Chapter 680 — Things That Have Passed

"She has spoken with those shadow dwellers more than once, and last time she even dragged me along. She seemed to be trying to introduce me to those terrifying 'ghosts.' I was so nervous I did not know how to react, and those 'ghosts,' as always, gave no response, which made Amber angry for quite a while.

"I even saw with my own eyes as she flitted about the room, wrapped in a shadow force that let her race from one end to the other, and even I, a shadow transcendent, could barely keep up with her speed.

"She even entered a completely sealed room, through some higher-order shadow leap...

"I think I can guess why the Gondorians of old put this little girl inside a vessel... such extraordinary shadow power—perhaps this is precisely the 'achievement' of those ancient Gondorians."

"I truly am curious about the secret behind Amber, curious about what those Gondorians were actually doing here..."

"Curiosity made me recall the things of the outside world. I seized Amber and talked to her at length, describing to her the flowers and trees of the world beyond, describing those vivid colors. She was utterly bewildered, unable to imagine such scenes at all, I think—yet she seemed fascinated, as though what I described mattered to her deeply.

"Guilt came over me. I should never have told her those things... She longs to go out. She wants to see that outside world. Though she cannot say it, I can feel her emotions and her thoughts—but there is nothing I can do. I cannot even get out myself!

"These past days Amber has been restless, and she has begun creating whirlpools and rifts covered in shadow within the room. I told her this is extremely dangerous, but she will not listen. I do not know what she intends to do, but this is truly, truly dangerous!

"...This may be the last diary entry I leave behind in the Shadow Fortress.

"After being trapped so long, after being forsaken by the gods so long, after even I had given up hope... I never thought this day would actually come.

"Amber has opened a rift leading to the outside!

"Though it is still slowly growing and not yet wide enough for a person to pass through, it is truly there before my eyes—bright sunlight and vivid colors, right on the other side of the rift!

"Farewell, cursed place!!"

The diary ended there. The pages that followed were all blank.

A deathly stillness settled over the room. Once even the sound of turning pages had ceased, it was as quiet as a faded oil painting.

After several minutes of unbearable silence, it was Pi Yun who was first to speak and break it: "...When I first saw Sarilendor, he was lying weak in the wilderness, his clothes in tatters, his hair and beard grown long, as though he had been surviving out in the wild for years. And you were sitting there beside him, staring blankly, a rag wrapped around you, neither crying nor fussing—so quiet it was frightening.

"At the time I was hiding from certain people hunting me, a fellow who could scarcely keep his own life, and when I came upon the two of you on the run, my first thought was to get away quickly and leave you to your fate out in the wilderness...

"But just as I was about to leave, you suddenly moved and caught hold of my robe. Do you understand? You looked no more than four or five years old by human measure, yet your strength was unbelievable. You held on to me as though begging me to save the dying man beside you. You could barely speak then—you could only make harsh, rasping noises, sounds no human throat ought to produce.

"I was terrified and panicked. I mustered all my strength and flung you off, but you crawled back up and then, all frantic, thrust something into my hands."

Amber finally raised her head slightly and looked at Pi Yun: "What was it?"

"A heap of gray-black 'moss,'" Pi Yun grinned, the wrinkles on his face folding into ridges, as though the memory were genuinely hilarious. "It took me a good while to understand what you meant—you wanted to use the moss as payment for me to save the man beside you.

"I will never forget the look on your face then. You held out a fistful of moss as though you were handing me a fistful of gold.

"I laughed at you, and then... my heart softened, and I have never been able to shake the two of you off since."

A hint of bewilderment came into Amber's eyes: "I... do not remember at all."

"Of course you do not remember. Your capacity for memory did not stabilize until six years later, and before that, it took you four and a half years just to learn your first word," Pi Yun shook his head with a sigh. "Because your soul is synthetic—you are an artificial human!"