Gojo POV

'That was close…'

I knew the situation was bad, but not to this extent.

If I had been even a second slower, Nanami's head would've been separated from his body, clean and quick. I could see it in the way Shiki moved—there was no hesitation and no second thoughts.

She was compeletely ready to kill him.

I chuckled, trying to ease the tension. "What do you think about grabbing dinner?"

Shiki's gaze stayed fixed ahead, her expression unreadable. She didn't even acknowledge me. It was like I wasn't even there.

I let the silence hang for a moment before turning my attention to Nanami.

I raised an eyebrow. "What now?"

Nanami was clearly frustrated. "Deal with this. I almost died just now."

"Please deal with this. I almost died just now," Nanami shot back, frustration dripping from his voice.

I grinned. "Haha, that's true."

Then I looked at Shiki again, that grin widening. "It's been a while since we fought, right? Let's see the result of my tutelage."

I delivered a hard punch to her stomach. It was rough, but it was Shiki we were talking about. Unless you hit her like this, it wouldn't matter.

As expected, she reacted skillfully—flipping in the air, landing gracefully on her feet. Her full attention was now on me.

That was good. If Nanami got involved, he'd be dead in seconds.

There wasn't much any sorcerer could do against Shiki. Anyone who tried to get in her way would just die for nothing. That's why the higher-ups kept their distance from her.

They thought making her a special grade would allow them to control her, but that idea had completely backfired. Now she was just like me—but way worse.

"Now then...How should I deal with this"

Shiki then quikly dashed forward, and directed a full swing toward me. And just as expected...

Swish!

My Limitless didn't work.

My technique, by dividing the finite space between us an infinite amount of times, should've made it impossible for anything to touch me.

But her eyes made sure that wasn't the case.

The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. As she called them, they were broken—impossibly broken.

It defied the very laws of the universe.

She claimed that she needed to comprehend the death of something to truly see it, to perceive the end of its existence. But something about that never sat right with me.

In the first place, how could a living human being comprehend death so thoroughly, to the point of seeing it in everything?

Even my innate technique isn't safe from her eyes.

Thankfully, her ability didn't leave permanent damage. The way her eyes worked was… mysterious. She called them the "lines of death." If one of those lines was severed, whatever it belonged to simply ceased to exist. There were no second chances.

She must've seen lines in the space around me and cut them. That's how she bypassed Limitless.

It was both good news and bad.

The bad news: she could cut through concepts like "infinity" and "space" to reach me. The good news: it wasn't permanent.

As if trying to stitch itself back together, the space she severed reformed.

Maybe because it's a fundamental law of the universe—it can't just "die" like that. But honestly, that's beside the point.

What mattered now was that I was locked in a close-quarters standoff with her.

I twisted to the side, parrying her next strike with my hand, feeling the force behind it vibrate up my arm. Shiki wasn't holding back—she was definitely aiming for an instant kill.

As her guardian, I couldn't help but feel a little sadness dwell up.

I countered with a low kick, aiming for her legs, but she shifted with uncanny speed, her footwork flawless. She leapt over the strike, landing with barely a sound, her sword already in motion as she aimed for my side. I barely managed to dodge, the blade grazing my coat.

She wasn't giving me any space. As I tried to create distance, she was there—always in my face, always pushing forward.

The situation right now was a little tricky. I couldn't use Red or Blue since we were near a residential area. The collateral would be catastrophic. And facing Shiki in close-quarters combat wasn't exactly my ideal choice, but I was running out of options.

Using Domain Expansion was a temptation—especially to end this fight quickly—but it would be overkill on my part. With Yuji and Nanami nearby, it wasn't a viable option.

But it's not like I was out of options entirely. If my technique didn't work, I would just overpower her with brute strength.

But that wasn't as easy as I made it sound.

Shiki was a monster in close-quarters combat. But her fight style has a glaring flaw. Maybe it was tied to her personality, but she always went for a direct and instant kill.

