Beneath Jujutsu High.
Within that vast primeval forest stood not only the school's cursed object vault, but also a model house hidden in its deepest reaches.
Entering this room, one would immediately realize it was actually a massive metal box.
Then, with a mechanical hum, the iron box activated and began descending like an elevator.
Several minutes later—after plunging to unfathomable depths—the doors opened to reveal a breathtaking expanse.
An impossibly vast space stretched before them, spanning kilometers in width, illuminated by an unknown light source.
Countless antiquated rooms formed concentric rings around the periphery, all centered upon a towering sacred tree that pierced the dome-like ceiling.
At a glance, the colossal tree appeared to support the entire cavern roof, its height exceeding thousands of meters. Its sheer presence exuded mountain-crushing grandeur, leaving onlookers awestruck and speechless.
After escorting them here, Principal Yaga turned and departed.
The palace-like complex ahead housed Master Tengen's innermost sanctum. This time, Tengen had personally requested their audience and would guide them forward.
Roy stepped out of the iron elevator, gazing at the distant palace.
"Not surprising. Spending over a thousand years here would give anyone plenty of time to obsess over architectural layouts."
As he moved forward, a hand suddenly clutched his sleeve from behind.
"What?"
"U-um... can I go back now?"
Bocchi-chan's face had turned ashen, as if she'd been battling food poisoning all day.
"Why? We haven't even met our host yet."
Roy gave her a puzzled look.
"Tengen specifically asked for both of us. Leaving now would mean explaining yourself to Principal Yaga."
Strange.
Wasn't Bocchi-chan the type who thrived in isolated spaces? Why was she cowering like this?
She seemed... terrified of entering.
"Honestly, I have this condition where I can't breathe properly in wide-open places—"
"Bullshit. Let's go."
Bocchi-chan spun to flee.
Roy seized her skull and dragged her toward the palace.
"Ow ow ow! Stop squeezing my head!"
Inside, the palace unfolded like a labyrinth.
Every room was a separate barrier, making the entire complex a maze of countless interlocking cursed techniques.
Only one path led to the core. Stray from the correct sequence of rooms, and you'd be trapped forever—Tengen could manipulate each barrier at will, crafting infinite hellscapes to imprison intruders. This was the essence of the Infinite Void itself.
As Roy and Bocchi-chan reached the outermost chamber, the entire palace rotated like a colossal compass with a metallic groan.
After waiting briefly, a specific room aligned before them.
They stepped inside—and instantly entered a blank, featureless barrier space.
Within the barrier, there was nothing—not even a hint of color. The only thing filling the space was the planet's own atmosphere.
"A blank barrier... This must be Tengen's prepared template. When the time comes, it can instantly transform into whatever he desires."
Like a blank sheet of paper, this foundation provided the material basis for any masterpiece. All that was needed was to put pen to paper.
For others, this act of writing would be incredibly difficult, but for Tengen, it was as easy as flipping a hand.
After just a few steps, the white light before the two of them dissipated.
Before them stood the second layer of rooms, while behind them lay the outer first layer.
Soon, the second layer of rooms also began to rotate. One of the rooms stopped in front of them, and they entered once more... Repeating this process over a dozen times, they finally arrived at the roots of the towering giant tree.
Looking closely, there was an iron shutter door embedded in the ground at the base of the tree.
Opening that shutter would lead them inside the giant tree, as if a room had been built within.
"Blood! T-t-there's actually blood here!"
Just as Roy was gazing at the iron shutter door near the roots, Bocchi's startled cry suddenly rang in his ears.
His eyes sharpened, thinking an enemy had infiltrated. But when he turned, all he saw was a long-dried bloodstain on the ground, solidified like a patch of paint on the stone slab. It was impossible to tell how long it had been there.
A lightbulb suddenly flashed above Bocchi-chan's head.
"Something's definitely not right here! I'm outta here!"
With a face full of panic and absolute certainty in her guess, she turned and bolted outside.
Roy couldn't even be bothered to call her out, simply grabbing her head.
But the next moment, Bocchi-chan's body stretched like noodles—her head remained in Roy's grip while the rest of her body slithered without pause toward the room behind them.
Roy rolled his eyes.
Here we go again!
Bocchi-chan's technique was incredibly powerful—in Roy's eyes, it could rival, even surpass Gojo Satoru's. The ability to transform into a gag manga character was something that sent shivers down Roy's spine.
The only problem was that Bocchi-chan couldn't control this power.
This ability shifted endlessly with her emotions, with no fixed pattern whatsoever. As long as the mood struck, Bocchi-chan could morph into all sorts of bizarre forms.
