Chapter 3163 — Chapter 3163 State of Transparency

The shadow expanded its senses outward when the abomination appeared on its doorstep, so it knew where the man hunted by the creature had come from.

Out there in a valley at the foot of a hill, not too far from where the shadow's cave was, a small tribe of humans had been setting up crude tents on that day. The shadow assumed that they were merely passing by — now, however, it knew that its assumption had been wrong.

These humans were trying to settle down. The initial scattering of fur tents had grown since then, and their frames seemed more substantial. There were tools and hunting implements scattered around, wooden fences, and half-domesticated wolves gnawing on old bones.

The men were busy hunting beasts and fishing in a nearby stream. The women gathered fruit and berries, while simultaneously dedicating time to small crafts and rearing children. The children ran around and engaged in all sorts of mischief. There were not a lot of elderly around, but those few who had lived to see old age observed them from afar with grumpy discontent.

The tribe seemed like a primitive one, with only a few Awakened champions to guard them against the Creatures of Corruption that dwelled in the forest. They seemed to be at peace, but in truth, their existence was a constant war — a war against hunger, a war against the harsh elements, and most of all, a war against the loathsome rulers of this vast, untamed world.

Humans were wary of the forest. They were wary of the darkness. And so, they fought against the forest and the darkness, slowly pushing both back.

From the looks of it, the tribesmen were just barely learning the basics of agriculture, which had given their nomadic tribe the courage to settle down.

‘It means that they have nowhere else to go.'

The shadow felt a hint of interest.

It knew that agriculture was not born from progress. Rather, it was born from necessity. Nomadic tribes were far less vulnerable to the vagaries of the world, so there was only one reason why they would compromise their established way of life in favor of being tied to a land — there was not enough space for them to move to.

After all, nomads could leave in search of kinder lands in case of drought or natural disaster. They could flee if a powerful Creature of Corruption set its sights on their tribe. Once they became dependent on the land, however, there was no escaping it. Unless they wanted to starve, all they could do was stand their ground and fight — and go extinct if the enemy was too powerful.

The shadow found it mildly interesting, but its interest was aloof. It would not have paid the people any attention... if not for the fact that a group of them was currently standing near the entrance to its cave.

The man it had inadvertently saved was there as well, his wounds mostly healed. The tribesmen weren't holding spears or torches, though, and neither were they trying to enter the cave.

Instead...

They were setting up an altar.

The shadow observed them from the depths of the cave, flabbergasted.

‘For the love of gods, what the hell are they doing?'

The men dragged a large flat stone from somewhere lower down the mountain and placed it near the entrance, using smaller rocks as supports. Then, they placed strange things — fruit, meat, and some kind of beverage that smelled suspiciously like honey — on the altar and stepped back.

They were all wearing very odd garments and headdresses, as well, throwing frightened glances at the cave from time to time. Their faces were pale, but determined. The shadow was focused on something else, though.

‘...Honey?’

It recoiled.

The shadow didn't know why, but it felt a strong animosity toward honey.

The shadow distrusted it.

The humans, meanwhile, lowered themselves to their knees and then sprawled on the ground, kowtowing toward the dark entrance of the cave. Their voices rose in a strange litany, and they kept making noise for a long while.

The shadow shifted uncomfortably. It didn't like what was happening one bit.

The humans continued their ritual for some time, then left. Their pitiful presents remained lying on the altar. In time, the fruit and the meat rotted, while the vessel containing the sweet beverage was knocked over by the wind and spilled.

The shadow, obviously, did not leave its cave to lay claim to these unwanted offerings. It wasn't happy to receive them, but it was rather relieved that the noisy humans were gone.

It settled back into its half-awake state, slumbering in the darkness. Its senses still encompassed the land, so it could feel the world changing as time flowed. The trees grew taller. Two colonies of ants waged a war against each other. Deep in the forest, an eerie abomination had killed a bear, the mighty beast's body hanging limply from the creature's maw.

The realm was teeming with life, and the shadow's placid consciousness seemed to fuse with it, sensing every little facet of the boundless land through the shadows. In that state, it was difficult to differentiate where the world ended and the shadow began; it wasn't keen on making that distinction, either.

Such existence was peaceful in its own way, and while the shadow could not say that it was enjoyable, it did not find the state unpleasant. Its sense of self dissolved into the movement of shadows, and since there was close to no self in that state of inner transparency, there was no joy or discomfort either. There was only the great, endlessly changing vastness of the world. The shadow sensed the tribe of humans, as well.

The tribesmen were busy living their lives. Their settlement slowly grew, and as more of them matured and formed families, new tents were raised on its outskirts. The old tents were being slowly replaced by wooden structures. The forest was pushed back, creating space for a modest field. Some elderly surrendered to old age. Young women gave birth to children. A few of the hunters formed their soul cores and Awakened.

From time to time, the tribesmen made their way to the shadow's cave and performed their rituals, leaving new offerings on the altar. They seemed to have mistakenly decided that the creature that dwelled in the darkness was the guardian spirit of their tribe — the shadow did not care what they believed, so it wasn't going to correct them.

For what it was worth, it seemed that its presence scared away the more discerning abominations, so the tribesmen were benefiting from the shadow's existence, even if the shadow itself had no say in it. These humans were also quite lucky, since no powerful Creature of Corruption had wandered through this land in a long, long while.

They seemed to attribute that luck to the shadow, as well.

In time, the offerings the tribesmen left on their stone altar grew more lavish.

The shadow ignored them, as always. In fact, it ignored the humans entirely, enduring their noisy hymns with a mild sense of exasperation.

That was until, one day, the nature of the sacrifice they brought changed.