Chapter 572

Ilya nodded and continued to ascend.

The eighteenth floor was reached.

Ilya cautiously approached a window, the floor-to-ceiling window of Room 1812.

The curtain was not drawn tightly, revealing a thin slit.

She pressed her face to the slit and looked inside.

The room was large and luxuriously decorated, but in the darkness the shadows of the furniture looked somewhat eerie.

Moonlight streamed in from the opposite window, casting a silvery patch on the floor.

A person sat on the sofa.

Blue long hair fell over the shoulders, lake‑green eyes half‑open, pupils scattered as if unfocused.

She wore a purple‑black dress, the style much like Robin's usual fashion, but the color was completely different.

She sat there like that, motionless, like an exquisite statue.

Robin.

Ilya's heart skipped a beat.

(Zhigengniao Jiejie!)

She almost shouted, instinctively lunging toward the window.

"Ilya—!" Ruby's voice rang sharply, "Stay calm!"

Ilya stopped abruptly, her body pressed against the wall, panting heavily.

"S‑sorry... I got too excited..."

Ruby exhaled.

"I know you want to save her, but we need to see the situation clearly first. Look carefully—are there any other people in the room?"

Ilya took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.

Then she quietly stuck her head out again, observing the living room closely.

Robin still sat there motionless, her breathing so faint it was almost invisible.

Her posture was very upright, hands folded on her knees, just like the pose taught in aristocratic etiquette classes.

But that uprightness gave a creepy feeling, overly proper—so proper it didn't seem human.

There was no one else in the living room.

The purple‑haired woman was not there.

The whole room was dead silent.

Ilya stared at Robin, a nameless terror welling up inside her.

The person sitting there—was she really Zhigengniao Jiejie?

She looked... as if something was different.

The dress's color had changed, the hair seemed dulled, and that face, the death‑like silence, were completely unlike the gentle, smiling Robin sister who used to rub her hair in Ilya's memory.

"Zhigengniao Jiejie..." Ilya murmured, her voice trembling slightly.

"She... why isn't she moving?"

Ilya asked softly, "And where did that purple‑haired woman go?"

Ruby was silent for a moment, then said:

"I'm not sure. But one thing is certain—your Zhigengniao Jiejie's condition is off. Look at her gaze; it has no focus, as if her soul were drawn out."

Ilya looked at those scattered lake‑green eyes, a huge panic rising within her.

"I'm going in," she said, "no matter what, I'll go in and rescue her."

Ruby did not object.

"Alright, but you must be careful. That purple‑haired woman could return at any moment."

Ilya nodded, gripping Ruby tightly, ready to break through the window.

At that moment, she suddenly noticed something—

Robin's eyelashes fluttered lightly.

San Yue Qi and Lin pushed open the stairwell door, a wave of cold air hitting them.

The stairwell was narrow, cement walls on both sides, and an emergency light every few meters overhead.

The steps rose level by level, disappearing into darkness, the end unseen.

San Yue Qi turned and glanced at Lin.

"Ready?"

Lin nodded, clasping a few gems in her hand.

"Let's go, Jiao."

The two began ascending.

At first everything was normal.

The stairs rose floor by floor; they climbed step by step, and after each level they could see a door leading to a corridor, marked with the floor number.

4th floor, 5th floor, 6th floor…

Lin's steps gradually slowed, her breathing grew heavy.

After all, she was a human Magus, with limited stamina; climbing a few floors was fine, but scaling to the eighteenth floor in one breath was indeed a challenge for her.

San Yue Qi slowed her pace, waiting beside her.

"Are you okay?"

Lin panted, waving her hand.

"It's nothing... just a little tired, banana..."

San Yue Qi looked at her, then suddenly spoke:

"Lin, I know you're worried about Fujimura."

Lin was startled for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

"... Is it that obvious, banana?"

San Yue Qi nodded.

Lin was silent for a while, then said softly:

"She just collapsed in front of me, banana... she bled so much... I couldn't do anything, banana..."

Her voice trembled a bit, and her eyes were red.

San Yue Qi reached out and patted her shoulder.

"That's not your fault. You did your best."

Lin shook her head.

"If I could be a bit stronger, banana, if I had discovered Yan Feng earlier, banana..."

"No 'ifs'." San Yue Qi interrupted her. "In that situation, just being alive is already hard enough. And Saber said she's still alive, right?"

Lin lifted her head and looked at San Yue Qi.

"Do you really think so, banana?"

San Yue Qi nodded and said seriously:

"I've gone through many absurd things, seen many impossible possibilities. As long as Saber says she's still alive, then there must still be hope."

Lin was silent for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"Thank you, banana, San Yue Jie."

San Yue Qi smiled, about to say something, when suddenly—

She was stunned.

Lin sensed her oddness and followed her gaze forward.

The staircase still rose upward, exactly the same as before.

But San Yue Qi's expression made Lin realize something was off.

"What's wrong, banana?"

San Yue Qi didn't answer, but hurried up a few steps, then stopped and looked at the numbers on the wall.

It read: 10 floors.

Lin also saw the number, and her brows knit.

"Didn't we just pass the 10th floor, banana?"

San Yue Qi nodded.

They indeed had passed the 10th floor.

If I recall correctly, that should have been... something from ten or so minutes ago.

"Keep going," San Yue Qi said.

The two continued climbing upward.

11 floors, 12 floors, 13 floors...

Lin's legs began to give way, and her breathing grew more rapid.

She clenched her teeth, desperately keeping up with San Yue Qi.

Then, they saw a familiar number.

10 floors.

Lin's steps halted.

She stared at the number, her complexion turning ashen.

"This is... what's going on, banana?"

San Yue Qi didn't answer, but hurried down a few floors.

8 floors, 7 floors, 6 floors—then she ran upward again.

10 floors.

No matter which direction she went, she always returned to the 10th floor.

Lin's legs gave out, and she leaned against the wall.

"We... are trapped, banana?"

San Yue Qi took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.

She went to the window in the stairwell and stuck her head out to look down.

Below, the stairs stacked layer upon layer, extending downwards, with no bottom in sight and no anomalies visible.

But the endless stacked stairs dazzled the eyes, as if the entire stairwell had twisted into an inescapable maze.

A thought flashed through San Yue Qi's mind.

(Clockboy.)

She called that name in her mind.

"Tick?" a faint glow came from the pocket, "Fen Mao, what's wrong, Tick?"

San Yue Qi quickly thought, "Record a Time Node, right now."

"Tick! Understood!"

A few seconds later, Clockboy's voice sounded again:

"Node has been recorded Tick! Now you can Rewind to this point in time Tick!"

San Yue Qi let out a sigh.

No matter how strange this stairwell is, at least she still has a trump card.

She turned around and looked at Lin, who was leaning against the wall.

"Lin, are you okay?"

Lin lifted their head; their face was full of fatigue and terror.

"San Yue Jie... can we still get out, banana?"

San Yue Qi walked to her side and grasped her hand.

"Don't worry, I'm here."