Three hours west of the Withered Tree Shrine, the road became narrow, cracked, and half-swallowed by wilderness. A quiet dread fell over the group as they entered the domain whispered about in village ghost stories—the Bone Spiral.
Even the GPS refused to follow them now.
---
The Bone Field
They reached it just after sundown.
An open field stretched before them, eerily circular, surrounded by crooked trees. The grass was thin and pale, as though drained of life. But it was what lay in the center that froze everyone:
A massive spiral—not drawn, but formed from human bones.
Skulls, ribs, femurs—arranged meticulously in a winding coil, leading to a pit at the center. Some were old. Some were fresh.
Renji felt his stomach twist. "This isn't just a burial ground."
Suma nodded grimly. "This is a ritual circle. Sacrifices made over centuries to feed the spiral's hunger."
---
Whispers in the Pit
They followed the bone spiral inward, stepping carefully between ribs and fractured skulls. Each step made the spiral mark on Renji's arm throb like a heartbeat. The wind grew stronger, colder, as they neared the pit.
Renji peered inside.
It was deep. Far deeper than it should be.
And from below came whispers.
Not audible voices—but thoughts. Echoes of pain. Grief. Regret.
Aoi gripped his arm. "We shouldn't be here too long. It's pulling at me."
"Me too," Kaito muttered. "Like it's… trying to remind me of everything I've ever done wrong."
---
The Gatekeeper Below
Without warning, the ground cracked near the edge of the pit.
A thin hand shot up—followed by a body of stitched-together bones and sinew, spirals burned into its skull like brands. It crawled from the darkness like a puppet.
Renji drew the Spiral Blade.
The creature stopped—staring.
Then it spoke, with a dozen overlapping voices:
> "The blade remembers."
"You are not the first."
"You will not be the last."
Renji narrowed his eyes. "Let me guess… You're the gatekeeper?"
The creature nodded.
> "To descend is to be known. To be known is to be devoured."
---
Descent into the Spiral Pit
"I have to go down," Renji said.
Aoi grabbed his arm. "Are you insane?"
Kaito: "Dude, that thing just crawled out of there. What else is down there?"
Renji's spiral mark burned again. "The next anchor. I can feel it."
Suma whispered a protection chant and pressed a ward into his palm. "If you lose your name in there… you'll lose yourself."
Renji nodded, then stepped into the pit.
Darkness swallowed him.
---
Memories That Aren't Yours
The walls of the pit writhed like living flesh. Faces blinked from the stone, whispering things Renji couldn't understand.
As he reached the bottom, he saw it—a spiraled altar made of bone, glowing faintly, pulsing with breath. A second anchor.
He raised the blade.
But a voice stopped him cold:
> "Renji… why did you leave me?"
He turned.
Standing there was his sister, Emiko.
But she'd died six years ago.
"No," he whispered. "You're not real."
She stepped closer, her eyes empty spirals.
> "You forgot me. You moved on. You let me die."
Renji gritted his teeth. "I didn't forget. I survived."
He slashed the altar.
Light exploded. Emiko vanished.
The whispers stopped.
---
Second Root Severed
When Renji climbed out, the creature was gone.
The bones had collapsed into dust.
The spiral on his arm had receded further.
Suma smiled, hopeful. "Only one remains."
Renji looked at the final mark on the map:
The Severed Gate.
"Then let's finish this."
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End of Chapter 48
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To Be Continue