Leaving Master Tengen's chamber, our footsteps echoed dully through the corridor. Each step felt heavy, dragging like iron weights, as though invisible chains bound us to the floor. We all carried a mission in mind.But I carried my own.
After speaking with Tengen, we spent several days searching for powerful allies who could help us face the threats within the Game of Extinction. Meanwhile, the ordinary world collapsed into uncontrollable chaos.
Japan struggled desperately to return to normal. Every street was a dark passage, hollow and meaningless… a ghost city. The scars of the Shibuya incident still lingered everywhere: cracked buildings, shattered glass, dried bloodstains that no one dared to clean. Even the air itself seemed saturated with despair.
While the others focused on finding allies, I wrestled with myself. Fissures appeared before me like mirages, dancing in the air, tempting invitations to step forward. Some looked bizarre, distorted, belonging to realities far from my own, yet they felt disturbingly real. There was something terrifying about them… and I knew I had to be extremely cautious when choosing the fissure I would take.
"You will know it is the right fissure when you see it."
That was what the Master of Cracks had told me. But with so many choices, it seemed far more complicated than I had imagined.
Perhaps, when the decisive moment comes, I will recognize it. —I thought, exhaling as I gazed at the desolate landscape before me.
Time was moving too quickly. The deadline to enter the Game of Extinction was approaching, and we knew far too little about the threat we faced. What we understood of the game was only the basics… Is a ritual designed by Kenjaku to force human evolution. Its rules are cruel and simple:
*Mandatory participation: All sorcerers and curses trapped within the barriers must take part.
*Point system: Players earn points by defeating or killing other participants.
*Rule creation: Once enough points are gathered, they can be exchanged to add new rules to the game.
*Survival: There is no escape until the conditions of the game are fulfilled; participants must fight, negotiate, or die.
*Forced evolution: Kenjaku's ultimate goal is to fuse all humanity with Tengen, creating a collective consciousness.
With that in mind, we began dividing into groups.
—Well… I suppose we have to enter those veils. —I said, crossing my arms as I studied the strange structure before us. I was with Itadori and Fushiguro; the three of us reluctantly formed the same team.
Itadori had insisted we split up, but after he and Fushiguro clashed, they decided it was best to stay together. At least this way, we could protect one another.
—Yes, but we must enter with our guard up. We still don't know what lies inside. —Fushiguro's eyes were locked on the veil, his expression grim.
Across Japan, six cylindrical veils had appeared. Each one was a colony where sorcerers—both present and ancient—were trapped. The rules were merciless: killing another participant earned points, and points were essential to continue in the game. Fail to gather enough… and you died.
—How bad could it be? —Itadori muttered, feigning relaxation though his stance betrayed unease.
We reached the base of the veil, examining it from different angles. Strangely, it seemed smaller than we had imagined.
—Listen. Whatever happens, we must not separate. Communications inside are blocked; phones won't work.
—Alright. —I nodded firmly. Itadori mirrored the gesture.
—We'll jump together. On three. —Fushiguro ordered. We crouched into position. —One… two… THREE!
We leapt as one. But the moment we crossed the veil, the interior expanded into a vast, endless space. Terror struck as we realized that despite entering together, we had been separated. Worse still—we were plummeting in free fall.
—Damn it! —I screamed, trying to slow my descent with Yamikiri.
As I fell, a fissure appeared before me. Unlike the others, it glowed brighter, more vivid, its colors alive, like a mirror to another reality. But before I could reach it, it vanished… replaced by a young warrior wielding a massive steel sword.
His strike came down to cleave me in two. I swung Yamikiri upward, the clash ringing like thunder. His eyes widened at the sight of the guillotine-like scythe, but with a sharp twist of his wrist, he forced me back through the air.
I stumbled into the path of another attacker—a girl armed with kunai. She hurled them with deadly precision. I blocked several with Yamikiri, but a few sliced into my skin, leaving burning cuts. I crashed onto the rooftop of a nearby building, breath ragged.
—Ah… ah… —I gasped, forcing myself to stay alert. The two youths glared at me with suspicion. Without a word, they lunged.
I tightened my grip on Yamikiri and charged forward. The boy pressed close, his sword flashing in relentless arcs, while the girl unleashed a storm of kunai from afar.
Steel clashed against steel, sparks igniting in the night. Each strike rattled my arms, each kunai whistled past with lethal intent. I managed to deflect the boy's blade, but the kunai grazed my skin, tearing shallow wounds that stung with every movement.
The rooftop became a battlefield of chaos—metal ringing, blades flashing, and my heartbeat pounding louder than the storm of weapons around me. The fight had begun, and there was no room for hesitation.
