The sky was blood-red, like a clot of gore. Cracks stretched across the horizon, and charred bolts of lightning fell from above. The wind carried the stench of burnt flesh and dried blood.
The battlefield was silent—only two beings still breathed.
One was Gojo Satoru, white-haired, his blue eyes blazing like fire. Blood seeped from beneath his torn clothes. His legs trembled, yet he still stood tall.
The other was Sukuna, with four eyes, burn scars across his face, and a demonic grin glued to his lips.
"Here we are again, Satoru," Sukuna said, his voice booming like thunder.
"This won't be any different from before. This time I'll collect your pieces one by one."
Gojo spat the blood from his mouth, his lips curling into a smirk.
"Fighting you is always the same: too much noise, too much blood, and in the end, a boring defeat. Come on then, try to entertain me a little."
Sukuna laughed, the sound shaking the very walls of the battlefield.
"Even on the brink of death, you're arrogant. That's why I enjoy killing you!"
Suddenly, Sukuna leapt into the air, black slashes forming from his hands. The lines tore the sky apart as the ground split into deep fissures.
Gojo snapped his fingers.
"Limitless."
Sukuna's massive slashes froze in midair, suspended before him, unable to reach. It was as if an invisible glass wall held them still.
"A familiar trick," Sukuna muttered, his eyes narrowing. "But you can't defend forever."
Gojo closed his eyes, his smirk widening.
"Even if I can't defend forever… I can stall. And that time is enough for me."
He raised his right hand, bringing blue energy and red energy together. The two forces pushed and pulled, cracking the sky with their clash.
"Cursed Technique: Hollow Purple!"
The violet energy surged forward, erasing everything in its path. The ground collapsed, buildings shattered to dust.
But Sukuna laughed, all four eyes gleaming. With a colossal strike, he split the purple energy apart. His body was burned, his skin flayed—but he still stood.
Gojo fell to his knees.
"Your breath… still not finished?"
Sukuna's voice shook the heavens.
"To fight me is to fight a god!"
Gojo forced himself up, his body trembling from blood loss. Yet in his eyes, that arrogant grin still burned.
"Even if you were a god… you'd never be alone at the top. I was there before you."
Sukuna lunged. His slashes carved the air, cleaving Gojo's body in half.
Blood sprayed into the sky. Gojo's breath stopped. He collapsed to his knees.
His last thought was a broken apology:
"I'm sorry… I failed again."
His eyes closed. But the world did not end.
Suddenly, the scene shifted.
The battlefield vanished, replaced by a dark room. On a wooden table lay a rotten, blackened, grotesque finger. Its nail was cracked, a foul stench surrounding it.
Sukuna stood beside the table, a wide grin on his lips.
"My power has been scattered in this world as well," he said. "But I will find it… and reclaim it."
Satoru's eyes widened. No… this can't be… I've never seen anything like this…
Sukuna slowly picked up the finger. Rotten flesh fibers dripped from between his fingers. He twirled it in the air, then touched it with his tongue.
"Looks disgusting, doesn't it?" he said. "But power… is always born from filth."
And with a single bite, he devoured it. The sound of chewing echoed through the room, each crunch tearing sinew and flesh.
Satoru recoiled, his stomach churning, breath faltering. No… this is impossible… this isn't the reality of my world…
Sukuna bared his bloody teeth in a grin.
"As long as you are with me, the power will always flow my way."
Satoru awoke with a scream. He shot upright in bed, sweat pouring down his forehead like rain. His sheets were drenched, his breathing ragged.
He pressed his hands to his face. It felt as though they were still covered in blood.
"This… this wasn't a dream. It was too real," he whispered to himself.
He clutched his chest, his heart hammering as if it would burst. Even with his eyes closed, he still heard the sound of Sukuna chewing that finger.
Leaning against the wall, he ground his teeth.
"Is my memory playing tricks on me… or are this world and mine merging together?"
In the darkness, Sukuna's voice whispered:
"You're beginning to lose the line between reality and dream, Satoru. Which means… you're closer to me now."
Satoru forced that arrogant grin onto his lips.
"Even if I'm close… I'll surpass you. Because only one can stand at the top."
But deep inside, he knew: what he saw that night was no ordinary nightmare