One-Eyed Monster

The Spirit Book’s answer made Igor grin, as it was exactly what he had hoped to hear. The Spirit Book had been in a deep sleep and knew precisely how long it had slept. Therefore, no matter how much Kadi doubted it internally, he couldn’t deny the established fact: they had indeed lost some time in Ghost Wind Valley.

Kadi’s mouth fell wide open. The Spirit Book’s answer had clearly shaken him to the core. For him, this impact wasn’t just the disappointment of a dashed hope; it was the shock of having his entire understanding of reality mercilessly overturned.

”Time… can be lost?!” Kadi naturally found this claim hard to believe. In his eyes—no, in everyone’s eyes—time was intangible, untouchable. It wasn’t like fruit on a tree that you could pick and put in your pocket, nor was it like gold coins in your hand that you could place in an earthenware jar, dig a hole, and hide away. Time was not subject to anyone’s control. Whether you wanted it to or not, it was always there, accompanying you. You couldn’t shake it off, nor could you hold onto it.

So how could time possibly be lost?

Although the Spirit Book didn’t quite grasp the current situation, seeing Igor’s heartfelt joy, it let go of its own anxieties. In an instant, it reverted to its usual arrogant demeanor.

Well, what could you expect? It was, after all, the creation of the great Lord Soron.

”Hey, hey, hey, what’s with that look? You seem like you’ve eaten something hard to swallow. If you’re confused about anything, you can ask me. I am, after all, the great Lord Soron…”

”You’re nobody, just a braggart. Would it kill you to go one day without showing off?” Igor interrupted the still-babbling Spirit Book. He didn’t want to hear its rubbish; losing time was already bad enough for him.

”Yes, Master, I was wrong.” The reprimanded Spirit Book immediately acted like an obedient child.

”I don’t know when we lost that period of time either. It’s quite vexing.” Igor scratched his head.

”Er…” Kadi was already numb. He couldn’t comprehend what kind of experience losing time was. To him, whether it was lost or not, that time had already passed! What was the use of dwelling on it? Time was always by one’s side, wasn’t it? Could it be that the ”lost” time Igor mentioned simply referred to time slowly passing?

Kadi’s face continued to display that expression of shocked disbelief. Thinking too hard was too complicated; it was a bit difficult for him.

”The one who made us lose time might be hidden here too. Kadi, this Guru Mountain of yours is really full of wonders!” Igor looked excited. For him, anything adventurous was worth looking forward to.

The wonders you’ve given me are far more numerous than those in this mountain… Kadi couldn’t help but think.

Kadi also knew this wasn’t the time for him to be emotional. Right now, he had to try hard to use his brain and figure out what this ”lost time” of Igor’s truly meant.

But what one is not good at, one is ultimately not good at. Kadi’s head was about to explode from thinking, but he still couldn’t figure out the deeper meaning.

This ”lost time” probably just means time passed too quickly, and he hadn’t noticed. This was the only answer Kadi could come up with after racking his brains for a long time.

This answer seemed very simple, but it had taken Kadi a lot of effort to think of it.

”Th-this lost time… it can’t be found again, right?” Kadi asked weakly. Although he had an answer in his heart, he still couldn’t be sure if it was correct, even though he felt there couldn’t be any other answer.

”Why not? Things that are lost should naturally be found. That’s our time; how can it be taken away by others?” Igor’s reply was very straightforward, sounding as simple as finding his own lost gold coins.

”Wh-what…” Kadi couldn’t believe his ears. This lost time… time!

Igor looked at Kadi’s astonished face again and was very puzzled. What was so surprising about this? Wasn’t finding something you lost a very normal thing to do? Was it really that incredible?

”I… I don’t understand…” Kadi had already broken down. The last life-saving straw in his mind had also been broken and crushed. He was now like a kite with a broken string, with no direction, bumping around everywhere, and finally about to crash headfirst to the ground.

”You’ve been acting very strangely. The Spirit Book just confirmed my words too. Could it be that you still don’t believe me?” Seeing Kadi’s expression, Igor thought Kadi still didn’t believe his previous judgment, and Igor felt a bit disappointed by this.

”No, I don’t disbelieve you. It’s just that I don’t understand. This time, this thing, how could it possibly be lost? Isn’t… isn’t this thing always there?” The collapsing Kadi couldn’t hold it in anymore and finally spoke his mind. After saying it, he felt a wave of relief.

It seems that in the future, if I have any doubts, I should just say them out loud. I’m really not suited for using my brain. After all this thinking, I still couldn’t find the right answer.

”Er, this…” Igor was suddenly stunned too. He had never considered Kadi’s question. He had only instinctively felt that time was lost, and then instinctively felt that he should find what was lost…

”Just say it! You’ve made me so confused, I’ve already collapsed.” The anxious Kadi couldn’t wait. He really wanted to know what on earth Igor had been talking about for so long.

”You know, we stayed in Ghost Wind Valley for two nights, and we stayed here for one night. It looks like three nights and three days.”

”Yes, that’s right.” Kadi still felt there was nothing wrong with this.

”But I figured out from my food intake that we spent at least three nights and three days in Ghost Wind Valley. Adding the time here, we’ve experienced at least four days and four nights…”

”Your deduction seems very reasonable too.”

”But I still couldn’t deduce it completely accurately. The Spirit Book says we’ve experienced a total of five days and five nights.”

”This…” Kadi turned his gaze to the Spirit Book.

”Master, I absolutely didn’t make it up. I swear in the name of the great Lord Soron.” The Spirit Book was terrified by Kadi’s gaze. He really didn’t want to offend Igor in the slightest right now.

However, Igor didn’t pay attention to the Spirit Book. He continued to speak about his own feelings, which also served to clear up Kadi’s doubts.

Igor said, ”We have no memory at all of those two days and two nights. It’s like they were directly deleted from our own time. If we hadn’t discovered this, then how could we determine if what happened yesterday actually happened yesterday?”

”You mean our memories were erased?”

”If they were erased, then we would also know the specific time; the total amount of time would be consistent with the present. But now, our total time is two days less than this Spirit Book’s. If this isn’t being lost, then tell me, what is it?”