Wizet repeated Hermes Trismegistus's words. "There's really no difference at all between a single ember and a blaze?"
"That's right!" Hermes Trismegistus nodded. "It is merely something that brings enlightenment, yet the rock regards it as a privilege."
"The rock believes that even sharing a single ember destroys its uniqueness and dilutes its own value... though it truly possesses very little value to begin with."
"Of course, at least in our eyes, it only has value if it is spread. But the rock fiercely opposed this, so after the conflict ended, the remaining rock used it only for embellishment..."
Hermes Trismegistus did not finish his sentence. He seemed to have spotted something, and his expression turned grave.
The moment Wizet saw Hermes Trismegistus's grave expression, one possibility came to mind—the Skeleton Figure had appeared again!
Although he had not encountered the Skeleton Figure during his recent visits to the Otherworld, he knew that it had been drifting through the Otherworld all along.
Whenever he shared his experiences in the Otherworld with Luna, she could sense the subtle changes within it.
At least for Luna, the feeling of gloom hanging over the Otherworld had grown ever more apparent.
Wizet had no doubt about that.
Hermes Trismegistus's staff vanished. Wizet could clearly feel that, the instant it disappeared, he too was enveloped by a layer of magic.
Hermes Trismegistus had likely used the staff as the price to cast some kind of protective magic on him.
At the same time, the Skeleton Figure passed beside Wizet and Hermes Trismegistus, like an anglerfish drifting through the deep sea.
Though Wizet and the others were very close to the Skeleton Figure, the protective magic kept it from noticing them.
"It's clear... he isn't in very good condition." Hermes Trismegistus said. "Our concerns were