"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Wave after wave of earth-shaking crashes echoed through the air, as though a colossal creature had finally collapsed.
"You..." Ember murmured in astonishment, instinctively turning toward Adrian, even though he couldn't actually see him.
Adrian gave Ember a light tap on the back. "This isn't the time to get sentimental. Let's move. This place reeks."
With the monster's disappearance, the black mist before them gradually began to thin. Little by little, it faded away, revealing a broad path.
The door ahead of them stood wide open, silently waiting for them to step through—as though it were a trap prepared long in advance.
But they had no other choice. There was no way back, so they could only keep moving forward, no matter what.
Each step they took left distinct footprints across the floor, where a thick layer of dust had settled over the years.
A bleak, weathered Lotus Park.
The other world.
The very place the strange bus had brought them to that night.
