"Domain Expansion: Time Cell Moon Palace!"
Black shadows descended like a curtain, unfolding into a vast cosmic sky filled with endless stars. Flesh and blood twisted together, forming a bridge suspended in the void, ending in a massive, unblinking eye.
Cursed Energy coursed through his body like blood, and controlling his Cursed Technique felt as natural as breathing.
Zen'in Naoya burst into laughter, his handsome face warped into something grotesque.
"Finally… I finally did it!"
"The pinnacle of Cursed Techniques, the ultimate application of Cursed Energy, Domain Expansion!"
"I've finally reached their level!"
Breathing deeply, Naoya turned to Maki with a grin. "I told you, you're not Toji, and you're certainly not Gojo Shion."
"The only one who belongs at their level is me!"
"As thanks for helping me achieve this, I'll allow you to say your last words."
Maki looked at him, unimpressed, then vanished.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She moved along the boundary of the domain at incredible speed, far beyond what the eye could follow.
"It's useless, completely useless!"
Naoya laughed wildly. "As expected of someone without a Cursed Technique, you don't even understand what Domain Expansion truly is!"
"Within this space, my attacks are guaranteed to hit. I can apply my technique to you without even touching you!"
"And you thought brute strength alone could stand against that?"
"Projection Sorcery!"
Empowered by the domain, the technique that once affected entire bodies now extended down to individual cells.
"From now on, you must match my movements exactly, or every cell in your body will tear itself apart!"
Then, his smile froze.
"How… how is this possible?"
A chill ran through him.
Within the domain he fully controlled, he could not sense Maki at all.
The guaranteed hit effect had become meaningless.
"How can this be?!"
"Oh? Why wouldn't it be?"
Her voice came from behind him.
Naoya spun around, but all he saw was an afterimage.
Her voice followed again, cold and steady.
"Sorcerers, cursed spirits, even normal humans, all generate Cursed Energy. But I don't."
"A domain that targets based on Cursed Energy sees me as nothing more than an object, like a building."
She let out a faint scoff. "That's basic knowledge. Gojo Shion taught it at Jujutsu High."
"Living comfortably in the Zenin family must have kept you from learning even something that simple."
"Then again, arrogance runs deep in your clan."
"You…!"
Naoya's eyes burned with rage as he lashed out blindly in every direction.
"Die! Die! Die!"
"How pathetic."
Her voice came from behind him once more.
Before he could react, a sharp pain pierced his chest.
A massive blade tore through him, bursting out from his back as blood sprayed forward.
Bang!
The domain shattered like glass, collapsing into fragments of darkness.
Naoya dropped to his knees, blood spilling from his mouth and nose. His body trembled as the warmth slowly left him.
Maki walked past him without a glance and headed toward a nearby room.
Click.
She opened the door.
Inside the kitchen, her mother was cooking.
Despite everything happening, despite not knowing whether her daughters were alive or dead, she continued as if nothing had changed.
"Mother."
Maki's calm voice made her pause.
Slowly, she turned, her expression tense, sweat forming on her brow.
The fact that Maki had made it here, past all the clan's fighters, was beyond anything she had imagined.
Maki spoke without emotion. "Why did you tell me to go back that day?"
At the armory, her mother had stopped her, something she had never done before.
She needed to know why.
"What are you talking about?"
Her mother avoided the question, pretending ignorance.
Silence filled the room.
Steam hissed from the rice cooker, the sound cutting through the tension.
Maki's expression did not change.
"You told me to go back, but you never explained why."
"You knew everything, didn't you? You knew what was going to happen."
"You knew Mai was about to be killed, and you still told me to leave."
"As a mother, you watched your own child face death and did nothing."
Her gaze remained steady, empty of warmth.
"And even now, you won't tell me the truth?"
Fear flickered across her mother's face.
She understood Maki's resolve. She knew there was no forgiveness waiting for her.
She had not abused them like the others.
But she had done nothing to stop it either.
Worse, she had tried to pull them down with her, binding them with empty words about family.
She was not the one who killed them.
But she had allowed it to happen.
Slowly, she closed her eyes, accepting what was coming.
Time passed.
Nothing happened.
When she opened her eyes again, Maki was gone.
Perhaps some fragment of familial attachment remained. Or perhaps it was because Mai was still alive.
Whatever the reason, Maki chose to walk away.
Not as a daughter.
But as a stranger.
Outside, in the courtyard, a trail of blood stretched across the ground.
Naoya crawled forward, dragging himself along, his face twisted in desperation.
"Maki… Maki! I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"
He still had a chance.
He knew where Zenin Ogi had hidden the cursed tools. Among them was one sealed with a one time Reverse Cursed Technique, enough to heal him.
He could still survive.
Step. Step. Step.
The sound of wooden sandals echoed against the stone path.
Naoya forced his head up and saw Maki's mother.
Relief flooded his face.
"Good… someone's here."
"Hurry. Help me get to the Salt Room."
His voice carried the tone of command, as if speaking to a servant.
Without a word, she walked toward him and extended her hand.
Naoya reached out.
Then—
A wet, sharp sound.
His eyes widened.
He looked down.
A kitchen knife was buried deep in his neck.
"How…?"
"I can't… die… like this…"
"At the hands… of someone like you…"
His body collapsed, his head striking the stone as the light faded from his eyes.
Maki's mother stood over him, a faint, hollow smile on her face.
Then, she pulled the knife free.
Without hesitation, she turned it toward herself.
A single, clean motion.
She fell beside him, blood pooling beneath her.
Her eyes stared upward at the clear blue sky as tears slowly formed.
In her fading thoughts, she saw a field of flowers.
Herself, Maki, and Mai.
Smiling.
Happy.
"I'm glad… I gave birth to you…"
With that final thought, her eyes closed forever.
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