Chapter 57: Useless Clue
Moon grew severely impatient. "So what is this thing?" He felt like he had either seen or felt this ticking feeling before, he must have... but it wasn’t the same either.
Uon finally decided to give the answer: "This is Vitality Preservation Formation." That was even more cryptic than his entire speech.
Moon looked at Barrett, who shook his head slightly; he looked at Basil next, who also shook his head.
He looked at Uon. "Vitality what what?"
Uon, who was tall and casting a shadow over the three of them, walked past them, getting a chair for himself and sitting down.
"Sir Lucen invested so much beyond our understanding to build these four formations, though the exact history or where they came from is still a mystery...
"This formation has the ability to lock the vitality of a dying person and prevent his death, and that also is defying every known medicinal and healing art known to the tower...
"Some believe it’s an ancient formation maybe as old or even older than the tower that Sir Lucen happened to find, and some say he might have built it himself."
Uon smiled, raising his index finger while making eye contact with the three listening attentively. "But the resources needed to build it are also near impossible to acquire, but Sir Lucen actually built four on the second floor..."
"He built them himself, alone?" It was Basil who spoke this time; his face now without a mask was in disbelief... the backstory Uon narrated and the end result were impossible to believe.
Uon rubbed his nose. "Maybe to say built is a little overexaggerated, but let’s say, he commissioned countless individuals across the tower, each making one small piece of this giant formation, each building a small circle according to what Sir Lucen demanded. The materials and methods were also provided by Sir Lucen...
"And once every one of them was done, he gathered them and assembled what you can see now."
Uon was now done explaining, but Moon wasn’t paying the slightest attention to what he was saying; he lost him somewhere in the middle.
"Moon, do you have another question?" Uon asked with his usual frightening, amiable smile.
But Moon, he wasn’t even looking or listening.
Certain words clung to his ears, his mind...
’Lock the vitality of a dying person and prevent his death.’ This exact phrase rang in his mind, echoing without an end.
Matching what he had been through, what he had felt...
Dying but not dying, being held alive in place against injuries, death, or blood loss.
Moon’s eyes dilated in his attempt to match the elements of everything he had experienced and Uon’s words right now.
Though he also wasn’t sure if it was the same thing; he wasn’t sure if this was what kept him alive both on the first floor and inside the trial.
There was familiarity, but that was as much as he was sure of...
"Moon," Uon called, but Moon was not reacting or able to listen to him. He extended his hand and patted Moon’s shoulder. "Moon, are you okay?"
"Huh?" Moon exclaimed in surprise.
"Are you okay?" Uon asked, concerned.
"No, ah, yes, no no, wait..." Moon was confused, unable to set his words straight. "I need to ask about something."
Uon didn’t rush him; he waited, letting him gather his thoughts, but what he heard wasn’t what he expected to hear.
"If someone gets gutted, his intestines ripped, gets his neck dangling, or entirely cut, gets his arms and legs detached from his body..." Moon spoke of things of his memory, his personal experiences. "Can this thing keep them alive?" Moon pointed at the ceiling.
Uon listened, blinking repeatedly... "Moon, what’s wrong with you?"
"Just answer me."
"What are you even asking?"
Moon’s eyes pleaded. "Please, I need to know."
Uon wasn’t sure what Moon was plotting. At first he thought he wanted to kill someone and wanted to make sure he wouldn’t survive... but it didn’t seem the case.
Looking at his face now, it didn’t seem the case.
Uon, conflicted. "I doubt it; this is just preservation, but there must remain some vitality to preserve," Uon clarified. "And most healing methods can’t reverse that damage either."
"Can this be improved further to lock that small possibility of living?" Moon didn’t give up... If it wasn’t what kept him alive during the trial, then what did...
How did he make it?
Uon thought for a moment. "It might, but still it won’t heal... if, for example, this entire formation was compacted and set on a single person, maybe it could still keep him alive, but it won’t prevent further damage or heal him."
"Who did you say built this?" Moon asked.
"Sir Lucen," Uon replied. He had already said it, but Moon was already stuck in his own thoughts, trapped within his mind.
"How can I see him, when can I meet him?" Moon asked.
He wanted to ask the person in question; he wanted to find his own answers...
He might be acting tough and adapting well, but what he had been through could always creep back... He wanted to know what exactly was happening...
He wanted to understand how it even happened, though he also knew... it might as well be meaningless.
But one question was on his mind: ’Could Lucen be involved in what happened to me?’ he wondered.
But without a clue or an answer, without a single soul to ask.
He didn’t know who they were, the warrior or the man of the bright space... He had never left the first floor and didn’t know which floor had such a sky, or if there was a floor with a sky like that at all.
’Was Lucen one of them?’ Moon’s thoughts ran. ’People of the mountain emblem.’ His eyes fell on the emblem on his t-shirt as his thoughts flowed wildly.
On the other hand, Uon was even more concerned about Moon; he realized he didn’t know much about him, his life, or what happened to him before coming here.
"Remember when we spoke of the golden sword, and this," Uon pointed at the emblem on his robes, "the golden shield?"
Moon raised his eyes, nodding.
"Sir Lucen is the one who established both organizations." Uon paused for a moment before adding, "Did anyone mention the speech tomorrow to you?" he asked Moon.
Moon’s eyes brightened. "Is he?"
Uon nodded. "Yes, tomorrow Sir Lucen will give the speech himself," Uon assured. "But don’t expect him to actually shake hands or anything like that. He visits each branch of the facility, takes a look around, and sometimes he invites a few talents to—" Uon suddenly stopped talking.
He looked behind Moon, who was finally back to normal to a certain extent.
"Who are these two?" he asked Moon instead. "It’s almost time for lunch." He seemed to be in a hurry all of a sudden.
"Oh, long story short, I poached these two. Teacher Samuel said I can take them to you to teach," Moon explained.
"He did?" Uon’s eyes shone in excitement at the word ’teach,’ before his face froze. "No, no, you did what?"
