FLASHBACK — KEICHŌ ERA
The stench of gunpowder and blood coiled over the charred remains of Shōryū-ji Temple. Ash fell like snow, clinging to worn armor and half-burned scrolls of cursed sutra. Amid the gray plains, Shinzo Zen'in knelt on a wounded leg, a shadow-forged spear clutched in his hand—his entire body soaked in a thick, dark liquid that wasn't entirely human blood.
Surrounding him stood the remnants of his ancient shikigami army—The Iron-Jawed Slaughter Dog, the Black-Scaled Stone Serpent, and the Nine-Eyed Hawk that once dominated the clouds. Most of them now lay shattered, reduced to cursed smoke. For two days and two nights, they had battled a single opponent: the Gojo clan leader of that era, the Six Eyes user known as Gojo Nagao.
Nagao stood across the scarred battlefield, his white robes tattered, yet his skin remained unscathed, protected by Limitless. His eyes gleamed like shards of frozen crystal—analyzing every turbulence in Shinzo's cursed energy with the precision of a surgeon dissecting a vein.
Shinzo—his consciousness flickering between life and death—understood now: the overwhelming power of Infinity rendered his every strike useless, halted at the width of a leaf before reaching his foe. With breath faltering, he began chanting an ancient mudra—one forbidden to utter outside the jaws of death.
"Furube... yurayura... nanoritsuku..."
"Hear me—Divergent Divine General, Mahoraga."
The earth split. Shadows behind Shinzo boiled like night melting beneath the sun. A vortex of blackness swallowed the world's sounds. From that abyss crawled Mahoraga—a towering beast with four inverted-jointed arms and an eight-spoked wheel slowly spinning on its back, sizing up the enemy it had never faced before: Infinity.
Nagao raised his hand, thickening Infinity's barrier until the ground beneath him cracked under the pressure dome. But Mahoraga's wheel groaned... once... then twice—its absolute adaptation rewriting the laws that shielded Gojo.
In the next instant:
– One of Mahoraga's arms pierced the Infinity dome.
– The sound of snapping bone shattered through the falling ash.
– Nagao's body was flung, dragging a bloody trench several meters long.
By the third impact, Six Eyes dimmed. Shinzo's shadow blade carved a deep, black gash across his chest—the blue light in Nagao's eyes fading as Mahoraga roared into the night.
Records only noted a massive earthquake that struck the Kai province that night. No scroll dared preserve the truth of "The Shadow that Devoured the Light"—for no witness lived to tell it.
---
PRESENT DAY — TAKEYAMA FOREST
Cold breath steamed from Shinzo's lips—now residing within Ren's body—as he stared at the dark altar glowing in flickering candlelight. That same ancient energy that once reduced Shōryū-ji Temple to rubble now leaked into the air, sizzling like searing metal around Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto.
Behind him, Grandma Ogami hobbled forward, lured by the birth of a forbidden weapon she had just revived.
"My dearest grandchild," she rasped, wrinkled fingers stretching out,
"Kill those two for me."
Shinzo tilted his neck—casually, yet the air snapped with tension. Silence fractured as he vanished. His cursed-laced foot flew toward Ogami's throat—
—but halted mid-air.
Half of Shinzo's face shifted, jawline softening: Ren was pushing through, eyes glowing with pure panic.
"Grandma Ogami, RUN…!"
The voice cracked, hoarse—two echoes clashing in the same throat.
Shinzo sneered, holding back the deathblow.
"You little brat…"
The deadly kick softened, reduced to a shove that merely made Ogami stumble.
Shinzo (coldly): "Let's make a deal, fragile heir. Surrender this body completely to me—
and I'll let the old woman keep breathing."
Years of brainwashing had carved a reflex into Ren: protect Ogami at all costs. Without hesitation, he allowed his consciousness to be dragged back into the abyss.
The split face sealed shut like a stitched wound. Shinzo straightened his posture, now fully in control.
