The Final Volume: A Tiny World in the Dust - Water Body

A few minutes earlier...

Haoyue and Xiao Wu were descending.

All around them was a dim, deep crimson, gradually fading into absolute blackness. Silence stretched in every direction, and the oppressive atmosphere made it hard to breathe.

How long had it been since they entered the worm's mouth? It seemed like only a few minutes, yet it also felt as though several days had passed. At first, they thought their inability to keep track of time was caused by the oppressive, enclosed space. Later, they realized that wasn't the case.

"...Haoyue, how much time do you think has passed?"

"Between nine minutes and forty seconds and nine minutes and forty-five seconds. What about you?"

"Exactly half an hour... How far do you think you've descended since entering this worm's mouth?"

"We've both been controlling our speed, so it can't be very far. About 9,800 meters."

"I've descended three times as far as you."

"..."

"..."

There was no need to say more.

They had both realized something was wrong.

Haoyue was good at keeping track of her biological clock, while Xiao Wu's sense of the passage of time was even more precise. They were equally accurate at estimating distance; even without using their surroundings as a reference, they could tell roughly how far they had traveled. Their senses wouldn't fail them.

If their perceptions differed by so much, it could only mean one thing.

"This worm's insides... aren't ordinary."

"Both our senses of time and space are probably all messed up."

"Maybe it's more accurate to say that time and space inside it are both chaotic."

That alone was enough to show just how terrifying the World Devouring Worm truly was. It was probably connected to its real ability, too.

"For some reason, I think I can guess what this