The sigh-like sounds overlapped, forming a viscous swamp that pressed in on Wade from all directions.
He was still falling.
Darkness surged in from every direction. There were no boundaries, no sense of direction, only a cold wind howling past his ears.
"Ha..."
A long-drawn sound came from the depths, like the final breath exhaled by someone at death's door.
Wade's heart pounded like a drum. He tried to open his eyes, but he could see nothing except absolute darkness.
Then he heard another sound.
"Rumble..."
—Like distant thunder rolling through the clouds, like tree roots snapping in the earth, or more like something unimaginably huge turning over in the depths of the darkness.
Wade's heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran through his entire body.
The cold did not come from outside. It seemed to seep from the cracks between his bones.
His body began to tremble involuntarily. The shuddering came not only from the fear rising from the depths of his heart, but also from an uncontrollable physical reaction, like falling into an icy river.
Suddenly, something flashed through his field of vision.
—Before him, close enough to touch, floated a sphere like a sun.
It was dark red, giving off a faint, cold light. From time to time, mist like flames billowed and swelled across its surface before shrinking back again.
Wade's fall immediately slowed, then quickly came to a stop.
He looked up at the sphere, then down at his feet, and discovered that he was floating in a void. Above and below him was pitch-black emptiness.
He had no idea how far the sphere's light extended. Everywhere he could see was darkness.
Wade lowered his head and saw his hands.
The fingers were long and slender, the nails rounded and neat, pale with a