"Why can't we reach the end? Did we take the wrong path... What do you think——"

On the 16th floor of the Spiral of Silence, Yasuo was walking along an endless wall. As soon as they entered the 16th floor, they saw only this wall in the endless darkness.

After Igula told him everything, he and Gwen returned to the fifteenth floor, leaving him alone to go through the unknown trials of the sixteenth floor.

Ash quickly walked to the wall, but all his attacks were ineffective against it, and he couldn't fly over it, so he had to walk along the wall. After walking for a while and still seeing no movement, he became a little impatient and subconsciously wanted to ask other people what they thought.

But after he opened his mouth, he realized that this place was really big, the sound was really empty, and it was pitch black all around. He was really small here. The panic caused by the darkness and the fear caused by the unknown gradually climbed into Ash's heart, making him subconsciously cling to the wall next to him, trying to find some support.

In fact, the previous trial site was no smaller than here, but Ash never felt panic; the virtual world was even more unknown than here, but Ash never felt worried.

Because in reality, there are Igula and others, and in the virtual world, there are Sword Princess, Witch Weisser and others. With them, no matter how big the world is, it doesn't feel empty, and no matter how unknown the darkness is, it doesn't feel scary. Whether returning to reality or returning to the virtual world, Ash can say loudly, "I'm back."

Or to use Ash's more vulgar words, 'I have someone by my side, and even if I die, there's someone to cover my body. I feel more at ease when I think about that.'

If you think about it carefully, even though Ash has traveled through time for so long, he seems to have never been alone. Even during the window period after escaping prison, Ash spent it with Freya, the silly Veela college student; even when he accidentally entered the Trial of the Divine Fire, Ash fought side by side with the Twin Watchers.

But now, Harvey and Chikara stayed on the tenth floor of the Spiral of Silence to hold a grand funeral for the crazy No. 1 magician of Senluo.

Igula and Gwen go back to Tamashi to confront the evil-minded Mercury.

Ash had to go to the bottom floor alone to hunt down Silver Lantern once more.

When he thought of this, Ash couldn't help but laugh at himself. His main mission in Senluo was to hunt down Yindeng. He had given up the mission halfway, but he didn't expect that he would have to complete it before leaving. It was like the dead main mission suddenly jumped out to attack him.

——Can you not be so thorough?

Silver lamp...

Ash recalled the information Igula had just told him and couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Then don't go."

Ash was startled and turned to look, "Here it is, it's me, I've been following you for so long and you didn't recognize me."

He finally determined that the source of the sound was the shadow on the wall - his shadow.

Shadow waved at him. "Hey, I'm so excited to finally talk to you. Can we shake hands?"

A question mark appeared on Ash's face, but he still touched Shadow's hand on the wall. Shadow said happily: "You are indeed a gentle person. Can you stay here and talk to me?"

"Not good." Ash said, "I want to reach the bottom floor to stop the silver lantern. Can you help me find the fog door leading to the next floor?"

"Why?" Shadow said, "You don't want to go, do you?"

"You clearly know that Yindeng and Tamas are the same kind of people. They have short lives but strong beliefs, so they can burn everything for their dreams. They are like fireworks. As long as they shine brightly, it's fine. What they pursue is the moment of ignition."

"Silver Lantern has been preparing for her dream for so many years. Her life is completely tied to her dream. She has put her own life and death aside. As long as her dream comes true, she will be willing to die in the next second. How can you stop her?" Shadow advised: "You might as well go back to find Igula and the others immediately, and then use the empty door of the mercury wooden horse to go to another country. Maybe it will be the stars or the gospel!"

Ash asked back, "Don't you want me to stay?"

"That's right." Shadow scratched his head: "But I know you won't stay, there are no sword ladies or witches here... Oh, right, can you bring them here next time so that I can see their shadows..."

Ash didn't comment and asked, "Does this wall have an end?"

"No, this wall is endless, you can't pass through it." Shadow shook his head: "This is a very tough test! You can only stay here and chat with me, but isn't this good?"

"Impossible, I can definitely pass all the trials." Ash looked at Shadow with a weird look: "Even if I have to use violence, I will beat him."

"Don't look at me. I'm just a shadow. I can't affect this trial." Shadow spread his hands. "But why do you have to go? Stopping the Silver Lantern is very dangerous. Even if you can return to the Thousand Wishes Heaven at any time, there may be accidents."

