Night fell faster than usual. Mist began to swallow the treetops surrounding the camp, creating eerie silhouettes that shifted as if alive. Amidst the cold night, Itsuki awoke to a rustling sound. He turned—the protective circle still glowed faintly, but someone was missing.
Lira.
Quickly, Itsuki roused the others. Reina gripped her spear instantly, her sharp eyes piercing through the fog. "She left the circle. That's impossible unless she wanted to."
They followed Lira's trail toward the stone steps. Moonlight formed strange patterns on the ancient rocks. On the 77th step, they found her kneeling, blood on her hands, before a half-crumbling statue from the time of the Black Emperor.
"Lira!" Hana cried out, stepping forward.
Lira turned slowly. Her eyes were pitch black, devoid of life. But she smiled.
"His voice is so gentle," she murmured. "He said I could save you all—if I surrender."
Reina unsheathed her spear. "That's not your mother's voice, Lira. That's Yurina."
Lira stood, and in an instant, the aura around her shifted. A wave of dark energy rippled from her body. Black chains burst from the ground and wrapped around the statue behind her, awakening the guardian spirit long sealed away.
"I'm sorry," she said to Itsuki, her voice now an echo—two voices in one. "But I must open the Third Gate."
Itsuki stepped forward. "Lira, you still have a choice. I know you're not completely lost."
The smile faded. For a moment, Lira seemed like herself again. Her eyes trembled.
"Kill me before I open it."
At that instant, the guardian spirit rose from the statue behind her—a colossal being cloaked in chains, its face obscured, its body made of stone, blood, and bound souls. It let out a roar that shook the air.
"Protect Lira!" Reina shouted. "But don't let her near the seal!"
The battle began.
While Reina and Akito held off the stone creature, Itsuki ran to Lira, trying to sever the connection between her mind and Yurina's voice. He placed both hands on her head, and for a moment, they were linked.
A vision came—a white room, Yurina standing in the center. She smiled at her son, bleeding yet graceful. Beside her, a silhouette of Lira, like a frightened child, hid behind the maternal figure.
"My children always lose their way. But they always return to me."
Itsuki shouted, forcing the Black Emperor's blood-bound power to surge. Black and blue energy tore through the space, Yurina's voice fading—replaced by a scream.
When Itsuki opened his eyes, Lira was unconscious in his arms. The dark aura had vanished from her body. But now, the Third Gate trembled. One of the seal's chains had broken.
---
The fog hadn't lifted by dawn. But the calm was only a thin veil over the chaos that had just passed. Lira was still unconscious. Her body lay beside the stone altar, her breathing heavy but stable. Reina sat beside her, quietly standing guard. Akito stood at a distance, eyes locked on the horizon, jaw clenched.
Itsuki stood in the remnants of the battlefield, staring at the broken seal of the Third Gate. The once-glowing spiritual chain now hung limply, cracked and fragile. A part of the gate glowed blood-red—a sign that the spirit world had begun to breach its path.
"We failed to stop one of the three seals," Hana murmured. "If the other two fall, this world won't survive the spirit onslaught."
Reina added, "And Yurina knows that. She's forcing us to choose: fight the ones we love, or let the world fall open."
Amid the silence, Lira stirred awake. Her eyes returned to normal, but they now held a heavy burden—guilt that couldn't be hidden.
"I remember everything," she said softly. "When the voice came, I thought I was dreaming. But it gave me hope. It showed me a world without pain. Without loss."
"You're not alone," Itsuki said gently. "We've all been tempted. But now we know this isn't about power. It's about who we are in the face of ruin."
Lira looked at him for a long time, then bowed her head. "Then let me make it right."
Before anyone could respond, the earth trembled. A portal began to open at the foot of the Third Temple's steps. Red light burst from the rift, and a new figure emerged from within.
A tall being, cloaked in mist. Its face hidden by a mask of bone and gold. On either side, bound spirits crawled out, dragging their chains as they howled.
"She's sent the Gatekeeper," Akito said. "Yurina knows we're almost out of time."
The being spoke with a voice that echoed directly into their minds.
"Choose one to sacrifice. If not, your world will merge with ours—now."
Silence fell.
Lira stood, unsteady. "Take me. I'm the one who weakened the seal."
Itsuki grabbed her hand. "No. None of us will be sacrificed. Not on their terms."
Reina stared at the Gatekeeper. "Then we have to defeat it. Here. Now."
The Gatekeeper raised its hand, and the ground beneath them cracked. Three massive spirits emerged—once protectors of the world, now corrupted by Yurina's will.
