The Crystal's Whisper and The Wind's Embrace

Chapter 73: The Heart of Darkness

The air grew colder as they descended.

The shattered walls of the Infinity Castle no longer shifted. They opened. Inviting them forward like a mouth opening to devour. The floor beneath their feet pulsed with a heartbeat that didn't belong to any of them.

Tsukiyo walked in silence, her hand still clasped in Sanemi's. Every step ached, but she didn't let go.

Genya had been entrusted to the Kakushi just moments before, his injuries too severe to risk the next descent.

Muichiro, unconscious and missing an arm, had also been handed over to the healers' care. He had given everything in battle—his fight, for now, was done.

But for the rest of them, it was just beginning.

The group entered a vast hall carved of obsidian and bone. At its center stood a figure.

White skin like polished porcelain. Eyes a deep crimson, unfathomably cold. Hair black as void.

Muzan Kibutsuji.

The slayers stopped in unison.

Muzan's gaze swept across them—unblinking, expressionless. As if their lives were little more than dust on his sleeve.

"So," he said, voice silken. "You've survived longer than I expected."

His eyes landed briefly on Tanjiro, then Giyu, then Sanemi—and finally, on Tsukiyo.

"I see the Crystal Hashira still breathes." A smirk. "Pity."

Sanemi growled, stepping forward. "You speak like a god."

"I am," Muzan replied calmly.

"Coward," Giyu said. A single word. Icy and sharp.

Muzan's eyes narrowed faintly.

Rengoku stepped forward, fire in his blood. "You've taken our comrades. Poisoned our world. Burned through centuries of life and light." He pointed his blade at Muzan. "That ends now."

Mitsuri trembled beside Obanai, but her hands didn't falter on her whip. "You killed Shinobu! I won't forgive you!"

Zenitsu's fingers twitched by his blade. "Kaigaku was only a shadow of your hatred. You made him what he was."

Inosuke snarled, stepping forward with wild eyes blazing. "You think you're strong? We'll tear you apart—no matter what hell you crawl out of!"

Tanjiro, breath steady, met Muzan's gaze with quiet fury. "You won't run again."

Muzan laughed, low, and melodic. "You think this is the end? No. This is the beginning... of your end."

Suddenly—the walls shifted again.

Chains of blood-red flesh erupted from the floor and ceiling, whipping across the room. A cacophony of screams echoed from unseen corners—demonic, maddened.

But the Hashira didn't move. They stood firm.

Tsukiyo's heart thrummed like a storm as she settled beside Sanemi. He didn't speak, but the heat of his grip on her hand said everything. In the quiet between them, a fierce bond was forged—unspoken, yet unbreakable.

Muzan raised a single finger.

From the floor—a pool of darkness surged upward, rising, forming tendrils, blades, mouths.

The room exploded into chaos.

"NOW!" Gyomei roared.

The Hashira charged.

Crystal and Wind. Flame and Water. Love and Serpent. Sun and Flower. Thunder and Beast.

All of them moved—together.

Towards the monster at the center of their world.

Towards the man who had stolen so much.

Towards the battle that would decide everything.

And Muzan, he smiled.