It felt like an eternity, yet also like a fleeting moment.

Qiong saw her body extending infinitely towards the dark seabed, until a white dot appeared at the end of her vision. Then, the dot transformed into a burst of light, enveloping her entirely—the next moment, the physical sensation of that body, which seemed foreign to her, returned to her consciousness. The roaring sound of water surged in, almost shattering her eardrums, shattering the tranquility of the deep sea in an instant.

She felt like she was being drawn into a whirlpool... but quickly rejected the idea. Whirlpools only revolve around the center, but here, the rapid currents were all around. It was their collision that caused such a strong sound.

Even Qiong couldn't steady herself in this situation; everything was out of control. She was like a feather floating on a stormy sea, at the mercy of the water currents, being tossed and turned.

Where is this?

Although completely clueless, she knew she was no longer in the deep sea. Her scales didn't feel much pressure, and the water depth was no more than a hundred meters, meaning she would soon be able to surface. Also, no matter how Qiong called out in her mind, she couldn't get a response from Camilla anymore.

This made her eager to escape her current predicament. Even if she couldn't control her direction, she had to at least surface and take a look.

Fortunately, changing her buoyancy was easier than changing direction.

She strained to lift her head, rising little by little in the rushing rapids. The moment she leaped out of the water, Qiong opened her eyes in confusion.

The Shadow Islands had vanished without a trace.

All around and overhead were rocks.

What should have been a vast and boundless sea had become a "waterway" several hundred meters long, with seawater flowing rapidly through it, roaring and echoing. The surface was swept by fierce winds, almost blinding her, its whistling overlapping with the underwater wind she had heard earlier.

She barely turned her head, only to see a burst of light suddenly coming from behind. The currents rushed towards the light, as if they had found an outlet.

Could it be... was she about to relive the experience again?

Without time to think, Qiong was pushed by the irresistible seawater into that light—

The roaring suddenly quieted down, as if moving far away from her. For a moment, she felt like she was flying, her body light and insubstantial. But she soon realized that she was indeed in the sky!

Below her was the familiar blue sea, but it was thousands of meters away! The surrounding rocks were replaced by the sky. The light she saw came from the sun hanging high in the clouds, and the seawater that had carried her out of the cave had turned into a wide waterfall.

But... she wasn't Maisie, nor was she Lightning; she couldn't fly at all!

As soon as the thought emerged, her body plummeted down.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Splash!"

After experiencing a terrifyingly long fall from the sky, Qiong plunged into the sea.

If she hadn't seen similar scenes in the Magic Shadow, she would have been scared to death! She swam back to the surface and took a deep breath.

Right, she was clearly in the deep sea before. Why was she suddenly flushed into the sky by the water?

Thinking this, Qiong looked up at the sky and then froze.

Oh heavens, what is that?

She could hardly believe her eyes.

A huge, boundless rock was suspended in mid-air, its size so immense that she couldn't see its entirety. The shadow it cast covered most of the sea surface, like a cloud covering the sky. Some clouds were even below it, creating the illusion that it wasn't an isolated giant, but the top of a mountain.

But even the Endless Cape Mountains would no longer seem majestic in front of it... Qiong estimated the thickness of its rock walls, which were at least a hundred meters thick, practically like a large island.

Many cracks were split in the massive rock walls, some hundreds of meters short, others several kilometers long, and they were discharging seawater outwards, forming waterfalls connecting the sky and the sea. Such a large amount of water flowing in caused huge waves to stir on the surface of the sea.

Even Thunder, hasn't seen such a shocking sight, right?

Although she didn't know where she was, one thing Qiong was sure of was that this place must be far from the Fiord and Greycastle, otherwise, such a big thing floating in the sky would have been discovered long ago.

Can I... still go back?

In the tossing waves, Qiong retracted half of her head into the water and spat out a string of bubbles.

"Splash!"

At this moment, she heard a splash nearby, as if something else had fallen from above.

Could there be other unfortunate survivors caught up in this?

Qiong estimated the distance, dived into the water, and swam in that direction.

After swimming for about half a quarter of an hour, she finally saw the full appearance of the thing that had fallen into the water—it was a strangely shaped ship, about the size of a three-masted sea vessel. The lower half seemed to be a mixture of a fish body and an octopus, while the upper half was a framework made of curved ribs, wrapped in flesh resembling internal organs, making it look like a half-eaten animal body, which made her feel a little nauseous.

But it was definitely not a dead thing. Soon after falling into the water, it spread its four abdominal fins and began to paddle towards the direction of the spreading waves. Qiong looked in the direction of its back and couldn't help but be shocked!

In the distance, there were actually hundreds and thousands of such monsters, neatly arranged in several rows, half-hidden and half-visible in the waves. Their posture was like a huge fleet.

After the newly fallen one joined the ranks, the fleet slowly sailed east, until they completely disappeared at the end of the horizon. Qiong breathed a sigh of relief.

What to do next? Since the monster ships fell from the floating land overhead, there might be other strange enemies nearby.

Although she had never seen such monsters, her intuition told her never to approach them easily! And since awakening as a witch, similar intuitions had never been wrong.

"Don't be reckless, your friends are still waiting for you to return."

Ms. Camilla's words flashed through Qiong's mind.

Then, the appearances and smiles of Lightning, Maisie, and sister Lorgar appeared one by one.

She wants to go back.

She had never had such a strong desire in her life—she wanted to return to Neverwinter, to the place where she had only spent one winter, but had made many friends.

She wants to go back to everyone's side!

"Aya!" Qiong shouted, as if cheering herself up, and swam west after identifying the direction.

No matter how wide the sea is, there is always a boundary.

And Lightning also said that the world they live in is spherical. As long as she keeps swimming in one direction, she will definitely be able to see her friends in the expedition team again!

Definitely!

...

"The fleet must set sail," Thunder looked at Camilla Dairay, who was leaning against the railing. "The Shadow Islands are not the end of this trip. Every day we stay here, we consume a lot of fresh water. Today is the third day. If we continue like this, the team will lose control."

"But..." The latter's face was noticeably haggard. "Qiong hasn't returned yet."

"This is not your fault." Thunder patted her on the shoulder. "Besides, continuing to wait won't improve anything—remember what you said yourself? There are only two possibilities for the disconnection of a mental link: one is the death of the connected object, and the other is the distance being too far. If you don't want to believe the first outcome, then you shouldn't stay here."

"You mean... go east of the Sealine to find her?"

"Honestly, the possibility is slim, but it's better than just waiting here." Thunder said patiently, "Don't forget that Qiong is not an ordinary person. An ordinary sailor would die if they fell into the water without rescue, but Qiong won't—she has lived in the sea for more than ten years. She can survive without us."

"I... understand," Camilla bit her lip. "Then I'll go with you to the Sealine—"

"No," Thunder interrupted her. "Your mental state can't cope with the upcoming adventure. And I promised His Majesty Roland that no matter the outcome, I would let you return to Neverwinter immediately after exploring the Shadow Islands. The war against the devils still needs your abilities. Besides, only His Majesty might know what Qiong encountered under the sea. Your information is crucial." He paused, looking at her solemnly, "We all have our own responsibilities. Completing our duties is the mature thing to do."

Camilla closed her eyes sadly.

Two hours later, the Snow Wind sounded its horn, and the prepared fleet set sail, heading towards the farther eastern sea. One of the ships separated from the main force and turned back in the opposite direction.

The two gradually moved away from each other, soon disappearing from each other's sight.