"Elisa, should we head back?" The Papalarian, clutching the handle of the bullseye lantern with his short hands, positioned himself against the wall. His bean-like black eyes widened as he peered into the depths of the underground passage ahead, then spoke somewhat timidly.
What he had at hand was not as practical as a torch, but in their previous tumble, the torch was lost, an unfortunate event. He turned around, looking up at Elisa behind him. Our Miss Nightingale chuckled, teasingly, "Alright, Mr. Parker, what's your plan for going back then?"
"I thought you might have a way."
Elisa shook her head. Truthfully, even she didn't know how they ended up in this place. It seemed that during the earth-shaking turmoil, a flash of white light occurred before their eyes, and then they found themselves in this familiar underground corridor.
Yet, familiar only in the consistent surroundings. Both were descendants of Nightingales, skilled at drawing maps, yet after thoroughly exploring, they realized they hadn't been here before.
More crucially, they had gone back and forth numerous times through this maze-like underground corridor, marking every junction. But now, they were back at the starting point again.
Elisa reached out to touch the earliest mark carved on the wall, then observed the surroundings. There were only two possibilities left: one, this was a complete Phantom Realm, and as long as the spell's effects persisted, they couldn't leave the maze if their willpower to resist failed.
The other possibility was that this was a completely sealed maze, so regardless of the direction they advanced, they'd ultimately return to the starting point.
Parker finally gave up and dropped to the ground, spreading his short legs wide, sighing and complaining: "We shouldn't have come to this place, remember what that big toad said... It's the Captain being stubborn; now look, we're in trouble."
As Elisa inspected the surroundings, she jokingly said, "That was a Tada Ritualist, give a bit of respect, Parker."
"Fine, I know. But isn't it because it's not here? Elisa, surely you won't tell it what I said, right?"
"I wouldn't bet on that."
"Oh, alright, it's a Tada Ritualist." The Papalarian's eyes twinkled, smoothly conceding: "In any case, we shouldn't have come here. It's cold at night, hot during the day... A true Papalarian wouldn't set foot in a place like this."
"Giant Tree Hill is better, with favorable climate and abundant resources——always punctual for meals, regardless of circumstances. Papalarians consistently host feasts and celebrations, where there's plenty to eat. Unlike here, even on the platform, one leads the life of an Ascetic Monk, not to mention venturing into these pitch-black caverns."
"Yet I haven't seen you skip a meal."
The Papalarian babbled on, while Elisa occasionally chimed back. After a moment, she suddenly turned to listen carefully, then quickly clamped his mouth shut. Parker's bean-like eyes widened in surprise, his pointed ears trembled slightly.
In the darkness behind them, a rhythmic sound echoed, ding-dong, reminiscent of metal dragged across the ground.
"What is that?" After Elisa released Parker's mouth, the Papalarian mouthed the question.
Elisa shook her head, gesturing at the bullseye lantern in his hands, hinting for him to extinguish the light.
Once the lantern was extinguished, the sole light source in the darkness was their Magic Guided Reactor.
Elisa untied her shawl and covered the Magic Guided Reactor. Although the Papalarian had been complaining, he wasn't foolish. He mimicked her action, lifting his short coat to obscure his Magic Guided Reactor.
Then the surroundings fell into absolute darkness, leaving only their glowing eyes nervously watching in that direction. In the darkness, the dragging sound grew closer and clearer until eventually, an elderly figure hunched over, appeared in their vision.
The old man wore a vivid red robe, dazzlingly new, yet hung his head low; his thin neck connected to a large head, almost worrisomely fragile-looking. His hands claw-like, joined together, and then they saw clearly—his wrists bore heavy shackles, deeply embedded into the loose skin, as if grown into his wrists.
The old man was barefoot, with shackles on his ankles too, trailing a chain behind. The thick chain scraping the ground produced the ding-dong sound, extending into the depths of the darkness as if endlessly.
Elisa initially thought the elder was a refugee brought here by sky pirates, feeling a surge of sympathy, prepared to step forward. But Parker grabbed her from behind, his bean-like eyes wide, shaking his head persistently.
"What's wrong?"
"It's... it's that skeletal frame..."
The two communicated through lip-reading, a question and answer exchange. Elisa paused, suddenly startled, remembered what it was—the vivid red robe on the elder matched the outfit on the vanished corpse they'd encountered earlier. She turned to look, feeling more suspicious by the moment.
Yet the old man didn't notice them, dragging the chain forward slowly. Just then, amidst the darkness, a gray mouse unexpectedly scurried out, darting between Elisa and Parker—Elisa, trained rigorously, simply kept silent, subtly avoiding collision with the mouse.