One-Eyed Monster-Chapter 588 - 585: Dark Cage (Part 1)

The Black Cage was one of the reasons the Little Black Hands cited for their lack of freedom.

To their surprise, that casual statement lit up the eyes of Igor and Stan Sol, who were deep in contemplation. After careful thought, they realized they had forgotten the very source of the problem.

The Little Black Hands' fragmented memories prevented the extraction of adequate information about them. Yet, their memories concerning their Summoners were not fragmented. They could provide complete information about them.

This information about the Summoners would help Igor and his companions better analyze their current situation and the overall state of Guru Mountain.

However, the situation was tricky, as the invader at Guru Mountain had given everyone a headache. After repeated analysis, they concluded that there was only one invader, and its dark attributes were beyond doubt. Yet, they couldn't figure out the extent of this invader's power, which was somewhat odd and almost elusive.

In fact, they were considered top-tier masters in this world, yet being manipulated by an unknown force like this was quite humiliating.

Igor and the others could sense the distress of these elders and wanted to do everything they could to help alleviate it. In their eyes, Guru Mountain was a beautiful place, and these elders had sacrificed everything to protect it. This dedication alone was enough to earn their admiration. Besides, they certainly did not want Guru Mountain to be delved into so inexplicably.

Igor knew they might not be strong enough, but he believed that providing any help they could—as long as it didn't cause more trouble and could divert the invader's attention—would be of significant assistance. And that was exactly what they were doing.

This confrontation had dragged on for a long, long time, leaving everyone somewhat exhausted. But this is actually beneficial, Igor thought. Exhaustion is a two-way street; the opponent will also feel fatigued.

His thoughts had strayed quite far, so Igor quickly reeled them in. He was still in that special space, and helping the Spirits within it was the immediate priority.

Igor never imagined that Kadi's idle chat would ultimately provide the inspiration they needed, pointing them toward a breakthrough.

Stan Sol sensed Igor's intent and agreed this was likely the best approach for the current situation.

The Spirits were from another Parallel World and originally had no connection to this one. However, the ancestors of the Yowein Continent somehow established contact with that Parallel World, thus linking the Spirits to this world.

Those who awakened Spirits could obtain their power, a source of pride for Adventurers with Class.

Although Spirit Power was said to be a living energy substance found in nature, it always required a conduit. Spirits were this conduit. Their awakening allowed Awakeners to perceive the energy substances in nature more clearly and then convert these substances into their own power.

It could be said that the Spirits' interaction with this world wasn't continuous. After all, the world they inhabited wasn't here; they only came when an Awakener needed them.

However, these particular Spirits were clearly different from ordinary ones; they seemed to have lingered in this world for an excessively long time.

"What happens after you complete your mission?" Igor asked, frowning. He wanted more details. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Here, one could only communicate with these Spirits in this manner—they had no form, only voices, which was strange enough. Furthermore, their exact number couldn't be confirmed, which was a persistent headache for Igor.

Actually, what kind of person could awaken so many Spirits at once? Igor wondered. According to common sense, shouldn't a person only be able to awaken one Spirit at a time? These Spirits are somewhat different.

"Once we complete our mission, we're summoned back!" one of the Little Black Hands said. They found the question very boring and were extremely reluctant to discuss it. The feeling of returning wasn't good at all; they much preferred staying in this world.

"Back to your original world?" Igor asked casually.

Stan Sol's eyes lit up. This Igor is good, he thought. He's skillfully guiding these Spirits towards the problem, so asking questions later won't seem abrupt. Even if they don't follow our lead and answer this directly, we'll still gain something. This is a question we also want answered.

"Our original world?" The Spirits sounded astonished, finding it somewhat unbelievable. What on earth is our original world? Why do we have no impression of it at all? It's a complete blank.

But after they paused and thought carefully, they suddenly realized that there did seem to be a place that belonged to them. It was just that their impression of it was too vague now; they couldn't remember it at all.

Fragmented memories caused these Little Black Hands to recall things slowly and incompletely; the crucial details always eluded them.

"Exactly! If you were from our world, why would you need to be summoned by others? Obviously, you're from another world!" Stan Sol chimed in, helping Igor guide them. They knew what they wanted to achieve, so they were both trying their best at this moment.

"But we can't remember anything at all," one of them lamented.

"It feels like something is blocking us."

"After being summoned, we mostly return to a pitch-black void. It doesn't seem like the world you mentioned."

"That's right! It's pitch-black; you can't see or feel anything, only a boundless, relentless pressure constantly flooding in."

The Little Black Hands had clearly taken the bait, answering in the direction Igor and Stan Sol had hoped.

Igor's plan was to have them describe the scene after being summoned back. Then, he'd let them find the differences between their fragmented memories of their original home and this current scene. The contrast would surely be obvious—the difference between a dark void and a vibrant world was self-evident.

Evidently, Igor hoped the Little Black Hands would identify these differences themselves.

Once they realized this difference was artificially created, everything would fall into place.

"Damn! We'd never have known if we hadn't compared!"

"You mean the place we always returned to isn't... our real home, the one we vaguely remember?"

"Could our fragmented memories be true, and that dark place... isn't where we belong?"

"This is outrageous!"

Igor looked at Stan Sol, then at Kadi, an immense sense of satisfaction welling up in his heart.