cry."

Qian shook her head:

"I already stopped crying long ago."

"Is that so..."

Their figures slowly faded away.

A Black Sun illuminated the night sky.

Louis looked up at the Black Sun.

"Oh Emperor, oh Emperor, you truly are..."

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