This was...
Had it worked?
The strange pattern of the enormous Wind Shuriken slowly faded from his mind. Amid the utter darkness before his eyes, a narrow crack slowly opened, and light immediately shone through it, staining that slit with brightness.
Then, the bright crack grew wider and wider, while the spreading darkness slowly faded away with it, until a blaze of light filled his vision and all darkness was gone.
"Drip..."
Then, amid that all-encompassing brightness, as if a droplet had fallen into water, ripples slowly spread across the bottom of his vision.
In an instant, a space whose walls were crisscrossed with pipes appeared before him. At the far end of the space stood an enormous gate, tightly sealed shut by a massive seal on its doors that formed the character "Seal," making it particularly conspicuous.
"W-What is this place?"
At that moment, a cry of alarm rang out beside him, filled with shock and disbelief.
It was Hirohiko's voice.
It had worked! Hearing Hirohiko's cry, Chiba immediately concluded that he had succeeded. By relying on the ocular power in Hirohiko's eyes, he had entered this Sealed Space, a place one would ordinarily enter only on the verge of death.
Yet instead of studying that Sealing Jutsu at once, he looked to the side, at the close friend he had not seen in over half a year. Even though darkness had tainted his heart, he still trusted him without condition. Since coming to this world, Hirohiko could be called his best male friend.
"Hirohiko... you!"
However, the moment he looked over, he froze. His entire body nearly trembled as a startled cry escaped his lips.
At that moment, the young figure before him, manifested from ocular power—the young man staring blankly at the enormous character for "Seal"—was little