One-Eyed Monster

”How could this happen? How is this possible!” Igor cradled his head, muttering to himself in disbelief.

A punch landed to his left, a kick to his right. Igor was being hit all over his body, hardly able to catch his breath.

”We are in the Time Gap; you and I are both in the Spirit Power State. In such a state, anything is possible here,” Arnold said. Continuing his monologue like a nagging lecturer, he offered Igor a lesson each time he appeared.

He never cared whether Igor, who was currently being beaten up, could absorb his words...

Although Igor, in pain, was filled with questions, he still listened to every word Arnold had to say.

This was an ability in itself. Managing to concentrate on the other person’s words while enduring severe pain showed Igor was quite a talent.

”You should feel honored to have made me traverse space here, Igor. No one has ever driven me to use this ability; you’re the first!”

”I... I do feel honored, but there are some things I still don’t understand,” Igor replied to Arnold, stifling his pain as he struggled to answer.

”I can give you a straightforward explanation before you’re eliminated,” Arnold said, having stopped his assault and now standing to the side.

”Why can you traverse space, but I can’t?” Igor asked directly, without hesitation.

”Because in this Time Gap, I am the master of time. I can do whatever I want.”

Arnold suddenly became a lecturer again, an impulse rushing over him to deliver endless explanations.

”Then why could I react during the Time Leap, but I haven’t felt anything during this spatial traversal?” Igor asked, catching his breath. He couldn’t comprehend these things, and this lack of understanding made him uneasy; the mental anguish was worse than his physical injuries.

”That’s because you’re not a Time-Leaper Person.” Arnold’s answer was baffling. If this counted as a straightforward explanation, then all explanations in the world were meaningless.

This explanation left Igor flabbergasted.

”You have your own Timeline. In this Time Gap, you can master the method of Time Leap by controlling your Timeline. But you can only accomplish simple leaps—that is, leaping from one point in time to another. Your location won’t change at all.” Seeing Igor’s bewildered expression, Arnold explained again, this time in more depth.

This explanation, though a bit lengthier, was rather obscure and not easily understood—at least not for someone like Igor, who would need some time to ponder it.

”In this Time Gap, you can only leap along your own Timeline; you cannot transcend spatial boundaries. But as the controller, the one who created this Time Gap—that is, me—I’m not restricted by this rule.”

This explanation only made Igor feel more confused.

The strange scene remained at a stalemate. Igor was no longer being attacked by Arnold, but he felt even worse than when he was being hit. He earnestly desired to understand, but Arnold’s esoteric explanations were completely beyond his comprehension.

He felt like a blank slate, waiting for someone to fill it with colors. Since he understood nothing, he could only be fooled by all sorts of pronouncements.

He also felt like a lamb for the slaughter, already on the butcher’s block, just waiting for the cleaver to fall. Since he understood nothing, he had to accept whatever was said to him, unable to question any of it.

Even if he had doubts, what good would they do? He couldn’t change anything; he could only accept defeat. He didn’t understand how he had ended up in this Time Gap, nor did he remember entering it. He didn’t understand why he was fighting this person before him, nor could he fathom the reason for any of this...

Igor had a million questions, but they were pointless. He had so little time he could call his own, and even his current position might have been arranged by someone else...

”You should understand now, right?” Arnold asked. He felt his explanation had been very detailed. Indeed, he was pleased that Igor, this young man, had actually listened to everything. This was unexpected because usually, whenever he started explaining these things, most people would find excuses to slip away, unwilling to hear another word from him.

”I haven’t understood, but I generally grasp the meaning,” Igor said, scratching his head. It was only at this moment, in his Spirit Power State, that he fully adapted and realized he wasn’t his true self but merely a projection within the Time Gap.

”So do you understand or not?” Arnold disliked this answer; he loathed such equivocal responses.

”Even if I don’t understand, there’s nothing I can do, is there? This is your domain, your space. Whatever you say goes, doesn’t it?” Igor replied. He no longer even had the strength to resist; there was no way to fight back against such a powerful Time-Leaper Person.

”Time is about up. I don’t have much more time to spend with you here explaining the leap of space and time,” Arnold said, shaking his head. He felt like a failed lecturer all over again; not only had he failed to make Igor understand, but he seemed to have confused him even more.

But Arnold didn’t dwell on that. He felt he had already given Igor plenty of time.

”You should know, you’re actually quite remarkable, Igor. I feel it’s necessary to tell you this before I send you away,” Arnold said softly. His feelings toward Igor were complex. He very much wanted Igor to pass the test, but out of responsibility to the Great Mentor, he couldn’t go easy on him, no matter how much he admired this Igor.

”To send away someone who made me use spatial traversal... I’m actually a little reluctant, but it can’t be helped.”

Igor merely listened quietly. What else could he do but listen?

”Alright, enough talk. Let’s leap out of this Time Gap together. Let me personally see you off,” Arnold said, extending his hand with a smile, although the smile on a face that was half-infant, half-old man looked somewhat terrifying.

Time trickled away, moment by moment. Whether in the Time Gap, outside it, or at the crossroads where two Timelines collided, time always marched ceaselessly forward. Whether you wished it or not, it had already traveled very, very far...

And over this vast distance of time, every Living Being experienced time in its proper course.

But there were exceptions.

”We need to help Igor,” Kadi had said to the Spirit Book a short while before. They hadn’t entered the Time Gap like Igor; they could only wait outside, where the moonlight was hazy and the night grew ever darker.

Just as Arnold extended his hand within the Time Gap, Kadi and the Spirit Book, from the outside, sent Igor a crucial piece of information—information that might just be able to help him.

”The rest is up to Igor,” Kadi muttered to himself. Next to him, the Spirit Book had already fallen into a deep sleep from exhaustion.

This contest wasn’t just fought by Igor alone.