If you gave her even the slightest opening to finish you off, she wouldn't hesitate.

And then, for a brief moment, I saw my chance.

She came at me again, her sword raised high, ready to cleave through me. With a quick movement, I shifted my body and closed the gap. I twisted my body to the side, catching her strike with the flat of my palm.

This time, it was enough. The air around me crackled with intensity as I focused my energy. At the tip of my finger, a small red orb began to form, humming with destructive force. I didn't hesitate and blasted it forward, the repelling effect surging straight into Shiki.

"Cursed tehcnique reversal: Red"

The explosion sent her flying back, hurtling through the air.

I made sure to hold back, just enough to send her flying but not enough to cause a collateral damage that would bring down the entire area. Still, the power behind it was enough to send her crashing into a nearby wall, the sound reverberating through the surroundings.

She hit the wall hard, leaving cracks webbing out from the point of impact. The echo lingered for a moment before fading into silence. But Shiki wasn't out—not yet. I could tell. She slid down the wall, her sword still in hand.

Even after that, she was ready to fight. But at least for now... that was enough.

I closed the distance in an instant, appearing in front of her before she could fully recover. My hand shot out—not to harm her, but to strike a precise point on her neck. The blow wasn't lethal, just enough to knock her unconscious.

Her body went limp, the sword slipping from her grip and clattering onto the ground. I caught her before she could fall, lowering her carefully. It wouldn't be long before she regained consciousness, but at least for now, she was still.

I sighed, brushing a hand through my hair. "That should give her some time to regain her senses... I hope."

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Shiki POV

I'm tired.

The weight of exhaustion pulled me deeper into this endless void—a sea of nothingness, cold and unfeeling. There was no up or down, no horizon, no light. Just an infinite stretch of empty darkness.

Not thinking about anything. Not driving toward anything.

No purpose, no destination—just drifting endlessly in this vast, featureless void.

If I could, I'd let myself sink deeper, dissolve into this emptiness and let it swallow me whole.

But somewhere in the distance—if you could even call it that. A faint ripple in the emptiness, subtle but insistent, like a whisper I couldn't quite hear.

But the ripple grew stronger, cutting through the stillness. I didn't want to think about it, didn't want to acknowledge it, but my mind began to move.

"—ki"

My fingers twitched.

No... not yet. Let me stay here a little longer.

"—hiki"

The ripple wouldn't stop. It grew louder, more forceful, like the tide pulling me back to shore against my will.

My chest tightened. My fingers curled slightly, my hand brushing against something rough and solid. It was enough to remind me: I still existed.

Shut up… I don't want to go back.

But the voice didn't care what I wanted.

"Shiki, wake up."

The sharpness in the tone made my eyes snap open.

My senses came flooding back in waves—cool air brushing against my skin, the faint scent of dust in the air, and the dull ache spreading through my body.

I blinked a few times, my vision coming into focus. The familiar face of Gojo loomed above me, his usual grin absent, replaced by an uncharacteristic look of concern.

"Welcome back, Idiot" He said casually.

I sat up slowly, my muscles were stiff but functional. My eyes darted around, scanning my surroundings.

"Did you finally come back to your senses?" he asked, crouching a short distance away, arms resting lazily on his knees.

"What was I doing…?" I muttered under my breath.

Suddenly, everything came rushing back. The fight. The rage. The single-minded focus that had consumed me.

And then it hit me, like a dull ache spreading through my chest.

"I failed…"

My arms hung limply by my sides, and my body felt heavier than ever. My breathing was steady, but exhaustion seeped into every fiber of my being. Not just physical exhaustion, this was something deeper.

I was tired.

Tired of fighting,

Tired of chasing,

Tired of feeling like the outcome always slipped through my fingers no matter how hard I pushed.

Then, out of nowhere, I felt a flick on my forehead.

"Look at what you did to me!"

I glanced up to see Gojo pointing dramatically at his forehead like it was a fatal wound. His over-the-top antics made him look ridiculous.

