The Sky Breaks

The underground execution room of Jujutsu Headquarters was sealed by curtains woven from talismans. The barrier locked all cursed energy inside and allowed none to leak out.

This was where Headquarters carried out secret executions.

Between two thick ropes, a boy sat curled in a chair, holding his head.

"Jujutsu Headquarters has decided to execute you. Do you have anything to say?"

"Execution is fine. Sorry for the trouble. I probably deserve it."

The boy's voice was full of despair.

Gojo pulled down the cloth over his eyes. His blue gaze entered the air.

Under the Six Eyes, the relationship between the boy and the cursed spirit in his shadow had nowhere to hide.

After understanding it, Gojo smiled slightly.

"You are only sixteen. The world is huge. You really do not want to see more of it?"

"No. I do not want to. I want to stay here. I do not want to hurt anyone again."

Another figure appeared in Gojo's mind.

That person had once been just as gentle.

"Yuta Okkotsu," Gojo said, "the energy inside your body is very powerful. It can hurt others, but it can also help others. You need to learn how to use it."

Yuta looked up, shaken.

"Will you teach me?"

The room shook violently before he finished speaking.

Vast cursed energy pierced through the ground and reached the execution chamber.

"This cursed energy..."

Gojo froze.

It was too familiar. He simply had not felt it for too many years.

"What is happening? Is the world ending?"

Yuta's panic woke him.

"Do not be afraid. A friend of mine is waking up."

Yuta stared at him.

"You must be joking. That pressure is stronger than Rika's. How can that be your friend?"

"We can discuss that later. First, put your girlfriend away. Looking at her like this is a little frightening."

Yuta was wrapped tightly by two huge arms. Above him hung an enormous ugly head, its empty eyes fixed on Gojo in case he tried anything.

"Rika, go back. It is safe here."

Rika paused, then sank back into Yuta's shadow. Her arms remained outside, as if that was the limit of her compromise.

Gojo shrugged. He did not care how strong Rika Orimoto was. Constantly looking at her was simply unpleasant.

The room shook again.

Gojo looked around with excitement.

"Come on. My old friend is coming out. If I do not see him, my pay may be docked later."

He vanished.

The execution room door opened.

Yuta looked at the arms still beside him.

"I will wait for him to come back."

He lowered his head again, and the room fell silent.

Across Tokyo, sorcerers gathered and stared at the crack in the sky.

"Is a special-grade curse awakening?"

"Were the rumors true? Did Ren Zenin make a deal with a curse?"

"Maybe he was secretly executed, and this curse is what he became."

"If he was indifferent to human life while alive, then as a curse..."

"No. I am running."

The crack widened.

It looked as if a blade had split the sky from the center. The sight resembled the end of the world.

Gojo appeared at the agency entrance.

"How is it? Is Ren awake?"

Toji and Nanami stood outside the office, their expressions grave.

"Unclear," Nanami said. "The office door still will not open. It appears he is still inside."

Gojo pulled off his blindfold.

Stars seemed to flicker inside his blue eyes.

The cursed energy structure in the room entered his mind.

"Hm? Something is wrong."

"Did Ren run while we were not paying attention?"

Inside the room, there was only cursed energy condensed almost into substance.

There was no Ren.

Either Ren had left, or his current strength had surpassed what the Six Eyes could detect.

Gojo startled himself with that thought.

Could such a person truly exist?

Space began shaking.

The three of them were shoved into the wall by the force.

"What do we do?" Nanami asked. "At this rate, the agency will become the target of everyone."

Toji grinned.

"Then we kill whoever comes until they are afraid."

Cold pressure spread from him.

During these ten years, he had not sealed his blade. After sending Megumi to Gojo, he had gradually returned to the Heavenly Tyrant he had once been.

Gojo said nothing, but he had already put the blindfold into his pocket.

"Hello," a calm voice said. "Is the boss about to wake?"

Geto walked slowly toward them.

"Suguru Geto," Gojo said, raising both hands, "do you want to be exorcised?"

Geto formed a sign before his face. Cursed energy gathered in his hands.

Neither was afraid.

The invisible pressure between them crackled.

Toji interrupted them.

"Geto, why are you here?"

"I wanted to join the agency," Geto said. "But Ren Zenin was absent. Today I sensed this cursed energy and came to test my luck."

He had no regrets over what he was doing.

But he urgently wanted Ren's direct attitude.

He did not want to be slapped to death by Ren one day without warning.

He also needed backing, something even Gojo could not move casually against.

No matter how he looked at it, Ren was the best choice.

He simply had not expected Ren to grow to this degree.

The sky shattered completely.

