The white-hot tunnel didn't collapse; it felt like a smooth, silent elevator ride through the stars.
When the light finally faded, Okarun, Momo, and Makima were standing on the steps of a shrine.
The air smelled of incense and summer rain.
The cicadas were buzzing just as they should.
"We... we did it?"
Momo whispered, looking at her hands. Her pink aura was faint, but still there.
Okarun looked around, his violet hair slowly returning to its natural black state.
"The shrine is exactly the same. The town looks the same. But..."
He placed his hand on the stone railing.
"Ayase-san, can you feel that? The frequency is wrong."
It was a Normal World. There were no lingering spirits under the eaves.
No alien signals in the sky. When Okarun tried to tap into the "Golden Path," there was nothing but a flat, silent void.
It was a perfect, peaceful world—one where Turbo Granny never existed, and they were just ordinary teenagers.
Makima stood behind them, her yellow-ringed eyes scanning the horizon.
"There are no Devils here,"
She said, her voice sounding strangely loud in the quiet air.
"No fear. No contracts. My power is stagnant... but my contract to love you remains."
They had jumped, but they hadn't landed at home.
They had landed in an Alternative Reality where the supernatural simply didn't exist.
They were anomalies in a world of logic.
The stillness of the Normal World was eerie.
For Okarun and Momo, who were used to the constant static of spirits and the hum of alien machinery, the silence was almost deafening.
"It's too quiet,"
Momo muttered, kicking a pebble.
"It's like the world is holding its breath."
Okarun closed his eyes, focusing on the core of his Phase-engine.
He extended his hand, and the Golden Path flickered into existence.
In this world devoid of supernatural interference, the map didn't just show one line—it unfolded like a massive, crystalline tree of light, its branches reaching into the infinite.
"I see it,"
Okarun whispered, his sweat beads glistening.
"We're on the right track. The frequency of this world is like a stepping stone. Our home... our real home... is still several leaps away. It's like trying to cross a vast ocean by jumping between tiny islands."
As the map flared, Okarun's knees buckled.
The violet glow in his eyes dimmed to a flicker, and a wave of intense exhaustion washed over him.
"Okarun!"
Momo caught him, her hands steadying his shoulders.
"The Phase Devil power..."
Okarun panted, his chest heaving.
"It's not like moving through a room anymore. Crossing the void between realities takes a massive toll. I've drained the 'Ignition' we got from Reze and the 'Stability' from the Eternity Devil just to get us this far. I'm empty."
Makima stepped forward, her hand resting gently on Okarun's back.
Without her Devil contracts, she couldn't simply summon power, but she remained a master of observation.
"Your engine needs to cool down and refuel. If you force another jump now, the friction between dimensions will tear your physical body apart."
"How long?"
Momo asked, looking at the peaceful town below.
"Days. Maybe weeks,"
Okarun replied, looking at his palm where the Golden Path was fading.
"We have to wait until my energy restores and the engine stabilizes. We're stuck here as 'normals' until then."
They descended the shrine steps and entered the town. It was a surreal experience:
They walked past the high school. There were no ghosts in the lockers, and the "Occult Club" was just a group of kids playing board games.
They went to a family restaurant. Makima, despite her lack of power, used her natural charisma to navigate the menu. Watching the former Control Devil try to understand the concept of a "loyalty card" was the only thing that made Momo laugh.
Okarun noticed that while they couldn't see spirits, people seemed to subconsciously move away from them. Their very presence was a "glitch" in the logic of this world.
On the third day of resting, Okarun opened the map again. This time, he noticed something strange. The paths weren't just static; they were pulsing.
"Ayase-san, look,"
Okarun pointed to a specific node on the Golden Path.
"Each world we visit... If we find a source of energy in these worlds—even if it's not curse energy or fear—I might be able to charge the engine faster."
Momo looked at the node.
"But this world is normal. Where are we going to find 'energy' in a place that doesn't believe in it?"
Makima looked at a nearby skyscraper.
"Fear is universal, even if it doesn't manifest as Devils. And where there is technology, there is kinetic potential. Perhaps we don't need curse energy. Perhaps we just need a massive amount of 'Food'."
5/10