Hearing Lei Nora mention that an "indescribable mass" had burst out of the light cocoon, causing her "drifting house" to briefly lose control, Zhou Ming's expression changed subtly for a moment—he pondered slightly, thinking that the thing might have been the package of "debris" he had thrown out.

He had originally intended to use that thing as a "medium" to establish communication with the visitor outside the door.

But now it seemed that this communication was a bit too rough.

Fortunately, Lei Nora didn't seem to have encountered too much trouble because of this accident—and she also didn't notice the momentary subtle silence of the "Thousand-Faced Starlight" in front of her.

Zhou Ming quickly took the opportunity to change the subject: "What happened after the brief loss of control? You said you 'overshot'… what does that mean?"

Lei Nora didn't seem to suspect anything. Hearing this, she frowned slightly and fell into thought. After a moment, she recalled and said, "After the drifting house briefly lost control, I fell into the deepest part of this mist, and then stopped near an invisible… 'boundary'. I don't know how to describe that boundary to you… It doesn't actually have a physical form, and you can't see anything visually, but the mist stopped abruptly there. Beyond that boundary, there are large areas of… nothingness."

She slowly stopped, seeming to feel that her description was still not accurate enough. She frowned in distress, and Zhou Ming immediately noticed this, his expression gradually becoming serious: "Nothingness?"

"Yes, nothingness, not darkness, nor 'emptiness' in the general sense… I don't know if it's accurate to say this—even in a 'place where there is nothing', there is at least a 'place', but there… it's beyond the scope of what I can explain with reason," Lei Nora thought with difficulty. Even recalling and describing what she had seen seemed to be a very difficult thing. "Do you know the world in the eyes of a congenitally blind person? I mean those who have never seen any light, and have even lost their visual structure. Many people think that the world in their eyes is a dark place, but in fact, the world in their 'eyes' is a kind of ultimate 'emptiness'…"

She paused, couldn't help but open her hands to gesture, and continued, "They can't see 'darkness', because strictly speaking, 'darkness' is also part of vision. They have never seen any colors or shapes, so that even a phrase like 'a dark place' is abstract and incomprehensible to them. So from a visual point of view, what is 'in front' of them is not black, but 'empty'. Color has never existed, outline has never existed, and the entire world does not exist from a visual point of view.

"And beyond that boundary, what I felt was this.

"I felt that I should have 'seen' something in front of me, but it was beyond my understanding and perception, so that I couldn't leave any 'image' in my mind at all. I felt that I had heard some kind of sound in my ears, but whether it was the feeling at the time or the subsequent memories, there was only a blank in my mind—I stood at that invisible end, and I clearly realized that there was a 'boundary', and that a boundary should have an 'opposite side', but it… didn't."

Lei Nora waved her hand, seeming to still feel uncomfortable even now when recalling the strange and terrifying feeling at the time.

"No 'opposite side'…" Zhou Ming slowly frowned after hearing the other party's abstract and difficult-to-understand description. He thought and guessed at such a scene, and gradually made some associations, "Like a piece of paper with no 'back'?"

Lei Nora opened her eyes wide in surprise, and then she saw the "Starlight Entity" in front of her suddenly raise ta's limbs again. In the focus of those thousands of eyes and starlight, a… structure was gradually taking shape.

Zhou Ming tore off a strip of white paper, twisted it, and connected the ends.

"Knowledge" poured into Lei Nora's mind. At this moment, she understood the Möbius strip structure.

The vast "nothingness" opened its door to her.

"That's the feeling!" She suddenly woke up from her daze, staring at the structure floating in the chaos, under the focus of thousands of eyes, "That's it! A boundary with no 'opposite side', a piece of paper with no 'back'! A limit, a 'end' in the true sense!"

The structure disappeared silently.

Zhou Ming released the connection of the Möbius strip. As the paper strip fell on the table, he muttered to himself thoughtfully, "This is the outer barrier?…"

Of course, he knew that the sanctuary barrier built by the "Gods" shouldn't be so simple. The Möbius strip was just an easy-to-understand "model" here—the two could not be equated, but judging from the "boundary scene" described by Lei Nora, there must be something in common between them.

Lei Nora cast a confused and curious look.