Maybe it was his way of trying to cheer me up, but all it really did was make him look stupid.

Looking at me, he finally said.

"Feeling good yet?"

I couldn't stop the corner of my lips from twitching upward.

He leaned down slightly, tilting his head with that familiar, stupid grin plastered across his face. The sheer absurdity of him standing there like that, completely unfazed by everything, made something bubble up inside me.

"Heh… yeah…" I admitted softly.

"Now… why don't you tell me what's bothering you," he said, his tone unusually gentle.

I finally met his gaze. This time, he lowered his blindfold, revealing those piercing blue eyes of his. They weren't just sharp—they seemed to cut through everything, like they could see straight into the heart of whatever I was holding back.

So, I opened my mouth.

The words came out slowly at first, each one a struggle to form, but once I started, they just kept coming. Bit by bit, everything spilled out.

Gojo didn't interrupt. He just listened, his expression soft and attentive. It was strange, seeing him like this, and even stranger to feel this vulnerable.

But somehow, it didn't feel wrong. Not with him, at least.

"To make myself care about living... it's an effort. I don't even know what my life is for or where it's headed... I just... want it to end."

There was a pause. Gojo simply looked at me.

"You know," he said after a moment, his tone light but steady, "I know you're a little different than most, no, a lot different from others. But there's definitely something off with the way you think."

I frowned at that, but I didn't respond.

"The absence of a reason to live doesn't mean you have a reason to die. That alone is an abnormal way of thinking. Existing without a purpose isn't a failure."

"But, let's say your way of thinking is right… Let's say living without a reason really is a waste of time. That it's pointless, hollow, maybe even unbearable. Then what? Would that make your death any more meaningful?"

"…I don't know."

I glanced at Gojo. That smug expression was plastered all over his face—the kind that was almost unbearable to look at. The one that screamed, "I thought so."

He shrugged, his tone lighter now. "I don't know if this will make you feel any better, but if you still can't find a reason to live, lean on someone else's for a while. Even if you don't have a reason, there are still people who care about you."

"You make it sound so simple."

"It's not," he continued, "Nobody's born knowing why they're here or what they're supposed to do. We figure it out as we go, stumbling along the way. And while we don't choose the path because of the burdens we carry; we still carry those burdens on the path we choose."

"Then…What should I do now?" I looked at the ground.

What should I do now? The question lingered, heavy in my chest. I didn't know how to move forward. Everything just felt meaningless.

Before I could sink further into that thought, a sharp chop landed on my head.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'what should you do now?'" Gojo said, his tone teasing but firm. "Did you already forget why you're here in the first place?"

Why I'm here?

"Don't tell me you forgot already. It's revenge, isn't it?" he said with a grin that didn't quite match the seriousness of his words.

Revenge...

"It's fine if you're obsessed with it. It's fine if it becomes your driving force. But don't let it become your whole life." His voice softened.

"You don't have to feel certain about everything right now. Just keep moving forward. That's more than enough."

Then, to my surprise, he reached out and gently patted my head.

"Tsk, don't pat my head."

He smirked at my reaction, clearly amused. "What? You don't like it? I thought it'd help you cool off a bit," he teased, retracting his hand but leaving that signature carefree grin on his face.

"Tsk." I turned away, trying to ignore him.

After a beat of silence, he clapped his hands together as if he'd just remembered something important.

"Alright! Enough heavy talk for now. How about we grab some dinner?"

"Dinner?" Of all things, that was the last word I expected to hear from him right now.

"Yeah, dinner. You know, the thing normal humans eat to survive. You've had food before, right? Or is revenge your only source of nutrition these days?"

"Stop joking around."

"I'm serious! My treat."

"Then… ice cream."

Gojo tilted his head, looking at me curiously. For some reason, the way he stared at me was irritating.

"Ice cream, huh? Well, color me surprised. For someone as brutal as you, I wouldn't have guessed you had a sweet tooth."

"Shut up."

