The Kakushi responsible for the final stretch of the journey felt as though his lungs were about to burst.
Never in his life had he run so fast or been in such a sorry state.
The person on his back seemed less like a person than an invisible mountain, a cold statue of a god that could see through everything. That pressure kept him from daring to pause for even a moment. He only wanted to go faster, faster still, deliver him to his destination, then get as far away from him as possible.
When he all but stumbled and scrambled through the familiar village entrance, his legs went weak, and he nearly fell straight to his knees.
"We're here... Lord Thunder Hashira... we're here..."
Panting heavily, his voice trembling, he carefully lowered Uesugi Sasuke to the ground.
Almost at the same time, another Kakushi arrived along a different path, carrying Tanjiro on his back.
The two removed Sasuke's and Tanjiro's blindfolds and took the earplugs out of their ears.
Light and sound returned to their world after an absence of nearly a full day and night.
Tanjiro blinked, his eyes struggling to adjust. The moment he made out the scene before him, he could not help letting out a small gasp of wonder.
This place seemed like a secluded paradise.
A small village surrounded by mountains sat quietly in a valley. A clear stream ran through it, white steam rose in wisps everywhere, and the air was thick with the sulfurous smell of hot springs.
Stranger still, every villager he could see, regardless of age or sex, wore a comical-looking Hyottoko Mask.
Some were beating laundry by the stream, some were carrying timber, and others were grinding something beneath the eaves with a rasping sound. The clang of smithing