Qingge and Yelan continued to search their surroundings, while Lumine, Paimon, and Itto worked together, and Kuki Shinobu and Yanfei teamed up.
After some time, the group reconvened.
Yelan: "We found nothing on our side. What about you?"
Itto: "This cursed place is so strange. We can't even find anything unusual."
Yanfei: "I'm sorry, we didn't have any luck either."
The group fell silent.
Yelan: "I regret to inform you all of some bad news. It's very likely we'll be stuck here for a long time, until we find an exit."
"Qingge, get some rest. You don't need to follow me."
With that, Yelan left to continue searching for clues elsewhere.
Mu Qingge found a spot to sit down.
Kuki Shinobu gathered some branches, started a fire in a corner, and pulled out the Lavender Melons she had been carrying.
Lumine approached. "Shinobu, are you roasting Lavender Melons?"
"Mm-hmm. Lavender Melons are delicious. Try one. They're not as good as Little Sister's cooking, but they're still pretty good."
Paimon crowded around too. Seeing food, she immediately turned to Lumine and exclaimed:
"Lumine, let's heat up the delicious food we brought for Qingge. It'll taste so much better warm!"
Lumine took out a meat pie, which had indeed grown quite cold.
Using a twig, Lumine propped the pie near the campfire to warm it, while Paimon waved her tiny hands and called out to Mu Qingge:
"Qingge, come here! Hurry!"
Qingge opened her eyes and made her way to the fire.
Paimon excitedly pointed at the meat pie she had been eyeing for days. "Look! Lumine and I brought you this amazing treat from Inazuma. It's incredibly delicious!"
Lumine chuckled. "Yeah, if I hadn't been watching, this little glutton would have secretly devoured it all before we even got here!"
Paimon blushed in embarrassment. "That's not true..."
She glared at Lumine, huffing indignantly.
Lumine grinned. Teasing Paimon was a good way to lighten the mood when things got dull.
Itto also stared at the pie, not out of hunger but because Yuna had packed similar ones for him and Shinobu when they left. Despite eating them for days, he hadn't grown tired of them.
Their supply had run out during the journey, though.
I miss Yuna so much... and I really want to get out of this awful place!
Qingge looked at Paimon in surprise. "This is for me?"
"Mmm-hmm! This was made by Inazuma's most famous chef, Kuki Yuna—Shinobu's younger sister! It's absolutely delicious, you know~"
Qingge accepted the meat pie from Lumine and took a bite.
"How is it?" Paimon asked, her eyes fixed on Qingge's expression.
"Mmm, it's excellent!" Qingge replied, a look of satisfaction spreading across her face. Paimon grinned widely, thrilled that her favorite food had won someone else's approval.
The pie was quite large. Qingge tore it into pieces and shared it with everyone.
Kuki Shinobu: "The Boss and I have already eaten plenty. We'll have roasted Lavender Melon later, so don't worry about us."
Itto: "Shinobu's right."
Lumine also declined, as she and Itto would be sharing the roasted Lavender Melon.
In the end, the pie was only divided between Yanfei, Paimon, and Yelan, who was absent.
"Wow, this is so good!" Yanfei exclaimed, surprised that such a simple-looking pie could taste so incredible.
"Here, Paimon, have some more," Qingge said, offering her another piece. The little fairy had endured the passage of several months in a time-warped storyline where everyone else only experienced a week at most. Poor thing, Qingge thought.
After resting, Qingge went to find Yelan.
"Didn't I tell you to get some rest?"
"If I rest, who's going to bring you food?"
Qingge handed the pastry to Yelan and said, "Try it. It's delicious."
Yelan accepted the pastry and turned to leave. "Listen to me—go back and rest. Leave finding clues to me."
With a helpless shake of her head, Qingge finally went back to rest.
-
An indeterminate amount of time passed.
Paimon circled endlessly, occasionally glancing at Lumine before returning to her dizzying routine.
Soon, led by Paimon, the group noticed a peculiar phenomenon: each of them seemed to perceive time differently. Moreover, ever since eating the biscuit, none of them had felt hungry—not even the notoriously gluttonous Paimon.
What's more, Paimon insisted that months had passed.
The game's hyperrealistic graphics and immersive atmosphere sent chills down the spines of players experiencing this segment.
Many even began to wonder if such stunning visual fidelity might not be entirely a blessing.
-
Just when everyone was at their wits' end, good news arrived from Yelan's side.
"Everyone, we've just discovered a new path over here. It seems to lead to an unknown area."
"A new path?"
Itto: "Is it an exit? Great!"
Paimon: "An exit! An exit! Have we finally found the exit?"
Kuki Shinobu: "I don't think it'll be that simple. We should all proceed with caution."
Mu Qingge had a rough idea of the upcoming events, but her understanding was incomplete. Her main consciousness was still trapped within the Domain, unable to provide her with more detailed guidance.
Yelan shattered the illusionary stone wall, revealing a new path before them.
Wary, the group advanced, only to discover another Domain at the end.
With no other choice, they entered together.
The Domain was somewhat complex, but it posed no challenge to Mu Qingge.
Aside from her vast knowledge, the sheer number of trial-and-error attempts her main consciousness had made within the Domain provided her with ample experience.
"Wow, Qingge, you're amazing! I thought Lumine was the best at solving puzzles, but you're even better!"
Lumine: "Paimon, if you're going to praise someone, why do you have to put me down at the same time?"
"Hehe, I'm praising you too..."
Qingge seemed to have noticed something. Listening closely, she could hear the sounds of combat.
"Xiao?"
Lumine recognized Xiao's voice immediately.
Yelan: "The Conqueror of Demons? So he's here!"
Qingge: "This seems to be just a projection. He must be in trouble."
Xiao still hadn't appeared before them, and Mu Qingge suspected he might not even know they were there. She theorized that the trouble Malice had caused here was significant, likely exacerbating Xiao's difficulties and preventing him from finding a moment to spare.
Tch, it's all Malice's fault!
Just then, a spatial rift opened on the platform, revealing Xiao's silhouette.
"Xiao!"
"The Conqueror of Demons!"
Paimon reached out to touch him, but quickly realized it was only a shadow.
Xiao seemed to sense the commotion. "You are...?"
Lumine: "We have Yelan, Yanfei, Qingge, and two friends from Inazuma here. We came to rescue Qingge, but we're trapped here now. Xiao, what's happening on your end? You sound injured!"
Xiao's voice was weak: "Qingge... she's safe? Thank goodness... I'm sorry, I haven't been able to... fulfill the Geo Archon's o..."
His voice faded in and out, causing the group to grow increasingly anxious.
"You... must leave quickly. This space... something's wrong... it feels like..."
Before Xiao could finish, the spatial rift snapped shut.