497 The Array Lord's Inheritance (8)

As for Maha, she felt many complicated emotions as she gazed at the young man's back, but she had little experience with being on this side of the situation so she wasn't sure what to do. However, she had an idea once she looked at the arrays he had created.

"So, how long do you plan on staying frozen? Do you think she wants her body to be treated like this? Like your own personal trophy?"

The young man trembled, but the emotions that had ignited produced only a lonely ember, so it lasted for a brief period. Therefore, Maha continued.

"Oh, I see. You must be using her body to test the effectiveness of your arrays. A bit creepy to me, but I guess it's still be better than denying her proper rest because of your near-obsessive attachment."

The young man shook once more, but quieted down almost immediately after. He believed that excuses would be meaningless; none of them would affect the reality before him.

"Now that I think about it, it's been nearly ten years since you made your first array. Do you remember the look on her face when you told her about it? Her joy was obvious, but there's no way you didn't notice, 'that'. You could tell, couldn't you? That you weren't the one she was looking at. You never brought it up to her, but you knew that she was reminded of her dead husband every time she saw you drawing arrays. That's why you eventually stopped showing her your progress.

However, you never stopped your research. Why was that?"

The young man did not answer, so Maha continued.

"Let me tell you what I think. Even though you were uncomfortable with how she looked at you, you were already enamored by the beauty of arrays. From the very beginning, you never started your research to please her, it was always for yourself. With that said, as a researcher of arrays, will you really stumble after one failed project? Was your devotion to the study that flimsy?"

"...It's not just one failed project. If it was a normal experiment then I could keep repeating it until I was satisfied, but, I can't..."

"That's just an excuse. Surely you know that there's more you can do besides begging for a second chance. You're only pretending you don't know because you don't want to face your mistakes. You don't want to reflect on this incident and acknowledge what you could have done better. You don't want to find the possibility where she could have lived."

"Because I know it exists! I already know it. I already know that I could have saved her if I had done more research beforehand; if I hadn't wasted time panicking when she first fell ill, if I found out about the symptoms from our neighbors. I already know all of that. So why, why should I have torture myself with those facts? Is it my punishment? Is that the price I have to pay for my failure?!"

Faced by his self-hate, Maha approached the young man and placed a hand on his shoulder, but that was the extent of her kindness.

"That's right, it is your punishment. Despite your years of study, you weren't able to save the one person left that loved you. You are a sinner who failed to be of use the one time she truly needed your help. Do you think someone like you has the right to stay here mourning her? No, you must repent and beg for forgiveness."

"That's....but how? How do I repent?"

"The answer is clear. You must perfect your research so that someone else doesn't have to go through the same thing you did. You must leave this village and never return until your journey of penitence is complete. You aren't allowed to stumble here. Besides, wasn't that the last promise you made with her?"

The young man clenched his fists and bit his lower lip, but he had no response. There were no excuses he could make, he had to move forward.

Unaware of the answers presented by his two companions, Shui was taking the next test.

Test 7: Compatibility I

'Watch and give your thoughts.'

While still within the darkness, Shui learnt about the next test, and it was apparent that this one would be special. At first, Shui didn't know what he should be watching, but the answer appeared soon after.

The darkness parted before him to reveal the image of a forest loved by the morning sun. Although he wasn't in the image, Shui could feel the cool, humid breeze that blew and could hear the faint sounds of critters crawling about.

Next was a grassland that seemed to stretch into the horizon. There was nowhere to escape the sun's embrace, but the image evoked a sense of freedom. After that came a swamp with a dark atmosphere. It couldn't be seen, but the swamp looked like the type to hide a terrifying beast in its murky waters.

Following that was the image of a grand savannah, a cool hilly region, an auspicious wide valley and an enormous blessed lake. Each image captured the essence of the landscape very well, but this was just the start. After the seven images were shown, Shui witnessed a scene from a bird's eye view. It wasn't clear at first, but he eventually realized that the bird was flying above the seven regions which happened to be connected to each other.

The bird then flew higher so that all seven regions could be seen from the sky and time began to flow. The sun rose and fell at a constantly increasing pace, and the land also began to change. After about three hundred day-night cycles, Shui could notice the plant life dwindling. This was followed by the shrinking of various bodies of water including rivers and the giant lake. Over time, all seven regions seemed to weaken under the sun until a golden dot appeared at the center.

This golden dot rapidly expanded its domain by biting into the seven regions and devouring them. At this time, Shui realized what he was seeing, and he was proven right several thousand day-night cycles later. A desert had replaced the seven regions, the very same desert that the inheritance was located in.

'Give your thoughts.'

It was time for him to provide an answer for the test, but fortunately there didn't seem to be a time limit so he sorted out his mind first. After reflecting on what he was shown, Shui tried to figure out what part of it he should focus on.

Based on how the desert was formed and its current state, Shui knew that it was the result of an array, likely the one connected to the inheritance and written on the map. He had memorized it, so it could be used as a reference in this case.

In order to answer the question, Shui decided to focus on the core laws used to make the array as this would also lead to the specialty of the Array Lord who made it.