One-Eyed Monster

The Little Black Hands were very clear: once outside, although you could see us, you wouldn’t be able to sense our presence, much less communicate with us.

The same applied here, except the effect was reversed. They could communicate with the Spirits, but they couldn’t see their forms, only able to interact with them through sound.

Upon deeper thought, this was indeed quite frustrating.

”Why can’t you manifest a physical form here? I find it odd. It seems like there’s nothing here, so how could this be a special space?” Stan Sol continued to voice his doubts. He was the most thorough in his considerations but also the one with the most worries.

The Little Black Hands were also puzzled by this question, but they genuinely couldn’t answer it right now. The complexity of the issue was beyond their comprehension, so they had no idea what was truly happening here.

Even though this place was a nexus of worlds, the Little Black Hands were currently in an extremely feeble state. They couldn’t even sense their own fragmented selves, so how could they possibly know the answer to all this?

Igor was cautious, but even he hadn’t anticipated how complicated things had become.

He had originally thought the Little Black Hands surely understood their own state. If they could just articulate it, his group might be able to help. But now he realized he had been too naive, underestimating the complexity of this world. None of these beings knew their own condition. This is a disaster, he thought. I have no idea how to send them back to their original place. And I, still in the Inner World, rashly promised my own Spirit that I’d definitely be able to help these lost beings once I got out...

Now, I’m out, and I’ve contacted these lost beings, but I still can’t fulfill the boast I made.

No, I absolutely have to do something.

Igor couldn’t be bothered with much else now. Regardless of how Kadi and Stan Sol were communicating with the Spirits, he paid it no mind. His priority was to find a way to return these lost Spirits to the place they originally belonged.

But what method could he use?

This was a question that warranted deep reflection.

The harshness of reality made Igor once again feel how complex this world was. The difference between reality and his plans was just too vast.

In his imagined plan, Igor felt that as long as he could connect with these Spirits, he would find a breakthrough and then happily send them back.

But what was the reality? He had contacted the Spirits, but he had absolutely no idea what was going on. There was simply no way to begin...

Time ticked steadily by, but the two sides still hadn’t reached a consensus, each remaining preoccupied with their own worries...

What on earth could stop this bizarre phenomenon?

Igor wondered.

Stan Sol wondered.

Kadi wondered.

The Little Black Hands also wondered.

However, their recent efforts had yielded nothing; they could only engage in dry, fruitless conversations.

Reality... it truly is cruel.

Igor had originally thought he could quickly break these enchantments, but now he realized just how insignificant he was, flustered and unable to accomplish anything.

But there’s no other choice now, is there? If this isn’t resolved, all our efforts will be for nothing.

The harshness of reality could only make them sink deeper into thought, searching for a way to solve the problem.

It all seemed so simple on the surface, yet in reality, it was so complex that most of them had no idea what to do.

Kadi, on the other hand, was chatting animatedly with the Little Black Hands, appearing entirely carefree.

”You don’t even know what you look like? That’s truly pitiful!” Kadi began to sympathize deeply with beings like them. They reminded him of himself, causing his compassion to overflow.

”We don’t know if it’s pitiful or not. It’s precisely for this reason that we’re asking for help.” The Little Black Hands were also starting to become a little shameless, which was somewhat similar to Kadi.

Kadi wasn’t actually shameless; he just felt there was nothing wrong with acting that way, so he didn’t care at all what others might say.

Sometimes, Kadi acted alone, so deep down, he was largely self-centered. The process of letting himself go was too liberating for Kadi; this freedom would make him forget many things, and at those times, he was truly a liability to his teammates.

This time, however, Kadi didn’t exhibit his usual problematic traits. He was perfectly well-behaved and sometimes even showed flashes of brilliance, as had been demonstrated previously.

Unfortunately, these flashes of brilliance only lasted a short while. Kadi had now reverted to being that creature curious about everything yet knowing nothing.

”Can you transform into other shapes?”

”We don’t know! That depends on the tasks we receive!” The Little Black Hands were also enjoying their chat with Kadi.

It was truly an odd scene: Kadi and the Little Black Hands were deep in spirited discussion, while Igor and Stan Sol were as somber and silent as wooden statues. It felt like a perfect contrast of motion and stillness.

Igor and Stan Sol were racking their brains. They felt they still hadn’t found a breakthrough point, and the Spirits on the other side couldn’t provide any useful information, making the entire situation very complicated and extremely tricky to handle. But things having reached this stage, they couldn’t give up. Regardless of whether these Spirits were friend or foe, they had to find an opening.

We must remember there’s a Summoner behind these Spirits, they thought. That Summoner is our true enemy. If these Spirits are being exploited by the Summoner, then freeing them would also be a blow against that Summoner.

Igor and Stan Sol felt their analysis was pretty good, but the crux of the problem was that, at this moment, they couldn’t find that breakthrough!

Reality truly is cruel and unfeeling. No matter how elegant your analysis, it can always yank you back in an instant, forcing you to see the essence of things...

Kadi, however, didn’t share this sense of frustration. He was chatting happily with the Little Black Hands and discovered they were quite talkative, not at all like the know-nothing fools he might have imagined.

”Have you always been controlled by that Summoner? That must be so frustrating, having everything you do restricted.”

”There’s no other way. Without the Summoner, we can’t come out!”

”Come out? Where were you originally then?”

”Originally, we were trapped in a dark cage. We can’t really describe what kind of place it was.”

The scope of Kadi’s conversation with the Little Black Hands grew wider and wider, and the Little Black Hands answered enthusiastically and at length. Gradually, without realizing it, they touched upon the crucial points.