Echoes of the Past 6

It had to be said.

This had absolutely been a grueling battle.

After nearly half an hour of fierce fighting, the two of them finally found an opening in the monster's defenses. Saruman used an exquisite spell to restrain it, and Karg seized the chance to put all his strength into a blow, burying his battleaxe deep in the monster's chest.

The monster let out a piercing scream.

There was, of course, a trace of relief in that cry.

After all, perhaps the former Star Whisperer had once been a true idealist with a wizard's heart, no different from Saruman, Karg, and the others.

He...

Had most likely only gradually been corrupted by the distortions within this ruin after entering it, becoming the neither-man-nor-ghost creature he was now.

Even his thirst and obsession for knowledge had been twisted. And Saruman himself was undergoing the same process. His excessive, stubborn fixation was the result of this place's influence.

It was hard to say.

If Saruman remained trapped here for much longer, would he become the next Star Whisperer—another lackey and servant of the sleeping evil god within this place?

Saruman understood this perfectly well. Thus, as he watched the Star Whisperer fall, he felt a grim empathy, as though seeing the fate that awaited him. The other man's end gave him the starkest warning.

He had to get out.

He had to escape this place.

Otherwise...

Saruman did not dare imagine what he would become.

"Thank you... You..." the Star Whisperer said with his last breath. "Finally... free. What a pity... I can no longer obtain eternal peace."

At the instant it fell, Saruman saw its eyes regain a fleeting clarity—eyes that belonged to an intelligent being, filled with pain and remorse.

Honestly, perhaps neither Saruman nor the Star Whisperer realized