Nana shivered.

Maya, who was bathing her, paused: "What's wrong? Is the water cold?"

She also felt that the temperature of the lake seemed to have changed... Maybe it was because the sky was getting darker? She thought there was no night in this world.

A faint light shrouded this small island, but when you looked up you couldn't see the starry sky, you could only see a darkness that seemed to be flowing.

This is the bottom of the sea after all - Maya explained to herself, but the growing uneasiness came from nowhere and surged up like waves.

Perhaps it's because her companions have yet to be rescued.

Nana lowered her head and stepped on the water listlessly, as if she suddenly lost her energy.

Then she pulled Maya's fingers with her paw: "Shall we go back?"

Maya couldn't help laughing: "Did Nana miss Is?"

Nana let out a long sigh like an adult - no, actually she didn't really want to, but if she didn't go back, Yisi would spit out fire and roast the little dragon!

Just because she played a little more.

It's so difficult for her! She must be the little dragon who has the most difficult life in this world... in all the worlds.

Maya stood up holding the little dragon in her arms. She also wanted to leave. No matter how dangerous it was, she should be with her companions, or at least do something useful.

"Let's go say goodbye to Darriel," she said, "and see if he can get us back to the expedition ship."

There were some more powerful weapons on the ship...why hadn't she thought of that before?

She didn't even contact Bass.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that as the captain, she had completely failed in her duties... What happened to her?

Self-blame distracted her, and she almost bumped into Darriel.

The boy who appeared silently looked like a ghost in the dark night, his light blue eyes had lost their luster, they were dark, cold and hollow.

"Where are you going?" he asked softly, "Isn't it nice here?"

Maya felt ominous. Before she could answer, the boy had already answered: "You can't go anywhere."

The voice was flat, without any emotion, but it sent a chill down Maya's spine instantly.

She hugged Nana tightly, but Xiaolong poked his head out of her arms without fear.

"We are going home!" she said, "I will come and play with you next time, otherwise Is will tear your cocoon off, he is so powerful!"

Maya and the boy froze almost at the same time.

"...'Cocoon'?" Maya's voice was trembling slightly.

"...can you see it?" The boy's voice was as soft as floating in the water, coming from nowhere.

"Of course!" Nana puffed up her chest proudly, "Real and fake, existing and non-existent, Nana can see everything, Nana can see whatever she wants to see!"

"Then...don't you hate it?" The boy asked carefully, "I...am different from you."

"Why do you hate me just because you are 'different'?" Nana asked strangely, "Maya and I are also different, and she likes me!"

Even though her mind was in turmoil at the moment, the blood in her body was cold, and she even wanted to spank this little dragon who knew everything but only cared about playing with herself... Maya still curled her lips unconsciously.

But the next moment she couldn't laugh anymore.

Darriel seemed to laugh too. Maybe it was because he knew his true face, but that smile looked weird.

"I also like Nana very much." He said, "I like Nana very much. So..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but obviously he didn't need to - so he didn't plan to let him go.

Maya couldn't help but opened her mouth to curse... No, she opened her mouth to have a good conversation with him, but everything around her began to fade away quickly, as if she was dizzy by water, the palace was looming, and the people who were following her feet were rubbing against each other.

All kinds of small animals... disappeared in an instant as if swallowed by darkness.

Even Darriel is missing.

Maya stood frozen for a moment and pressed her left wrist.

White soft light rippled out from a light golden gemstone on the wrist armor, rapidly expanding outward in circles, quickly illuminating the entire space.

A piece of pure white was imprinted in her eyes, even slightly reflecting light like snow... But it was not snow.

It was a piece of intertwined silk web hanging in the air, like a spider web, but much denser than a spider web. Maya tried to prick it with a dagger, and she felt that it was extremely tough - her dagger was enchanted with magic.

Couldn't pierce it.

Moreover, it is very slippery and does not feel sticky at all.

It even looks beautiful, so beautiful that someone might be willing to cut it into gorgeous clothes and wear them. But with them filling the entire space, it also makes people feel like they are being suffocated by a shroud.

Maya's face turned completely dark.

She always thought it was a small island protected by a magic barrier... Did it turn out to be just such an empty hole with nothing in it?!

No, it's not nothing. The crooked metal golem that always followed Darriel was still there crookedly at this moment.

Now it looked like it was completely broken - or it had been completely broken a long time ago. She could clearly see many breaks and twists, as well as unknown corrosion on the dark metal.

Mark of.

Maya carefully poked it with a dagger, but the thing didn't move. Its hand still held the pile of "food" for Nana, which was as dirty and broken as itself, and it didn't know where it came from.

Trash taken out.

Even though Nana ate it to show that she could eat it, she was still furious.

No longer being induced and deceived, her mind became clearer and clearer every moment, and her anger also increased steadily.

She looked down at Nana, and Nana looked up at her. When their eyes met, Xiaolong shrank his neck guiltily.

Maya gave her a stern look that said, "I'll settle the score with you when I get back." She pinched the sound-transmission stone clamped on her right ear and tried to contact other people.

Sure enough, there was no sound at all.

The connection she thought she had with the Unicorn... was all her imagination?!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She quickly turned her eyes around and lowered her voice involuntarily: "...Where is he?"

Combined with what Nana said before about the "cocoon", she now doubts that the boy's identity is the thing that swallowed them all... But is that memory necessarily true?

The feeling of being deceived and fooled was so terrible that it diluted the fear and nausea that I should have had.

"Which one are you asking?" Nana asked, "The real him is right under our feet."

Maya looked at her feet. She didn't know how many layers of nets there were, and there seemed to be no difference between standing on them and standing on the sand.

"Where down there?" she asked.

"They are all!" Nana gestured casually, "This whole world is his cocoon!"

Maya's mind buzzed.

——A whole world?!

Then... can they really leave?!

She didn't know if she said it unconsciously, because Nana answered her.

"Yes." She said, "There is a hole there!"

She flew up and took Maya around the layers of nets. Her little claws pointed upward: "That's the hole we fell into! First we fell on one net, and then we fell on another net. It bounced.

Bounce, slide and slide, and you’ll come down! It’s so fun!”

Maya sneered:

"Yeah?"

So it's just...a hole. There's no bloody mouth or scary monster. It's just a ridiculously simple trap.

And she seemed to... fainted halfway through the slide?

She, Maya Atted, has never been so embarrassed in her life!

Nana secretly glanced at her face, which turned a little darker, and retracted her little paws in a nonchalant manner.

Maya squinted her eyes and looked up. Through countless layers of netting, she couldn't see the hole at all, let alone climb up.

"Can you fly up?" she asked Nana.

She changed her mind before Xiaolong could answer.

"No, wait." she said, "Why did you suddenly want to go back just now?...Is Is here?"

Xiaolong was dejected and his four legs were hanging in the air: "I don't know, maybe it is. I just suddenly felt so scared."

Maya sneered and poked her head: "So you also know how to be afraid."

She didn't know how long she had been out of contact, but because Nana was here, if Bertram sent people down again, Is must be among them.

And when she heard "Cocoon", she should have realized that Darriel, his body might not be able to move. And his disappearing consciousness... was probably to deal with Iss at this moment.

She showed a vicious smile and stepped on the "ground" hard.

"Then... let's go down."
Chapter completed!