The airship continued forward and entered a cave passage on the opposite side of the gorge, but the path seemed to slope downward even as the ship remained adrift in the air. Upon reaching the end of the passage, the airship began to descend into a massive pit, following a circular path like a drill spiraling deeper and deeper. Ard, Eva, and the others stood at the edge of the deck to look down; though it seemed incredibly far, a light began to emerge from the darkness at the bottom of the abyss. Ard turned to Hardim beside him.
"We're going straight down?" Ard asked.
"Yes, we are right at the border of Le Rien Infernal, and to reach the crossing, we have to go down," Hardim answered.
"Hmm... so our destination is truly a world within a world. It's really unbelievable, just like the hollow earth theory I heard about on Earth," Ard muttered, unintentionally speaking his thoughts aloud.
"Hmm? Earth? What's that?" Hardim asked.
