The World Narrowed
Darkness pressed in.
Gojo lay flat, broken against the ruins of the collapsed walkway. His limbs were twisted wrong. Blood clogged his throat. His chest barely rose with each labored breath. Somewhere in the haze, he heard Geto's voice, the distant cry of Riko's name—Kishibe's blade clashing again and again, desperate, furious.
Then silence.
Except for the rain of pebbles and glass.
His body didn't move.
But his mind… it screamed.
"Why?"
Why couldn't he keep up?
Why couldn't he save them?
Why was this man—a nobody, a non-sorcerer—winning?
---
Memories in Fractures
Yaga's lessons. Kuroi's laughter. Kishibe's sharp eyes warning him to never underestimate a quiet man. Geto's calm—his belief in purpose. Riko's smile.
And his own voice, arrogant and loud:
"I'm the strongest."
He felt it now—the lie. Not because it wasn't true. But because he hadn't earned it yet. He coasted. Relied on cursed technique, on Infinity, on being born different.
But that man…
That monster in human skin…
Toji fought with nothing. No cursed energy. Just raw will, perfect technique, brutality—
—and hunger.
---
A Spark
Then it clicked.
Not in his body. But deeper. In the part of him that lived beyond limits.
A hum. A vibration. The world shuddered.
He didn't move. He simply stood.
Bones cracked back into place. Blood reversed course. His body, still wrecked, still mortal—rose anyway.
Toji turned his head at the sound. His brow furrowed.
Gojo stepped into the rubble.
Eyes open. Blue and burning.
Infinity flared to life, but it didn't hum like before—it sang.
---
Toji sneered. "You again?"
He dashed forward—faster than before.
Gojo didn't flinch. He raised his hand and activated Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue.
Toji barely veered off in time, his shoulder grazing the collapsing vacuum as it shredded air and earth behind him.
"Closer," Gojo muttered, as blood dripped from his lip.
Toji rushed again. Blade flashing.
Gojo sidestepped, fingers dancing through invisible threads.
Again.
A feint. Then a stab.
Gojo let it pass through Infinity, watched the blade stop just in front of his heart.
And smiled.
He reached up and touched Toji's wrist.
Toji's eyes widened.
"Try bleeding for once."
He activated Blue Reversal: Red—not to blast Toji, but to slam him backward and off balance.
The red force hit Toji like a freight train, tearing the concrete apart.
As the smoke cleared—
Blood trickled from a cut on Toji's forehead.
He blinked. Touched it.
And laughed.
"Well," he grinned, wiping it away. "Didn't think you would draw blood."
Gojo's grin deepened.
"This isn't over."
---
Kishibe's Last Stand Echoes
Gojo turned his head, just slightly. In the crater beyond, Kishibe's body was unmoving.
But even in death—or near-death—the man had left scars.
Toji respected that.
Gojo did too.
"I'll end this," Gojo whispered. "Toji Fushiguro… you've had your fun."
Toji spun his blade once and nodded. "Come then, Hollow King."