Yui and Nai froze, then hurriedly asked, "What's wrong, Orochimaru? What happened?"
Orochimaru blocked their view, so neither of them could see what was inside the doorway. For a moment, they felt uneasy and bewildered.
Orochimaru didn't answer. Beads of cold sweat visibly trickled down his forehead as he kept shaking his head and backing away.
"What's wrong?" Yui asked anxiously, rising onto her toes to peer past Orochimaru into the room.
"What is that?"
What she saw made her freeze. It was a pitch-black mass, like a cloud of smoke, with a small vortex forming above it. As she watched, it kept expanding.
Instinctively, Yui felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet and shoot straight up her spine, sending shivers through her.
"Orochimaru, what on earth is that?"
"Phew..." Orochimaru took a deep breath, trying hard to steady his breathing. He shook his head. "I don't know what it is either, but my instincts tell me it can't be anything good."
"This ruin feels strange. Though the layout is the same, it's a little different from the ruin I entered before."
At some point, a tremor had crept into Orochimaru's voice. He collected himself and slowly said, "In any case, let's retreat to a safe distance before deciding what to do!"
As the vortex within the black mist spun faster and faster, the panic in his eyes deepened.
"But... the stone door behind us has already shut. Where can we hide?" Yui asked uneasily.
Orochimaru shook his head helplessly. "Let's just back away first! Maybe we can figure out a way to reopen the stone door."
"That's our only option now."
"Right!" Yui nodded gravely and retreated one step at a time on her long legs.
Nai Hyuga looked back into the darkness as she distractedly