One-Eyed Monster

Breathe. Inhale—exhale—

Igor tried to cool himself down this way. Those few cries of "Welcome to Guru Mountain!" had truly flustered him.

He had just been advising Kadi to stay calm and restrain himself, but in the blink of an eye, he himself was thrown into confusion by this baffling greeting.

This could perhaps be considered one of Igor's weaknesses. Being interrupted during meditation always filled him with an inexplicable agitation, and Igor didn't know how to overcome it.

"I'm from Guru Mountain. Why would it welcome me?" Kadi looked perplexed, unsure of what was happening.

The welcoming voice resounded only three times before subsiding, and the entire cave returned to its previous tranquility.

"What on earth is going on?" Kadi tried to gather more information in this futile manner, though experience had long proven it useless. Even though Kadi knew this full well, he blurted it out, as if saying it aloud would make him feel a bit better.

Igor shook his head, still not understanding what exactly had happened.

"Did that voice sound familiar to you?" Igor turned his head to ask Kadi, tossing him a wild fruit at the same time.

"I didn't pay attention." Kadi caught the wild fruit. He had still been half-asleep moments before, only hazily hearing the shouts. It was genuinely hard for him to recall now whether the voice had sounded familiar.

"This is the heart of Guru Mountain." The voice echoed once more. This time, Kadi heard it clearly. He was more than familiar with this voice; it was Xiso's—the voice of the monster with terrifyingly pale skin that resembled parched earth.

"Uncle Xiso, it's me, Kadi!" Kadi was thrilled. He had finally encountered one of his own kind again. Now he could safely reach the other side of the swamp!

"I know who you are," Xiso interrupted the excited Kadi.

"No matter who you are, anyone who steps into this part of Guru Mountain is an intruder. You have only two choices."

Kadi froze. Xiso's words meant he was in trouble—big trouble.

"Either you choose to turn back, and someone at the foot of the mountain will erase your memories, or you choose to move forward, heading to the Eternal Tranquility Realm, never to return."

Xiso's voice reverberated through the cave like a great bell for a long time.

Kadi thought of Kevin again. Only now did he understand why Kevin had forbidden him from approaching the Moonflow Stream, and why, whenever he walked to its very edge, he was always lured away by some inexplicable things…

"Reaching this place can be considered your good fortune. Being so young, you should cherish this chance to survive. This is a warning, a hint, and moreover, an act of mercy."

Igor, unlike Kadi, wasn't flustered. He had felt a touch of anxiety when his meditation was interrupted, but after a deep breath, he had relaxed considerably. He only fully regained his pre-meditation composure when Xiso's voice sounded again.

"I'm wondering," Igor scratched his head, responding to the voice echoing in the air, "where is your voice coming from?"

Igor's response left Kadi dumbfounded. For Igor to still be pondering such questions at a time like this… he's truly an oddball!

"From your tone, it sounds like you've chosen the second option." Xiso's voice, still booming, came from mid-air.

"I've been here before, passed through this place. I don't want to lose all my memories of it," Igor chuckled. "Having my memory erased is more terrifying to me than going to the Eternal Tranquility Realm."

"How can this be? Uncle Xiso, is there really no third choice?" Kadi didn't understand.

"You could choose to turn back and then go to the Slumber Room to accept your punishment. You brought a human here!" Xiso's voice carried great authority.

"I… I won't go to the Slumber Room!" Kadi blurted out after a moment's thought, voicing what was truly on his mind.

"Very well. You have both made your choices. Then you must face the consequences. We will personally escort you to the Eternal Tranquility Realm."

After these words, Xiso's voice completely vanished, leaving only the sound of Kadi's and Igor's breathing.

"How could this happen?" Kadi still didn't understand.

"I'm still wondering how his voice reached us, and how our voices reached him," Igor replied, still unhurried and seemingly carefree.

"Aren't you worried at all?" Kadi asked.

"What's the use of worrying? Worrying won't solve anything."

"But… but…" Kadi was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.

"Fill your stomach first," Igor said, handing Kadi another wild fruit. "The road ahead will likely be perilous. But since we've made our choice, we shouldn't have any second thoughts."

Kadi took the wild fruit and bit into it. Igor was right; he himself had chosen to continue forward. The mere thought of that tedious Slumber Room made Kadi's head ache. He'd rather take a gamble than go to the Slumber Room. It was just that the stakes of this gamble seemed a bit too high.

Kadi knew what the Eternal Tranquility Realm signified. His choice meant he was staking the rest of his life. The slightest misstep, and he might not have a future to speak of. Part of what led him to such a bold decision was impulsiveness—that probably accounted for twenty percent. Another ten percent was his aversion to the Slumber Room, thirty percent was the yearning for the dream in his heart, and the remaining forty percent was entirely, completely because of Igor.

Regardless, Kadi already saw Igor as his companion. Deep down, Kadi always felt that since he had brought Igor to this place, he owed Igor some accountability. No matter what lay ahead, all of this had started because of him. If he hadn't jumped off Dawn Peak with Igor in the first place, perhaps none of this would be happening. Since it had, he had a responsibility to see this through with Igor, even though he had mostly seemed like the tagalong on this journey. None of that mattered anymore, did it? Terrifying, helpless things might happen soon, but that didn't matter anymore either, did it?

Kadi gently bit into the wild fruit. His gaze was dull, and he felt drained of energy, letting the fruit's tartness fill his entire mouth.

If only he'd been a little more capable, maybe things wouldn't have ended up like this. But what was the use of sighing over it now? As Igor would say, lamenting wouldn't solve any problems either.

The vast White Swamp began to act up again, with a jet or two of flame shooting out from time to time.

Kadi looked back, then ahead. Before him lay the unknown, the path unclear; behind him, only bewilderment and a bitter road back.

Kadi's heart churned like boiling water, GURGLE, GURGLE, unable to settle.

I am ready.

I think you are too.

Xiso's warning was no joke; as a monster of Guru Mountain, I understand that completely.

Everything now rests on you, Igor.

I trust you. You led me out of Ghost Wind Valley and found the Moonflow Stream. I believe you'll also be able to cross this White Swamp and lead me through the Eternal Tranquility Realm.

Please, Igor!