𝒪𝗏𝑙xt.𝗇𝓔t

‘A Shadow Eye?’ Hearing Noel bring the term up, Valyr went ahead and asked the latter what he meant by that. ‘How do I form something like that? Do I have to use my Shadow Energy to create an artificial eye or something?’

“You’re surprisingly close.” Though Valyr could not see it, Noel’s eyes briefly widened in surprise at the young man’s guess. “However, to be more exact, forming a Shadow Eye isn’t really as easy as just using your Shadow Energy to create an eye.”

“If anything, forming a Shadow Eye involves utilizing the connection you have with the Shadow Plane through your Shadow Energy, and then making use of that connection to be able to see your surroundings properly. If you have a considerably high level of control over your Shadow Energy, then forming a Shadow Eye would be a piece of cake for you.”

‘How about my sense of hearing, though? Do I have to form anything like the Shadow Eye to regain my sense of hearing as well?’ Committing the old man’s words to memory, Valyr posed another question to the old man, causing the latter to shake his head in response.

“The Shadow Eye also allows you to regain your sense of hearing. It just takes a bit more effort after regaining your sense of hearing, really,” said Noel as his voice continued to echo in Valyr’s mind. “If you still have more questions to ask, ask them now. With the amount of Abyssal Energy I have left, I can only answer a few more of your questions before I have to cut this conversation short.”

‘Can’t we just add each other to our respective friend lists and continue the conversation through there?’ Feeling a bit of pressure at how he only had a limited amount of time left to talk with Noel, the gears in Valyr’s brain madly spun as the question popped into his mind.

In response, Noel bitterly smiled. “If that were the case, I wouldn’t have resorted to holding a conversation in your mind in the first place.”

“I’ve already tried it with other people that have come with me to the Shadow Plane, Valyr,” said Noel, letting out a sigh soon after. Unfortunately, the system’s chat function is disabled while you’re in the Shadow Plane.”

‘Is that so?’ Hearing Noel’s words, Valyr bitterly smiled as he let out a faint sigh of his own. Just as he was about to start trying to form the Shadow Eye Noel was talking about, a question popped into the young man’s mind, recalling the last line in the quest’s description.

‘Now that I think about it, would I have enough time to form a Shadow Eye?’

“If your talent and potential is the real deal, you definitely have more than enough time.” As these words echoed within Valyr’s mind, Noel faintly nodded. “However, that does not mean you won’t run out of time. Though the time here in the Shadow Plane is slower compared to the real world by a factor of 7, you only have about 7

/8th of a day’s worth of time to stay here before we have to return to the real world, considering that there’s only about three hours left before sunset.”

‘Mn? What happens after sunset?’ Taking note of Noel’s words, Valyr decided to ask a follow-up question to what the old man had mentioned, which made the latter scratch the back of his head in response as he wryly smiled.

“For the sake of saving energy, something you and I don’t want to witness.” Saying those words, Noel then told Valyr that he would have to end their conversation there for the meantime, but not before leaving the young man with a tip in forming a Shadow Eye.

“Remember. Don’t force it. Just let things take its course.”

“I hope you succeed in doing so before we have to go back.”

Whoosh!

With the old man removing the connection made out of Abyssal Energy from Valyr’s mind, which facilitated the conversation happening between the two of them, the latter was left in darkness and silence once more, leaving him alone in his thoughts as he wondered how he was going to go about forming a Shadow Eye.

‘From what I could recall Noel say to me, I got to use the connection I have to the Shadow Plane through my Shadow Energy to form the eye.’ Deciding to start from there, Valyr gradually sat down on the ground, utilizing his sense of touch to make sure that he sat properly. After that, he took in a deep breath before focusing his attention on the connection he had to his Shadow Energy, which was something he only made contact with whenever he used skills from Shadow Serpent Combat Style.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Though the connection he had with his Shadow Energy was stronger due to how he was in the Shadow Plane, Valyr could not sense the connection at all. If anything, the only thing Valyr could sense at the moment was the faint movement of his heart, prompting him to focus more of his attention towards the connection, slowly but surely cutting off the remaining senses he still had access to.

Whoosh!

One by one, the remaining senses he had access gradually turned numb, only to disappear once a certain amount of time passed. In exchange, he gained higher sensitivity towards the connection he had with the Shadow Energy, feeling that he was getting closer to what seemed like an entrance to a wider world.

Feeling like he was heading in the right direction, Valyr continued with what he was doing, with only his sense of smell so far being the only thing disappearing. By the time his sense of taste had disappeared, he felt that only a small distance separated himself from the entrance that he felt.

Of course, when he had finally made his sense of touch disappear, consciously shutting off all of his senses from the environment of the Shadow Plane…

Swoosh!

He now stood in front of the entrance.