One-Eyed Monster

Igor’s patient persuasion finally succeeded in luring the Dark Force into his trap.

Only Igor knew about this trap; others were unaware of it.

No one, including Kadi, knew about the trap Igor had set.

From the beginning, ever since Igor encountered a Spirit, he had noticed a particular issue.

It was that all Spirits seemed to be concerned with a distinctly human question: where had they come from, and where were they going?

It was not just the Spirits. Kadi and the others had the same query, and even Igor himself harbored such doubts.

Where did they come from? Where were they going?

It appeared to be a profoundly intricate problem.

And now, this profoundly intricate problem was placed before the Dark Force.

This kind of problem perplexed the Dark Force. He would never have thought of these questions in normal times, but now he had no choice but to face them.

He was originally torn between whether to tell a story about four other people to deal with the young man or to devise his own story as a counterattack.

A story about myself is a bit difficult, he thought and was prepared to give up, yet a mere suggestion from the young man across from him made him increasingly frantic.

Questions like who he was, where he had come from, and where he was heading—these age-old questions—came to him unbidden.

He wanted to know the answers to these questions, but at the same time, he didn’t want to know them. This contradictory thought had been with him for many years, with no progression or change. Yet, today, it was as if a nerve had been touched in his heart, and these once dismissible problems had suddenly become severe—as if the world would collapse if the answers were not found today...

”Who am I? Where did I come from?” The Dark Force kept asking himself this question, which seemed to be the cause of everything.

Kadi was astonished by the transformation of the Dark Force. Weren’t we supposed to be telling stories? How has it suddenly escalated to such deep philosophical questions?

Although Kadi felt incapable of understanding, he was also interested in these questions.

This was Igor’s trap: luring his opponent into this issue. As for how he did it, no one would notice.

This was Igor’s accurate judgment. Although he only had preliminary contact with the Spirits, through communication he mastered the details, obtained important clues, and step by step lured his opponent into this trap.

This question, though profound, wouldn’t alarm the Dark Force if merely posed directly. The main reason for his unease was the story Igor told about himself.

Although the story was simple and lacked any grand scheme, its ordinary nature made it inexplicably immersive.

In the story, people made choices. Some chose to stick to their traditions, like Igor’s father who continued to live deep in the mountains. They chopped firewood and hunted, relying on their skills. Others chose to adapt to a new environment, gradually finding ways to coexist with the new rules after hard study. Be it the former or the latter, they knew exactly where they came from and where they were going. Life was just like that.

Where did they come from, and where were they going? Hasn’t that always been an inner compass?

This mundane story made the Dark Force regain a sense of belonging. Plus, Igor’s constant elaboration made him instantly reassess his own path.

He couldn’t find his own trajectory. Besides devouring others to acquire their stories, he couldn’t discover anything else.

This road was twisted and winding. He didn’t know how many turns he had made on this road. He couldn’t see the end, nor could he see the beginning. Nor could he discern the reason for this road’s existence. Was it because of those stories? But why am I so fascinated by those stories?

Various questions flooded his mind, all converging into that one singular question: where did he come from, and where was he going?

He was almost overwhelmed by this tangled query, with no progress whatsoever.

Besides repeatedly pondering these questions, he could do nothing else.

All his acquired abilities became irrelevant. They were given to him by others’ stories, and as for his own story, he had no clue.

What am I good at? What can I do? What kind of being am I? I don’t know any of this. For the first time, I feel like a blank sheet of paper.

Seeing the Dark Force in such agony, Igor couldn’t help but feel sympathetic. A lost soul regaining a bit of self will usually end up sobbing desperately. Once you lose direction, boundless suffering awaits you.

”You must know, you come from another world, just like them,” Igor said, pointing to the Little Black Hands nearby.

Indeed, the Little Black Hands were Spirits too. Over a long period of time, they became playful and forgot where they had come from and where they were heading.

They were indeed of the same kind as this Dark Force...

”I... why should I believe you...” The Dark Force clearly doubted Igor’s words.

”Because I know your story,” Igor said confidently.

”How can you know a story that I don’t even know myself?” The Dark Force was still skeptical.

”Because I’ve met your friends and visited your world.”

”Friends?” For the Dark Force, this was a troubling word. It seemed he knew the meaning of the word, yet he was also very unfamiliar with it.

”Time has no meaning for you because you only wake and sleep. You will not head to the Eternal Tranquility Realm,” Igor continued.

The Dark Force began to feel somewhat shaken. The young man’s words are entirely correct.

Not just the Dark Force, but the Little Black Hands also showed their shock.

Even Kadi was surprised.

He had no idea how Igor knew so much about their opponent. It was a tad miraculous. No wonder I didn’t understand Igor’s actions previously; Igor wasn’t doing things the way I thought!

Kadi reflected that he himself had just been meddling from beginning to end. Little did he realize that Igor was actually on a mission of salvation this time.

Igor had successfully lured his adversary into the trap and was now executing his salvation plan.

Despite the seemingly unreliable process, Igor had succeeded.

The Dark Force—no, he should now be referred to as the lost Spirit—was currently, earnestly, re-examining himself...