"Whew..."
Yui took a deep breath and, guided by Nai Hyuga, slowly descended from the air and set foot on the ground.
"We flew for three hours in all." She glanced over her shoulder at the vortex of black mist, looking thoughtful. "This time, that strange black mist didn't send us somewhere else. It brought us straight to our destination."
Understanding her confusion, Kazama Ya chuckled and explained, "Heh... Here's something you don't know! Every space has a fixed passage leading to this desert. Find it, and you'll always be transported here."
"But if you want to go back after coming in, sorry, that's down to luck. You'll be sent to a random space."
"So you can see just how lucky Nai Hyuga was to arrive in that exact space and meet you."
"So that's how it works!" Yui nodded to herself, understanding the reason now. Coming back to her senses, she surveyed her surroundings.
Sunlight poured down, its glare hurting Yui's eyes after they had grown accustomed to the darkness. After a little time to adjust, her vision finally returned to normal.
Before her lay a vast, boundless desert of golden sand beneath a blue sky dotted with white clouds. Everything seemed perfectly real.
"Whew..." Yui drew a deep breath, then suddenly remembered something. She stiffened and whipped her head around. Finding no sign of that familiar figure, she asked, "Right, Kazama Ya, weren't we supposed to get that bear's help?"
"I was in a bit of a hurry just now. I think I forgot to bring it along. That shouldn't be a big problem, right?"
"You mean that stinking bear?" Kazama Ya considered for a moment, then said calmly, "It's fine. You can just summon it here later."
Before Yui could say anything, the Gourd at her waist