Fragments began falling from above like broken glass. A terrifying suction came from the black void beyond.

"Why am I being pulled into the sky? Help."

"What is happening?"

Civilians were pulled upward and vanished into the dark space.

Geto watched with burning eyes.

This was the power he wanted.

The suction did not stop. In a few minutes, hundreds had been drawn in. Cries filled the streets.

Gojo's expression was ugly, but he did not leave to help.

The other three acted as if it did not concern them.

All of their attention remained on Ren.

As long as Ren woke clearly, what happened outside mattered little.

"How strong do you think he will be after coming out?" Gojo asked. "With this kind of movement, I would believe it if someone said he became a god."

"Who knows?" Toji said. "That guy is abnormal. Seclusion for ten years? If I did not know better, I would think he had gone off to become some ancient hermit."

Gojo grew excited as he spoke.

"Maybe he disappeared into some hidden training ground and found forbidden secrets."

Voices came from outside.

"People inside, come out."

"Do not hide in there. Did you cause what is happening outside?"

"Come explain this properly. There is no need to make this worse."

"Get out. So many people died. Do you not care about jujutsu regulations?"

The four exchanged looks and saw mockery in one another's eyes.

"Nanami, stay here and guard Ren," Toji said. "The three of us will go out."

As acting boss, his words carried weight. Keeping Nanami inside was also protection.

Toji, Gojo, and Geto walked out together.

Their combined presence instantly pressed over the crowd. With the black sky behind them, they looked less like sorcerers and more like monsters from an older age.

"Do not go too far."

"We are all sorcerers. If you kill us, you will be finished."

"And you, Satoru Gojo. Suguru Geto is right here. Why are you not killing him?"

The more they spoke, the more courage they found.

The scene reminded Geto of the village.

A herd of sheep showing teeth at lions.

He did not want to attack sorcerers, but the feeling was disgusting.

"Oh," Toji said, cleaning his ear with one finger. "I thought it was something important. Turns out a pack of stray dogs came looking for scraps. Sorry, we have no leftovers."

"Why are you still here? Do you want us to escort you away?"

One man began cursing before a companion dragged him aside.

"Are you trying to die? That is Toji Fushiguro, not Satoru Gojo. If you offend him, no one will even speak for you after you die."

The man realized his situation.

"Sorry. I am leaving now."

He fled.

The others hesitated.

"Since none of you want to leave," Ren's voice came from the void, "stay."

"Ren Zenin is still alive. Run."

They scattered like meteors.

Toji, Gojo, and Geto no longer worried after hearing Ren's voice.

If Ren had spoken, those people could not escape.

The fleeing sorcerers looked back and saw neither Ren nor pursuit. Relief had just begun to rise.

Then the sky gave way.

The blackness above became endless.

A faint blood-red light rose slowly.

The earth was dyed red.

Blood moon in the sky. Eternal night descending.

Ren's domain.

Before they could react, their feet sank into something soft.

Hair.

Too late.

They were dragged beneath the blood moon. Several special-grade cursed spirits there devoured them before they could scream.

"Restore."

The word sounded from nowhere.

The black sky retreated toward a single point and vanished. The broken heavens repaired themselves. If not for people crying in the streets, the event would have seemed like a dream.

Ren had still not left the office, but he understood everything outside.

After absorbing what Truth left behind, his perception and cursed energy had both undergone a qualitative leap. He now felt like a virus that had invaded the world's server, able to steal administrator permissions when he wished.

Through that knowledge, Heaven-Connecting Talisman had reached completion.

Its highest application was using talismans to access the world's authority.

"Open the panel."

[System]

Divine Forge: Complete (100%)

Six Vaults Devourer: Complete (100%)

Spirit Dominion: Complete (100%)

Sovereign Wind Array: Complete (100%)

Heaven-Connecting Talisman: Complete (100%)

Hands of Dual Perfection: Beginner (30%)

Great Net Observation: Locked

Source Flow: Locked

Ren looked at the five completed Absolute Techniques and smiled.

The barrier in the room dissolved.

He stretched. His joints cracked like popping knuckles.

The door opened.

Four people crowded into the office.

Ten years had passed. Their appearances had changed, though their auras were mostly the same.

Ren's gaze lingered on Gojo and Geto.

They had changed the most.

One had become more restrained.

The other lived more freely.

It seemed Geto had still taken that road.

"Wow, Ren," Gojo said. "After ten years, you barely changed. I thought you would have a huge beard and look like a wild man."

His blue eyes shone as he tried to see Ren's current level.

"Hm?"

Under the Six Eyes, Ren's body showed no cursed energy activity at all.

"Your body. What happened?"

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