One-Eyed Monster

”If the timelines of two individuals overlap, could they leap together?” Igor pondered, scratching his head thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, Igor found it strange that after all this time, he didn’t feel hungry at all.

Igor knew his limits well: if he missed a meal, he would be on the verge of collapse. As the moon was already high, by all accounts, he should have been starving by now.

But, he felt no hunger and was instead full of energy, as if he had just finished a hearty meal.

This satiated feeling reminded Igor of the night he discovered the Moonflow Stream—the very night he realized he had discarded a period of time. To be precise, that was two days ago.

However, to be precise, it couldn’t have been two days ago. A period of his time had been discarded, and he couldn’t tell when that had happened.

Similarly, Igor couldn’t determine the exact time of this particular moment. The only thing he knew for certain was that it was night.

Of course, Igor vaguely felt that the time he was in was not immediately after crossing the White Swamp.

This sensation was hard to express in words, making it difficult for Igor to explain to Kadi where or when they were.

Igor could only hope that the Spirit Book could lend a hand, providing Kadi with a perfect answer.

However, that damned book was unable to perfectly explain the current peculiar situation, and Igor still had to painstakingly explain the headache-inducing circumstances to Kadi.

”Every person has their own timeline; that’s beyond doubt,” Igor said.

”Yes, Master, you are correct,” the Spirit Book replied respectfully, fearing Igor’s wrath.

”But why is our timeline being controlled by someone else?” Igor said meaningfully.

”What?” The Spirit Book didn’t understand what Igor meant and didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

”Can you confirm how much time has passed since you last woke up?” Igor asked the Spirit Book, tilting his head. ”Fortunately, the moonlight wasn’t very bright, or the Spirit Book would have collapsed in fright.”

The Spirit Book focused its senses for a while and suddenly realized that its own timeline was in disarray.

”This...” The Spirit Book was very nervous, unsure of what to do. It was scared of not being able to answer, which might cause Igor to cast it aside. It was also afraid of giving the wrong answer, which would similarly lead to Igor discarding it.

”Well? Do you know or not? Can you answer?” Igor pressed, his sharpness making even Kadi, who was standing by, feel it was too intense.

”I...” The Spirit Book was dumbfounded again. It genuinely didn’t know how to respond, caught in a dilemma.

”Hmm, I’ve heard that the Book Collection Pavilion offers a rather generous bounty,” Igor said, turning to Kadi, completely ignoring the Spirit Book’s feelings.

”M-Master...” The Spirit Book was on the verge of a breakdown. It hadn’t expected the world to be so treacherous; a slight misstep, and it had fallen into a villain’s trap. Yes, in its mind now, Igor was an absolute villain.

”Hmm, considering you’ve been with me for so long, I can donate you to the Book Collection Pavilion for free. I won’t exchange you for Gold Coins. We’ve been together for so long; there’s some sentimentality involved. Talking about money is just vulgar.”

”M-Master, please don’t donate me! Don’t exchange me for Gold Coins either! I’ll listen to you, I’ll listen to everything you say!” The Spirit Book was on the verge of kneeling, crying, and wailing.

There was no helping it. For an entity that had been ensnared by loneliness for too long, being sent back was truly like condemning it to a nightmare.

”Then, do you know or not, about the matter of time I asked about earlier?”

”R-Replying to Master, I could have answered that question before, but now, I feel that all of time is leaping. I can’t judge. Other than knowing it’s nighttime, I can’t determine what time it is at all...” the terrified Spirit Book answered honestly.

”So, you also feel that time is leaping?” Igor confirmed once more.

”Y-Yes... Yes, it is...” The Spirit Book was very nervous.

”You see, Kadi? I didn’t lie to you, nor have I gone mad. That’s just how things are,” Igor said, spreading his hands towards Kadi in a gesture of utter helplessness.

Kadi was completely baffled. So, all this time, he was just trying to prove *this* to me? I didn’t doubt him in the slightest! I was just confused because I didn’t know what to do. I’ve been waiting for him to tell me the next step, and he tells me *this*? This is too surprising. A mix of emotions churned within Kadi. One moment, I feel warm because Igor values my feelings. The next, I feel helpless because so much time has passed with no good solution, and now we have to keep waiting here...

”I want to know how a Time Leap can be achieved,” Igor said, turning his head. His face, seen through the dim moonlight, looked exceptionally resolute.

”This... this question is rather complex. I’ll look it up for you right away,” the Spirit Book replied, instantly shaking off its recent panic and diligently throwing itself into the new search.

”Time is like a river; the way the water flows is different in different places,” the Spirit Book soon found an abstruse sentence. Obviously, this was written by none other than Lord Soron.

”A river?” Igor mused, deep in thought.

”In the same river, different sections will have different flow speeds. If two currents with different speeds meet, they will collide and create fissures. That is the opportunity to leap,” the Spirit Book continued.

”Collision!” A spark ignited in Igor’s mind. Isn’t this just the folding of timelines? One stream flows fast, another slow. When the two currents meet, the slower one will affect the faster, and the faster one will also affect the slower. Yet, the two currents themselves perceive no difference; they still believe they are flowing forward at their original speed. If two timelines collide like this, wouldn’t they influence each other?

”Time-Leaper People achieve Time Leaps by folding timelines!” Igor exclaimed, slapping his thigh as if in sudden enlightenment.

This change startled both Kadi and the Spirit Book.

Igor felt he had found the method to achieve a Time Leap. If my prediction is correct, and if I can find that Time-Leaper person who is currently leaping, everything will be resolved. Our time was flowing quickly, then suddenly we arrived at a special place. This place might be a trap set by the Time-Leaper People, a trap where time flows exceedingly slow. One might unknowingly spend a day inside it, but outside the trap, two or even three days have already passed. And that person? They wouldn’t feel anything because they have no reference points around them, only themselves, and their own flow of time has been slowed down by this trap. It’s like a swift stream rushing into a large, calm river; its original speed is instantly reduced... yet the stream itself believes nothing has changed.

”So that’s how it is,” Igor said, a smile appearing on his lips.

”This isn’t folding timelines at all; it’s stretching them!”