"What a minute..." Vulkan suddenly said. Sukuna stopped, raising a brow as his apparent sibling had a sudden stroke of genius. And, honestly, their spar was getting a little stale. Neither of them were backing down and neither of them were capable of seriously hurting the other, without outright killing. And, honestly, Sukuna wasn't entirely convinced that Vulkan wasn't going to just walk off the effects of his Malevolent Shrine as Mahoraga did. The only difference was that Vulkan did not need to adapt. He'd just regenerate infinitely. That said, if it came down to a death match, the best way to deal with someone like Vulkan wasn't to try and kill them, since that was physically impossible. Instead, the best method was containment. He'd toss Vulkan out into space and that'd be the end of it.
But, this wasn't a death match. And, really, Sukuna was getting rather fond of his immortal sibling. Vulkan was pure, like himself. He hid behind no facade, no mask, no second face. He wore his true self on his sleeves. Sure, Sukuna did not like Vulkan's true self, but the fact that he did not even bother trying to hide it was admirable. Horus was... not that. Horus hid behind a mask, a smile. He wasn't his true self. Sukuna was pretty sure Horus didn't even know who or what his true self actually was. So, he preferred Vulkan. People who were honest about who they were and what they were oftentimes were stronger than those who cowered behind masks.
"What is it?" Sukuna asked.
Vulkan's eyes narrowed. "I don't have create anything too complicated to make this ability of mine supreme in its destructive capacity. I can create something simple, something that requires only my imagination – an impossible physical object, one that should not exist beyond the theoretical realm of mathematics..."
Oh. Oh. Was that the natural conclusion of Construction Users? There was only one technique that came to mind, Sukuna mused, that perfectly matched Vulkan's description. Yoruzu came to the same conclusion, creating the most efficient and yet the most destructive technique with Construction – as far as the King of Curses was aware. Sukuna almost chuckled. Instead of doing that, however, he stayed silent and waited for his apparent sibling to find his own thoughts.
"Nuclear Fusion..." Vulkan finally said, eyes wide. "My ability allows me to create any physical matter with Cursed Energy and I have full control over that which I create. It's possible. I can even miniaturize the fusion to create smaller explosions, less powerful, less energetic, but still incredibly destructive."
A star. Vulkan was talking about creating a star.
Sukuna's eyes widened for the briefest of moments. The idea... immediately made sense and, based on what Sukuna himself knew about how Construction worked, it was entirely possible. That Yoruzu hadn't thought of it was merely the consequence of being born in an era before the rise of astronomy and science. If she knew of such things, the crazy woman with terrible haiku taste would've definitely figured it out. Or, maybe not. "Huh, I hadn't considered that."
Sukuna watched intently, giving Vulkan his full attention, his expression impassive yet his eyes glimmering with curiosity. Vulkan was onto something, something brilliant and terrifying. The King of Curses felt the shift in the air, the realization dawning over his immortal sibling like the rising sun—a spark of genius that promised to redefine his understanding of his own power. Because this... anything like this, had never been seen before in the world of Jujutsu.
Then again, it was always the fate of the new generation to surpass the older. Yamamoto Genryusai would've been far more powerful than him if they'd met in the Heian Era. A lot of the Jujutsu Sorcerers in Shibuya and even within his own legion were stronger than the Sukuna of old – easily stronger.
Vulkan continued, his tone a mix of excitement and wonder; briefly, Sukuna's thoughts drifted to when he first learned Jujutsu, when his eyes were first opened to the world beyond his mundane suffering. "Fusion. The process that powers stars, that sustains the very sun that burns in the sky. It's pure, unfathomable energy. If I can create the conditions necessary, I can wield that power... and miniaturize it, refine it into a controlled weapon."
"I see. And how do you plan on doing that?" Sukuna asked. Vulkan's words resonated, painting vivid images in his mind of stars forged in the palm of one's hand, of boundless destruction condensed into the smallest of spaces. He could imagine it quite easily. It was an idea that walked the line between brilliance and madness. And Sukuna knew that, for a Primarch, that line was often blurred.
Jujutsu Sorcerers, on the other hand, danced on that line, simply because that was exactly where true power lied. Stray too far on either sides and one became weak. The shadow of madness was good, but had to be tempered by the brilliance of rationality. And the opposite was just as true.
"The key," Vulkan said, his voice more confident as his thoughts crystallized, "is control. Fusion by itself is a runaway reaction, uncontrolled, feeding on itself until it consumes everything around it. But with Construction, I can regulate every aspect of it. Shape it. Contain it. A star, no bigger than a coin, harnessed for battle. Or larger than a tank, a ship, a mountain."
Sukuna's lips curled into the faintest hint of a smile. That definitely sounded like the sort of power that could annihilate entire cities. Raw Power. "The power of a star in your grasp... simple, yet terrifyingly effective."
Vulkan nodded, a fire in his eyes that mirrored the inferno of his discovery. He was more than just speaking of a new technique—he was envisioning it, bringing it to life with every word. His hands clenched, and Cursed Energy began to swirl around him, taking on a faint, fiery hue as if mimicking the very essence of the sun itself. No, Sukuna realized. What he saw was a glimpse of Vulkan's domain – a domain of fire and ash.
It made sense that his ultimate expression of Construction just so happened to be fire in its greatest and most primal form.
