The void burned.
Not with fire, but with memory.
Gojo stood surrounded by spiraling flames — not ordinary fire, but ethereal: red, violet, gold, each flicker carrying voices, faces, pain. Whispers of ancestors long dead clawed at his mind.
"Coward…"
"You ran from your bloodline…"
"You left her to die…"
"You are unworthy."
"SHUT UP!!" he screamed, clutching his head.
Chains slithered up his legs — glowing with kanji that pulsed in searing light: 忍 (endure), 義 (honor), and 罪 (sin).
Across the inferno, Remis stood unshackled now, her true form revealed. Her long hair danced like living fire, and from her back unfurled two massive wings of flame, each feather a burning scripture. Her eyes, golden and ancient, bore down on him like a kami judging a mortal.
"You seek to wield my power," she said, voice echoing like a thousand bells, "but you do not even understand your own soul."
She raised her hand.
A katana of pure fire manifested in her palm — its name burned into the blade: Benikazuchi – 紅雷 (Crimson Thunder).
"Face me, Gojo Haruki. Prove your soul is not weak."
He summoned his own blade — Seireiken, barely stable, flickering like a candle.
Their swords clashed — not with sound, but with thunder.
BOOM.
The entire void twisted with the force of it.
Gojo was hurled back. His arm cracked. His shoulder dislocated.
Remis floated toward him, untouched, her voice cold:
"Do you think power is screaming louder than your enemy? Or flailing harder? You misunderstand what it means to carry a divine flame."
Gojo gritted his teeth. "Then teach me!"
"You wish to learn?" she said. "Then let me show you what your ancestors endured."
---
Flashfire Vision – The Sin of Gojo's Bloodline
Suddenly — he was a child again.
But not himself.
He was his great-grandfather, Gojo Hisanori, watching his village burn at the hands of rogue onmyōji.
Screaming. Blood. A young woman impaled by a cursed spear.
"Protect the flame!" someone shouted. "Don't let the goddess fall!"
Back to the void.
Then again — a woman's face.
His mother , Keiko , holding a dagger against her throat in front of an old shrine, tears falling as a ritual circle burned beneath her.
"To seal the fire… someone must bleed."
Gojo collapsed, shaking.
"I… I never knew…"
Remis knelt before him, her voice now soft.
"Now do you see, boy? Your power is not a weapon. It is a curse paid in blood."
Gojo looked at his shaking hands.
"I'm not strong enough."
She placed her palm on his chest — and suddenly, fire flooded through him.
Pain.
Memories.
All of it.
He screamed as golden kanji etched themselves into his soul:
"不屈 – FUKUTSU – UNYIELDING."
His blade glowed red-hot. His eyes flickered gold.
"Then become strong," she whispered. "Burn. Rise. Break the cycle."
---
Back in the Real World
Gojo's body suddenly arched — flames burst from his chest, licking the ceiling.
Hikami staggered back. "What the hell?!"
His eyes shot open, glowing gold, lips parting with a whisper:
"Benikazuchi… activate."
---
Inside the Spirit Realm – Final Strike
Gojo surged forward — Seireiken now blazing with crimson thunder, its edge trailing lightning arcs. Remis smiled.
They clashed — once, twice, and then—
Gojo spun mid-air, kicked off a floating rune platform, and screamed:
"Retsu Raijinken – 裂雷神剣!!!"
(Divine Thunderblade – Rend!)
His blade shattered through the void — splitting Remis clean in two.
No blood.
Only light.
As her body dissipated, she laughed.
"Good… You are ready."
The fire consumed everything.
And then—
Silence.
---
Back in Reality
Gojo gasped awake.
His body drenched in sweat.
He looked at Hikami, dazed.
"Hikami… I saw her. The goddess in chains."
She stared at him, stunned. "…What did she say?"
He stood, eyes glowing faintly, a faint tattoo of red kanji pulsing on his chest.
"She said… I'm not allowed to run anymore."
---
To be continued…