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Who am I, where did I come from, and where am I going?
This question troubles people for a lifetime, but tonight, Asuka had already found some answers.
After slaying Kokushibo, Asuka originally intended to immediately search for Muzan or the other Upper Moons.
But in the very next moment, his strength suddenly gave out, and he dropped to his knees.
"What's happening to me?"
He was alarmed and uncertain. He tried several times to stand, only to find his body completely out of his control.
"If you keep fighting, the situation will become irreversible, Asuka."
The voice in his heart, silent for many days, rang out once more.
Asuka immediately recognized it—it was the boy who had appeared within his mindscape.
But now, the voice had shed its childish tone, replaced by a calm, mature resonance tempered by time.
So he stopped resisting the weakness, calmed himself, and sat cross-legged, sinking his consciousness into his inner world.
The world within his heart had changed.
The once desolate Rukongai was now covered in moss and vines, small animals darting everywhere, full of life.
At the center of Rukongai stood a towering ancient tree, and atop its branches lay a young man.
His eyes were closed. His appearance resembled Asuka, yet carried a deeper, colder mystery.
"You've already released too much power. If this continues, you'll break past the limit."
His emotionless voice drifted down. "Stop. Leave the rest of the battle to mortals."
"What do you mean? Haven't I always been using the power of my Zanpakuto?"
Asuka's question was answered by a mocking snort behind him—
[Hah… you really think my power is that low-grade?]
He turned and saw a figure he instinctively recognized, yet had never truly met.
A snow-white wolf, its body packed with coiled muscle, lay behind him.
Hexagonal markings spread from its forehead all the way to its tail, while thin black lines extended from the corners of its mouth.
"Nugata?"
[Kid, don't get so familiar. I haven't forgiven you yet.]
Though its form had changed, Nugata's foul temper remained the same.
It snorted in dissatisfaction and turned its head away.
What was going on?
"Asuka, I shouldn't need to remind you—you already know you're different from them."
The black-haired young man leapt down lightly from the tree, landing silently before Asuka. Though his eyes remained closed, it felt as if they could see through his very soul.
"If I don't restrain you, once your power and Nugata's fully erupt in this world, your very existence will cause unpredictable consequences."
"Restrain? Why should I be restrained?" Asuka couldn't understand.
The young man folded his arms, considering how to explain, but Nugata spoke first—
[To simply put it, this world and ours exist on different planes.]
[Even if this place has higher realms similar to Soul Society and Hell, it's not the same as ours.]
[If your overwhelming spiritual pressure floods this world, the souls here will be affected, and the cycle of spiritual particles will collapse.]
[The most likely outcome… is that because of you, this world will give birth to its first Hollow!]
A Hollow?
Asuka knew how terrifying such beings were, but had never seen one himself.
What did that have to do with him?
"Your body is a cage I constructed using this world's spirit particles and physical matter, sealing your essence as a wandering soul."
"You don't need to understand everything. Just know that if you keep fighting, your spiritual pressure will inevitably break through this cage."
"If you had chosen to live as an ordinary person, you might never have heard any of this."
The young man's expression was grave—rare seriousness for him.
"But now, if you don't want this world to be destroyed… stop. You cannot fight anymore!"
Asuka fell silent.
Not because of a sense of responsibility, nor a sudden urge to save the world.
He simply… didn't understand.
"If I don't act, a lot of people will die. Is there really no other way?"
"I've explained all this, and you still didn't listen at all."
"I did. But I still want to ask—there's really no solution?"
Asuka's gaze was unwavering. "They're too weak. Even the Upper Moons push them to their limits. If they face Kibutsuji, everyone might die!"
Seeing his determination, the young man fell silent.
After a long moment, he gave an answer that made Asuka's pupils contract—
"...Then the only option is to construct a domain capable of withstanding your spiritual pressure."
"How?"
The young man frowned deeply. "At the moment you break your limit, I will distort the surrounding space into a non-existent plane."
"Because of the restriction release, your physical body may collapse. At most, it can sustain you for fifteen minutes."
"...Even so, forcibly interfering with reality carries immense risk."
"Fifteen minutes. After that, no matter what happens, I will shut down your spiritual power circuits."
"As for what comes next… that depends on luck."
The words echoed endlessly in Asuka's ears.
"...That's enough."
In reality, Muzan had severed his own neck, struggling to regenerate his head while fleeing at extreme speed from Asuka's terrifying blade.
He had already decided—split into thousands of fragments and escape!
But in the next moment, he froze.
He wanted to flee, but some force suppressed him. He could no longer freely control the division of his flesh!
Space began to distort.
Centered on Asuka, an unreasonable, overwhelming pressure erupted, instantly covering a hundred-meter radius.
At that moment—whether it was the Hashira watching the battle, the struggling Demon Slayer Corps members, or even the crows flying in the sky—
All living beings felt their breathing become difficult, as if an immense weight gripped their throats!
Then, an irresistible wave of exhaustion and dizziness surged like a tide, dragging their consciousness toward an endless abyss of darkness.
"What is this feeling? Muzan's Blood Demon Art?" Sanemi Shinazugawa reacted violently, stabbing his own hand without hesitation to stay conscious through pain.
But he quickly realized—this dizziness wasn't physical.
It was fatigue from the depths of the soul.
Thud… thud…
One after another, muffled groans and collapsing bodies echoed.
Even the Hashira could not fully resist this higher-level spiritual pressure. They fell to their knees, struggling desperately against the draining force upon their souls.
Shinobu Kocho was sweating, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at the boy now floating in midair—
"Asuka… what are you…?"
His skin was burning, his muscles peeling away, his entire form becoming blurred and translucent.
Aside from Tanjiro's special vision that could see souls, only the Hashira who had activated the Transparent World could still perceive him clearly.
The gray-white haori he wore was rapidly being dyed black—the color of annihilation and death.
His presence was growing more and more terrifying.
"Muzan… repay the sins you've committed."
Asuka released his Zanpakuto.
A gentle breeze passed, and the blade turned to ash in midair.
His lips moved silently.
In the next instant—whether those within the Infinity Castle battlefield or the citizens of Tokyo awakened by the chaos—
All witnessed a miracle.
Boom—!!
The night sky of Tokyo lit up.
A blazing sun appeared out of nowhere, radiating scorching, dazzling brilliance!