The tearing force of the Void Nether scraped across their souls like billions of icy blades. Boruto and the others' bodies, fading into nothing, forcibly solidified again. The silver glow of the Jōgan and the purple fire of the Mangekyo struck a thin line of light in the darkness, while Mitsuki's Gap Net threads wrapped around one another's wrists, pinning the three of their heartbeats to the same rhythm.
"Boundary Guardian..." Boruto looked at that faint glimmer on the verge of collapse, his throat tightening. "You were never an island."
The Boundary Guardian's phantom trembled lightly. It gave no answer, but slowly raised a hand. In its palm appeared a translucent lock-shaped mark—that was the Lock of the Boundary Guardian, formed from its soul over billions of years, and the final barrier sealing off the Void Nether. Now the lock was covered in cracks, and from every crack, ink black Void Nether surged out, dragging its existence bit by bit toward annihilation.
"It won't hold much longer." Blood seeped from Sarada's fingertips. The Power of Yin spread along the threads of light, trying to mend the lock, but the moment it touched the Lock of the Boundary Guardian, the Void Nether devoured it instantly, without leaving even the slightest ripple. "The Void Nether is devouring its soul. Once the lock breaks, the Omni-Dimension will have no barrier left."
Mitsuki closed his eyes. The Gap Net no longer searched outward, but drew inward instead, weaving all three of their memories, bonds, obsessions, and feelings into a net that wrapped toward the Boundary Guardian. "The Boundary Guardian's mission was never to endure alone. We have walked through the Omni-Dimension, seen Symbiosis, understood bonds. Now it is our turn to guard it."
From the cracks in the Lock of the Boundary Guardian, the