The moment the ancient bronze mirror released a surge of cursed light, Natsume and the others had their vision swallowed by an overwhelming sheet of pure white.
Weightlessness, tearing, inversion...
Countless chaotic and contradictory sensations slammed into their senses all at once, overwhelming their nerves in a violent rush.
The entire transition lasted less than a second, yet in that instant the distortion stretched long enough to feel endless.
When that blinding whiteness finally receded and their vision returned, the scene before their eyes had changed completely.
The filthy, foul-smelling dorm room saturated with cursed energy was gone.
In its place was an empty, freezing hospital room that reeked of formalin and disinfectant.
Stained walls.
A ceiling yellowed with age.
A bare metal bed frame covered by a white sheet, with no one lying on it.
A single door with frosted glass, shut tight.
Everything radiated the suffocating pressure and dead silence unique to an old hospital from the last century.
"T, this… where are we?!"
The panicked, trembling voice that finally broke the stillness belonged to Kaguya.
The face that had always been proud and cold had lost all color. Her ruby eyes were completely unfocused, clouded with fear. She could not understand. One second ago they had been in the dormitory, and the next second they were suddenly in a place like this.
It completely exceeded everything she had built up over more than ten years, all her understanding grounded in science and logic.The worldview she had trusted for more than a decade was crumbling faster than she could process.
"A domain… or more precisely, a mirror world."
In sharp contrast to her panic, Natsume's expression remained as calm as ever.
He slowly took in their surroundings. His blue Six Eyes were working at extreme speed, dissecting this strange space constructed by unknown power.
"A closed space formed from concentrated cursed energy and resentment, anchored to that mirror. The Mirror Spirit's true body should be somewhere inside."
"Mm." Yashiro nodded, just as composed. In her twin pupils, a bright spark of excitement and curiosity danced. "The rules here are stable, and the density of malice is high. This space is perfect for hunting."
Listening to them talk as casually as if they were choosing a dinner menu, Kaguya felt like she was about to lose her mind.
Beside her, Ai let out a stifled sob after a brief moment of stunned silence. Her legs gave out, and she nearly crumpled to the floor.
"Staying still will not help us."
Natsume glanced at the mistress and maid pair, both already on the verge of breaking, and decided not to waste any more time.
"If we've been dragged onto the enemy's turf, then the first thing we do is make it ours."
Before he finished speaking, he slowly raised his right hand.
"Come out."
At his quiet summons, the deepest patch of darkness in the corner of the room, where even the dim, candle-like light of this place failed to reach, began to writhe as if alive.
A mass of wet, ink black hair, heavy with endless resentment, slid out first, snaking across the floor like a venomous serpent.
Then, a woman in a white dress, skin corpse pale, stepped slowly out of the shadows. From her body rolled a suffocating special grade curse aura that could freeze a soul in place.
Sadako.
Before Kaguya could recover from the heart stopping terror of that alone, the space beside Natsume shifted again.
Countless green vines and blossoms, brimming with life, emerged from the air itself. They wove and coiled with eerie grace, spiraling together until they formed a humanoid shape that radiated natural majesty and special grade cursed energy.
Hanami.
Their cursed presences descended at once, pressing down on the space with crushing weight.
The mirror world itself shuddered and groaned in protest.
"Ahhh!! G, ghosts, ghosts…!!"
There were no words left to describe Kaguya's state of mind. Only the most piercing, broken scream of her life could escape her throat.
Everything she believed about the world had just fallen apart.
"Oh? This looks fun."
Seeing her reaction, Yashiro patted her own small backpack, refusing to be outdone.
"In that case, let my children come say hello too."