"Well then, shall we?"

Despite myself, I couldn't help but smile at his ridiculousness.

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Third person POV

The waves crashed gently against the shore, a rhythmic backdrop to the tense exchange. Kenjaku stood on the hot sand, his robes billowing lightly in the sea breeze, his sharp gaze fixed on Mahito.

The cursed spirit was leaning against a tree.

Reishin had left earlier, muttering complaints about the heat, leaving the two to continue their conversation alone.

"What happened to you?" Kenjaku asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

His eyes fell on Mahito's left arm—or what was left of it. The cut was unnervingly perfect.

"Why don't you heal yourself first?" Kenjaku gestured toward the missing limb.

"…I can't," Mahito admitted.

Kenjaku blinked, momentarily caught off guard.

"Huh?"

For a moment, he wasn't sure if he'd heard correctly.

Scowling, Mahito raised his stump of an arm and focused. Using Idle Transfiguration, he began manipulating his soul. Muscles and skin slowly reformed, crawling along the severed section—but when the process reached the clean cut, it stopped.

Kenjaku's interest sharpened, his eyes narrowing as he studied the failed regeneration. "The severed area refuses to regenerate," he murmured.

"Exactly. No matter how much I manipulate my soul, that part won't heal," Mahito growled, frustration seeping into his voice.

"Start from the beginning."

Mahito exhaled sharply, irritation evident as he recounted the events. He spoke of a mysterious girl who had appeared out of nowhere. Her attacks were relentless, her demeanor cold and unyielding. She hadn't given him a moment to recover, driving him into a corner until he was left in this state.

"She can even destroy my Domain Expansion from the inside," Mahito admitted bitterly. "I don't know how she does it, but she tore it apart like it was nothing."

Kenjaku, who had been listening intently, broke his silence.

"Does this girl have blue-colored eyes?" he asked, his tone deceptively calm.

Mahito frowned, thinking for a moment. "Hmm? Kind of? It's not just blue, though—it's more like this bluish-rainbow color if you look closely."

Kenjaku's lips curled into a faint, unreadable smile.

Ryougi Shiki.

He was certain it was her.

His gaze shifted back to Mahito's severed arm, studying it intently.

For a girl with no cursed energy, for her attacks to directly affect the soul—there were only a few possibilities. It was either her eyes or the ability of her cursed tool. But the latter seemed highly unlikely.

It had to be her eyes.

Kenjaku pieced together a rough explanation in his mind.

First, her eyes allowed her to attack the soul directly. The mechanism remained a mystery, but the evidence was undeniable.

Second, the wounds inflicted by her eyes were permanent. No amount of healing, even through manipulating the soul, could undo the damage.

Third—and most troubling—her eyes could destroy innate barriers.

This third point set alarm bells ringing in his mind.

If what she could destroy extended beyond innate barriers—if it included domains or more—then his entire plan was in jeopardy. Mishandling this situation could cause everything to crumble.

For now, he needed to think carefully. He needed a way to handle her, to neutralize the threat she posed without risking further complications.

Kenjaku let out a quiet sigh.

"For now, just take a rest. We'll need to start on our next plan soon."

'At least she hasn't exorcised Mahito just yet,' he thought.

If she managed to do that before the appointed time, the entire plan could crumble before it even began. While Mahito wasn't absolutely essential, the amount of preparation it would take to replace him wasn't worth the trouble. It could set the plan back by decades—possibly even a century at worst.

Kenjaku's gaze darkened. Ryougi Shiki... her eyes are dangerous.

He wanted to experiment on them further, to understand the full extent of their power. But whether he got that chance depended entirely on how things unfolded.

Her eyes were a threat, one he couldn't afford to underestimate. The plan had reached a fragile stage, where even a minor misstep could cause it to unravel.

He almost considered taking control of Shiki instead of Geto. But Geto was essential to his plan, so that was out of the question.

For now, Kenjaku would have to adapt, improvise, and wait for the right moment.

[END]

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