The attack he had imagined did not arrive as expected. The air around him seemed to undergo some strange changes. Moriyue stood still, while the stone door before him slowly opened. Yet the scene behind it was somewhat different from what he had imagined.
He could sense that a force had indeed just tried to guide him into some strange state, only to stop for some unknown reason. In his daze, Moriyue seemed to see an unbelievably long white serpent...
Shaking his head, Moriyue figured that although the Three Divine Maidens had not attacked him for some reason, the door before him had opened. That probably meant he was about to undergo the trial.
The scene beyond the stone door was vastly different from before; calling it an entirely separate world would not have been an exaggeration. Outside the door was a cave landscape formed by cold, gloomy elements such as stalactites, stalagmites, and dripping water. Inside, however, the place was brightly lit, with countless towers and temples, palaces and restaurants rising one after another. Pedestrians filled the streets, and traffic flowed endlessly.
Though it was a cave, it was not dark. Countless lanterns decorated this underground world like a temple fair during the Lantern Festival. Every passerby wore a heartfelt smile, paying no attention whatsoever to Moriyue and the others' arrival as they continued singing, dancing, and laughing merrily.
"Young man, want some ramen? Fresh out of the pot! It smells amazing!" The attendants outside several restaurants eagerly promoted their food to Moriyue. Just catching a whiff from afar made his stomach growl.
The aroma seemed to strike directly at the soul, making one uncontrollably think, Even dying would be worth it if I could just have one bite. Naturally, Moriyue would not stupidly eat food of unknown origin