One-Eyed Monster

The scene within the Inner World was miraculous. Igor felt he had once again gained something new. Yet he was confused as to why the previously life-infused spell hadn’t appeared. Igor still couldn’t confirm what the Spirit was called; he intuitively felt that the thing was a talking spell.

This darkness exerted a profound pressure. Initially, Igor felt somewhat suffocated, but once he discovered the pattern, he knew how to adapt. Now, he withdrew his conscious rebellion and suppressed his own sharp edge, soaring freely within the darkness.

Whether this Inner World transformed into expansive skies or boundless cosmos, morphed into solid mountain ranges or infinite deserts, Igor could adapt to its changes. Like a fish, a bird, an ant, or a lizard, Igor hid within the murkiness, inconspicuously attuning himself to the darkness. He sought a glimmer of light, believing Stan Sol was one such point.

He searched and searched but found nothing. The murkiness held only a vast distance, making his surroundings indiscernible.

Igor dared not release his Spirit Power freely in this Inner World, as it wasn’t under his control. He had to constantly maintain a singular focus, for the dominator of the Inner World could arbitrarily pry into the thoughts of anyone who entered.

In a sense, Igor was transparent in this Inner World. If he revealed too much of his intentions, it would surely alert the creator of this darkness. At that point, escape would be impossible, even if he could sprout wings.

Igor felt quite fortunate. When he first entered, he hadn’t realized this place was controlled by another. At that time, his thoughts had roamed wild and free. Thankfully, he had not been discovered by the master of this darkness.

Perhaps it was because the murky darkness contained too many people, all of whom were resisting. This might have prevented the dominator from sparing the energy to notice anomalies like them—those who were submissive. Or perhaps Igor himself was too insignificant, a tiny fish in this vast sea of darkness, so trivial that the dominator didn’t even deign to investigate him.

Whatever the reason, he had escaped the danger of being Devoured by the dominator.

Igor swam slowly, lethargically. The Dark Sea had slightly dulled his sharpness, a change he himself hadn’t noticed. He only felt adrift and unsure of his direction.

All around was pitch darkness, without a trace of light. Other than the sensation of the counter-currents around his body, he had no sense of direction. This disorientation gradually made him more and more sluggish.

Unbeknownst to Igor, he was being assimilated by the darkness. If he continued to drift in this daze, directionless, he would soon lose all perception, not even feeling the counter-currents. The true danger of this assimilation lay in its insidious ability to wear away a person’s mind, piece by piece, until nothing remained.

Igor drifted like a lost soul, his consciousness growing increasingly blurred.

This immense darkness—he had no idea where it began or ended. He could only vaguely sense its continuous expansion, growing larger and larger, to an unimaginable degree.

Igor’s consciousness grew faint; he felt as if he were about to fall asleep, sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness. He had long lost all sensation in his body, and it seemed he had even forgotten his search for Stan Sol.

Here, he was tiny and fragile, on the verge of being Devoured. What was more terrifying was his utter unawareness, and there was no one here who could help him.

Was Igor truly going to be left to perish in this Inner World? If so, wouldn’t this darkness eventually Devour everything in the world?

Just as Igor was about to lose his last shred of consciousness, another fish lingered near him, dawdling, showing no intention of swimming away.

In the last vestiges of his consciousness, Igor suddenly detected a familiar presence from this dawdling, lazy fish.

In that very instant, a beam of light flashed, piercing right into Igor’s dwindling consciousness!

The flash of light roused Igor, who was on the brink of assimilation, restoring a good measure of his awareness. He then felt the counter-currents of the sea scraping painfully against his body. Only then did he fully regain his senses.

He then began to re-examine the fish that occasionally brushed against him.

The light danced in his consciousness again. This… could it be…? Igor dared not think further. After all, he wasn’t the dominator of this Inner World; it would be easy for the dominator to detect his thoughts. So, for every matter, he would only think halfway before stopping. Only thus could he evade the dominator’s scrutiny.

After the light flashed in his subconscious, Igor grasped the general situation. He gave a shudder and, without a second thought, began to follow the fish that had appeared as a flash in his subconscious.

In his mind’s eye, he could see the fish, even though the dark, oceanic vastness still surrounded him.

Guided by that point of light in his consciousness, Igor followed the fish back and forth several times. He understood what this fish, shining in his subconscious, represented.

The Stan Sol he had been seeking was this very fish. Regrettably, Igor had nearly been assimilated by the immense darkness. If Stan Sol hadn’t appeared in time, he might have been obliterated within this darkness.

Swimming back and forth repeatedly, Igor realized this action was not meaningless. He understood that such monotonous movement was a form of concealment, a way of showing compliance. Only by doing so could they make the master of this darkness overlook the faint traces of rebellion in the corners of their minds.

Igor had to admit, he deeply admired Stan Sol. Even in such dire straits, Stan Sol could maintain such perfection! Had it been Igor himself, he likely would have failed early on in this environment.

After circling a few times, Stan Sol’s fish form suddenly dove downwards. Igor followed closely. They had no communication, and nothing was visible around them; they could only rely on that faint glimmer of light in their subconscious for guidance. Stan Sol seemed to have thoroughly grasped this dark environment. He swam leisurely into the depths, to where the sensation of the counter-current was no longer distinct.

Igor felt a swirling sensation, as if his surroundings were continuously rotating. Perhaps the dominator of this darkness is altering the Illusion of this space… he thought. Igor also sensed that Stan Sol had stopped there, no longer swimming deeper.

So, this isn’t a transition point? Igor couldn’t help but wonder, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Caution is paramount in the Inner World. Emptying my mind is the best choice…