Gojo narrowed his eyes behind dark sunglasses; his pupils shimmered blue, scanning the irregular cursed current nearly matching ancient records of Infinity versus Ten Shadows—except now warped by Ren's vessel and Ogami's ritual.
Geto stepped to the side, summoning a scaled purple curse to his shoulder—ready to intercept any shikigami before it could adapt.
A hush settled. The mist bit into their skin.
"Back then, I brought down Infinity.
Tonight… I wonder what it feels like to kill it twice."
TORA'S VIEW — THROUGH HIS SHIKIGAMI CROW
Fog rolled gently above the Takeyama treetops, as if the sky itself held its breath. In that dark height, a jet-black crow glided noiselessly. Its wings stretched wide, nearly invisible save for a faint glint of moonlight peeking through the clouds. But its eyes shimmered—reflecting the cursed bond with its summoner.
And far below… the world unfolded in shadow.
Tora's awareness split.
One half stood on the rocky ground beside Shoko.
The other soared with the crow, circling above the altar, witnessing the dawn of disaster.
The bird's gaze zeroed in on the heart of chaos:
Shinzo Zen'in—revived nightmare given flesh.
Cursed energy wrapped around Ren's body, now only partially his own.
Before him stood Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto—like twin pillars of light facing an ancient maelstrom once buried by time.
Tora's heart pounded in his chest.
"What… am I looking at?"
Shadowy flashes blinked in and out, distorting vision—
—but the link held.
He watched Shinzo dash toward Grandma Ogami, movement so fast it split the air—
A cursed kick aimed at the old woman's throat—
—stopped cold mid-swing.
The crow tilted, adjusting the angle, and Tora saw it clearly:
Shinzo's face was split. Half Ren. Half Shinzo.
Then came Ren's voice—weak, desperate.
"Grandma Ogami, run!"
Tora smiled faintly in the real world. That voice…
"Ren's still alive in there…"
The crow's eye caught a violet shimmer—Geto's cursed energy gathering.
Tora's vision then focused on Gojo. Calm. Almost too calm.
And in front of them, Shinzo smirked, then muttered with contempt:
"Back then, I brought down Infinity.
Tonight… I wonder what it feels like to kill it twice."
Tora stood frozen.
His eyes widened. Cold sweat slid down his temple.
Even in the chill of night, his body trembled.
"So… this isn't just some random resurrection.
He's a legend. A Ten Shadows user who once killed the Six Eyes…
And now, he's returned."
The crow continued circling, tracing the shape of a battle yet to begin.
Tora could feel the air pressure shifting—like the sky itself was about to collapse.
Beneath his feet, in his shadow, Rainbow Dragon squirmed—sensing something primal in the cursed air.
Shoko turned, her face calm but her gaze sharp.
"You see something?"
Tora gave a slow nod, eyes still locked in the vision through the crow.
"...He's not just some Ten Shadows user.
He's the Ten Shadows user. The one who defeated a Six Eyes… centuries ago."
Shoko bit her gum with a quiet crunch.
"You're serious?"
Tora didn't answer. The crow dove lower.
He took a deep breath. A wide grin spread on his face.
"If Mahoraga appears again on this field…
Gojo-sensei…"
"He's going to gain real experience killing Mahoraga."
Tora clenched his fists.
He couldn't stay idle.
The cursed seal on the back of his hand flickered faintly—resonance between master and shikigami.
"Rainbow…"
The black dragon stirred—feeling Tora's will surge.
At the very least, he needed to protect Shoko first.
"Be ready…
If Mahoraga comes out… we strike."
The crow ascended again, widening its field of view.
And Tora, in silence, realized something:
This fight no longer belonged to just Gojo and Geto.
This was about cursed legacy… and the choices of the present.
If I could turn that body into my shikigami…
Just how powerful would I become?
Author's note:
I will continue when the power stone reaches the target. 🐼