"You have reached the real end of the world—you may have even crossed the place where the ancient kings stayed," Zhou Ming looked at this "Frost Queen", his tone a little uneasy, "You saw… the scene beyond the boundary, but it was beyond your understanding…"

He slowly stopped.

The Möbius strip has no "end". For a "creature" staying on the surface of the loop, no matter how far ta moves in the loop, it will never be able to reach the "border" of the Möbius strip, let alone notice that there is an "invisible end" there, and thus feel confused and fearful about the "nothingness" seen in front of him—and Lei Nora, this reckless traveler, she noticed the existence of that "end" at some point in the past.

She experienced "dimensional ascension"—although she felt that she only saw "nothingness" because she couldn't "cognize" the scene there, at that moment, she did indeed briefly transform from an individual trapped on the surface of the loop into a… person standing outside the loop.

He tried his best to explain all this to Lei Nora, to explain the strange phenomenon she had seen, and the essence of the "dimensional ascension" she had experienced in the past.

"Knowledge" impacted Lei Nora's mind, reshaping her cognition and essence.

But she gladly accepted all of this.

This was exactly what she was looking for on her journey, and this was exactly what she wanted to get at this moment.

She wanted to witness more scenery, and to understand everything she saw.

"I should leave." She suddenly stood up and said.

Zhou Ming looked at the Frost Queen in surprise, seemingly not reacting for a moment.

"I want to go there and take another look," Lei Nora turned her head, her star-filled eyes staring fixedly at Zhou Ming—those stars seemed to be permanently reflected in her eyes, "I understand more, I have a feeling… this time, I seem to be able to see something in that 'nothingness', something… that I couldn't cognize before, but that does exist."

Zhou Ming was silent for a moment, then slowly got up from the sofa.

"You think there is 'something' in that nothingness?"

"Yes," Lei Nora nodded without hesitation, with a conviction and determination that others couldn't understand, "I have seen them, heard them, but it was like a breeze blowing past a stone, leaving no trace in my mind—just as fingers cannot distinguish colors, and eyes cannot judge cold and warmth, my reason is not enough to understand the things beyond that 'end', but now… I believe things have changed, I can see them, even if it's just a little bit."

Zhou Ming stared fixedly into the eyes of this "Frost Queen".

"You're making a very risky decision," he suddenly said, "You were almost swallowed by that 'end', and now you're going back."

"Yes, it's very risky," Lei Nora suddenly laughed, with joy and brilliance, "Traveling always comes with risks."

"…Like another 'Deep Sea Embers' project?"

"…Yes, like another 'Deep Sea Embers' project," Lei Nora slowly put away her smile and nodded gently, "My own Deep Sea Embers project."

She turned her head to look elsewhere, took a deep breath, and after a moment of silence, she said thoughtfully, "You see, I'm really not suitable to be a 'Queen'."

Zhou Ming said nothing, but slowly came to the window connecting to the "drifting house".

After a long while, he said, "I can't leave here—so don't forget to tell me what you see."

Lei Nora nodded readily: "Okay, I'll be your eyes."

She returned to that "rift", preparing to return to her "drifting house"—a new journey was waiting ahead, and she was ready.

Zhou Ming looked at this ambitious Frost Queen.

For a moment, he felt that it seemed a bit inelegant to let this lady climb out the window again. As the beginning of another great journey, it seemed a bit undignified.

But soon he felt… that there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.

The Queen who was once trapped in a cage can now embark on a journey in any way she likes.

His guest left.

Accompanied by a slight vibration, the window closed again, and the scene outside the window was instantly shrouded in thick mist—Zhou Ming didn't even have time to confirm how the "drifting house" moved, and it had disappeared from his sight.

He stood by the window in a daze, staring at the outside for a long time, then withdrew his gaze and looked around the living room.

What had just happened seemed like just a dream—a mind permanently trapped in a cabin, dreaming of someone coming to visit.

But he came to the sofa and saw the paper strip that had been twisted into a Möbius strip still lying quietly on the coffee table, the edges of the paper strip still slightly curled up.

On the white paper next to it, a simple-shaped lantern was outlined.

Someone had indeed visited here.

Zhou Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like he was a little more relaxed, then smiled and shook his head, striding towards the door of the apartment.

Opening the door, the black mist that was constantly swelling and shrinking was as usual…

Duncan opened his eyes in front of the Gate of the Forsaken.

(End of this chapter)