One-Eyed Monster

Often, secrets tend to be simpler, because few people know them; they lie quietly, without any commotion.

Whereas public things tend to reveal their complexity, a complexity not brought by the thing itself, but by the effects it triggers. When everything becomes a public state, more and more people know, to the point where it’s chaotic, and gradually the thing changes its appearance. This change is often passive, an inevitable occurrence because people’s viewpoints on a single thing are not uniform, everyone has their own opinion. These opinions alter the thing’s original form, and even if it was not originally like that, it will gradually hide and transform into the appearance people expect.

This complexity is hard to articulate.

And hidden within this complexity is what truly ought to be noticed.

The Xinbal Cemetery is to the north of Xinbal, close to the slums. It’s hard to imagine such a place exists in the bustling Xinbal, where people here are barely clothed, living meal to meal. These people are abandoned; nobody knows why exactly they were abandoned, but they are always timid, lacking the courage to embrace the darkness. They still retain a sliver of conscience, unwilling to abandon their only shell, yet they never manage to integrate into that diligent crowd.

The pitiful can’t be entirely deemed as abandoned; they are exiled near the cemetery, allowing their dying hearts to be closer to death’s embrace. People hope that they can find the meaning of existence here, retrieve the value of living.

Among these individuals are those who rediscover themselves and rejoin life; they watch the comings and goings at this cemetery, observing various farewells, gradually understanding the value of life… it can be said this slum performs its own unique function.

Nobody can comprehend why these abandoned individuals can return to everyone’s embrace, nor does anyone know why this has become their place of rebirth.

Two cemeteries, east and west, encircle Circle Mountain, making the entire Circle Mountain look like a massive tomb…

The slum sits between these two cemeteries, its denizens varied in form, yet despite this diversity, there remains a common trait—they all wear an expression of despair.

A person who abandons themselves shows no glow on their face.

These are people who have forgotten themselves!

Circle Mountain was always peculiar, with its populace disorderly, without anyone paying attention, even amidst the coming and going crowds. They wouldn’t notice this band of despairing, self-abandoning people, funerals occur frequently, and people’s sorrow won’t change due to these individuals’ existence; rather, they become more appreciative of themselves, quicker to emerge from grief…

So, even if significant commotion arises in this slum, nobody will take note, because truly there is nothing novel here!

Even if these people vanish, nobody will notice, for these lives are better off dead. Only when they return do they draw attention, in others’ eyes, these people are already dead, living dead!

Now, this batch of living dead have become unusually lively, a level of liveliness they have never exhibited, yet they have always been ignored. Even the most attentive organizations would not pay significant heed here because a band of abandoned people wouldn’t cause much ripple, wouldn’t be valued.

So, even if these living dead ascend to the heavens, no one would perceive changes here.

Igor and his group are urgently heading to Circle Mountain; this is a gamble because that place is indeed too ordinary. Even now, it appears unchanged. The entire sky is a hue of orange-red, this orange-red complements the cemetery’s inherent desolation. This place remains not lively, not generating much disturbance.

However, appearances often deceive.

Seemingly unchanged from before, Circle Mountain at this moment is undergoing transformation, a subtle change not apparent externally.

In fact, one cannot discern how many newcomers there are. The entire Soul Guardian team has been here for many days, yet nothing here can be noticed, just as if nothing occurred,

here remains in a state of exceptional peace.

Yet once stepping foot into this area, a profound pressure can be felt, a pressure of Spirit Power. This pressure compels people to instinctively distance themselves. It’s a strong sense of oppression, seemingly intentional.

This oppression is like a warning, urging those approaching to hastily leave, as something terrifying is taking place.

However, these living dead are undeterred by the warning; they continue living as usual, but at this moment, they are all converging towards a certain place, like something is drawing them there.

These people appear sluggish as if not fully awake, dragging their steps with a hint of reluctance, yet the thing attracting them seems to possess a mysterious force, causing them to slowly proceed forward… No one knows from where this attraction originates, nor how powerful this force is, nor why these living dead are behaving thusly.

Everything occurring here exudes an eerie vibe, yet outwardly, nothing seems amiss!

It seems someone is hidden here, orchestrating these happenings, deliberately concealing the occurrences.

Anyone approaching will be discovered immediately, as everything here is under control by these people…

Moreover, it seems two forces are confronting each other.

The once calm Circle Mountain is growing increasingly strange, with the orange-red sky seemingly about to fall down, constantly trembling!

Indeed, the entire sky is shaking. This trembling is caused by the barrier being hit. This barrier is the reason everything here is concealed, the whole barrier suffused with orange-red mist, these mists reflecting the entire sky under sunlight.

The barrier aims to hide the happenings within the cemetery, clearly, someone doesn’t want it known…