"You have two ways to save yourself from Anomaly #79."
"Your first option—and the easier one—is to cut your eyes with this sword and make yourself blind.
"Since Time Desecrator can cut past, the injuries inflicted by it are gained by your past self too.
"You'll become blind by birth in this case, which also happens to be our goal," Richard explained.
"Blind from birth means you never saw Anomaly #79's face. It will stop chasing you."
"Can the injury be healed later?" Neo asked.
"It can't be healed. Any wound caused by the Time Desecrator becomes part of your existence, as if you were born with it. You can't heal something that was never considered an injury in the first place."
He doubted his Immortal skill could heal the injury.
"What's the second method?"
"You go next door to that plant lady. She will trap you in an eternal dream and keep you alive by supplying your body and soul with nutrition.
"You will keep fighting the Anomaly #79 in those dreams until you die," Richard said.
"That doesn't sound like a way to solve our problem."
"It isn't. But it makes sure we don't have to dirty our hands, and the Anomaly #79 doesn't pose any danger to anyone else other than the marked."
After the explanation, they left the place and visited the next door.
The lady there gave the same explanation as Richard's.
The group of Neo, Emma, Jack, and Kane left the room after listening to the lady.
"What will you choose?" Emma asked as they stepped outside the door.
"What will happen if we try to use Resurrection to escape Anomaly #79?" Neo questioned instead of answering.
"I don't know. We never tried it. Why are you asking about it?"
Neo pondered over the Resurrection method.
There was a slight chance Anomaly #79 would not chase him if he killed and revived himself.
'Where will I go if I die?'
'My world's Underworld or this world's Underworld?'
'Would the Shadow Supreme even allow my soul to go to my Underworld? Or rather, would he let me revive and return to this Shadow world? Or does my death count as trial failure?'
He had too many doubts.
Using Resurrection was a gamble, and the risks were too great for him to try it.
'I can only choose between eternal sleep or permanent blindness.'
While Neo was deep in thought, Kane spoke up.
"Are you sure? You will still have to fight Anomaly #79 in your dreams.
"We will make sure your soul doesn't collapse from the battles, but we can't do anything if Anomaly #79 kills you in your dreams.
"You will die. This method will just prolong your life by a few days. Becoming blind is—"
"I've made my choice," Kane interrupted her. "Can I talk to Neo before I go to sleep?"
Emma frowned, unable to understand Kane's choice.
She nodded and left with Jack.
Instead of questioning Kane, Neo stared at him.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I chose the second method?"
"You must have your own reasons."
His warm smile couldn't hide the exhaustion behind his gaze.
"I'm afraid and tired," he said. "Living every day in fear of monsters is exhausting. I used to think my problems would be solved if I awakened, but…"
"Nothing changed. I don't need to fear weak monsters anymore, but the stronger ones. If I grow more stronger? Then I'll need to fight even stronger monsters."
"You still would have to fight Anomaly #79 if you go to sleep. If you don't want to fight, then becoming blind sounds better," Neo said.
"No, ugh, I guess I didn't explain it properly."
Kane tapped his foot on the ground and crossed his arms.
He cocked his head, thinking hard, and chose his next words carefully.
"I'm not afraid of monsters, but the idea of facing stronger monsters I've never seen before. It's the unknown that gives me nightmares.
"Not knowing what kind of monster I would have to fight tomorrow, or what kind of monster would attack me tomorrow is… exhausting. I just can't stop thinking about it.
"But if I go to sleep? I don't have to worry about anything anymore. Sure, I have to fight Anomaly #79, but I know its abilities. In dreams, no other monster other than it will attack me. There is no unknown there."
Kane laughed when he saw Neo's melancholic gaze.
"Hahaha, I bet you are thinking I'm a weak-willed person."
"I'm old. I don't have any ambition or passion. The only thing that kept me going was completing your technique, but now that I've done it, I'm fine with dying on my terms."
Seeing Neo's silence, Kane smiled and touched Neo's forehead with his finger.
Neo had no time to react.
A great amount of information was forced into his head.
It contained Kane's knowledge about sword techniques.
Everything he knew – his understanding, his enlightenment – he gave it to Neo.
Neo blinked when the transfer ended.
"I thought you would lose consciousness. But you aren't even disoriented," Kane said, amazed.
"Where did you find the knowledge transfer technique?"
The technique Kane used was similar to the technique Elizabeth used to teach him Ocean's Embrace.
The only difference was Kane's technique was of a higher level.
Neo instantly mastered the sword techniques thanks to it.
His current level in swordsmanship was the same as Kane.
However, there was one drawback.
Kane's technique passed down everything to Neo, leaving nothing with Kane.
"Where the fuck did you pick up this useless transfer technique, and why did you use it?" Neo glared at Kane. "You gave everything to me, without leaving anything for yourself."
"It's fine. It's fine."
Kane repeated his words, as if to prove it was actually okay.
"This is better than my techniques dying with me. As for where I found this technique… I created it myself when I realized I couldn't teach you my sword techniques directly."
Kane knew he was going to die at Anomaly #79's hand.
He didn't want to leave without teaching everything he knew to Neo.
It led him to create the transfer technique.
"You don't need to worry about me," Kane spoke up when Neo's frown didn't disappear. "I'm a genius.
"It wouldn't take me long to reach my current level even if I'm starting from scratch again."