Altered Chinatsu lowered her head, gazing in shock at the shackles wrapped around her body. Though they didn't completely restrict her movement, they transformed her from a lofty strong individual into an utterly mediocre ordinary person.
This was undoubtedly the effect of the Binding Vow.
Altered Chinatsu raised her head, her red eyes, already distinct from the Rikugan's azure, now glowed even more crimson. She gritted her teeth, roaring like a furious beast at her other self, who was also bound by the same shackles.
"I am you! You are me! We are one, why go to such lengths to deny yourself! Isn't it good to be unrestrained?! Isn't it good to be free?! Didn't we work so hard back then just to live a leisurely, untroubled life in the end? Look at what you're doing now?!"
The emotions in her words were neither feigned nor false, for she was indeed as she said; though the external conflict was the factor that gave birth to her, she undoubtedly originated from a dark corner of Chinatsu's own heart.
Chinatsu had considered becoming an unrestrained Sukuna, devoid of moral constraints. If she could harden her heart and move in that direction, it would certainly be much easier.
And this thought, amidst Kenjaku's deliberate creation of nationwide chaos and ever-increasing pressure, was constantly probing Chinatsu's deepest self like a devil's claw.
In the depths of the spiritual world, the shackles of the Binding Vow now bound both of them. One gnashed her teeth, roaring in anger, while the other merely bowed her head in silence, as if accepting her fate.
It was this scene that infuriated Altered Chinatsu even more. She opened her mouth and continued to loudly rebuke.
"What are you doing?! Accepting your fate to perish with me?! Sacrificing yourself for the future of those people outside?! What kind of spiritual victory is this? Do you really think this is good enough?!"
Altered Chinatsu clenched her teeth. She originated from Chinatsu's spirit; in other words, apart from her extreme personality, she possessed the same memories, thought processes, and so on as the original host. Precisely because of this, no one understood Chinatsu better than she did, because she was also Chinatsu.
Chinatsu had many labels, and people around her had many different evaluations of her. Some teased Chinatsu for her twisted personality, some envied Chinatsu's talent, and some admired Chinatsu.
Chinatsu was perhaps... or rather, was undoubtedly a perfectionist. Since transmigrating to this world, she had been preparing for and altering various future tragedies.
Suguru Geto, Haibara, Kento Nanami, Riko Amanai, Masamichi Yaga, Rika Orimoto, Yuta Okkotsu, Yuji Itadori... she had done her utmost to help those around her avoid tragic endings, striving to reach the ultimate perfect ending.
Although there would be some unavoidable self-sacrifice in the process of reaching the perfect ending, Chinatsu had actually never excluded herself from the grand list of those who would reach the perfect ending.
"I" don't like tragic endings.
But now, "I" have given up? Although this might be the best method at the moment, this is completely unlike "me" and completely unlike "Chinatsu"; it's simply...
Altered Chinatsu seemed to have thought of something; she suddenly lowered her head to look at the shackles of the Binding Vow on her own body, then raised her head to look at the shackles of the Binding Vow on her other self. At the same time, Chinatsu, who had been silently looking down, actually raised her foot and took a step towards her.
The sound of the Binding Vow's shackles rattling continuously echoed, and Chinatsu's lowered head also slightly lifted. A confident expression, completely unlike someone resigning to a mutual demise, filled her eyes.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Have you finally realized? You kept saying we were one, but why have you forgotten we are one at this most crucial point?"
The rattling sound of shackles.
The sound of footsteps moving forward.
At this moment, Altered Chinatsu finally realized the crucial point she had overlooked from the very beginning due to her distracted thoughts.
It wasn't that Chinatsu sacrificed everything to gain shackles strong enough to bind her; rather, Chinatsu sacrificed the power she could wield within her spiritual world, so she, as also Chinatsu, was also confined of her power.
Although the power confined to both sides was not equal, this was never an equal scale. The power of the two was not placed on two sides of a scale, but on the same side.
The shackles of confined power bound them both. Now, they only possessed pure spiritual strength, and in terms of spiritual strength alone, Chinatsu declared that she would not lose to anyone, let alone this other self, who had just been born like an infant.
Amidst the rattling sounds of the shackles, Chinatsu quickly arrived in front of her other self, looking down at her as if from a superior position.
Her eyes were filled with arrogance and confidence; this was undoubtedly the gaze befitting that Chinatsu. Their eyes met at close range, and the outcome of their spiritual duel was decided from the very beginning.
And in the distance, in the direction Chinatsu was looking, Kenjaku's figure seemed to appear. Chinatsu simply ignored him and slightly raised her head.
"Kenjaku, I won in the end."
As Chinatsu's words left her mouth, the scene shifted from the depths of the spiritual world back to the barren reality. Satoru Gojo and the others were anxiously supporting Chinatsu's unconscious body, their faces full of worry.
"She's... she's awake!"
As one of them shouted, everyone's gaze immediately converged on Chinatsu's face, which had been unconscious. Worry was clearly etched on their faces.
In fact, earlier, because the real-world Chinatsu suddenly lost all signs of activity like a puppet, the three great domains, led by the full-power Unlimited Void, almost simultaneously inflicted irreversible damage on Chinatsu.
Fortunately, the three of them noticed Chinatsu's abnormality at the last second, like a speeding sports car suddenly slamming on the brakes, which truly shocked them all.
The unconscious Chinatsu slowly unfurled her brows, and a scene that shocked everyone present unfolded: one of her Rikugan, which had originally extended like a distant azure sky, now transformed into a dreamlike crimson.
Had Chinatsu not yet regained her sanity?
This thought flashed through everyone's minds, and the next sentence Chinatsu uttered dragged their hearts into the abyss.
"Who are you...?"
Everyone present was stunned as if struck by lightning, none more so than Satoru Gojo. He clearly showed a bewildered expression, his mind racing.
Could it be... a Binding Vow?
Regaining consciousness at the cost of her memories?
An indescribable sadness welled up in his heart. Although there was a faint hint of "evil" emotion within it, it was almost instantly swallowed by the grief.
He took a deep breath, his face showing an unprecedented seriousness and solemnity.
Just as he was about to make a very solemn statement, Chinatsu, in their line of sight, suddenly couldn't help but let out a "poof" of laughter. She raised a hand and flicked Satoru Gojo, who was completely unprepared, on the forehead.
Bang!
Satoru Gojo covered his forehead with both hands and, along with everyone else, blinked in a daze. As they came to their senses, they all smiled in unison, including Chinatsu, despite the weakness evident on her face.
"I'm back!"
....
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