Ye Chenyu closed his eyes, hoping to rest briefly on a rocky outcrop by the East Sea—but in the next moment, he plunged into a chasm where reality and dream became indistinguishable. The howling of the sea breeze gradually gave way to the low, relentless murmur of water, as if the entire ocean had been drained, leaving only cold, dark waters. Waves churned, lifting icy foam, which, upon touching Ye Chenyu's skin, transformed into countless fine, piercing spikes that sank into his bones. His breathing immediately grew rapid and heavy.
The water's surface vanished, stretching endlessly into a black abyss. Ye Chenyu felt his body drawn downward by an invisible force, each struggle akin to floundering in a tar-like quagmire. Below, in the dark water, floated the phantasms of thousands of drowned souls, their faces twisted, mouths opening in silent screams that looped endlessly as ancient whispers in his ears. Fear surged like a tidal wave within him, yet it was suppressed by a deeper sense of helplessness—he even wondered if he would become one of those silent dead.
In this black sea, a massive entity moved slowly, the water pressure distorting with its motion. Ye Chenyu lifted his gaze to see a gigantic mermaid-like creature emerge. Its body was longer than the entire small boat, scales shimmering with a dim, absorbing light, as if drawing in the surrounding illumination. Its eyes were bottomless, seemingly able to peer into the deepest fears of Ye Chenyu's heart. The long tail churned the water into bottomless whirlpools, instantly swallowing nearby phantasms and water, each sweep threatening to drag Ye Chenyu into the abyss. Its lips parted, revealing sharp, cold-glinting teeth—capable of rending flesh—but it did not attack directly. Instead, it seemed to taunt him, forcing him to drown in his own terror.
Ye Chenyu struggled within the illusions. His body was flung by the giant mermaid's tail into endless waters, then seized by the drowned phantoms, as if all reality had been utterly consumed. Before his eyes, the waves of the East Sea repeatedly flashed—but intermingled with the dead spirits, twisted water surfaces, and fragments of the ghostly blue coral palace. Every breath drew in the cold of the abyss, penetrating to the bone, freezing even his soul.
"Breath… cannot… sink…" Ye Chenyu's consciousness wavered in the darkness. He clenched the rune shard tightly; the faintly flickering light became his only anchor. The shard's glow not only illuminated the surrounding waters but also invisibly resisted the mermaid's illusions. He felt his mind being pulled through the water, yet clinging to this thread of light, struggling onward.
At the peak of the illusions, the figure of Xuan Ye appeared beside him. In his hands, a rune array formed, the symbols radiating piercing light in the water. The clash of light and dark cut through the void like a blade. With a flash of the array, the illusions warped and shattered, as though a tear had been ripped in the dream itself. The giant mermaid roared in low fury, its image rippling like water, yet no longer fully enveloping Ye Chenyu's space.
Xing Lan stepped forward from the side. She gently touched the water, and suddenly the currents calmed; ghostly blue light swept across Ye Chenyu's heart like a breeze. The flicker in her eyes revealed her resonance with the bloodline of the East Sea; her aura drew a thread of vitality from the abyss. Ye Chenyu sensed the oppressive force imposed by the mermaid gradually dissipating, the illusions being weakened one by one.
The waters returned to calm, yet Ye Chenyu remained utterly exhausted. The lingering fear etched deep in his heart could not be erased. Slowly, he opened his eyes, finding himself still standing on the East Sea's shore. Beside him, Liyue Ying remained vigilant and stern; Xuan Ye's gaze was slightly averted, the faint glow of the rune array still flickering in his hands. The image of the giant mermaid seemed to linger beneath the surface, peering, but it could no longer directly invade reality.
Ye Chenyu inhaled the icy sea breeze deeply, realizing that the depths of the East Sea were far more complex than they appeared—every wave concealed unknown, lurking presences.