Chapter 126 Avatar of Harmony (4)
Three days have passed since the incident of the sound without echo occurred. Since that moment, Hugo had not returned to his room. He locked himself away in a pitch-black meditation room, its walls adorned with rows of jet-black obsidian stones that reflected the faint glimmer of the mysterious underground ruins from which the stones were taken. The atmosphere around him felt oppressive, as if a breath of fear enveloped the space. No one dared to approach; even the walls of the Tower creaked softly, producing a subtle sound that seemed to invite the world to hold its breath in a tension that was almost palpable.
In the midst of a magic circle composed of shimmering aeonic salt crystals, Hugo stood, his figure almost like a shadow—lacking in light, as if trapped between the real world and the realm of unconsciousness. The light that never illuminated softly reflected off the salt grains, creating a mystical aura surrounding him.
Fitran appeared silently, entering the room quietly without knocking or calling. Nevertheless, his presence never went unnoticed by Hugo, who understood the significance of that moment even without a word being spoken.
"I was wrong back then. What I translated was not pure Proto Speech," Hugo said, his voice heavy with regret as he avoided looking at Fitran. "It was merely its shadow. Its reflection in the depths of the subconscious."
"Shadow Speech..." Fitran murmured, his voice barely a whisper, as if repeating a word that had unveiled a new, unsolved mystery.
Hugo nodded slowly, his face shrouded in shadows of weariness and deep exhaustion, as if an inner battle had concluded but left profound scars within him.
"This language does not change the world in a tangible way. It only reveals what the world hides from itself. When I read its shadow, I... saw Gamma," Hugo said in a hoarse voice, as if divulging a forbidden secret.
"Gamma?" Fitran asked, his voice trembling with sharp curiosity and an unease that crept from behind his lips.
"No. It hasn't disappeared, not truly gone. It's just not remembered. The world hasn't forgotten Gamma because it vanished, but rather because the stones that once spoke its name have been silenced," Hugo replied in a heavy tone, as if a burden of dark history clung to each of his words.