Ten minutes later…
"Oxygen supply system: 40 minutes remaining."
Ethan opened his eyes as the electronic voice chimed. His face was grim. He had just compressed his Soul Sense into a single thread, probing upward. The compressed Soul Sense stretched in a straight line, reaching over four thousand meters underground. But it wasn't enough. He still hadn't seen the surface.
Adjusting his direction, Ethan spent another ten minutes scanning almost every angle around them. All he sensed was endless yellow sand. It was as if sand was the only substance left in the world. And he realized, with a sinking feeling, that they were still slowly descending.
About eight hours earlier, the sand had started swallowing them, dragging them to an unknown depth far beyond four thousand meters. Even if the flow stopped, climbing out would be impossible. If they dared to leave the vehicle, they'd suffocate within minutes.
What to do?