"More importantly, Igula and the others are not around now. If Silver Lantern goes crazy and launches a world-destroying attack, you won't even have time to take them to the Thousand Wishes Heaven for refuge. With the Void Gate Passage and the Thousand Wishes Heaven as your trump card, you could have safely avoided the end of the world, but if you insist on doing it your own way, you might be the only one left alive."

"Or do you think the lives of all the Senluo people are more important than Igula and the others?" Shadow seemed very curious: "Do you want those who don't know you to applaud you? But no one knows what happened to the Spiral of Silence, and no one will know that you are the savior."

Ash: "You're so annoying."

"You can't argue with me." Shadow said, with his hands on his hips, "I know what you are struggling with - it's just guilt! You feel that you have the ability to save the Senluo Kingdom, and you just happened to encounter this incident, so you should at least try your best. Otherwise, if the Senluo Kingdom really perishes and millions of people are wiped out, you will think that this is because you shirked your responsibility, and your conscience will be uneasy."

"But having a guilty conscience is better than letting Igula and the others die, right? Having a guilty conscience is better than putting yourself in danger, right?" Shadow said, "Besides, you are the kind of person who never compromises on big principles or small matters. You have had guilty consciences many times. When you first started working, you even felt guilty when you received a bonus, thinking that you were exploiting the capitalists."

"You can even adjust yourself to the situation of traveling through time and space and becoming the leader of a cult, so how can you not adjust yourself to the uneasy conscience? When you meet Sword Lady, touch her conscience every night, and your own conscience energy will be replenished soon. If you feel that is not enough, then you can touch the conscience of the witch as well, is that enough?"

Ash pondered and said, "Touch your conscience?"

Shadow said: "If you can bring their shadows in, I will show you..."

"No, I mean, can I only touch it?"

"If I wasn't confined to the wall, I would have to punch you more or less."

Shadow said, "So what? When nothing has happened, go back to find Igula and the others, take the empty gate passage to other countries for refuge, and then build two empty gates, one to go to Gospel to hug Lis' thigh, and the other to go to Fanxing to touch Jianji's conscience."

"The only problem is Tamashi, but you and Igula are both good at dealing with this crow. He will definitely be willing to give up revenge and saving the world for you and leave with you obediently."

Ash groaned and said, "Your suggestion is indeed good."

"But I just want to take a look at the silver lamp from a distance, and then I'll leave." Ash asked sincerely, "Can you let me go over and take a look?"

Shadow: "...That's meaningless. If you really see the silver lamp and you can take your eyes off her, I lose."

"You make me sound like a pervert." Ash shrugged and said, "But you also know my determination, don't you?"

Shadow was silent for a moment. "You just wanted to go home, not to save the world. You didn't have any preparations, why did you have to wade into this muddy water?"

"Who said I wasn't prepared? I came prepared." Ash said, "If I wasn't prepared, how could I have passed the trial guarded by the number one magician of Senluo? If I wasn't prepared, how could I have let the Mercury Trojan Horse let me go?"

"Isn't that the credit of your friends?"

"They are my preparation." Ash said, "They are the ones who supported me to get here. Without them, I can't save the world even if I want to."

"The most indifferent Harvey was willing to stay and resist the strong enemy, and the most calculating Igula not only did not dissuade me, but went back to help Tamashi, so that I have no worries." Ash stopped and said to Shadow: "Isn't this preparation sufficient?"

"I actually didn't really want to save the Senluo Kingdom, but the Transcendental Sect was very kind to us, the people in Black Robe Town were very interesting, and there were many people who helped us along the way... More importantly, fate has pushed me to this point."

"So, you were forced?" Shadow said immediately.

"Yes." Ash nodded and said, "In order not to let the guilt overwhelm my conscience, I really had no choice."

"But my sense of justice at this moment is beyond my control."

"The curse here should be loneliness, right?" Ash raised his head and looked at the endless wall: "As long as you feel lonely, you will never be able to cross this wall."

"Thank you for reminding me." Ash looked at the shadow and said, "It made me realize that I am never alone."

White mist began to appear inside the shadow, and he shouted, "Don't blame me for not warning you, Ash! When you fail and lose everything, you will regret your decision now and hate yourself for making a mistake!"

"If I try my best and still fail, then I can blame the world as much as I want instead of hating myself." Ash stretched out his hand to push aside the fog in the shadows and said, "Besides, the only thing I will regret is not what I did wrong, but what I didn't do."

"I really can't do anything with you..." Shadow muttered:

"Then don't let your shadow hold you back in the future."