One-Eyed Monster

The Power of Darkness in the darkness used a dark voice to describe the situation here.

It seemed that all these Dark Forces were chatterboxes, with endless things to say, as if they would feel uncomfortable if they didn’t speak.

Wizard Reed had just disappeared, and now it was just one chatterbox disappearing and being replaced by another.

There were slight differences between these two chatterboxes though: the first one was Wizard Reed, whose chatter resembled that of a speaker. He was aiming to conquer all his audience below, so he stood tall and took great care to observe the various reactions from the crowd.

However, the current Dark Force was not like that at all; his babble seemed more like a storyteller, like an old man narrating a tale.

He spoke softly and endlessly, appearing uninterested in the audience’s reactions. But even if he wanted to know, it would be fruitless as he had already absorbed the emotional responses of these audience members. Not an ounce of joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness was left, which was quite impressive.

The Dark Force floated in the air. He appeared no different from Wizard Reed, but anyone could tell this entity was no longer Wizard Reed, because Wizard Reed was prouder and not nearly as verbose.

”I haven’t spoken for such a long time, I almost suffocated. If I kept silent for a bit longer, I would have nearly forgotten how to speak,” the Dark Force narrated, determined to finish rambling about his thoughts, regardless of whether anyone wanted to hear him or not.

He claimed to have been sleeping for many years, waiting for someone to awaken him. And after much waiting, someone finally did, and so he woke up.

The story may not have been adventurous or exciting, but he narrated it compellingly...

”You know, I really like your world, but I almost forgot your language. Of course, you can’t blame me; your language is a little too complicated. I forget it as soon as I learn a bit; you really can’t blame me.” The rambling Dark Force seemed to have a lot to say; sometimes he praised, sometimes he complained, sometimes he was happy, sometimes sullen.

He mentioned lots of numbers, sometimes even confusing himself. He was unclear how many spirits he had swallowed—whether it was nine hundred and eighty-seven or nine hundred and eighty-eight, he was a bit confused. But he said it didn’t matter; there were so many people before him that he was sure to reach the thousand mark soon.

Every spirit had a unique memory. Some memories were interesting, while others were dull. Like the previous one, which was filled with negative emotions, this made him unhappy. He hoped that the memories of his next devouring would be a little more fun.

”None of you would understand the pleasure of this. Experiencing happenings through this body, so many wonders, it’s just so fun.”

It was unclear where the Dark Force’s sense of pleasure stemmed from. He seemed to draw his joy from claiming the memories of others as his own.

”Now, who shall I swallow next? You all seem to be filled with stories, but it’s all unknown before the devouring. You all know the feeling of drawing lots, right? This is just like that; it’s quite entertaining.” The monologue of the Dark Force was still going on; the show must go on as he was the main character here!

No one else could interrupt him; their feelings were completely drained, and gradually they all felt like they were turning into puppets—puppets who were aware of their predicament…

However, not everyone could be controlled in that manner. As Igor’s consciousness began to fade, a familiar voice cropped up again.

”What a mess!”

Clearly, this sudden voice left the Dark Force dumbfounded. Nothing like this had ever happened before, although ”before” was a very, very long time ago...

”You can talk?” The Dark Force floated in the air, Wizard Reed’s cloak fully spread, poised to morph into battle-ready Crows.

”I could always talk.” The voice was very familiar this time; anyone who paid attention would recognize it as Kadi’s.

Kadi’s sharp retort made the Dark Force curious, wondering what kind of person could still talk under such circumstances.

You must know that he absorbs all emotional states from everyone, and once he controls these, he can control the actions of the individual. This Dark Force didn’t intend to slowly torment them; he wanted to integrate them into his memory system unknowingly…

But suddenly, a person capable of a conversation with the Dark Force appeared out of nowhere.

This was a bit too out-of-the-blue.

Never, in all his years, had such a situation arisen.

While the Dark Force was meticulously tallying up the years, wondering if it was over twelve hundred or fourteen hundred years, Kadi was growing impatient with how things were dragging. It had been far too long; it was time to fight.

”Hey, who the hell are you?” Kadi casually blurted out a swear word!

Indeed, everyone was still uncertain about who or what this Dark Force was.

”Is it important who I am?” This was the first time someone had engaged in conversation with the Dark Force, and he found the experience novel.

”Of course, it’s important. Before a fight, aren’t you supposed to introduce yourself first?” Kadi even started explaining things to the Dark Force; truly, the world had turned upside down.

The Dark Force thought Kadi, the One-Eyed Monster, made a good point. However, this being his first conversation with someone, he wasn’t all that familiar with these norms.

”What was my name again?” The Dark Force wanted some time to think since he had too many previous memories to sift through.

”I really don’t understand what you guys are up to. Is fighting this hard? It’s been so long, and yet there’s no movement. Are we fighting or not?” asked an exasperated Kadi.

”Fight? I never fight.” The Dark Force’s words to Kadi seemed genuinely heartfelt.

He only devoured; fighting was rather low-end in his opinion.

Over the many years, no one had ever resisted; they were all silently devoured. Even the souls of these memories were fragile, devoid of any resistance once their emotions were absorbed.

But what was the deal with this One-Eyed Monster?

The Dark Force opened his Gaping Mouth, curious to find out what was so special about this One-Eyed Monster.

Or, to put it in the other’s words, it would be better to say:

”Who the hell are you, and where did you jump out from...”

TSK, TSK. The Dark Force suddenly felt this awakening was becoming increasingly interesting; nothing like this had ever happened before.

”Who are you!” Kadi was still questioning; there were many things that Kadi didn’t quite understand yet.

”Why are you always dragging things out? There’s just too much talk in this world. Aren’t you all tired after talking so much?”