One-Eyed Monster

The information compiled in the Spirit Book left Kadi dumbfounded, completely throwing him into a state of confusion. Forward-Time People and Reverse-Time People were already bewildering enough, but now Time-Leaper People had emerged, complete with their own subdivisions. It’s truly maddening...

Kadi put down the Spirit Book and kneaded his temples firmly. I hope this clears up the mess in my head, he thought. Thinking this hard really takes a lot out of me.

Igor looked at the bewildered Kadi with sympathy. He, too, was hearing these concepts for the first time. He completely understood Kadi’s struggle to accept these novel ideas. If I’d heard all this a few years ago, my reaction wouldn’t have been much better than his, Igor mused.

Now, however, he grasped these concepts more quickly than Kadi. He had always been interested in novel things, and he had a good mentor at Yonder Travel Academy. He’d heard Teacher Hadi mention such odd phenomena in passing before.

”Master, are you satisfied? It took me a great deal of effort to compile this,” the Spirit Book chimed in, eager to please. It was doing its utmost to curry favor with Igor. This is my chance, I can’t let it slip away!

Unfortunately, Igor wasn’t falling for it. He rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought, seemingly contemplating a serious problem.

”Master, would you like me to explain it again? The great Lord Soron foresees everything; nothing is surprising, as this is all within his predictions! As long as you follow Lord Soron’s path, you will overcome all difficulties…” The Spirit Book started to ramble incoherently again. It seemed to lose its own consciousness at times, devolving into nonsensical ramblings.

”You’re spouting nonsense again,” Igor said, looking up after hearing the Spirit Book’s incessant prattle. ”This Lord Soron is truly a persistent nuisance.” He then rose and closed the book.

Kadi stared at Igor, stunned. ”I-I... I haven’t finished reading?”

”There’s no need to read anymore,” Igor comforted Kadi. ”These are all concepts summarized by that Lord Soron. It’s natural you haven’t encountered them before.”

”MMPH! MMPH!” The closed Spirit Book struggled, as if desperate to get some words out.

But Igor gave it no such chance, simply stuffing the book into his pack.

”So, you’re saying what the book says might not be true?” Kadi asked, his eyes wide with hope that Igor would say yes.

”Of course, what it says is true,” Igor replied. ”I just think it’s overly verbose. The more you read, the more confused you’ll become.”

”Ah?” Kadi felt even more muddled.

”Be it Forward-Time People or Reverse-Time People, they all move synchronously with time. That is, they follow our normal understanding of the concept of time,” Igor explained.

”That I can understand,” Kadi said, rubbing his head. ”It’s like walking. Some people move forward, others move backward. But I don’t understand what these Time-Leaper People are supposed to be.” I’m feeling a bit better now, at least I’ve managed to grasp some of it after thinking so hard.

Igor chuckled. ”Heh, if you use your walking analogy, Time-Leaper People are even easier to understand. They’re the ones hopping and skipping along this path.”

”But... but if time is a road, there shouldn’t be any way to go back! Darn it, I’m confused again!” Kadi exclaimed, his thoughts tangling. ”My brain can’t keep up! If Forward-Time People also go backward, wouldn’t that just make them Reverse-Time People? This is so awkward! Why is this so hard to understand?” He was talking himself into circles again, feeling his mind stall.

So, Kadi started massaging his temples again, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself.

”Actually, you’re almost there,” Igor said. ”The situation you described *is* what Time-Leaper People are. They’re beings who can move both forward and backward.”

”But—but I can go forward and backward on a road too, can’t I?!” Kadi exclaimed loudly, clutching his head.

”HAHAHA!” Igor burst out laughing at Kadi’s response.

”What are you laughing at? Am I wrong?” Kadi asked.

”Haha…” Igor chuckled again. ”You can go backward on a road, but time isn’t a road. Time can only move in one direction. Once you choose a direction, you can only go that way.”

”But the Time-Leaper People can…” Kadi trailed off.

”I once heard Teacher Hadi say that the so-called Time Leap refers to the distortion of time. It’s like taking a path you’re about to walk and folding it. You keep moving forward, yet you can arrive at a place you’ve been before because time itself has been folded, causing repetition…” Igor trailed off, suddenly stopping. He seemed to have grasped a key point, something that had been eluding him until now.

”Repeating what?” Kadi asked, completely baffled. Typical Igor, stopping halfway and leaving me hanging!

”That’s it!” Igor exclaimed, clapping his hands together suddenly, his voice filled with excitement. The abrupt sound made Kadi jump.

”That’s it! Why didn’t I think of it sooner? Folding, repetition… Isn’t that exactly what we experienced in Ghost Wind Valley?”

”What are you talking about?” Kadi asked, looking at the ecstatic Igor, feeling more confused than ever. But now, I don’t think his strange behavior is because he’s hallucinating from hunger anymore.

”Haha, Kadi, I think you’re my lucky charm!” Igor said. ”Just chatting with you helped me find the answer to the problem! See? Aren’t you a lucky charm?”

”I still don’t get what you’re saying,” Kadi replied.

Igor chuckled. ”Heh, remember how we were tricked into walking in circles in Ghost Wind Valley?”

”Yeah,” Kadi said, a blush creeping up his neck. ”You figured it out and led us out. We even made it here, to Moonflow Stream.” Thank goodness Igor can’t see me blushing, Kadi thought. I’d die of embarrassment if he knew. A guide being led out of a maze by a tourist… how utterly shameful!

”But we didn’t realize we were just walking in circles at the time, did we?” Igor pressed.

”That was because those incredibly realistic paintings tricked us,” Kadi said.

”Exactly!” Igor exclaimed, growing more excited. ”That’s the overlap! That’s the distortion! The path was distorted, it was overlapped! That’s why we could end up in the same place again and again! And that’s why we lost our time!”

”Uhh…” Kadi still didn’t quite get it.

”We walked backward on the path of time! We acted as Time-Leaper People!”

”That… How is that even possible?!” Kadi stammered.

”I thought it was impossible too, but that’s what happened,” Igor insisted. ”Our time was folded by someone else, causing us to walk back to where we started. Those paintings were just one part of this huge trap.”

”But… but what does this have to do with us losing time?” Kadi asked, still thoroughly confused. ”And why didn’t we feel anything when we lost it?”