Looking at the other person's attire, and comparing it to the monster he had seen before, Todd hesitated: "Are you really Sutherland?"
The man placed the water bottle on a wooden shelf beside the garden and beckoned to Todd: "Come in, you have plenty of time to ask questions."
Todd followed the man through the garden, past a marble arched doorway, and into a small courtyard with a paved floor and a swing.
Todd glanced at the fountain sculpture shaped like a maid holding a water bottle and stopped in his tracks.
Sutherland turned to Todd and said with a smile, "What do you think? I sculpted her myself."
Todd stared at the sculpture's face and asked uncertainly, "She looks a bit like someone I know."
Sutherland: "Meredis, my daughter."
Todd was startled, but immediately realized what was happening.
This sculpture does indeed bear a striking resemblance to Meredith.
With questions in mind, Todd followed Sutherland, walked around the fountain, and entered the foyer.
The tall, simple ribbed vaulted ceiling, the uniquely styled fan-shaped columns, and the paintings and flowers everywhere—this was Todd's first time entering a mansion in the ancient Tâeaux style.
Sutherland sat down in a recliner and gestured for Todd to sit next to him.
Todd sat down in another recliner as instructed, looked around the room, and asked, "Is this the Soul Space...?"
Sutherland nodded: "If you prefer the name, yes, this is my soul space."
With so many questions at once, Todd didn't know what to ask first.
Sutherland slapped his forehead, as if suddenly remembering something: "Todd, I'd like you to meet my family first. Spria, let the children out..."
From the inner room of the front hall, a middle-aged woman with a good figure walked out. Although time had left its mark on her face, it still could not erase her temperament.
She smiled and pulled out two children, one older and one younger. The older one was a girl, who looked to be around twenty years old, but her speech and actions were like those of a young child.
The smaller one was a boy, about six or seven years old, with a blank expression. He couldn't speak and only occasionally reacted to the outside world.
Sutherland beckoned his wife and children to his side, and for the first time, a smile appeared on his face.
Todd looked at the family and gave them a few perfunctory greetings.
As if sensing what the other person was thinking, Sutherland didn't keep his family for long and gestured for his wife Spria to take the children and leave first.
Before leaving, Spria asked Todd, "Guests from afar, what would you like to eat tonight? I can prepare it now."
Todd, a little embarrassed, replied, "Thank you for your kindness, but please don't bother, I'll be leaving soon."
Spriya looked a little disappointed, but she smiled and nodded, then left the front hall with the child.
After Sutherland's family had all left, Todd asked, "Them...?"
Sutherland seemed to have known all along what Todd wanted to ask: "They are all real souls, not creations of mine in the Soul Realm."
Todd's eyes widened: "How...?"
Sutherland: "During the Great Purge a thousand years ago, most of my family members were killed by a mob. After I was summoned back to life by the Elders, I have been trying to find my family members and bring them back to me through various means, such as spirit summoning."
Todd recalled his meeting with the Sutherland family and felt that something was off.
Sutherland then gave him the answer directly: "My deceased family members, because their souls have wandered for too long and suffered inhuman torment in their lives, have all suffered varying degrees of damage to their souls. In searching for their souls, I and the elders have done our best, but the damage to these souls is so great that it is difficult to restore them to their original state. So, as you can see, their words and actions do not seem like those of normal people."
Todd recalled Meredith's words: Sutherland's wife and children had been tortured for days by the angry citizens of Gutero with all sorts of unimaginable cruelty before dying in agony.
Todd looked up at Sutherland and asked, "Meredith, does she know everything about this place?"
Sutherland: "She doesn't know."
Todd: "Why don't you tell her?"
A look of pain flashed across Sutherland's face for a moment, and after a while, he said, "She can go further only if she harbors hatred for me."
Todd: "But..."
Before he could finish speaking, Sutherland's wife, Spriya, slowly walked over and asked Todd, "Guests from afar, what would you like to eat tonight? I can prepare it now."
Todd was stunned; the other person had just asked that question.
Sutherland gave Todd a helpless look.
Recalling Sutherland's earlier words about the shattering of the soul, Todd immediately realized why Spriya was behaving so strangely.
"Thank you, I've already eaten."
Upon hearing Todd's reply, Spria nodded in disappointment and turned to leave.
Watching his wife's departing figure, Sutherland said to Todd, "Forgive her, she rarely shows symptoms... but today is a bit different, there are usually very few guests here..."
Todd nodded in understanding and continued, "About Meredith..."
Sutherland: "She's a strong child; she can survive out there alone..."
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