Ophelia spoke first, her voice filled with irrepressible confusion, straightforward and blunt.
"Why can't we kill it?"
The shadow beneath the hood was as deep as ink, and the sage did not answer immediately.
She seemed to be in deep thought.
The sea breeze brushed against the edges of her black robe, making a faint rustling sound.
Amidst the silence and the whisper of the sea breeze, time passed slowly, every second stretching long.
"To kill it," the sage finally spoke, her voice cold and clear, like spring water from deep within a glacier, devoid of any ripples.
"It would be too much of a waste."
"A physical entity transformed from a concept... it is better to let the world absorb it."
Ophelia's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her golden eyes filled with incomprehension.
She was accustomed to the directness and decisiveness of the battlefield and felt lost at such an ambiguous answer.
Her gaze instinctively turned toward Klein.
There was a silent plea for help in her eyes, as if asking: 'What on earth is she talking about?'
Klein, however, felt a stir in his heart.
The sage's words echoed in his mind, stirring up layers of ripples.
He stared at the miniature cube in the sage's palm that imprisoned the monster.
The mass of twisted shadows and deep blue liquid struggled in vain within it.
What exactly was the essence of this struggling monster?
The sage's phrase "a physical entity transformed from a concept... it is better to let the world absorb it" lit a lamp in the depths of his thoughts.
He looked at the sage, his gaze full of inquiry: "Could the essence of this thing be... the conceptual manifestation of certain monsters in the sea?"
The shadow under the sage's hood moved slightly, a nod so subtle it was almost impossible to catch.
Her posture carried an imperceptible sense of approval, as if she were satisfied with Klein's keenness.
Klein felt a slight joy in his heart as his guess was confirmed.
This made him feel even more curious and respectful toward the mysterious sage before him.
The knowledge she possessed clearly far exceeded ordinary imagination.
Ophelia's confusion, however, did not dissipate at all.
She did not speak, only moving her gaze back and forth between the sage and Klein, trying to catch any understandable clues from their conversation.
But terms like "concept," "physical entity," and "world absorption" were like a foreign language to her.
"Are there similar existences in the sea?"
Klein ignored Ophelia's bewilderment.
He continued to press, a thirst for knowledge burning in his heart.
The sage nodded again, the movement still small but carrying an unquestionable certainty.
"Must we use a special method to kill them so they can be absorbed by this world?"
Klein continued to explore, each question gradually piecing together a grand picture.
The sage continued to show her agreement. Her answers had no extra words, yet they allowed the puzzle in Klein's heart to gradually become complete.
A new realization formed in his mind: these monsters were not simple creatures. They were manifestations of some deeper, more primal power.
And the way to handle them was by no means simple physical destruction.
"Then what is that special method?" A strong desire for knowledge surged in Klein's heart.
He yearned to know the "special method" the sage spoke of, which would be the key to unlocking all the mysteries of this sea.
The sage did not answer directly.
Her gaze pierced through the night, falling on the plain yet magically shimmering alchemical robe Klein wore.
"You are already researching it."
Klein's heart shook violently.
The alchemical reagents he had refined through Karen's blood to target sea monster pollution instantly flashed in his mind.
He had once thought they were only for purifying pollution, but he had never imagined they were related to the absorption of this "conceptual entity."
He felt a shock like a sudden enlightenment, the thrill of knowledge being fully revealed.
"Hmm... still a bit short," the sage said softly, her voice carrying a hint of subtle evaluation, as if looking at an unfinished piece of art.
Klein was about to ask something else.
But the sage suddenly spoke first.
Her voice remained cold, but in that coldness, Klein heard a unique undertone, carrying a certain expectation, as if guiding a clueless apprentice.
"Do your own work yourself, okay?"
This educational remark left Klein speechless for a moment, even feeling a bit of embarrassment.
It was an interesting contrast to the sage's previously profound and mysterious image.
"That way, maybe you can become a 'sage' too?" the sage added, her voice still cold.
"Ah..." The sage seemed to remember something.
She raised her hand slightly.
The miniature cube imprisoning the monster in her palm flickered with a faint blue light in the moonlight, slowly floating toward Klein.
"My time is running out."
"I'll leave the rest to you."
The cube landed accurately in Klein's hand. The cold and solid texture made his heart sink.
He looked at the struggling monster in his hand, feeling the chaotic power contained within it.
This heavy responsibility had suddenly fallen onto his shoulders.
The sage did not say another word.
She threw out an alchemical magic tool, a miniature metal ring engraved with complex runes.
Spatial fluctuations instantly spread out with her as the center, like a violent tide.
The sage's figure became blurred in the distorted light and shadow, her silhouette stretched and hazy.
In the end, she disappeared just like that, as if she had never stayed there.
Only the howling sea breeze remained, along with the cube still struggling silently in Klein's hand and the massive shock in both of their hearts.
Ophelia stared blankly at the spot where the sage had disappeared.
Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, no sound came out.
She looked at the cube in Klein's hand, which emitted a weak and dark glow.
The monster inside rammed against the transparent cage in vain.
Every impact was like a silent hammer blow falling on Klein's heart.
"She..." Ophelia finally found her voice, her tone carrying disbelief.
"She just left like that?"
Klein looked up at Ophelia.
Her eyes held a trace of confusion and a hint of worry.
"Yeah..." Klein spoke, tightening his grip on the cube. The cold touch made him more alert.
"Let us head back first."
He knew this was not the end, but a deeper beginning.
The sage seemed to have handed this problem to them, along with her expectations for the word "sage."
Ophelia nodded.
She did not ask more, only silently following behind Klein.
Their shadows were stretched long under the moonlight.
The coastline remained quiet, with only the sound of the waves rhythmically hitting the beach.
Klein looked at the cube in his hand.
The monster's struggle seemed to become more intense, as if calling for something or being pulled by some distant force.
He felt a weak and eerie pulling force coming from deep within the sea.
That was the source where the monster had been sealed and the destination it yearned to return to.
Klein looked up at the dark sea in the distance.
How many more "conceptual monsters" were hidden beneath that surface? What did they represent?
What the sage left behind was not just a task, but countless unsolved mysteries and a new worldview capable of overturning his understanding.
A strong premonition rose in Klein's heart.
He was about to face something far more complex and grander than he had imagined.
Ophelia stood by his side.
She did not urge him, only waiting quietly.
She believed in Klein, just as she believed that dawn would eventually come.
Klein took a deep breath.
The sea breeze carried saltiness and the unknown.
He took a step forward, walking toward the distant Silver Scale Harbor, one step at a time.
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