"Empty Shell? You mean that adventurer we encountered before, the one with nothing in his head but a blank?"
He Xi immediately thought of the madman who had possessed nothing but an appetite.
"It should be." Flora nodded firmly. "They select some of the people whose memories have been completely washed away by the stone and cultivate them, indoctrinating them with the cult's teachings before taking them in as absolutely loyal members."
"And the failures, like that madman, are thrown outside to fend for themselves."
He Xi felt a chill run through him.
"So this thing really can erase other people's memories."
He stepped forward, wanting to examine the stone that could turn people into idiots more closely.
"Such strange patterns..."
1
Before he could get two steps closer, he felt his collar tighten around his neck.
Fivik grabbed him by the collar and dragged him backward like an unruly kitten. "Don't stare at magic arrays with uncertain effects. You might end up an idiot."
With that, she walked up to the stone herself. "Let me study what this thing actually is."
He Xi had no choice but to look at Flora again. "Is there anything else?"
Flora nodded, her expression turning somewhat serious. "There's also the Real Name of the 'One' they mentioned just now."
She did not continue, merely giving He Xi a meaningful look.
He Xi immediately understood.
It was best not to learn the Real Name of an evil god or something similar.
"Then... didn't they mention Lily or Annis? We haven't seen either of them along the way..."
He looked toward Rodney. "Right, have you seen a red-haired..."
"Not Annis."
Before he could finish, Rodney spoke up.
"We were commissioned to come here in search of Annis."
"As for the Lily you mentioned, does she