When Lin Yuan stepped out of the crevice, there was nowhere to place his feet.
A rapid whistling sound came from the darkness, and his body plummeted downwards. Lin Yuan reached out to grab what was beside him, but his fingers touched not rock, but a spatial boundary that was rapidly closing in.
Black and silver magic gathered beneath his feet, and a folded space supported his body, gradually slowing his descent.
After walking more than ten meters, Lin Yuan landed steadily on the hard ground.
The surroundings were not completely dark.
The rock walls on both sides of the cave emitted a faint phosphorescent glow, barely illuminating a passage that stretched to the left and right. The ground was very damp, and the rock walls had an unprecedented grayish-white color, with fine, vein-like patterns distributed on their surface.
Lin Yuan didn't rush to observe further; he immediately turned around and looked behind him.
The black rift that brought him into this world is closing. The entrance, which was originally wide enough for one person to pass through, is now only half a meter wide, and silver light spots are constantly peeling off its edges.
Lin Yuan raised his right hand and sent the Space God-Slaying Magic Power into the area around the crack.
The other side of the rift no longer carries the scent of Pine Needle Mountain. The connection between the Fairy Tail world and this place is breaking; even if he were to step back in now, he would only fall into a disorienting gap between worlds.
A few breaths later, the last black trace disappeared.
The rock face was restored to its original state, as if the entrance had never existed.
Lin Yuan reached out and pressed his hand against the silver pendant on his chest. The pendant was not Enchantment Magic and did not react at the moment, but it confirmed to him that he had not lost anything during his journey.
The travel bag, the Nameless, the guild crest—they're all still there.
He took a Magic Crystal from his bag and placed it where the crack had disappeared.
While in Aincrad, he couldn't find a way out. It wasn't until the world began to collapse that the data rift appeared at the very spot that had initially sent him to the Town of Beginnings.
That may not just be a coincidence.
Even after the rift between the worlds closed, traces might still remain at the locations that once connected them. Lin Yuan didn't have magic power at the time and couldn't verify this conjecture. Now, however, there's no need to wait until he leaves to search for the entrance.
Black and silver magic flowed from between his fingers into the Magic Crystal.
Lin Yuan used the crystal as the center and left six small hollow marks on the rock wall and the ground. The six hollow marks were connected to each other, but did not form a blockage. Instead, they all pointed to the Magic Crystal in the center.
He took a few steps back and closed his eyes.
The surrounding rock walls faded from his perception, but the black and silver light in the center remained clear. Lin Yuan continued to retreat, walking nearly a hundred meters, but the spatial coordinates still hadn't disappeared.
This coordinate cannot open a passage, nor can it send him directly back to Fairy Tail. It can only allow Lin Yuan to find his original location in this world, no matter where he goes.
Simply leaving behind the crystal is not enough.
The underground might collapse, and the crystal might be taken away by people or other creatures. Lin Yuan returned to the original spot, used the Boundary-Severing Blade to cut a thin piece of stone from the rock wall next to him, embedded the Magic Crystal inside, and then rejoined the cut space.
From the outside, the rock face appears to have no cracks.
Even if the crystal is destroyed, the six void marks will continue to record the coordinates of this place. As long as the entire cave does not disappear from the world, he can find this place.
Lin Yuan released his hand from the rock wall only after completing the final inspection.
"Remember this place first."
This is the only starting point he can be certain of in this world, and it may also be the road he will take back in the future.
Lin Yuan turned around and began to observe the cave he was in.
There were no signs of human excavation, yet the passageway was wide enough for several horse-drawn carriages to travel side by side. The phosphorescence on the rock face stretched into the distance, and neither of the two roads seemed to have an end, nor could one determine the wind direction from the ground.
He crouched down to examine the ground.
The damp stone surface bore messy footprints, some from booted humans, but many more resembling those of some four-legged beast. Several dark red stains had dried, and a broken spear lay nearby.
There are people around here, and it's not safe.
Lin Yuan picked up the short spear; the break was very rough, as if it had been bitten off by a tremendous force. There was a small amount of black ash on the shaft, with a few purple fragments mixed in the center of the ash.
Just as he was about to examine the debris, a soft sound came from the rock wall behind him.
It wasn't the sound of stones falling.
Lin Yuan turned around.
The grayish-white walls bulged outwards, and an arm covered in bluish-black scales emerged from the rock. This was followed by a shoulder, a head, and a body with sharp horns.
The rock wall didn't break. The monster seemed to emerge from underwater, leaving the wall intact and landing in the center of the passage.
A second soft sound came from the other side.
Then came the third and fourth tones.
Pairs of scarlet eyes opened in the phosphorescence.
Lin Yuan tossed aside the broken spear and gripped the hilt of the Nameless sword with his right hand.
Only at this moment did he realize why the footprints on the ground only pointed in one direction.
The monsters in this passage don't need to come from afar.