One-Eyed Monster

Igor slowly opened his eyes. He carefully looked around and found himself in the familiar cave. A sigh of relief escaped him.

Finally, I’m out!

It had been no easy feat. Senior Kuren had been severely injured before and had also suffered a significant impact within the Inner World. His condition didn’t seem much better now that they were out.

Thankfully, the Slumber Room, their safe house, had special features. Kuren only needed a short rest to recover fully.

However, it now seemed that time had become a luxury for them... Time had become the crucial factor in their entire predicament. Time was tight; they probably couldn’t afford to let Kuren rest and recover properly.

Igor looked at the excited Kadi and almost instinctively blurted out, ”Thank you.”

”What are you thanking me for!” Kadi was still very excited. ”We’re friends, and friends should help each other. There’s no need for such politeness!”

”That’s right, we should help each other!” Joseph was equally excited. Although he was a bit surprised by what had just happened, he had also gained a lot. At the very least, he now knew that the Alchemist’s Ant Connection Spell could also transfer Spirit Power.

”If you two hadn’t transferred Spirit Power in time, Senior Kuren and I probably wouldn’t have gotten out so easily,” Igor said faintly, his voice filled with exhaustion.

”Huh? Was it that serious?” Kadi couldn’t believe it. He hadn’t been able to enter the Inner World, so he didn’t know what exactly Igor had gone through.

”This world is undergoing earth-shattering changes. If we don’t stop those Awakened in time, the world will likely be abandoned!” Igor uttered these baffling words.

”Er...” Kadi glanced at Joseph. Joseph, who was observing Kuren, also looked up at Kadi. Their eyes met, and they both understood. These two who had emerged from the Inner World seemed a bit off. Whether it was Igor, who was speaking, or Kuren, who remained silent, neither seemed quite right.

A brief silence fell. Kadi and Joseph mulled it over for a while. They wondered if the two who had come out of the Inner World had suffered some injury, perhaps their brains were fried, as their speech and reactions were abnormal. Igor was saying things they couldn’t understand, and Kuren was transmitting a jumble of messages to Joseph. In any case, apart from that initial ’thank you,’ nothing else they said seemed normal.

”Were they under too much pressure in the Inner World?” Kadi ventured.

”I’m not sure,” Joseph replied. ”I’ve never been into the Inner World. Everything I knew about it was what Kuren had told me. Now, it seemed they had experienced something difficult to explain.”

”Could it be that these two overused their brains in the Inner World, causing them to react a bit slowly now? Maybe they even made some new discovery!” Kadi joked, though he was speaking quietly to Joseph. He was afraid Igor would overhear and react.

However, no matter how careful Kadi and Joseph were or how they tried to hide it, Igor heard everything.

”You’re right, we did make a new discovery. However, our brains weren’t fried in the Inner World; on the contrary, they’ve become much more agile!” Igor said slowly, his tone calm and measured.

Kadi and Joseph’s faces turned beet red; they hadn’t expected Igor to overhear their hushed conversation.

”You can verify with Senior Kuren; I’m not talking crazy,” Igor emphasized again.

”I know, I know. Don’t be so agitated. You just came out of the Inner World, so don’t strain yourself too much. Rest, rest for a bit,” Kadi quickly tried to soothe Igor. He was afraid Igor would become hysterical; the cave wasn’t large, and if it was filled with Igor’s loud voice, their ears wouldn’t be able to take it.

”We don’t have time! Really, Kadi!” Igor became hysterical anyway.

Joseph sighed. ”Looks like these are truly the aftereffects of coming out of the Inner World.” The feedback Kuren was giving him was disorganized, and he couldn’t glean any useful information from it.

”What did Kuren say?” Although Kadi was somewhat certain about Igor’s slightly unhinged state, he still wanted to confirm with Joseph what Kuren had actually said.

”He seems to be... reflecting on things,” Joseph shrugged. He felt these jumbled reflections didn’t connect and were rather baffling.

”Reflecting?” Kadi was also baffled.

”Yes, and the things he’s reflecting on, I don’t understand them at all,” Joseph added.

”So, what exactly did he say?” Kadi persisted. He always felt that the more chaotic things seemed, the more important the underlying matter was. This line of thinking was an insight he’d gained from Igor.

”He mentioned something about... ’the Awakened’...” Joseph uttered the unfamiliar term.

”’The Awakened!’” Kadi’s heart leaped. He felt as if a ray of light had shot towards him. Igor had also been talking about the Awakened earlier.

”We have no time, Kadi! We have to get out!” Igor was still yelling hysterically.

”Hold on, Igor. Let me think for a moment.” Since when, Kadi didn’t know, but he had developed a mature demeanor.

Joseph looked at Kadi with a puzzled expression, as if seeing a stranger. How did this kid suddenly become so mature? he wondered.

This had all formed unconsciously. From the moment Kadi had wanted to share Kevin’s burden, he had already begun to change. It was an imperceptible growth, a process through which he was unknowingly maturing.

”Tell me the details of Kuren’s reflections. I don’t think what they’re saying is unrelated.”

”Er...” Joseph was surprised, but he did as Kadi asked.

”In Kuren’s reflections, there’s a kind of regret. He seems to be blaming himself...”

”The specific content,” Kadi interrupted Joseph quite bluntly. ”His feelings aren’t that helpful for linking these events.” He was eager to get the answers he was looking for.

”Er, Kuren said something like, ’How could I not have thought of it sooner? So many people around me are Awakened, how did I not realize?’” Joseph paused. He had to repeat Kuren’s reflections verbatim for Kadi. These reflections were emotionally charged, straight from the heart, and imitating them was quite taxing.

”He also reflected, ’To be in the midst of a puzzle yet unaware of the puzzle itself. There should be three Awakened on all of Guru Mountain.’” Joseph caught his breath. Although Kuren’s reflections weren’t long, they contained a lot of jumbled information. Joseph didn’t know what this constantly appearing term ’Awakened’ really meant.

It seems the key to the mystery is this ’Awakened’! Kadi muttered to himself.

”Kuren also reflected that Yuga, Simon, and Xiso are confirmed Awakened!” Joseph continued.

”That’s a crucial clue!” A glint flashed in Kadi’s eyes. He felt a strong premonition: they needed to get out of this cave as soon as possible!

”Joseph, believe it or not, I have a strong feeling we need to get out of here!”