When Du Wei woke, his head rested on something soft. His body felt as though a great force had tried to tear it apart; every muscle and joint throbbed.

He opened his eyes with difficulty.

His first sight brought a rush of relief: both his companions were alive.

His head lay across Joanna's thigh, while Vivian sprawled over his chest, her head tucked beneath his chin.

The two girls stirred at the same time.

"Where are we? Did the monster swallow us?" Joanna rubbed her head, then noticed Du Wei lying across her leg. "What are you doing? Get off!"

She twisted sharply and dumped him onto the stone.

It took Du Wei some time to struggle upright. His legs burned as though every muscle had been badly strained.

"Why so nervous? I didn't do it on purpose." Du Wei glanced at Joanna, but she ignored him and pulled Vivian upright.

Poor little Vivian still looked confused.

All three were soaked, their hair hanging in wet clumps. Du Wei was merely bedraggled; for the two girls, matters were more awkward.

Joanna still wore her openwork enchanted armor. Poor Vivian had no such protection. Her mage's robe had been ruined during their days on the island, then torn into strips for the raft. Only a thin undergarment remained.

Soaked through, its pale fabric clung closely to her.

Du Wei's gaze lingered a moment too long.

For all Vivian's childlike innocence, she was no longer a little girl. Even in their desperate circumstances, Du Wei's thoughts wandered before he caught himself and sighed inwardly.

"What are you staring at?" Joanna immediately caught his gaze and pulled Vivian behind her. "Lecherous little noble! Look again and I'll tear out your eyes!"

Du Wei wisely turned away and examined their surroundings.

They were clearly inside a cave.

Seawater began only a few steps from where they had awakened. They were probably inside an underwater cavern whose peculiar shape trapped a pocket of air.

A faint glow shimmered within the walls, just bright enough to see by.

Du Wei ran a hand across the rough, granular stone. Tiny grains embedded in it emitted their own faint light.

"Luminous pearls? Too small. Luminous sand, perhaps." He withdrew his hand.

Knowledge from his previous world warned him that naturally luminous crystals and ores often meant harmful radiation.

"Why are you touching everything?" Joanna asked from behind him.

"Examining the terrain," Du Wei replied. "We should be grateful we're alive. The monster must have attacked us, but I can't understand how we ended up here."

"I-I think I may know," Vivian said timidly. A faint blush colored her face, and she avoided Du Wei's eyes. Innocent though she was, she understood the meaning of his earlier glance.

The moment Du Wei turned toward her, Joanna coughed sharply. "What do you know?"

"A w-whirlpool." Vivian gestured as she spoke. "I think an underwater whirlpool pulled us in here."

Du Wei frowned. "All three of us happened to be caught by one whirlpool, carried to this exact cave, and deposited safely without drowning?" His expression darkened. "I don't believe in coincidences that convenient."

The cavern resembled an overturned bowl, neither especially large nor small. Its walls appeared seamless. The flooded passage beside them was the only visible way in or out.

"If we want out, we may have to enter that passage and swim," Du Wei concluded.

"We'd have been better off on the island!" Joanna snapped after reaching the same conclusion. "At least there was water and the occasional root. Here, there's nothing but stone."

"Not necessarily. There's oxygen here, and we haven't suffocated. Air must be entering from somewhere, even if we can't find the opening." Du Wei shook his head.

"Oxygen? What is oxygen?" Joanna frowned.

Du Wei faltered. Explaining oxygen chemistry to someone from a world of magic was more trouble than it was worth. He mumbled something vague and changed the subject. "We need another solution. Can either of you use magic?"

Both mages shook their heads. His last hope went out.

"What do we do now?" Joanna asked.

Somewhere during their days on the island, both women had begun treating Du Wei—the youngest of the three—as their leader. Even Joanna now looked to him. He had stayed calm, planned their escape, found food and water, and quietly taken responsibility for both women.

What could they do?

This time, Du Wei had no answer.

He was no god. Sealed in a place where neither heaven nor earth could hear them, what solution could he possibly invent?

Even a bitter smile felt beyond him. He wanted to shout until the pressure in his chest broke.

But both women were watching him. Vivian in particular stared with wide, trusting eyes. Du Wei sighed.

He forced a smile. "Don't worry. Heaven spared us and brought us here instead. Perhaps we aren't destined to die in this place. We'll find a way."

He walked to the wall and ran one hand across it. "First, we rest and recover our strength. Then..." His voice caught. "Then we'll think of something. Anyone want to hear a story?"

Joanna curled her lip. Unlike Vivian, she understood that Du Wei was out of ideas. But at the sight of her younger sister trembling, she held her tongue.

If she had to die here, so be it. The obsession she had carried for so long had become burden enough. Perhaps death would be a release.

While Joanna sank into her thoughts, Vivian took two hesitant steps toward Du Wei. "Wh-what story?"

"A story..." Du Wei smiled faintly. "I once heard one about thieves and treasure. According to the tale, there was a young man named Ali Baba..."

Du Wei recounted the famous tale of the forty thieves from his previous world. At the end, he pointed to the wall. "Perhaps the gods will grant us a miracle too. Touch it and shout 'Open Sesame,' and maybe a door will appear."

Vivian lowered her head and thought. When she looked up, tears filled her eyes. "Du Wei... y-you are trying to comfort me, are you not?"

Du Wei said nothing. He could only stroke her hair.

Vivian lifted her face and forced a smile through the tears. "If Du Wei says there's a way, then there m-must be one. We can try everything, one by one. Something will work. We'll start with 'Open Sesame.'"

The silly girl's eyes brimmed with tears, but her smile held. She raised one hand, knocked gently on the wall, and called in her sweet, clear voice, "O-open... Sesame..."

Du Wei's heart ached. Was this lovely girl really going to die here?

But heaven apparently had not finished toying with him.

Before his tears could fall—

As soon as Vivian finished saying "Open Sesame"—

The cave wall rippled.

Solid stone undulated like the surface of water.

A thin, withered hand reached through it.

As all three stared in disbelief, an ancient voice, feeble and close to death, sounded from within the stone.

"At last... visitors have come. Please enter..."