One-Eyed Monster

”How does this relate to us abandoning time?”

Igor suddenly realized that explaining complex matters to a monster was quite challenging.

He had been patiently explaining for a long time, but Kadi, as if possessing a child’s endless ”whys,” kept asking relentlessly. Moreover, he often repeated the same questions. Igor felt that Kadi himself had become folded and twisted, circling back to the original question after no more than three queries. Kadi was still pondering why the Forward-Time People and the Reverse-Time People were unable to move backward on the road, but the Time-Leaper People could.

Honestly, Igor wanted to explain it clearly, but his abilities were limited. If Teacher Hadi were here, he thought, Hadi could definitely make Kadi understand.

After all, time was a road that couldn’t be traversed backward. The Time-Leaper People merely twisted and folded this road, making it seem to go both forward and backward simultaneously. It’s like grabbing a straight road and then folding it into a loop...

Igor naturally understood these concepts, but he couldn’t explain them to Kadi.

Kadi asked, ”How could a road be picked up and folded into a circle?”

Igor really couldn’t explain these...

So, to quiet Kadi down again, Igor had to think of another way. Just explaining until he was blue in the face clearly wasn’t working; he needed to find an approach Kadi would be most receptive to. But that wasn’t an easy task.

Igor figured that anyone capable of distorting time and space must be incredibly powerful. And here on Guru Mountain, such powerful individuals were likely monsters. It was even possible Kadi knew such a monster. Wait a minute, perhaps Kadi could ask that monster directly! Communication between monsters would surely be more direct. They’d understand each other much better than him trying to wear out his welcome explaining things.

So Igor, adopting a ”try it out” attitude, said to Kadi, ”Kadi, I think we’re being deliberately tested by someone. Who do you think is testing us on Guru Mountain?”

”Hmm?” Kadi, hearing Igor’s words, felt as if he’d been struck on the head. The fog in his mind instantly cleared, leaving only one question: who on Guru Mountain would test him, Kadi?

”Aside from Kevin, no one would give me tests,” Kadi blurted out after only a tiny moment’s thought. For him, such questions were easier to understand.

”Is Kevin the strongest monster on Guru Mountain? Maybe he’s the one who twisted our path,” Igor said, feeling he’d chosen the right approach as he pressed on.

”That old codger Kevin, twist time?” Kadi retorted. ”He probably can’t even comprehend Forward-Time People and Reverse-Time People! Besides brute strength, that old fellow has nothing.”

”Uh… then…” Igor was suddenly at a loss for words; it seemed like Kadi had suddenly taken control of the conversation.

”There are quite a few on Guru Mountain smarter than old Kevin, but I don’t think they have the power to do what you’re talking about, twisting time or whatever. Those guys are all so dull, always stone-faced,” Kadi continued, now that his floodgates were open. ”However, there might be one fellow on Guru Mountain who could manage the troublesome business you mentioned: Guru Guru, the Monster King of this mountain.”

”Oh? The Monster King?”

”Yeah, didn’t I tell you last night? Guru Guru lives in Moonflow Stream. You just need to find the White Swamp to find the Monster King,” Kadi said, his face filled with adoration.

”Have you seen him, this Guru Guru?” Igor asked.

”No,” Kadi’s adoring expression instantly fell. ”But I will definitely meet him!” The disappointment was fleeting, quickly replaced by a surge of fighting spirit and radiance.

”Now that you say that, I’m also inclined to think he’s behind all this. He probably doesn’t want us to meet him, so he keeps setting traps on the path to trick us,” Igor mused, chin in hand.

”Moonflow Stream is right before our eyes!” Kadi’s eyes lit up. He truly wanted to cross Moonflow Stream to find the Monster King. He’d been wanting to say so, but there hadn’t been a chance. Igor had been sidetracked by that Spirit Book, constantly researching other things, which left Kadi no opportunity to speak. (In fact, he himself had gotten caught up in it too and had completely forgotten about this.) Now that Igor himself had brought it up, Kadi was determined to seize the chance.

”The Monster King, the Monster King! Heh heh, I knew I’d forgotten something. Now I finally remember!” Igor grew excited again.

”So, are we going to look for him?” Kadi asked tentatively, his heart filled with anticipation. He felt that with Igor accompanying him, his chances of success would become much, much greater.

”Of course! Don’t you remember I just asked that Spirit Book how to cross Moonflow Stream? It would be an honor for me to meet your leader.”

”Then how do we cross this Moonflow Stream?” Kadi asked.

”There must be a way. A fellow who can twist time surely knows many strange things. I think if we find him, many of our doubts will be resolved.”

”Er, then what are we waiting for? Let’s set off quickly!” Kadi was itching to go, wanting to cross Moonflow Stream in a single leap and head straight for Guru Guru’s hideout.

”Heh heh, we need to formulate a plan. We encountered so many traps in Ghost Wind Valley; I think there might be even more here,” Igor said.

”That’s true. I was being too rash. Guru Guru definitely won’t just be sitting there waiting for us,” Kadi admitted.

”There are many things we need to pay attention to now. First, we can’t get lost because of those paintings again,” Igor said. His mind had already analyzed the current situation, identifying several points of concern.

”We also need to be careful about time, right? If we lose it again, it’ll be terrible,” Kadi added as a reminder.

”Yes. And this place is very strange. I keep feeling that the singing at night is the key to figuring this place out.”

”That singing from Moonflow Stream?” Kadi couldn’t believe his ears. He’d heard that song so many times, his ears were practically growing calluses from it.

”Yes. I’ve memorized all the parts of the songs I could understand. Maybe we can find some clues in them.”

”Regardless, we should leave right away. Otherwise, once it gets dark, we’ll have to find another place to sleep, and I really don’t want to sleep here again,” Kadi urged.

”Alright, let’s set off now!” Igor’s face was filled with expectation.

And so, they happily decided to cross Moonflow Stream and find the Monster King, Guru Guru.

”But, do you know which way to go?” Igor, who had just taken a step, stopped again. He saw that everything around them looked more or less the same; he had no idea which direction to take.

”Er… well…” Kadi also froze. Making a happy decision was simple, but when it came time to actually act, one discovered uncertainties and difficulties everywhere.