Chapter 20: The Fractured Cosmos
The silence that followed was deafening. The battlefield—if it could still be called that—was a vast, shattered void, remnants of distorted space floating aimlessly. The raw power of their combined attack had left an imprint on reality itself. But as the dust settled, the four warriors remained on high alert.
Naruto lowered his hands, his breathing ragged. "Did we... win?"
Toji clicked his tongue, gripping the handle of his weapon. "Don't let your guard down. That thing doesn't seem like the type to go down so easily."
A deep, resonating hum filled the void. The fragments of the Anti-Spiral's form quivered, each piece glowing with an eerie, pulsating light. Slowly, they began to drift back together.
Gojo's expression remained calm, but his Six Eyes sharpened. "Tch. It's still reconstructing itself. Looks like we only managed to crack its shell."
Sukuna's laughter echoed through the empty space. "Hah! This just makes things more interesting."
The reassembling form of the Anti-Spiral pulsed as its voice returned, colder and more emotionless than before. "You have delayed the inevitable. You are anomalies within an ordered existence. This struggle will only end one way."
Suddenly, a massive gravitational force pulled at them, distorting time and space. The void itself seemed to warp, dragging them into a spiraling abyss. The stars bent, reality flickered, and in an instant, they were no longer where they had stood before.
They found themselves in a place unlike any other—a vast cosmic landscape where logic held no meaning. Planets crumbled into ink-like streams, twisting and reforming into endless spirals. A sense of weightlessness overcame them, but the oppressive presence of the Anti-Spiral still loomed.
Gojo glanced around, scanning the area with his Six Eyes. "This isn't just another battlefield. This place... it's inside the Anti-Spiral's consciousness."
Naruto clenched his fists. "So what? That just means we fight our way out."
Toji smirked, adjusting his stance. "Tch. You make it sound simple."
Sukuna cracked his neck, his four arms flexing. "Then let's stop talking and start tearing this place apart."
The Anti-Spiral's presence intensified, its form now a towering, ever-shifting monolith of darkness. "This is the Spiral Nemesis. The fate of all who resist. You cannot escape."
Gojo's smirk widened. "Yeah? Watch us."
With that, the battle raged on once more—but this time, they weren't just fighting for survival. They were fighting within the very mind of their greatest enemy.