Xiao You felt as though none of this was real. All it had done was sleep, yet three whole years had passed.
"This is it! This is the place!"
A flash of white light streaked past as Kazama Ya darted out of the Gourd, his gaze fixed on the wall before them.
"Waaah... You ghost! Why did you come out again?" Startled, Xiao You instinctively scurried behind Yui's neck and hid in her thick hair.
"Oh? So it's you, little mouse! I never thought you'd be so scared of me." Kazama Ya floated behind Yui and reached out to stroke Xiao You's forehead.
The gesture frightened Xiao You terribly. In a flash, it darted into Yui's sleeve. "Yui, I've decided. I'm better off staying inside..."
"Stop teasing it." Yui quickly turned sideways to face Kazama Ya herself, then shook her head and pointed at the wall before them. "Are you sure this is where Nai Hyuga left?"
Seeing Yui's reaction, Kazama Ya lost interest and sighed, muttering that she was no fun.
He floated back to the wall and nodded firmly. "This is definitely where Nai Hyuga left. This wall is an illusion. It's fake. Walk through it, and there should be a staircase leading upward behind it."
"What do you mean, 'there should be a staircase'?" Yui was puzzled. Looking at the incongruous stone wall, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
She asked again, "From what you told me, you must have spent a long time in this huge cavern, right? Since Nai Hyuga went through here, don't you know what's behind it?"
"Can't you say for sure?"
"Well..." Kazama Ya froze, puffed out his cheeks, and said indignantly, "Isn't that obvious? I've never been in there! How would I know there's a staircase?"
To prove