—Congratulations! Congratulations! —A small, pale creature resembling a winged worm appeared before me, circling above my head. —You have eliminated two sorcerers! Thirty points have been awarded to you.
I exhaled, but the relief was hollow. A heavy, bitter feeling settled in my chest like a stone. My trembling hands turned toward the bloodstains before me. If I hadn't killed those two, I would have been the one to die in my own reality.
I repeated that thought like a mantra as I walked carefully, avoiding anyone who might attack me.
Still, like a magnet, sorcerers began to draw near. Some were young, others older, but most had empty eyes—desperate to escape the veil. In every desperate slash I made, in every splash of blood that stained my face, a knot tightened in my chest.
Yet each time it happened, the fissure that seemed to be the right one lingered longer before fading… and grew sharper, clearer, almost as if it responded to my darkness.
I don't know how long I wandered through those streets filled with enemies. The sky above was a black vault, and the buildings looked like ruins of a forgotten world. Then, through the haze, I saw a familiar figure.
Itadori.
He looked stunned to see me. He ran toward me, but as he drew closer, his expression shifted to concern.
—Kuroha…
—Don't worry… I'm fine. —I lied, forcing my voice to stay steady.
A floating screen appeared before us, displaying the leaderboard. My name glowed among the top twenty.Itadori stared at it, silent, searching for the right words.
—Hey… —he began, his tone heavy, as if carrying a truth too painful to speak.
—I know… —I murmured, turning my gaze away from him. To his eyes, I was nothing more than a murderer. —I… so many things happened… If I hadn't… I… Ahm… I know it's no justification, but…
My words faltered. I stammered, unable to find anything that could excuse my actions.
—But if the girl who once played at being a hero has slaughtered so many… —a voice cut through the silence, dripping with mockery. Both of us clenched our teeth. —I still remember your noble effort in Shibuya, trying to save civilians… How pathetic. Tell me, what did you feel when you smelled their blood? What did you think when your hands were drenched in it? And Yamikiri… that little Yamikiri… a weapon that in the Heian era was a symbol of nobility and justice… now ripping lives apart as if they were nothing.
—Sukuna… —I whispered, my eyes drawn to Itadori's cheek, where a twisted smile and a single eye had appeared.
I couldn't answer him.
He was right. With every life I took, I felt Yamikiri's scream of agony. In its fury, each strike carved scars into my arms and legs. That was why I wore baggy jeans and a large sweatshirt—to hide the curse I had placed upon Yamikiri myself.
Sensing my discomfort, Itadori struck his own cheek, trying to suppress him.
—Sorry… —he muttered, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
—Don't worry, I know you can't control it. —I replied, refusing to meet his eyes.
—Ah… right. I imagine you managed to add a new rule. Good job—you achieved one of our goals on your own.
In the first hours within the veil, a new rule had been created: the ability to transfer points to whomever we chose.
—Kurogane, I want to give all my points to Yuji Itadori. —I said with a faint smile.
—Understood! —the creature chirped cheerfully, spinning around us in excitement. —Thirty thousand points have been awarded to player Yuji Itadori!
The silence that followed was suffocating, heavy enough to slice with a blade. Thirty thousand points… that was the number of people I had killed. Sukuna's words were true. Unable to meet Itadori's gaze, I stared at the ground. Time stretched endlessly until, finally, I sighed and looked back at him.
—…Have you found Fushiguro yet? —I asked, trying to sound casual, but my voice trembled.
—No, I still can't find him. It's as if we were thrown into different places. —he answered softly.
—Yes… even though we jumped at the same time… —I murmured, nodding.
Silence fell again. Then Itadori stepped closer and took my hand gently. I lifted my eyes to him. Before I could speak, he simply smiled.
—Come on… you had your reasons. It must have been terrible being alone.
At that moment, the fragile control I had clung to shattered. My eyes filled with tears, unstoppable, streaming down like rivers of glass. I clung to Itadori, burying my face in his shirt.
He sighed and stroked my head awkwardly, confused by my reaction, but he didn't let go.
We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity. When I finally calmed down, I pulled away from Itadori and wiped my eyes and nose with the sleeve of my sweatshirt.
—Ahm… I…
—Come on, we need to find Fushiguro. —he said softly, ignoring the mess of tears he had just witnessed.
I nodded and followed him. We walked in silence, but it no longer felt as heavy as before. In my heart, I wished he could understand that I had to kill… before I was the one to die.
The veil stretched before us like an endless labyrinth. The crimson moon still loomed above, reminding us that the game was far from over. Yet, in the midst of that darkness, his hand holding mine gave me a fragile breath of relief. For the first time since entering the veil, I was not walking alone.