Dead Knot

Let the White Bull's steps retreat just a tiny bit.

"...That's how it is. The reason Silver Lamp was wholeheartedly trying to destroy the world had its roots in the Grey Fox Inheritance in the Dead City. Perhaps when she was young, Silver Lamp once strayed into the Dead City and successfully made it back out, but she wasn't Black Crow. She couldn't pass through the Mist Door without paying a price, and the necessary condition for crossing the Mist Door was to accept in full and inherit the Grey Fox Artificer's final will."

"Once she left the Sanctuary, she was destined to have no choice but to face the difficulty head-on."

On the sixteenth level of the Silent Helix, Igula told Ash everything he knew. Ash silently nodded after listening, but then asked an unrelated question. "You actually knew this back in the Dead City, didn't you?"

Because you never asked... Igula instinctively wanted to brush it off like that, but when he saw the Heretic Leader quietly gazing at him, the words on his tongue turned into a fierce but hollow retort. "Are you accusing me?"

"I'm not accusing you. How could I take it out on you? If Silver Lamp's purpose in luring us to the Dead City was to make us learn the truth, then she should have been the one to tell us. It wasn't your responsibility. Besides, I'm hiding plenty of Secrets from you too. What right do I have to blame you for holding back from me?" Ash said softly. "I may be selfish too, but I'm not so selfish that I think everyone else ought to be selfless."

"I'm just a little sad."

"I'm sad in just the right way. I can understand your good intentions, and I also know the problem