Falling into the Abyss

In a valley deep within Holy Land Island, Vana, who was leading a team to set up camp at the tunnel entrance, received word from the cave. Her eyes widened in shock. "Shirley and A'gou are missing?"

"Strictly speaking, they were 'transferred' somewhere by some sort of spacetime mechanism within the cave," Duncan's voice echoed in Vana's mind. "Have you observed any changes on the surface?"

"No, everything on the surface is normal. Amber just led a team to search the depths of the valley. Other than several empty cabins and some human remains consumed by the island, they found nothing," Vana replied immediately. "The island is very quiet right now..."

Inside the underground cave, Duncan nodded slightly after hearing Vana's report from the surface, then turned his gaze toward Morris and Alice beside him.

"Everything on the surface is normal. Holy Land Island has not shown any signs of 'coming alive.' It seems Shirley and A'gou encountered something different from what those Annihilation Cultists encountered."

"Where did they go?" Alice looked deeply anxious. "Didn't you say you could still sense their 'marks'? Are they all right now?"

"They're alive, but they're somewhere I can't locate. I suspect..."

Duncan stopped halfway through his sentence. He did not rashly state any conclusion, but he clearly already had a guess. After a brief silence, he raised his head and looked thoughtfully into the depths of the cave.

In the murky darkness, something enormous stood there in vague outline.

Whenever he blinked, a gigantic prism surrounded by countless cables and pipes appeared there. Lights flickered across its surface, as though it were issuing a silent invitation.

He walked over and let the flames drive back the darkness. In the light cast by the spirit fire, a magnificent Gate stood silently, as though embedded