It was as if the laws of the entire world were unfairly favoring her!
However, this technique also had a very subtle weakness.
Roy sighed deeply, then put on an exaggerated look of shock.
"Bocchi-chan, your body doesn't look human anymore! What's going on? Hurry and change back!"
"Huh? Really?"
Bocchi-chan glanced downward.
Instantly terrified by her endlessly stretching, noodle-like body, she let out a shriek.
Then, as if someone had cast a time-reversal spell, her body rapidly rewound to its original state. The comical transformation was enough to make one laugh and cry at the same time.
The sole drawback of Bocchi-chan's technique was that she couldn't become aware of her own gag-like transformations.
The moment she realized she was a gag character, her technique would instantly fail.
In other words, this technique was only suited for her own use.
Anyone with even a shred of self-awareness would be unable to unleash the full power of this technique.
"Waaah, teacher, I'm begging you! Please let me go outside! I really don't want to go in there!"
Bocchi-chan, having failed with one tactic, quickly switched to another. She clung desperately to Roy's hand that was holding her head, crying pitifully in an attempt to sway him with her tearful, pleading eyes.
"Why don't you want to go in?"
"Th-this... I don't want to say..."
Bocchi-chan blinked rapidly, pouting her lips in an attempt to look cute and get away with it.
Roy lifted her up effortlessly and leaped toward the distant metal gate.
"Noooooo—!!"
The metal gate slid open automatically.
Beyond it lay an endless expanse of pure white space.
At first glance, it resembled a boundless universe—completely white as snow, without a single speck of color.
Were it not for the metal gate behind them, one might have suspected this to be a blank, featureless cosmos devoid of any landmarks. Being trapped here would surely drive anyone to panic, and soon enough, madness.
"Welcome to the main hall of the Heavenly Star Palace."
As Roy stepped into the white void with Bocchi-chan, a figure gradually materialized like a mirage, shifting from illusion to reality.
It was a figure of average height, dressed in white robes, exuding an ethereal and transcendent aura—like an immortal untouched by the mortal world.
But upon closer inspection, her appearance was bizarre. Her head resembled a wooden stump, and her face bore four pure white eyes—two on each side, embedded like buttons.
Though her presence was otherworldly, her grotesque form sent chills down the spine.
"M-monster!"
Bocchi-chan trembled and instinctively hid behind Roy.
Tengen: "..."
Roy let out a quiet scoff.
He didn't correct Bocchi-chan's remark, nor did he acknowledge Tengen's reaction. Instead, he calmly asked his question.
"So you're Tengen, right? Why did you ask Yaga to summon me and Bocchi-chan here?"
Tengen's gaze lingered on Bocchi-chan for a long moment.
Her strange face seemed to conceal deeper thoughts.
Then, she shifted her attention to Roy, studying him carefully.
"Outlander sorcerer, this is our first meeting. As you said, I am Tengen."
With a wave of her hand, a low table and three cushions appeared before them.
On the table were three teacups and a steaming teapot.
"Please, have a seat. What I have to say may take some time."
Having spoken, she sat down first and poured tea into the cups.
Seeing this, Roy didn't hesitate and took a seat at the table.
Bocchi-chan hurriedly followed, sitting close to Roy while keeping a considerable distance from Tengen.
"Then keep it brief."
"Is this truly our first meeting? Yet, you seem to hold some resentment toward me. Or am I mistaken?"
A hint of confusion surfaced in Tengen's expression, her tone uncertain.
"Hah..."
Roy exhaled softly, giving Tengen a peculiar look.
"Has it been a long time since anyone treated you as an equal?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Tengen tilted her head slightly, genuinely curious.
"I don't have any particular opinion about you—no hostility, but no respect either."
Roy lifted the hot tea from the table and gently blew on it.
"Others might revere you for being the builder and maintainer of Japan's major barriers, protecting countless lives, but I don't feel that way at all. To me, you're just a stranger, and I have zero interest in you."
"Have you been respected for so long, or coveted by enemies for so long, or stayed cooped up for so long that you've forgotten how strangers see you? Don't get too full of yourself."
"...Perhaps you're right."
Tengen froze for a moment at his words, then nodded with a bitter smile.
"I've been here for so long that I've nearly forgotten what it was like to walk among ordinary people outside."
Tengen had spent over a thousand long years in this place.
The fact that she hadn't lost herself in the endless passage of time and devolved into a paranoid monster was already a stroke of luck.
Even among humans, people of different races and eras struggle to understand one another. Expecting her to share the same values as ordinary people outside would be nothing short of foolish.
"Cut to the chase. Why did you call us here?"