Robin was looking forward to discovering what kind of world awaited them.
The people approaching the strange island from the other direction—and the Hollow travelling with them—felt very differently.
The closer the Menos Grande came to the passage, the more it resembled a fish finally returning to water.
Energy leaking from the dimensional opening was being drawn into its spiritual body, gradually replenishing what it had lost after entering this world.
Gunko noticed the change immediately.
As Imu's maid and one of her reserve vessels, Gunko had no ability to resist Imu's will.
But the creature she had been ordered to escort was clearly behaving differently now.
And because Imu's consciousness remained connected to Gunko, she noticed it as well.
Far away, above what remained of Mary Geoise, Imu had been pouring everything she could into resisting Cyrus's overwhelming power.
Then, without warning, the darkness began to withdraw.
Cyrus noticed immediately.
"So it happened earlier than expected."
The enormous sun surrounding him rapidly contracted as well.
"She's getting impatient."
Just as their confrontation had been threatening to develop into a catastrophe capable of devastating the entire world, both sides abruptly stopped.
The consequences would not disappear immediately, of course.
The oceans were still overheated, the Red Line had been partially melted, and countless regions would need time to recover.
But the source of the disaster was gone.
The few News Coos that had survived the heat faithfully recorded the moment.
The enormous sun above Mary Geoise vanished, and the endless darkness pouring from the Red Line disappeared with it.
Only the gigantic melted breach remained as proof that the confrontation had ever happened.
Which raised an obvious question.
Who had won?
The moment the sun disappeared, people across the world began desperately searching for answers.
Anyone with a way to contact Cyrus tried.
None succeeded.
Without knowing the outcome, no major faction dared make any reckless moves.
Cyrus, meanwhile, simply had no attention to spare for them.
The passage was opening faster.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the approaching Menos Grande had accelerated the process.
More importantly, Cyrus could already sense that Imu had descended into her chosen vessel.
No matter what happened next, the first stage of his plan had succeeded.
Now there was only one possibility he needed to guard against.
Imu could pretend to cross into the other world while secretly transferring her consciousness again at the last moment, leaving part of herself behind.
Preventing that would require Cyrus to test his newly acquired spatial ability.
The same ability he hoped could stabilize the passage.
His figure emerged from fire, and a green doorway opened in front of him.
Cyrus stepped through.
…
"You're back."
Robin immediately looked toward him when he appeared.
"Is it over?"
"Not yet."
Cyrus turned toward the desert island in the distance.
"But it's close."
He didn't explain further.
The island's hazy, mirage-like appearance had almost completely disappeared.
It now looked increasingly solid, as though an actual landmass had suddenly appeared inside the Calm Belt.
Cyrus could also feel the flame seed inside the Menos Grande approaching at tremendous speed.
"Get ready."
He glanced toward Robin.
"Things probably won't be peaceful once we're through."
Then his attention shifted toward Teach.
Teach had already begun preparing to use the Float-Float Fruit to turn the Rose Hunter around, but Cyrus raised a hand to stop him and opened another doorway instead.
"Your part is finished."
Teach froze.
"You're really letting me go?"
"I keep my word."
Cyrus answered casually.
Teach studied him for a moment.
"You're not worried I'll start causing trouble after you leave?"
There was little point pretending innocence. Cyrus already knew far too much about him.
"If you have the courage, go ahead."
Cyrus waved dismissively.
Teach stared at him again, then finally stepped through the portal.
The doorway closed behind him.
Cyrus turned back toward the strange island.
"Robin, take us in."
"The ship probably won't be much use afterward, though."
Robin nodded and activated her ability.
The Rose Hunter slowly changed direction before sailing toward the desert island.
…
The concern Cyrus had considered was something Imu had genuinely thought about.
If she could deceive Cyrus into leaving this world while secretly remaining behind, then given enough time, she could rebuild her influence and seize control again.
But the idea was ultimately pointless.
Regaining everything she had lost would take an immeasurable amount of time and effort. Even if Cyrus never returned, recreating centuries of control from the beginning would be exhausting beyond calculation.
Black ribbons tipped with arrowheads wrapped tightly around the Menos Grande.
Imu kept most of her strength restrained, conserving it for whatever might happen once they reached the passage.
She knew Cyrus would never waste an opportunity like this.
While Imu was considering the possibilities, the strange island that had appeared in the Calm Belt finally came into view.
The Menos Grande suddenly began struggling.
Its bone-plated head twisted toward Imu, and spiritual energy gathered before its mouth.
"Hmph."
Imu immediately tightened the black ribbon around its neck.
Crack!
Bone fractured.
The energy gathering for a Cero dispersed before the attack could be released.
"Behave."
Imu's voice was ice-cold.
"Unless you want me to kill you before we even arrive."
Gunko's body was one of the few vessels Imu actually considered satisfactory. It accepted her power unusually well.
Even so, no borrowed body had ever felt as natural as her original one.
But Imu's true body had disappeared long ago.
For centuries, she had effectively existed as a ghost living through consciousness alone.
That was why the Menos Grande interested her so much.
A life-form composed entirely of spirit suggested another possibility.
Perhaps this journey would allow her to become something similar.
A pure spiritual being.
The Hollow understood the threat and stopped resisting.
Its brief attack had confirmed something important: although this woman was not as overwhelmingly powerful as Cyrus, she was still far beyond anything it could handle.
Imu wasted no more time.
Taking the Menos Grande with her, she transformed into a streak of darkness and shot directly into the desert island.
"Spatial Lock."
A voice rang out almost the instant she crossed the boundary.
Imu's body tensed.
Spatial power spread rapidly through the area, interacting with the bizarre structure where the two worlds overlapped.
Cyrus attempted to anchor the unstable space.
The result was disappointing.
Rather than stabilizing the passage, his power only disturbed it.
The attempt had failed.
Still, he had expected that possibility.
Even an ability related to space could not casually interfere with a point where two entirely separate worlds were intersecting.
The Duel-Duel Fruit was powerful, but in the end, its power still originated from a Devil Fruit.
It could manipulate space inside this world.
Breaking through the boundary between worlds was another matter entirely.
There were other restrictions as well.
The Door-Door Fruit could no longer be used inside the island.
The flame seeds Cyrus had left throughout his own world vanished from his perception the moment he crossed the boundary.
Even Observation Haki could not extend beyond the strange spatial border surrounding the island.
They had entered without suffering any damage, but the separation between worlds remained absolute.
That was not exactly good news.
But neither was it entirely bad.
Because at the very least…
Cyrus looked toward the opposite side of the island.
A woman stood there beside an enormous monster.
After absorbing the energy leaking from its own world, the Menos Grande had already recovered from its weakened state.
In fact, it was now even larger than when Cyrus had first encountered it.