'Idle Transfiguration is an ability that targets the soul, so could it perhaps repair or alter my own soul?'
From the moment she met Mahito, Schwarzer had been entertaining this thought.
Theoretically, there was almost no chance of success. After all, in the original story, Mahito got wrecked the moment he encountered Sukuna's soul.
The essence of her soul far surpassed this world's power system; the System calculated that it would take all the Cursed Energy from every human on Earth just to barely repair a fraction of it.
But no matter how small the possibility of success, she was determined to try. After all...
"In probability theory, zero does not exist," Schwarzer muttered subconsciously.
By conversing with Kenjaku right in front of Mahito, and focusing the discussion on intel about the Cursed Technique Idle Transfiguration, she was clearly provoking him.
[Canon] — [Fate Measurer]
Relying on her perfect 'foresight,' she had already locked onto the future where Mahito would attack her. Everything was proceeding smoothly. All that remained was to wait for a miracle...
...
...
"What is this? What is this? What is this..."
Within the domain of the soul, Mahito's entire psyche was on the verge of collapse.
At this point in the timeline, he had yet to receive a beatdown from Sukuna; he was still that 'naively romantic' little dear.
In his worldview, he was invincible within the world of souls. This was the superiority he possessed as a 'god of the new humanity.'
But could someone please tell him what in the world this thing before him was?
The green flame seemed to sense his malice and began to swell. The world of the soul was a contest of willpower and mental strength, and that humanoid flame simply grew taller and taller before his eyes.
It grew from a small flicker into the size of a person, then a car, then a building... He realized just how insignificant he was, unable to even glimpse its full form.
The humanoid flame stood before him, arms crossed over its chest, displaying the chasm between them in the most direct way possible.
Like an insect. At its feet, Mahito was like an ant.
The expression on his face shifted from extreme excitement to extreme terror and despair. And finally...
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
Unrestrained laughter echoed throughout the cave. Under the watchful eyes of Kenjaku and Schwarzer, his laughter was exceptionally manic.
"To think such a thing exists... Human... Human... HUMAN!"
No one knew what he had seen. Even Schwarzer herself didn't know what he had witnessed within her soul.
After shouting "human" three times in a row, before anyone could react, Mahito's brain exploded, turning him into a headless corpse.
He had killed himself.
"?"
The ever-smiling Kenjaku froze for an instant, the Cursed Technique he had prepared in his hands coming to a halt.
He was still pondering how Schwarzer would deal with Mahito when this scene unfolded.
Time in the world of souls was purely 'mental' time. In reality, only an instant had passed.
Kenjaku only saw Mahito grab Schwarzer's hand, his expression of delight twisting into a manic laugh, and then... he killed himself?
He was more inclined to believe that Schwarzer had used some completely different power to kill him, but the Cursed Energy readings wouldn't lie. Mahito had chosen to commit suicide.
"Was this... giving up after realizing there was no possibility of survival?"
Schwarzer didn't answer; she didn't understand the reason herself.
"Shouldn't you be taking control of him? The body will deactivate if you don't hurry."
She chose to change the subject, but the absence of her verbal tic revealed her inner turmoil—something, of course, only the System could see.
Hearing this, Kenjaku hastily activated his Cursed Technique, scrambling to absorb Mahito and thereby gain control of his Idle Transfiguration.
'The plan failed. The miracle didn't happen.'
'Mahito's soul strength and power were far too weak. Recklessly making contact with your soul would only cause his sanity to collapse.'
In the end, the most probable outcome occurred: Mahito was crushed to death by her soul.
'Is that so.' Her intuition told her something was off, but the data wouldn't lie. Everything was exactly as 'Fate Measurer' had calculated.
Seeing that she accepted this explanation, the System breathed a sigh of relief.
The reality of the situation was mostly the same, but it had concealed one tiny little detail: the reason why Mahito killed himself.
Mahito, the self-proclaimed god of the new humanity, had seen something within that green flame: the will of humanity, far beyond anything he could have imagined.
It was so overwhelmingly powerful that he couldn't comprehend how such a human could exist. Even if he exhausted every fiber of his being, he would never have a chance of catching up. And so, he broke.
As for what exactly he saw...
'Host, have you ever heard of Spiral Power?'
'What's that?'
Schwarzer felt the term was somewhat familiar, but no matter how hard she thought, even after scouring her entire database, she found no relevant information.
'You mean the spiral from Junji Ito? That stuff is disgusting.' she finally replied.
'...Disgusting indeed.' The System didn't say anything more, quickly ending the topic.
Seeing the System go silent, Schwarzer glanced at Kenjaku. Mahito's body had vanished, transformed into a spiral of Cursed Energy in his hand.
Having just discussed spirals with the System, the thought of Junji Ito made Schwarzer fall silent as she stared at the distorted faces in his hand.
"Is something wrong?" Kenjaku asked amicably, noticing her gaze.
The distorted faces in his hand vanished as well. Cursed Spirit Manipulation combined with Mahito's Idle Transfiguration really did give off a horror movie vibe.
"[Notice] I must be leaving now."
Schwarzer tossed him a ring, an organizational token she had fabricated on the spot.
"[Explanation] I have given you all the data on Chakra. Proceed according to the plan. There's no need to worry about Gojo Satoru; I will handle him myself."
"Understood."
Kenjaku deftly caught the ring. A thousand years of experience told him that cooperating with Schwarzer was the best choice.
Just like before, there was no fluctuation of Cursed Energy as a spatial portal appeared behind Schwarzer.
Witnessing this firsthand, Kenjaku still couldn't comprehend how she did it, attributing it only to the formidable power of another world.
Gently rubbing the ring in his hand, Kenjaku discovered the characters engraved on it—'Dominion.'
Naming herself after an angel? Is she positioning herself as a guide for all humanity?
From this, Kenjaku perceived her ambition—an ambition just like his own.
Chakra and Cursed Energy, two completely different powers. Possessing them certainly granted one the qualifications to call oneself a god.
Hanami observed his every reaction, but remained as still and silent as a lifeless piece of wood.
The true ideology of the Celestial Organization was never about becoming a god, but about guiding humanity, guiding the world toward peace.
'I hope... all of it is true.'
Looking at Kenjaku, who had also been duped into joining the organization, Hanami suspected that Schwarzer told a different story to everyone.
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