As Yan Zhi and Jiu Jia Yi vanished into the dazzling light, everything fell deathly still. The world around them seemed to be swallowed by an invisible force, and the flow of space grew indistinct. The blinding light gradually faded, leaving only hollow darkness. The suffocating silence and pressure made it almost impossible to breathe.
Yan Zhi opened her eyes and found herself somewhere utterly unfamiliar, no longer in that radiant realm. Thick fog hung all around her, and the air carried a faint, acrid smell, like some unidentifiable decay. She looked down at her clothes. They were still neat and undamaged, as though she had lived through someone else's dream.
She took a deep breath. The air was heavy with moisture, and its suffocating weight made her want to turn and leave at once. But the moment she moved, a familiar voice came from beside her.
"Yan Zhi?"
She turned and saw Jiu Jia Yi standing a short distance away, his brows slightly furrowed. He seemed to sense that something was wrong with their surroundings too. His gaze found her through the fog, anxiety in his eyes. "Where are we?"
Yan Zhi's heart lurched as a sudden, inexplicable tension swept over her. She did not answer at once. Instead, she glanced around. The dense fog hid everything, as though this place did not belong to the real world. Her heart began to race. She had a faint sense that some unknown force was closing in on her from every direction.
"Something's... wrong with this place," she said quietly, unease filling her voice.
Jiu Jia Yi nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on a patch of black mist gathering ahead. "Yes. It feels strange. We didn't pass through here before."
"Right. I... didn't sense this place either." Yan Zhi closed her eyes, trying to find a clue in the short blade's vibrations. But its glow had grown faint, as though some invisible force were suppressing it. She realized that the presence here was unlike anything she had encountered before. Even that dark power had never made her feel danger as clearly as this did.
"Did some force bring us here?" she asked, her voice low and uncertain.
Jiu Jia Yi did not answer. His gaze swept their surroundings as though searching for a sign. "Possibly. But this force is different. It isn't attacking us directly. It's 'testing' us somehow."
Yan Zhi's heart tightened. She saw the same wariness she felt in his eyes. "Testing us? What does it want?"
"I don't know." Jiu Jia Yi's frown deepened. He took a step forward and surveyed the fog. There was no path, no sign of anything, only darkness closing in layer upon layer. "But... I feel like it's watching us."
Suddenly, a low rumble sounded in the air, like a growl rising from the depths. It carried a power neither of them could describe.
Yan Zhi and Jiu Jia Yi turned almost at the same instant. When their eyes met, both wore looks of deep confusion and tension. She felt the sound reverberate through her, as though it had risen from her own heart and seized her soul.
"Where is it?" Yan Zhi whispered, an involuntary tremor in her voice.
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