Yan Zhi's vision began to double, and her body still had not recovered. She took a deep breath, struggling to shake off her weakness. "I'm fine." She forced herself to stand steady, though her voice remained faint. "Just a little dizzy."
"Let's keep going a little farther," Jiu Jia Yi said with determination. "We'll find a way out eventually."
Though doubt and fear still filled her, Yan Zhi nodded. Her steps were heavy, but she knew she had no other choice.
Yan Zhi's thoughts were in chaos, dragged around by a powerful whirlpool in her mind. She felt as though she were trapped in a reality that grew more distorted by the moment. Every tremor in the air threatened to make her lose herself and her sense of the world around her. She looked at Jiu Jia Yi's hand clasped tightly around hers. His eyes were still resolute, but he could not hide his exhaustion.
She knew the end of this journey might be nothing like they imagined. A voice deep inside told her this place had long since become more than an ordinary space. Perhaps it embodied a fate they could not escape.
"Can we really get out?" she asked softly, her voice nearly swallowed by the strange glow. She knew that if she let her fear grow, she might truly lose herself in this boundless mist.
Jiu Jia Yi did not answer at once. He stopped and looked up at the brighter light ahead. It resembled an enormous whirlpool, swallowing everything. His expression was conflicted, as though he were silently resisting some invisible pressure.
"I don't know," he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But we have no choice. Going on is our only hope."
Yan Zhi heard the weight in his words. It was not fearless resolve, but the helplessness of someone pushed to his limit. A powerful emotion surged through her—fear of the unknown mingled with unease about her fate.
"What if... what if we can't get out?" Her voice trembled, betraying the fear deep inside her. "What if all of this is just a trap?"
"If it's a trap, we still have nowhere to go back to." The cold reality of Jiu Jia Yi's words silenced Yan Zhi. She saw the fleeting resolve on his face, and some of her unease subsided.
"I know you're afraid," he said gently. His voice was still calm, but the unspoken emotion in his eyes caught Yan Zhi off guard. It seemed to be more than sympathy. It was a sense that they depended on each other.
Yan Zhi looked at him, her heart beating faster. She suddenly realized that this journey into the unknown tested more than their bodies. It tested their hearts as well. She and Jiu Jia Yi were no longer merely companions. They shared an unspoken understanding, as though some bond deep within them had been quietly passing between them all along.
"I know," she replied softly, determination flashing in her eyes. "We can't stop."
Suddenly, Yan Zhi felt as though she had found new strength. She was still exhausted, her thoughts still muddled, but a strange urge had replaced the fear in her heart.
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