One-Eyed Monster

”Heh heh heh hahaha, yes, that power helped us in our most difficult times, so we would do anything for it!” The puppet monster’s tone carried a sense of gratitude, speaking of this share, his emotions were released in these words, making him speak freely. Thus, when faced with Igor’s question, he had no reservations or worries.

”How did that power find you?” Igor asked, having a suspicion in his heart, though not entirely certain.

”Find? No, it was destined! Heh heh hahaha!” The puppet monster said, his voice full of excitement, as if this experience was extremely important to him, important enough to abandon everything.

”Are you saying someone among you just awakened like that?” Igor increasingly believed his intuition, feeling his speculation was nearing the truth.

”You people can’t understand the power that transcends life and death. Without witnessing it yourself, you wouldn’t believe it, heh heh hahaha.”

Igor’s heart skipped a beat, as it seemed many things could be gradually connected.

The power that transcends life and death—Igor had heard this term before, countless times: whether at Guru Mountain or in the Border Realm, before Lord Soron in a spirit power state or before the Soul Devourer Master, this power that transcends life and death was mentioned. It was like a shadow, constantly moving through the event, and now it seemed to be gradually emerging, with Igor apparently seeing the outline of this power.

”So you are all people who came back from the dead!” Igor continued to coax words from the puppet monster.

”Strictly speaking, only the Clown came back from the dead. We don’t count as coming back from the dead; we are merely reborn.” The puppet monster continued, seemingly forgetting his defeat at Igor’s hands, and that he was still chained.

”How did you come to know of the Soul Devourer Master?” Igor asked again, as this question was crucial.

”When we acquired this power from the Clown, we knew about this guy, but now, isn’t this guy scattered in the Sacred Teleportation Location!” The puppet monster said, considering Igor’s question naive, as no one would care about the loser.

”Heh, do you not know that the person who defeated the Soul Devourer Master is standing right before you!” Kadi sneered, finding the puppet monster quite interesting, and from the monster’s narrative, Kadi understood that they were not alike and thus had lost interest in where this creature came from.

”You defeated the arrogant egotistical guy?” The puppet monster seemed indifferent to the Soul Devourer Master’s situation.

”He should have disappeared before you appeared!” Igor felt the timeline was a bit messed up; the Circus had appeared only in the last two years, whereas the conflict in the Border Realm had happened two years ago, back when he had just left Guru Mountain for Yonder Travel Academy, completed in the academy’s Dean Hoffman’s office basement through the Inner World state.

”The memory of the Clown’s rebirth isn’t just from these two years; his memories are deep and unmatched by ours.”

”You mean the Clown possesses memories of the Soul Devourer Master?”

”The Clown knows everything. You lot, heh, are unworthy of knowing anything about the Clown.” The puppet monster said sinisterly, seeming excited about mentioning the Clown.

Igor now guessed in general; he thought the Clown likely was a soul devourer teleported by the Soul Devourer Master to this world, invading the Clown’s consciousness and then occupying the Clown’s body. This way, he both gained the Clown’s gifts and retained his memories from the Border Realm.

Igor had witnessed such tactics in the Border Realm, not expecting this power to gradually seep into their world now.

”Why did you choose the Alchemy Workshop?” Igor still couldn’t understand this aspect.

”Heh heh heh hahaha, must I tell you? What qualifies you to understand so much? Hahaha, you’ll always be ants...” The puppet master’s aura surged suddenly, excited by mentioning his organization.

Igor had no better methods to deal with this; he wasn’t skilled at interrogation and could only ask superficial questions. The puppet monster had spoken a lot, but Igor extracted only a bit of information concerning the Circus, and most information lacked definitive correlation with his hypothesis.

His speculation had a basis; the power that transcends life and death might be exactly what’s happening in the Border Realm, the devouring awareness occupying others’ bodies, whether resurrected or reborn, all these people’s consciousness has been invaded by spirits from another world. These spirits can only fully act by occupying human shells; though formless, they can control hidden powers in nature, using them to execute their plans step by step.

Igor could summon his two spirits to verify, but he couldn’t ensure they’d tell him everything, as spirits ultimately belonged to another world, not being of the same race.

Watching the arrogant puppet monster, Igor shook his head, not understanding why someone with a tragic past would ultimately choose an extreme path of revenge.

Revenge brings pleasure to beings like the puppet monster; they feel the grandeur of the power gifted to them.

This different power caused those suddenly becoming strong from weak to lose themselves, gradually turning them into complete monsters.

Like this puppet monster, gaining power, devoured audiences who harmed him, drank their blood, making them his puppets, laughed wildly in pools of blood, expressed the pleasure of revenge in his dance—thus, bloodlust became his only hobby, even forgetting his original form.

The desire for power turned him into neither human nor ghost, ultimately relying on consuming the blood of young girls to sustain his strength, while his true body must hide within deceased girls.

This power instilled fear, yet the Circus viewed it as heaven’s gift.