The wind howled as they left the Bone Spiral behind, driving toward the final location. The land changed as they neared the cliffs—sharper, darker, like nature itself had been twisted. The road eventually ended, and the rest of the way had to be traveled on foot.
The final root of the spiral's presence awaited them beyond jagged rocks and mist-drenched cliffs: the Severed Gate.
---
The Forgotten Passage
They hiked in silence. The closer they came, the less the world around them seemed… stable. Trees bent in impossible angles, and the clouds above spun slowly in unnatural circles.
"There," Kaito pointed ahead.
A colossal stone arch stood at the edge of the cliff, split down the middle as if struck by lightning. It was overgrown with ivy and moss, but spirals still glimmered faintly across its surface.
Carved into its cracked surface were four ancient kanji:
> 輪ノ果テ – "End of the Spiral."
Renji's spiral mark tingled.
"We're here," he said.
---
A Memory Carved in Stone
As they passed under the arch, Renji staggered.
A wave of memories not his own struck him—Kuro Asato, the Spiral Hunter, had stood here once, blade in hand, marking the stone with his own blood.
Through his eyes, Renji saw a gate of light and shadow open within the cliffside. It had been a final step… but Kuro hadn't passed through.
He had turned back.
> He couldn't make the final cut.
But Renji could.
---
The Gate Opens Again
A tremor shook the ground as Renji approached the cliff wall.
The Spiral Blade pulsed, reacting to something beneath the surface.
Then, like breathing stone, the rock split open—a hidden doorway revealing an inky tunnel spiraling downward.
"It's not just a place," Suma said quietly. "It's a test."
Aoi handed Renji a flashlight. "You're not going alone this time."
Renji nodded. "Together, then."
---
A Descent Into The Spiral Core
They entered the tunnel.
Inside, the walls twisted endlessly, and time seemed to warp—one moment seconds passed, the next, hours.
Each of them heard voices—echoes of their past, temptations, regrets.
But Renji gripped the Spiral Blade tightly. His mind remained clear. Focused.
At the tunnel's end, they reached it:
The Spiral Core.
A chamber, floating between dimensions. Spirals layered over spirals, glowing crimson and gold. A pulsing heart, the true anchor of the curse.
---
The Guardian of the Final Root
Something moved within the core.
A massive figure stepped forward, its face a constantly shifting swirl of familiar faces—Renji's, Kuro's, Emiko's, even Aoi and Suma.
A being made of memory and madness.
Suma gasped. "That's the Spiral's Will."
It spoke, with a thousand layered voices:
> "You sever your past. You sever your pain. But to cut me... is to cut yourself."
Renji stepped forward.
> "Then I'll bleed if I have to."
He raised the Spiral Blade—
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End of Chapter 49
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To Be Continue