Sure enough, a second later...
The deep blue mirror shattered, white cracks spreading across its eerie surface.
Crack, crack...
Sharp cracking sounds echoed in Yui's ears. In just a few breaths, the entire eerie blue mirror had broken apart.
The shattered fragments slowly fell under the pull of gravity.
Once all the fragments had vanished, a pitch-black abyss remained in their place.
"Shobue, what is this?"
Yui stared uncertainly at the black abyss beneath her feet, recalling the enormous Truth-Seeking Orb from her dream the night before.
The two looked remarkably alike. Both were utterly black, without any sense of depth, like vast, flat surfaces.
"Huff... huff..."
Just then, she heard Shobue panting beside her. Only afterward did her voice reach Yui's ears.
"Yui... what I wanted... to tell you today was..."
Shobue's voice trembled, and she hesitated, unable to continue.
"Shobue, you..."
Yui could naturally tell that something was wrong. She moved closer and took Shobue's hand.
At once, the trembling in Shobue's hand traveled into Yui's arm.
"Shobue, what's wrong?" She felt a little surprised. Was Shobue afraid? Afraid of the abyss beneath their feet?
"What exactly is this thing?"
Shobue tugged her arm slightly, pulling her hand free of Yui's grasp. "I'm fine."
She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She had never expected that, even after so many years, she would still feel some fear of what lay below.
"Yui, do you want to know what's down there?"
"Yes!" Yui nodded. Indeed, what lay below was far too mysterious, and she was deeply curious.
Seeing this, Shobue finally spoke slowly. "Down there is Yomotsu Hirasaka..."
"Yomotsu Hirasaka?" Yui exclaimed. "I never imagined Shikkotsu Forest would have a place like this."
Memories from her previous life gradually resurfaced. In Japanese mythology, Yomotsu Hirasaka was the passage