Itsuki stepped forward. Black flames cloaked his body, but within that darkness, a blue light began to shine. Two opposing forces started to merge inside him.
"I've had enough of being bound by fate. Now I choose my own path."
—
-The Final Step Into the Spirit World
The sky above the Third Temple changed—blood red clashed with deep blue, creating a vortex of energy no human eye had seen before. Auras of life and death collided, like two ancient gods demanding sacrifice.
The Gatekeeper floated slowly, its body radiating nearly unbearable spiritual pressure. Behind it, the three great spirits formed their battle stances: a blind serpent-dragon, a giant wreathed in mist, and a dark-winged woman howling in an otherworldly tongue.
But this time, Itsuki didn't flinch.
The Black Emperor's energy burned within him, but for the first time, something was different. Within the darkness grew a light—a pure strength that came not from his bloodline, but from himself.
Reina stood beside him, casting protective incantations. Hana took the rear, organizing a spiritual formation. Lira, though still weak, forged a guardian field around the altar, preventing anyone from approaching the Final Gate. And Akito—he stood at the front line, ready to redeem his past with his black sword.
"Don't hold back, Itsuki," Akito said in a deep voice. "If you hesitate, we all die."
Itsuki nodded. "Let's end this—together."
The first strike came from the mist dragon, spiraling toward them as a whirlwind of energy. Akito leapt first, slicing the vortex in half. Reina attacked the winged woman with pure light magic, forcing the creature to shriek in pain. Meanwhile, the mist giant launched a massive punch at Hana, but Lira erected an energy barrier just in time.
But the Gatekeeper had not moved.
It merely raised its hand and...
…The Third Gate began to open on its own.
Dark red light poured out. Voices from the spirit world filled the air. Screams. Whispers. Laughter. And from within the gate, emerged a figure Itsuki knew all too well.
Yurina.
But not as a mother. Not the woman who vanished from his life. Yurina now appeared as a goddess of ruin—pupil-less black eyes, hair like flowing mist, a body half spirit, half human.
"You've finally grown, my son," she said, her voice soft yet terrifying. "And now, it's time to choose. Come with me, or burn with this world."
Itsuki took a step forward. "Why? Why are you doing this?"
"Because of love," Yurina replied. "Because of loss. Because this world is cruel. They rejected a power that could save everything. So I will begin again—with your blood, we can open a new world."
At that moment, the Gatekeeper struck—aiming a blast of energy strong enough to shatter the sky.
But Itsuki didn't retreat. He leapt forward, the powers of the Black Emperor and pure light fusing in his fist. Their clash sparked an explosion that tore the spiritual and human worlds apart.
And for the first time, the Gatekeeper retreated. But the cost of that power began to demand its due.
Blood trickled from Itsuki's nose. The veins in his arms blackened. Reina screamed, "You're pushing too far—that power will destroy you from within!"
But Itsuki didn't stop. "If I stop, nothing will be left."
Yurina stared at her son in silence. And for a moment, tears fell from her hollow eyes. She whispered:
"Forgive me. But this is the only way you can live."
Then, she vanished into the Third Gate's light, opening the path to the Spirit World. Itsuki knew the next battle would not be fought in the human realm—but deep within a world he had never known.
---
Once the Third Gate opened completely, the human world's air turned heavy and dense, as if wrapped in a living, breathing mist. The sky above the temple cracked, revealing a rift to a dimension beyond logic. A silent, terrifying darkness cloaked the world.
Itsuki stood frozen before the gate, his body trembling—not with fear, but because he could barely contain the energy raging inside him. The Black Emperor's power still burned, but now it seemed to demand something from him—a sacrifice.
"If you cross that gate, there's no guarantee you'll come back," Hana said, standing behind him.
"I know," Itsuki replied softly. "But she... she's my mother. And no matter what happens, I have to see the truth with my own eyes."
Akito stepped forward. "If you go, I go. We have unfinished business—with the past."
"Don't be reckless," Reina warned, but her voice was weak. She knew this was the only way. "The spirit world isn't ours to command. But if you're truly determined, we'll prepare a way home—no matter how small the chance."
Lira, who had been guarding the energy barricade, walked slowly to Itsuki's side. Her face was pale, but her eyes were resolute. "I can create a marker—a knot of energy at the entry point. If you return to this spot, I can open a way back."
Itsuki nodded. "Thank you, All."
Then, without hesitation, he stepped into the Third Gate. The spirit world welcomed him—with silence.