One-Eyed Monster

Kadi froze. It’s all my fault, he thought. Seeing the utter dismay on Yuga’s and Kuren’s faces, Kadi knew he had messed up.

He naturally didn’t know that Yuga and the others had already obtained the answer they most desired. However, for Kadi, regardless of the outcome, he wouldn’t change his attitude.

He wouldn’t feel guilty anyway. What’s done is done, regardless of how good or bad the result; it couldn’t be changed. Instead of moaning and groaning in self-pity, it’s better to brace myself and think about what to do next.

Yuga and the others had, after all, lived with Kadi for a long time, so they were used to such outcomes. Although it was a bit regrettable that they couldn’t have an in-depth exchange with the Spirit, who could blame Kadi, such a live wire?

Besides, Kadi was truly remarkable, having connected them all here through his own power.

Kadi, feeling no guilt, naturally didn’t need any comfort. Everyone knew Kadi’s personality, so they all went back to thinking about their own matters.

Stan Sol sighed. For him, his deductions had been mistaken, and now he had to scrap everything and start over. This was indeed a bit frustrating. So, he lamented with deep feeling, ”He’s right. Just because we can’t see the many beautiful things in the myriad worlds doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It’s we who are too weak.”

When one person lamented, it triggered a chain reaction. After Stan Sol’s lament emerged, everyone else’s sentiments sprouted one after another like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, first Kuren, then Yuga.

”To think that the system the Wizard Alliance established so long ago is actually on the verge of collapse,” Kuren said. ”It’s a bit sad to say, but this is all due to our own arrogance, thinking we were naturally different from the rest.”

”Our world is ultimately a diverse one, and it’s bound to be coveted by many unknown forces,” Yuga added. ”Looking at it now, we truly are a bit too weak.”

They spoke one after another, their laments varied and diverse.

Only Kadi looked left and right. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to lament, but he really couldn’t get a word in. In this aspect, I’ve truly done my best. Lamenting is also a bit too difficult for me. Probably only Igor could make me lament, because Igor likes to discuss with me where we come from and where we are going.

The moment he thought of Igor, Kadi felt that time was a bit tight. I promised Igor I’d gather everyone and then give this Dark Force a bit of ’disgusting’ trouble. But now, what’s the meaning of accompanying a bunch of grown men here, lamenting? This is simply unjustifiable.

Kadi suddenly became unhappy. What in the world is this? My network hasn’t even been fully traversed yet. How can we be stagnant here? I absolutely will not allow such a thing to happen, absolutely not! Let’s talk about other things after I’ve finished traversing all the lines on the network. For now, let’s not lament anymore. Besides, what’s the use of lamenting? Can it change anything? It can’t change a thing, okay?

Kadi felt he needed to convey this idea to everyone. We can’t just keep lamenting here; it’s meaningless. We should hurry up and do something important.

Kadi’s personality was just like that. He wouldn’t disregard everything just because others’ laments sounded profound—he couldn’t, nor was it possible. I made a promise to Igor; how can I give up just like that? I, Kadi, am not that kind of person. So, he didn’t care what these people were lamenting about here; he was going to continue on his way regardless.

”No matter what you’re discussing,” Kadi said, ”I don’t think we need to stay here any longer. Arnold, the two-faced man, cannot communicate with us.”

Kadi’s words served as a reminder to everyone; they had been engrossed in one issue for too long.

Indeed, whether it was Yuga or Kuren, they had been a bit too absorbed in those issues just now.

Perhaps it was because they couldn’t sense the Dark Force’s intent to attack here, so they had relatively relaxed. As the time spent daydreaming and lamenting grew longer, the entire direction of matters changed.

It seemed that what Kuren and Yuga were considering had become somewhat grander, already exceeding the current situation before them.

But Kadi didn’t know any of this, nor did he care. What I care about is how to cause trouble for that Dark Force. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. Now, he had also seen the current state of most people: everyone was tenaciously resisting the Dark Force. He had even seen several forms of the Dark Force.

Of course, Kadi also knew this was an attack of will, and the various forms were merely manifestations thought up by this Dark Force.

However, for so many forms to appear here, one must have experienced that much; otherwise, nothing would feel natural.

Kadi now had a grasp of the Dark Force’s power, but he admired Igor even more. In this turbid and unbearable time, he was actually able to see reality clearly and had thought early on about connecting everyone.

”We might be relatively weak,” Kadi began, ”but if we stand together, perhaps we can ’create a threat’ to the other side. This is a very simple principle.”

When Kadi prepared to persuade someone, the scene became quite amusing. After all, he was a rather special fellow. He might be skilled at fighting, skilled at tricking people, skilled at causing trouble, but he wasn’t skilled at debating with others. These were all things that required using one’s brain, so Kadi wasn’t good at them.

The good thing was, no one here was thinking of debating with Kadi. When Kadi uttered his first sentence, they were already persuaded. Their silence at that time was merely due to feeling guilty for having wasted time.

And now? They remained silent because they didn’t know what to say, nor did they know where to go next. Just listening to Kadi’s reasoning seemed to have become their only choice, and also a tacit understanding.

”How does that old saying go... anyway,” Kadi continued articulately, without the slightest hesitation, ”what we need to do now is connect everyone. We haven’t found everyone yet, so we can’t discuss it here.”

Well, that’s just him—someone who says whatever comes to mind.

”Combining everyone’s strength to jointly fight this Dark Force, there shouldn’t be a problem with that, right?”

”Yes, Kadi, you’re right,” Kuren replied. ”United, our strength is very powerful.”

”But how can we get in touch with everyone else? That’s the crux of the problem.” The issue eventually circled back.

”Oh, I remember now! That old saying is ’Many hands make light work’!” Kadi exclaimed, startling everyone and directly quashing the issue Kuren had just brought up.

Kuren was once again left exasperated by Kadi, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. However, Kuren also felt relieved after some thought. Kadi had always been this way, and now, to a large extent, they had to rely on him. It was Kadi who had connected them.

We really should do something for Kadi now. Yes, Kadi is the flame, and we are the ones gathering the firewood.