Why had you grown old?
That was what the newly appeared member of the Crystal-Eyed Race said to Kasata.
Taken literally, he seemed to be "lamenting" or wondering why Kasata had suddenly grown old.
But the deeper implications were rather intriguing.
First of all, he had to know Kasata. In other words, the "old friend" Kasata had been muttering about earlier was probably this person.
And an old friend meant a longtime acquaintance or companion. It generally referred to friends who had known each other for many years. Kasata had joined the Council of Elders six hundred years ago, and the natural lifespan of the Crystal-Eyed Race generally ranged from seven hundred to a thousand years. Kasata had clearly reached the twilight of his life. His old friend was most likely several hundred years old as well.
Yet this member of the Crystal-Eyed Race wearing a single earring looked more like a young man than an old one. That was the first suspicious point.
Furthermore, since Kasata had already reached the final stage of his lifespan, without any outside intervention, his appearance growing old was simply the natural order of things.
In other words, at Kasata's current age, he ought to have shown the signs of old age already.
Taking that into account, the words of that single-earringed member of the Crystal-Eyed Race became very interesting.
Combined with the earlier speculation, he seemed unable to understand why his "old friend," Kasata, had suddenly become so decrepit.
It was as though he had slept for far too long, or had been cut off from the world for far too long—living in a utopia where time had been frozen, utterly unaware that the years outside had flown by.
That left plenty of room for wild speculation.
Where had he been before this?