Seeing the state of these waters, Shade would not have been surprised even if a Water Ghost had surfaced the next moment.
Ellie clearly did not want to enter the water here, but fortunately, this was not their destination. They followed the calm underground lake in the cave toward the right. Upon reaching the edge of the cave wall, they noticed a passage like a rift.
The gap was not even as thick as a finger. Even if someone noticed it in the darkness, they would not pay it any mind, but this was the entrance to the spring eye.
Shade softly recited an ancient incantation in the local tongue of the Fatu People, and the rift widened enough for an adult to pass through. Shade and Ellie entered together. The passage inside curved slightly, but it appeared to be a natural tunnel within the mountain.
Faded murals covered the walls on both sides. After walking for less than half a minute, they saw the Cold Pool at the end of the passage.
Although this spring eye was also connected to the water system within the Snow Mountain, it was not connected to the cave lake outside. Though called a "spring eye," water did not actually surge up from underground. Its water came from droplets falling from the stalactites above and beads of water flowing down the rock wall at the end of the passage.
Those streams gathered in the "spring eye" below, which was less than two meters deep, before continuing to seep into the mountain through cracks at the bottom. No matter the season, this "spring eye" always remained full. As long as the Fatu People did not take too much water when they Came Here to collect it, its water would never run dry.
As she followed