Chapter 54: Facing Myself in Battle

When Qi Chen stepped out of the tavern, he’d already forgotten how he’d ended up there in the first place.

He’d intended to leave early, but after the warm-hearted man promised to treat him, he reluctantly stayed for a drink or two—only to find he’d overestimated his own tolerance.

“Hey kid, want me to walk you home?” The warm-hearted man, his cheeks only faintly flushed, burped, mercilessly teasing Qi Chen.

This young lad still had a lot to learn.

“Get lost...” Slurred by alcohol, Qi Chen was far blunter than usual, snapping back with little restraint.

A cool breeze swept by, clearing his head somewhat. He lifted his gaze, slightly unfocused, and surveyed the street.

This was the only street in City Three that offered entertainment after work hours—the most crowded place during the “night” period. Most citizens, normally weighed down by daily pressures, would come here to unwind. Because every shop along the street kept a uniquely colored lantern lit outside their doors, the place had come to be known as Lantern Street.

Now, as Qi Chen gazed blearily down the hundred-meter stretch, he saw that outside nearly every shop lay clusters of people drunk into oblivion. The neon lights at each doorway seemed to mark this street off from the rest of the mist-shrouded world.

The atmosphere here was utterly at odds with the surrounding fog. Looking at the drunken masses, Qi Chen saw only a few faces that truly seemed relieved; most, even in a stupor, wore no trace of ease.

“What’s wrong?” the warm-hearted man asked softly, seeing Qi Chen rooted to the spot. Glancing out at the street, he seemed to understand. “Don’t worry about everyone else.”

“Remember what I told you while we were drinking—misery takes up a big part of life, so you have to find ways to be happy.”

Emboldened by drink, the warm-hearted man seemed ready to share things he normally kept to himself.

“Brother... being able to work in City Three is pure luck for us—especially since we’re among the Eerie Walkers...” He clapped a heavy arm around Qi Chen’s shoulders. “I never told you this before, but ordinary people don’t see us the way you think.”

Still tipsy, Qi Chen’s head swayed slightly as the other man grew lost in his own emotions.

“Most people in the League... don’t see Eerie Walkers as normal. They treat us like freaks, you understand? Whether they’re officials from the administration or just regular folks on the street, no one really likes us.

“Some think we’re no different from the Eerie themselves. Some want to use us as tools, as human-shaped Eerie weapons... Others are just jealous, thinking we’re lucky bastards.”

“Why care what they think? Does it matter?” Qi Chen slurred, “It’s just a kind of strength, isn’t it? Haven’t you always said to accept who we are? How come a few drinks make you all sentimental? Can’t you man up a bit?”

His rambling retort silenced the warm-hearted man, who stared at Qi Chen’s nonchalance and fell abruptly quiet.

“Whatever. Take care on your way home. I’m leaving,” he said, suddenly losing all desire to talk. Shaking off Qi Chen’s arm, he turned and strode straight out of Lantern Street.

Qi Chen didn’t give it a second thought. He was still muttering advice under his breath when a chill ran up his spine, sobering him further.

He almost forgot—he’d planned to have a word with someone tonight.

...

Back home, his consciousness quickly plunged into the mask chamber within his mind. Purposefully, Qi Chen rushed to the half-blurred white mask and asked without preamble:

“What exactly are you?”

At once, the mist shrouding the white mask stirred, its patterns beneath twisting and warping.

“You brat, is that any way to speak to me?” came the mask’s special voice, thick with obvious displeasure.

“What exactly are you?” Qi Chen repeated, his tone firmer as he stared at the mask on the wall.

A cold laugh answered him—the white mask completely ignored him afterward. Was it his manner of speaking?

Knock, knock!

He curled his fingers and rapped on the mask’s surface, striving to keep his tone gentle and calm, as he did with people in daily life.

But just as he opened his mouth, the white mask suddenly spoke:

“Don’t you want to know how to fully control the Tyrant’s power?”

Qi Chen swallowed his next words, suddenly realizing something. By rights, the white mask and the Tyrant should be no different, so why could this one converse with him so fluently—and even claim to guide him in mastering the Tyrant’s power?

“You’re not trying to take over my body, are you?” Qi Chen asked warily, recalling countless tales of possession. In a world rife with the bizarre, such things were hardly surprising.

A sneer. “Who would be interested in your body? Average at best—aren’t you a bit too confident?”

“One question—do you want to know how to truly possess the Tyrant’s power?”

“Then let’s hear it,” Qi Chen replied, unbothered—there was nothing to lose by listening.

“Heh...” The mask’s tone grew meaningful. “Just as before—wear the Tyrant mask more often. Gradually, you’ll gain command of its power.”

“You’re just spouting nonsense.” If not for the warm-hearted man’s explanations, Qi Chen might have believed him. But now he knew better: prolonged union with the Eerie meant likely never returning to normal.

“You think you know the Eerie better than the Eerie themselves?” The mist on the mask’s surface churned violently, as if something was brewing beneath. “I’ve told you the method—it’s up to you to believe.

“And... who said this path leads only to full Eerie transformation?”

Qi Chen tried to press for more, but the mask fell silent, the mist settling into an even, unbroken shroud.

Tonight, the opportunity was lost.

...