Chapter 9: We survived
A vast green grassy slope, immensely wide, spanning the size of hundreds of billions of football fields. At its center stood a towering pillar, as thick as dozens of mountains, with a dark green color. It stretched endlessly into the sky, resembling a support for the heavens, with dense mist surrounding its highest visible point.
With a thunderous, flowing roar resembling that of thunder, it hinted at the presence of massive waterfalls.
They couldn't see what was beside the towering pillar due to the vast distance, but they could guess that a lot of activity was happening there.
"Is this... heaven?" Julian opened his eyes, mesmerized by the breathtaking view before him.
"At last, a vast, open space," Hinako exhaled in relief.
She had spent what felt like endless 'hours' trapped in a suffocating forest, where the overwhelming density of trees not only blocked their vision but seemed to cloud their thoughts and stifle their ability to make decisions.
"It was right in front of us all along, but we just couldn't find it," Julian said as he stepped forward, his eyes wide and his mouth agape in amazement.
With his first step, and already exhausted, he failed to notice the slope under him. He tripped and fell flat on his face, immediately starting to roll uncontrollably down the grassy incline, covering a great distance in mere moments.
Hinako watched him with a blank expression before calmly walking forward.
After a few minutes of walking on the grass, Julian had drifted far ahead of her, still rolling without showing any sign of slowing down.
"How..."