"A sense of direction is a human instinct. You might not pay attention to it normally, but the moment you lose it, your entire world changes," the Little Elf explained.

After listening to the Little Elf’s explanation, Mo Ling found it hard to imagine.

’A world where you’ve lost your sense of direction... that’s too terrifying.’

Looking at the bewildered Li Xiangyi, Mo Ling ventured another guess. "Does it affect one’s sense of time, too?"

"Yes," the Little Elf replied, nodding with satisfaction.

"For the user of the Rainbow Shuttle, trying to comprehend ’direction’ through any other means will cause the price to spread."

The senses of time and space are inherently inseparable.

To put it another way, an object’s direction of movement is from its starting point to its endpoint.

The start and end points are determined by time—what happens earlier is the start point, and the other is the end point.

If you know the position of two points at different times, you can determine your own direction.

And that’s when the price of the Rainbow Shuttle kicks in.

It begins to affect the user’s perception of time. She can no longer tell the sequence of events she experiences. She can only link them through corresponding images, but she cannot comprehend the concepts of "before" and "after."

"’Front’ and ’back’ aren’t just spatial terms; they’re temporal terms, too," the Little Elf explained. "Human ancestors understood the relationship between time and space long ago, weaving it into the very fabric of their language."

It looked at Mo Ling again. "You want to ask me why Li Xiangyi stays this way, unchanging, for many years, don’t you?"

Mo Ling was taken aback by the Little Elf’s words. "Yes."

It had actually guessed Mo Ling’s intention. The Little Elf, however, didn’t seem to mind his indirect line of questioning.

"Because aging and physical changes are also a part of time," the Little Elf stated plainly.

Humans are aware of their own bodies at every moment.

If Li Xiangyi were to age, she would perceive the ’before’ and ’after’ of time through the changes in her body, and by extension, perceive changes in direction.

That’s why her age is fixed. Even if she gets hurt, she recovers instantly.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a form of immortality.

Of course, she is unaware of any of this. From her perspective, she simply experiences a growing number of distorted images, jumping from one scene to the next. Her concept of time has vanished completely.

"To her, creating the Oasis is just a single image in her memory, a lingering obsession left by a part of her that is no longer human. She just needs to see it done," the Little Elf explained.

"Furthermore, the Li Xiangyi of the future will have accumulated so many memories that she’ll completely forget she ever created the Oasis. A human brain simply can’t hold that much."

At this point, Mo Ling stopped beating around the bush. "Why did she go to all the trouble of creating the Oasis?"

The Little Elf tilted its head and smiled. "Because she loves humans."

Hearing this plain explanation, Mo Ling was still confused. "What does loving humans have to do with creating an Oasis?"

"When you love something, you want to protect it. You put it somewhere comfortable and fulfill its every need," the Little Elf said with a smile, as if recalling a happy memory.

"Her wish included these things."

With a wave of its hands, the Little Elf made the wish of the creature in purple gauze appear on the golden stream again. This time, the vision was clearer, as if the Little Elf’s technique had grown much more practiced.

It was a scene from after Li Xiangyi arrived on the 2nd Floor of the Abyss.

She had created a beautiful Oasis.

The Oasis attracted many humans, who worked hard to build it into a city, a peaceful haven. The population grew, and people even began to marry, have children, and live peaceful, happy lives there.

Just as Li Xiangyi had once seen on Earth.

Simple and happy.

The scene shifted, and she was living happily in Oasis City as one of its human residents...

"This is her complete wish."

Mo Ling stared at the image of Oasis City, his heart reeling with shock.

’Oasis City... just a wish from Li Xiangyi. A wish currently being fulfilled.’

Everything she had done... it was all to build a peaceful haven, to give the lost souls in the Abyss a reason to hope, a reason to live.

"Is it really worth it?"

Mo Ling murmured to himself. ’Just because she loves humans?’

"It is," the Little Elf said with conviction.

It didn’t hesitate for a second. Its gaze was firm, as if it were stating an irrefutable fact.

"She gave her wish to me, so I know."

"Where the heart leads, everything is worth it."

The Little Elf was completely serious as it spoke, its slender little hand touching the place where its heart would be. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

It gazed intently at the nascent Oasis beyond the stream, as if seeing the thriving Oasis City of the future. Its eyes were filled with yearning and hope, as if this were its very own wish.

Mo Ling stared at it in surprise. This clearly wasn’t just empathy from the Little Elf; it was genuinely feeling Li Xiangyi’s wish as its own.

"She gave her wish... to you?"

Mo Ling felt like he was beginning to understand.

Li Xiangyi’s wish had transferred to the Little Elf.

"Yes. It’s my wish now," the Little Elf explained calmly. "That is the price for making a wish to me."

"She won’t remember her own wish. She will simply follow a predetermined path to fulfill the wish she once made."

"She’ll probably just think that creating the Oasis is a lingering idea from her past, one that has nothing to do with a wish."

"But she’ll forget even that soon enough..."

Li Xiangyi, still sitting on the rock, shook her head, a bewildered look on her face. She periodically glanced around, as if confused about where she was.

Finally, she stood up. She had probably readjusted to the lack of a sense of direction, because she began to walk away from the Oasis in a staggering, roundabout path.

The Little Elf smiled as it watched Li Xiangyi’s figure recede into the distance.

"She’ll be back, at the appointed time."

"To continue fulfilling the unfinished wish."

Mo Ling also watched her bewildered figure and asked, confused, "Does she even know she’s fulfilling a wish she once made? Even if she succeeds, will she be happy?"

It was a simple question, but the Little Elf didn’t answer right away. It just rested its chin in its hand and gazed into the distance.

As it gazed, the smile slowly vanished from the Little Elf’s face, replaced by a bitter look—one that seemed to hold both pity and self-mockery.

The golden light dimmed along with the Little Elf’s mood. The streams of water began to fall like tears, and a rare rain began to fall within the small space.

"She doesn’t know. She’s just a puppet of fate."

"And she won’t be happy."

"Because it’s not her wish."

"It’s mine..."