Chapter 3: The Soul Bound by Hatred Part 3 The haunted house trembled. The walls that had survived countless years began cracking under the pressure of the wandering spirit's hatred. The ghost stood in the center of the ruined courtyard. Its form became larger. Darker. The resentment that had accumulated for years wrapped around its soul like endless chains. "You think you can save me?" The ghost's voice echoed through the night. "You think you are different from those people?" The air turned freezing. The ground beneath Adrian's feet became covered with black mist. A normal person would have already collapsed. Even ordinary spiritual beings would have avoided such a place. But Adrian only stood there quietly. His expression did not change. The ghost noticed. And that angered it even more. "Why are you not afraid?" "Why are you looking at me like that?" The spirit disappeared. In the next moment— A massive wave of hatred descended from above. Boom! The entire courtyard shook. Adrian raised one hand. A thin layer of Originless Immortal Energy appeared. The attack stopped. Completely. The ghost froze. Its expression changed for the first time. Impossible. It had spent years absorbing hatred. Years becoming stronger. Its power was enough to terrify every human who entered this place. Yet this young man... Stopped it with one hand. Adrian looked at the black energy pressing against his palm. "So this is the level of this world's spirits." His voice was calm. Not arrogant. Not surprised. Simply observing. The ghost roared. "Don't look down on me!" The hatred around it exploded. The black mist transformed into countless blades, shooting toward Adrian from every direction. Adrian did not move. The blades reached him. Then— They shattered. A faint golden light spread around his body. The ghost's attacks disappeared before they could even touch him. The difference was absolute. One existed through emotions. The other came from a path outside this universe. Adrian took one step forward. The entire battlefield became silent. The ghost suddenly felt something. Fear. Not because Adrian released overwhelming killing intent. But because for the first time... It felt the gap between them. "You..." "What are you?" Adrian looked at it. "A person." The answer was simple. But the ghost could not accept it. No human should possess this kind of power. No human should have an existence that could ignore its hatred. It attacked again. This time, it used everything. The hatred of years. The anger before death. The pain after death. Everything gathered into one strike. The entire house shook violently. Adrian finally moved. One step. Only one step. His figure disappeared. The ghost's attack missed. Before it could react— Adrian appeared in front of it. His fingers touched the center of its spiritual body. A single wave of energy spread. "Break." A simple word. The chains of hatred surrounding the soul cracked. Not the soul. The chains. The ghost's eyes widened. For countless years... It had believed hatred was its strength. But now... That same hatred was being separated from it. "No..." The ghost struggled. "If I lose my hatred..." "Then what remains?" Adrian looked at the spirit. For a moment, he remembered something. Aetherion. The endless years. The loneliness. The existence that had reached the peak but still searched for freedom. "You are afraid of losing the thing that hurt you." The ghost became silent. Adrian raised his hand. The remaining hatred gathered together. A dangerous amount of energy. Enough to destroy ordinary spiritual beings. But in Adrian's hand... It was nothing more than a small fragment. He crushed it. The black mist disappeared. The night became quiet. The wandering spirit's true form appeared. No longer a monster. Just a lost soul. The ghost looked at Adrian. The anger was gone. Only confusion remained. "Why..." "Why did you help me?" Adrian turned away. "Because you were already dead." He paused. "And you were still suffering." The ghost lowered its head. For the first time in many years... It remembered who it was. Not hatred. Not revenge. Just a person who had once lived. The spiritual body slowly began fading. The haunted house became peaceful. Adrian stood alone in the empty courtyard. The battle had ended. Fast. Too fast. For a being from this universe, the wandering spirit was terrifying. But for Adrian Voss... It was only the first glimpse of a world he had yet to explore. He looked at his hand. The Originless Immortal Core remained silent. But Adrian knew one thing. This universe had its own mysteries. Its own beings. Its own laws. And he... Was something completely foreign to all of them. A path that belonged to neither this world... Nor the past. A path that only Adrian Voss could create.