"Man!?"
"That word sounds quite interesting!"
"I feel like I've heard this word before!?"
The guards also stared at Shiyu with great curiosity, carefully observing what made him different from the others.
"Is this why you rebelled against me and threatened me?! Just because of a banned book whose author is unknown? Has it really become your reliance?" the Queen Reiko retorted.
To everyone's surprise, Reiko said with complete conviction, "Even animals have male and female distinctions? What about humans? Don't we have gender distinctions too?"
"If humans also have male and female distinctions, we should certainly know it, yet we seem to know nothing about it and don't even believe it. Why is that?"
"And I'd like to ask you all, can you recall what happened yesterday?" Reiko asked very seriously.
We were together yesterday.
Reiko then threw her diary on the ground and said, "I write things down every day, and these things are preserved in written form. I've noticed that every day, our memories are erased. I don't know why this happens! But I'm certain that something is wrong."
Shiyu then understood and said, "I see. This woman named Reiko is quite thoughtful, unlike other women who live the same day every day."
"So what? Just because he might be a man, you're going to betray the entire Great Inner Palace Country?" the Queen asked, feigning anger.
Kyoko was also staring at Reiko, trying to find the answer in Reiko's next words.
Reiko waved her hand and said, "Kyoko, Meizi, Your Queen, have you forgotten the trials of the warriors of our Great Inner Palace Country?"
"You mean the Warrior Trial, which is a near-death experience? You don't mean you want to take him along for a test?!" Everyone was quite surprised. The Warrior Trial wasn't exactly a secret in the Great Oku City.
Her Queen once decreed that as long as the Warrior Trial is completed, any request they make will be granted.
"That's right! Of that trial where almost everyone died, only Her Queen survived by sheer luck, but she didn't pass the trial and had to withdraw. I choose to believe in this man; I believe he can bring us a miracle! Therefore, I will take him to the Red Sand Sea of Death to complete the warrior's trial."
Reiko's intentions were quite clear. She didn't save Shiyu for nothing; she hoped that Shiyu could complete the warrior's trial with her.
"What's this trial all about?" Shiyu asked curiously.
"There's a passage in my diary that says the Warrior's Trial will be the key to all of this. Complete the trial, kill the enemy, and the merciless curse will disappear. I'm thinking, our memories have been fading, maybe the answer lies in the Warrior's Trial. You don't mean you want to quit at this point, do you?" Reiko asked.
Shiyu quickly waved her hand and said, "Miss Reiko, of course I won't back down. Now that I'm here, I'll do my best to help you. Alright, let's leave here first."
This wasn't a good place to talk, especially since Meizi was still there with her guards, watching them intently. Shiyu walked to Reiko's side, used the Body Flicker Technique, and instantly disappeared from the palace with Reiko.
Immediately afterwards, Shiyu and Reiko arrived at a safe place and then continued their conversation.
"What exactly is this Warrior's Trial all about? By the way, some of your memories were also erased when you entered. I don't know why, but when we talked about Western monsters, you remembered nothing." Shiyu spoke the truth.
Reiko said with concern, "I knew it. It seems everyone in Great Inner Palace Country is cursed. Every day we wake up, we forget everything that happened the day before, and every day is the same. And some things, once mentioned, will have their memories erased."
"No wonder," Shiyu guessed. "I saw that your entire city was surrounded by a barrier. Maybe it wasn't a barrier to protect you, but a barrier to curse you."
"I don't quite understand what you're talking about, but I know that if we want to change all this, we have to head towards the Red Sand Sea of Death. Aren't you also heading west? It seems necessary for you to come with me."
"By the way, I still don't know your name, I only know you're a traveler," Reiko asked.
"My name is Uchiha Shigure. It's nice to meet you, Reiko- neechan." Shiyu was very well-behaved; after all, Shigure was just a boy at this Shiyu, so it was understandable that he addressed her that way.
"Don't bring your camel out yet. We're going to the extremely dangerous Red Sand Sea of Death. Not only is the environment harsh, but the key problem is..."
This time, Reiko interrupted Reiko before she could finish Shiyu.
"I know what's there, but don't tell me, or your memory will be erased," Shiyu warned.
"Yes! That was close! Thank you so Shiyu." Reiko almost blurted out the word "monster."
"Then where the warriors are tested?" Shiyu asked again.
"That place is at the bottom of the Red Sand Sea of Death, "Reiko said.
"Why would there be a sea in the desert?" Shiyu asked, equally puzzled.
"I don't know the specifics, but we'll find out when we get there. It's considered a forbidden area for our Ooku clan; no one has ever been there. The only person to have been there was Her Queen. But as I said, Her Queen's memories seem to have been erased. What happened, none of us know," Reiko replied.
"My God, your city really is City of Oblivion," Shiyu couldn't help but exclaim. However, Shiyu didn't have a good solution to this problem. Shiyu could sense that the barrier surrounding Great Oku City was an energy he had never seen before.
"In that case, let's head directly west. Since we have no intelligence, let's rely on our own eyes to see the facts bit by bit," Shiyu suggested.
"Okay!" Reiko agreed, and then left Great Oku City with Shiyu, heading straight west.
Before long, Shiyu discovered that the west was blocked by several huge sand dunes.
"Where is this?" Shiyu asked.
"This is the Death Dunes, but don't worry, although the name sounds scary, it's actually quite safe here. However, once you cross these dunes, you'll reach the Red Sand Sea of Death, which is our destination. The Warrior's Trial is probably located in the center of the Sea of Death."
Shiyu sensed something was wrong, so she activated her Byakugan and discovered that the interior of the sand dune was filled with barriers and seals.
"It's like walking into someone's trap. It seems like even flying isn't easy now that I'm inside. Who cast this spell?"