"You see," Vulkan continued, his focus intensifying, "I don't have to create complex constructs or intricate machinery. It's about simplifying the concept to its most basic form and then amplifying it with control. Imagine... a fusion reaction, perfectly stabilized, contained within a shell of Cursed Energy. The heat, the light, the sheer destructive force—all at my command."
Sukuna watched as the Primarch raised his hand, palm open, his Cursed Energy coalescing into a small, swirling orb. At first, it looked like nothing more than a glowing sphere, but the air around it rippled with heat, distorting the space as if bending to the will of a newborn star. The sphere shimmered, pulsing with a blinding light that cast long shadows and painted the world in hues of gold and red.
Vulkan's voice lowered, almost reverent. His eyes were wide and filled with wonder as he brought the newborn star closer to his face, emitting a light so bright it would've blinded normal men. Indeed, many of the Astartes had to turn away, mostly Salamanders, but a few of the Devourers did the same as well. Sukuna stared at it even as his eyes steamed and smoked and bled. It was beautiful. "This is it. The beginning of something far greater. A weapon not of this world, not bound by the limitations of physical materials, but something born purely from thought and energy."
Sukuna remained silent, captivated by the sight. The miniature star hovered above Vulkan's palm, an impossible creation held in place by sheer willpower. It was beautiful, mesmerizing even. The kind of beauty that could only come from something that had the power to destroy everything it touched.
Sukuna's mind drifted to Yoruzu's creations—her insects, her weapons, all of them deadly yet crude compared to the elegance of a star. This was the pinnacle of what Construction could achieve: simplicity that bordered on perfection, fueled only by Vulkan's imagination. And his Cursed Energy reserves didn't even dip. After all, the only thing he had to do was contain it, which ironically did not require nearly as much Cursed Energy as creating something like statue.
Vulkan stared at the orb, his eyes reflecting its burning light. "The star's energy is contained, controlled by my will alone. But with a thought..."
The orb flared, its glow intensifying, and in an instant, it compressed into a single point before disappearing. A sudden burst of heat and light radiated outward, harmlessly dissipating into the air. There was no explosion, no shockwave—just the lingering warmth of a sun that had blinked out of existence as quickly as it had formed.
Sukuna's expression remained flat, but he could help but feel more than a tiny smidgen of respect for his apparent sibling. Vulkan had taken the fundamental principles of his power and transcended them, creating something that was as much a work of art as it was a weapon. It was a reminder of why Sukuna appreciated those who embraced their true selves, who pushed their boundaries without hesitation. After all, no Cursed Technique could ever hope to reach the heights of its power, without the mind of a brilliant Jujutsu Sorcerer to push it to its utmost limits. Shrine would've been a weak Innate Technique if Sukuna hadn't pushed it to the brink and, now in this new life, even further beyond.
"Impressive," Sukuna finally said, breaking his silence. "I didn't think you had it in you to figure out your Innate Technique so quickly."
Vulkan chuckled, lowering his hand. "Neither did I. But it's there, waiting to be shaped. And now that I've seen it... I'll never forget."
Sukuna nodded. What Vulkan had done was breach the pinnacle of his Innate Technique through pure creativity. That said, creativity was only half of it. Knowing how to use one's Innate Technique in a fight was the other half. Those who focused too much on their technique without bothering to learn how to fight were Jujutsu Scholars – not Sorcerers.
"Well then," Sukuna said, his tone almost casual. "Let's see what you can really do with it."
Sukuna turned to the nearest Devourer, this one's name was Pyotr, and nodded once. The Devourer, Pyotr, then turned to his fellows. "Alright everyone, let's get as far away as physically possible."
The Devourers left first, before Vulkan nodded towards the Salamanders and they too departed just as quickly. As soon as they got far enough away, Sukuna breathed in and brought his hands together and formed a seal. Looking back, he'd not made use of this technique for a very long time – or any technique like it. "Barrier: Zone."
The sky turned black and dark, and an ink-black surge of fluid seemed to fall from the clouds, painting the very air in shadow. The surge hit the ground and turned translucent for a moment, before turning entirely transparent. Vulkan raised a brow. Sukuna smiled. "I've erected a barrier that should mitigate at least most of the damage of your experimentation. We don't want our soldiers getting roasted, do we?"
Vulkan smiled and nodded. And then, he raised his right hand, fingers contracted, save for his pointer finger, which he pointed towards a ruined structure that used to be the Agurasi Central Hive, where their queen spawned her nightmarish brood. A swirling mass of Cursed Energies appeared at the tip of Vulkan's pointer finger, growing larger and larger, until another flicker of Cursed Energy ignited it, birthing a miniature star that bathed the world in its light. Sukuna nearly averted his gaze as the light and heat cooked his eyeballs, but a constant application of RCT kept him intact. Vulkan was entirely immune to it – or his regeneration was so fast that the heat hardly bothered him.
Vulkan then collapsed the star, Sukuna noted, and gathered all the thermal and radioactive energy into a single point, before releasing them, resulting in a beam of light so bright and so hot it caused the very air to erupt into flames and bore a hole through the Agurasi ruins before dissipating entirely.
A supernova, Sukuna realized. Vulkan had just created a miniaturized supernova.
AN: Chapter 39 is out on (Pat)reon!