“This is Mount Hua.”

The words struck me, stopping my thoughts cold.

What did he just say?

How could this place possibly be Mount Hua?

I looked around. All I saw was darkness.

It had been that way from the beginning—and it hadn’t changed.

Splash—!

Every step I took stirred the ink-like liquid covering the ground.

This hollow, empty space—how could it be Mount Hua?

“You’re not explaining enough.”

I voiced my confusion, my tone sharp.

“I’ve been to Mount Hua before. How could this place possibly be it?”

Was it a metaphor?

Maybe.

This wasn’t the real world, after …