One-Eyed Monster

Sneezes ricocheted through the mountains, one after another.

Igor and Kadi found themselves caught in a seemingly endless cycle of sneezing. They were oblivious to the curse of the Witch Spirit, Kuruto, that had been cast upon them; even if they had known, they would have had no way to break it. An occasional sneeze was nothing unusual, but this incessant, unstoppable sneezing was a different matter entirely.

Now, amidst the assembled crowd, Kadi and Igor were conspicuously out of place, sneezing relentlessly. The sudden teleportation by Stan Sol had shocked everyone, both those transported and those who had remained behind.

However, Igor and Kadi’s continuous sneezing was such a distraction that no one had a chance to express their astonishment.

After all, most of those present were compassionate people. Watching these two young men sneeze so helplessly stirred a pity in their hearts that rose like smoke from a gentle fire.

”Are these two children suffering from a chill?”

”The fierce cold of midwinter must have gotten to them.”

They began to speculate, all talking at once, concluding that Kadi and Igor’s relentless sneezing was due to the frigid weather.

But Igor knew that wasn’t the cause. Exasperated, he waved his hands, trying to stop their misguided guesses, but unable to speak, he only managed to deepen their misunderstanding.

”Look at them! They’re shivering all over. They must be frozen through!”

”We need to find a way to relieve their suffering...”

”Indeed, this can’t go on. Does anyone have a flame? Let’s build a fire to warm them up.”

Listening to these well-meant but misguided suggestions, Igor felt overwhelmed. He wasn’t suffering from the cold, and he had no idea why he couldn’t stop sneezing. To be inexplicably afflicted like this was bad enough, but to have everyone wildly guessing the wrong cause, despite his clumsy attempts to signal otherwise, only made it worse.

At that moment, Igor finally understood the kind of suffering Stan Sol must have endured. To be misunderstood, unable to explain oneself—it was truly a distressing impasse.

But the constant sneezing was no small torment either. Igor and Kadi were a pitiful sight, eyes watering and noses running.

They were helpless to stop it; the situation was awful.

A profound helplessness began to wash over Igor, a despair born from his own powerlessness and the overwhelming circumstances.

How long will this go on? Igor wondered. Why won’t this sneezing stop? He felt both confused and defiant. How could he be sneezing non-stop? Had he lost control over his own body?

Just as he was pondering this, a warm current suddenly rose within him, a sensation unlike any he had felt before.

This warmth originated in his heart and spread outwards, soon reaching his nose. The itching sensation vanished, and the sneezes that had seemed unending finally stopped!

What... what just happened?

This isn’t my own power, Igor realized, baffled by the change. That warmth was channeled into me by someone else. I’m sure of it.

As soon as Igor and Kadi stopped sneezing, the entire mountain fell silent. Everyone gazed at each other, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

”They were afflicted with a minor curse, not the effects of this brutal cold.” A faint voice spoke, its tone complex—a mixture of solemnity and weariness.

”So that’s what it was. Scholars can see such things clearly; I guess we common folk just lack their insight,” someone added.

Wiping the tears and snot from his face, Kadi focused on the speaker. It was Xiso and his group.

This meant Stan Sol’s spell had worked! They had left Moonflow Stream and arrived at the Twin Peaks!

However, the Twin Peaks they remembered was gone. Surprisingly, even though the peaks themselves had collapsed, the surroundings weren’t in ruins. The area looked untouched, not much different from the rest of Guru Mountain.

”What happened here?” Kadi, always quick to voice any question that came to mind, was now more intrigued by the fate of Twin Peaks than by the need to convince the Great Mentor.

Thus, all matters became jumbled, and the once peaceful Twin Peaks suddenly resembled a pot of boiling water.

Igor carefully observed Xiso, the man who had helped them. If it weren’t for Xiso, this man with his withered skin, who knows how much longer I’d have kept sneezing? he thought. I must thank him properly.

Meanwhile, Hustace, who had been by Igor’s side, suddenly grew excited. Heedless of any potential danger, he walked straight towards the newcomers.

”Qi Liu, I’m so relieved you’re alright!”

Only when Hustace spoke did Igor notice there were quite a few people on the other side. Among them was a familiar figure: Qi Liu, Hustace’s loyal follower and the Hustace family’s carriage driver.

”Young Master, I only calmed down after seeing you were safe.” Qi Liu’s eyes welled with tears. He had been constantly worried about Hustace, and seeing his young master unharmed brought him immense joy.

Seeing Qi Liu and Hustace’s heartfelt reunion, Igor also felt happy. But then he noticed the others on the opposite side.

There were two women. The facial features of one seemed familiar to Igor, though he couldn’t recall where he’d seen her. However, anyone could tell from their attire that they were Wizards.

One was a Saint Robe Wizard, the other a Gray Robe Wizard.

The Saint Robe Wizard, in particular, seemed quite emotional...

After careful observation, Igor was relieved to find no significant hostility. Overall, the people here seemed relatively calm, despite some emotional turbulence.

Igor approached Kadi and patted his shoulder. ”Well done! We’ve succeeded again.”

Only then did Kadi recall the whole business with the Great Mentor. He turned to Igor with an awkward smile and confessed, ”That was all Stan Sol’s doing. I almost messed it all up!”

Kevin, startled to see Kadi, walked over and patted his shoulder. ”What in the world happened? How did we all end up here!”

Kadi then remembered that the others were still unable to move. He turned to Igor with an odd look. ”How come you can move?”

This took Igor by surprise. He glanced back at the others; they were still immobile. Yet, he could move around freely!