Shadow Mist Zone.
From the outside, it looked as though it were shrouded in dim light. Yet only after Iyadase stepped inside did it realize that the Shadow Mist Zone was not nearly as dark as it appeared from without.
Within the Shadow Mist Zone, light and shadow still drifted.
If the outside world, illuminated by firelight in the sky, looked like midsummer nearing dusk and draped in rosy clouds, then the Shadow Mist Zone was like a winter morning beneath unbroken overcast skies.
Though dim light surged and churned, it did not greatly impede vision. Yet the moment Iyadase entered the Shadow Mist Zone, it closed its eyes.
Iyadase clearly remembered a line used to describe the defense mechanism in the mural atop the Void Giant Tower: Light and shadow are tricks meant to deceive the eye.
Iyadase had not understood what those words meant before. But now, upon seeing the light and shadows surrounding the Shadow Mist Zone, it understood a little.
The light here looked entirely different from the light outside, carrying a distinctly false quality. Iyadase even suspected that the scenes reflected in its eyes might be nothing more than projections of its past memories.
After Iyadase closed its eyes, though it could no longer see its surroundings clearly, it did not affect its judgment. In fact, through its spiritual perception, it saw a world completely different from the one it had seen with its eyes open.
The Shadow Mist Zone was called such because, from outside, countless black shadows could be seen moving within it.
The moment Iyadase entered the Shadow Mist Zone, it noticed those black shadows. The closest one was rapidly approaching it.
With its eyes open, those shadows were merely black, indistinct shapes. But after it closed its eyes, they took on