One-Eyed Monster

The Dark Force was wary too; otherwise, given its temperament, it would have attacked Igor much earlier. But the allure of the story held it back.

It had heard plenty of stories but still felt it wasn’t enough, much like how witnessing something beautiful can awaken a person’s inner desires. The more one sees, the more one wants to know; the more one knows, the more one craves.

The Dark Force had heard countless stories and felt unsatisfied, longing for even more tales. Thus, when a storyteller stood before it, it wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.

It could have Devoured Igor whole to possess his experiences and the stories they contained. But when Igor began to tell a story about a talking mouse, it retreated, abandoning the idea of Devouring Igor.

This change was attributed to Kadi and his tale of the talking mouse; the story had brought about a significant change in it.

In the long eons of its existence, it had never encountered a talking mouse, so it had always considered Kadi’s story to be entirely fabricated. However, it had to verify this matter. It couldn’t be fooled, especially not in such an idiotic way.

At the time, it thought, If my investigation proves I’ve been made a fool of, I will repay this insult tenfold...

Its method of verification was simple. It had already Devoured millions of people. It could simply pull one out at random and ask to find out if the story was a fabrication. All the thoughts and free will of those it had Devoured were sealed away by it. As long as it wished, it could restore these sealed free wills to their original bodies. This unique ability was also its effective method of controlling these Puppets.

After the released free wills recovered from their initial disorientation, they began to earnestly contemplate the Dark Force’s question. The question was abrupt. However, the free wills, having been imprisoned for so long, were quite familiar with the Dark Force’s way of doing things. So, after their initial bewilderment, they understood its true intentions.

Kadi’s story of the mouse and the princess was indeed an old-fashioned one. It was a classic fairy tale, familiar to everyone, from the elderly to young children. The story was simple, easy to understand, and quite amusing. It was so widespread that it could be said almost everyone in the world knew at least a fragment of it. Besides, those who heard this story wouldn’t really question whether a mouse could talk.

So, the temporarily released free wills answered straightforwardly, ”We’ve heard this story. We heard it when we were very young.”

The first answer might not be accurate, so the Dark Force summoned a second, then a third... However, the answers it ultimately received were all consistent: everyone had heard the story.

This result thoroughly demoralized the Dark Force. It had believed it had experienced countless stories of this world, yet it turned out to be completely ignorant of a simple tale many knew from childhood. Nevertheless, being a creature inclined to contemplation, it wouldn’t be crushed by such a minor setback. It started to analyze why it didn’t know these stories.

Theoretically, since I have Devoured all these free wills, I should possess all their experiences, right?

”Why do I possess all your experiences yet know nothing of these stories?” The Dark Force was deeply perplexed. It roared its displeasure, causing the newly freed wills to tremble in terror.

The free wills were innocent. They didn’t even know what they had done to be released. Once out, they found no peace, instead being hounded by a bizarre question. In the end, despite answering truthfully, they failed to please it. Not only were they viciously berated, but they were also threatened with eternal imprisonment.

It’s just a story. Is it really worth caring so much about? they thought. And a clichéd old fairy tale at that.

The free wills naturally didn’t know the answer, nor did they reply. Their silence could only compel the Dark Force to enter a state of deep thought itself. After thinking it over and over, it finally had a realization.

It’s true that I possess the experiences of everyone I’ve Devoured, and the stories formed from these experiences are indeed all fascinating. But this doesn’t mean I can possess all of others’ thoughts. I claim to have possessed all the memories of those I’ve Devoured, but in fact, that’s not quite the case. What I possess are merely their significant experiences. It’s impossible for me to know all the minor details. What kinds of dishes the Devoured ones had eaten, what kinds of wine they had drunk—it’s impossible for me to know all these minute things. After all, I don’t have such a vast capacity to store it all... So, the stories these Devoured people had heard—could I possibly know them? I certainly couldn’t.

This was a simple truth, one it had only now come to understand.

Moreover, it also realized that stories were not as it had imagined. The stories it had heard before were all the personal experiences of those it had Devoured—they were about life, about events that had actually transpired... But Kadi’s fairy tale? That was entirely a fabricated, fictional story. That was the difference. It simply hadn’t been able to fully distinguish between them before.

After this series of twists and turns, it had matured—though this referred only to its understanding of stories. Now it understood: Devouring someone only allowed it to obtain that person’s own story, not the stories that person had heard from others. And it was often these ”heard” stories that were the source of its confusion.

After its earlier verification, it summoned a few more free wills and had these fellows tell stories. The free wills were utterly bewildered, having no idea what was going on. But being imprisoned, they could only be at its mercy. Luckily, these free wills had heard some fairy tales.

The Dark Force found itself somewhat captivated by these stories of talking mice and dancing cats... If it hadn’t had other matters to attend to, it likely would have spent this period summoning free wills to tell it stories...

Ultimately, it still fell for Igor’s ploy, once again drawn in by the allure of stories. The Dark Force was now conflicted, but novelty always held the upper hand when it came to attraction. Tales of talking mice and dancing cats, though perhaps clichéd to ordinary people, were a source of wonder to the Dark Force. It was now more inclined to listen to such stories...

Change often occurs imperceptibly.

Kadi and the old woman probably didn’t know that their inadvertent storytelling duel would alter the Dark Force’s preference in stories.

The relentlessly advancing wheels of fate carry away only dust, and the Dark Force, too, would be swept along by these wheels to another realm...