Jujutsu Kaisen: Nozomi no Sora

Is it bad?

Xuan Yi's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't answer.

Of course he knows who he is.

A gentle and kind 17-year-old high school student, an innocent newcomer to a magic academy, and an admirer who absolutely trusts Gojo Satoru...

These labels were like tailor-made costumes, which he wore perfectly, beautifully, and flawlessly.

He acted so well that sometimes even he would be confused by his own reflection in the mirror—who exactly is that boy with the crescent-shaped eyes who would risk his life for his companions?

It was just a carefully choreographed impromptu performance.

He knew better than anyone that he was a stranger who had stolen this body, a fraudster who held the "rolebook" but attempted to tamper with the ending.

Every line of "Teacher Gojo" interspersed with longing, every perfectly timed panic and courage in a crisis, and even every glance that is seen as "gentle," are nothing more than neat footnotes he wrote on the edge of the script.

In order for the world to acknowledge his "legitimacy," and in order to repaint that predetermined future called "inevitable death" in a different color, he must live forever in the act.

She couldn't break character, couldn't lose immersion, and couldn't let anyone glimpse the weary soul from another world beneath this seventeen-year-old exterior.

How hypocritical this is!

Xuan Yi lowered his eyes, his fingertips lightly tracing the rough texture on the sickle handle.

But in battle, one never asks whether the opponent is good or evil.

The battle never cared where he came from.

Only at such moments, when the breath of death truly brushes against his neck, when the smell of blood truly fills his lungs, can he peel away from the layers of role-playing.

He revealed a smile that was unfamiliar even to himself, almost malicious.

"Are you underestimating me?" Tsuchimikado roared as he charged forward, his staff clashing violently with his scythe. The staff flashed, and unexpectedly, he used the handle to flick Gen's jaw, then followed up with a powerful kick that sent him flying!

Xuan Yi crashed into two dead trees before stopping, a metallic taste rising in his throat.

—This guy, he looks like a mage, but his physical skills are ridiculously strong!

He had just propped himself up when he felt an unusual surge of magical energy emanating from behind him.

The witch with her eyes closed was already waiting on his inevitable path.

She reached out her hand towards Xuan Yi's back. Before she even fully touched him, Xuan Yi felt his life force rapidly draining away!

But to his surprise—

The scythe in his hand, imbued with even greater magical power, became even heavier!

"Accelerates the flow of time within a certain range...?" Xuan Yi coughed up blood, but his eyes lit up. "Even inorganic matter would be affected. But—"

The power of the Tsukumogami (a type of ritual in Chinese folklore) depends on two factors: the user's level of magical power and the nature of the object itself.

Years!

"Tsukumogami Technique - 'Kama-i-dan'!"

A jet-black wind blade, dark as it blotted out the sky, slashed towards the priestess! Her figure flashed suddenly, leaving afterimages in the air, but when she regained her footing, several bloody wounds appeared on her arms.

"Are you alright, Tsubaki?" Tsuchimikado glanced at her.

"This is just a minor injury..."

Before she could finish speaking, wisps of black energy began to emerge from the wound and surged towards Xuan Yi.

"My magical power..." Tsubaki Ibe frowned. "That scythe, its power increases because of my spell? And... it's constantly draining my magical power."

Upon hearing this, Tsuchimikado's expression turned completely somber.

"Just how many trump cards are you still hiding, Genichi Nishio?!"

He shouted and waved his staff!

"Star Song - 'Tangled Threads of Misfortune'!"

The moment the staff fell, Xuan Yi felt as if his body was being bound by countless invisible threads. But the feeling quickly disappeared, seemingly without causing any real harm.

But Xuan Yi understood that he had probably been subjected to some kind of debuff.

Tsuchimikado returned with his staff once more, and engaged Genichi in close combat again.

The shadows of staffs and the glint of blades clashed, each collision producing a piercing clang.

Xuan Yi tried to fight back, but his opponent's movements always seemed to predict his trajectory—every swing was blocked in advance, and every dodge was precisely pursued.

"Starting to create distance, huh?" Tsuchimikado chuckled, a fleeting glimpse of scissors in his hand. "However, it's all in vain! My technique—'Star Chant'—allows me to see the 'destined' future seconds by observing the 'threads of fate' on the target. I can cut the threads of misfortune to make my attack 'destined to miss,' and I can also cut the threads of luck to bring misfortune upon them."

He raised his staff, and a ball of light appeared behind him.

"Well then, how about you take this move!"

Countless enormous orbs of light appeared behind him, and as he swung his staff down, they all poured towards Xuan Yi!

Xuan Yi fled at top speed, his gaze catching sight of Dan Bo lurking nearby. Under the Dan Bo's surprised gaze, he reached out his hand, and the gravity of "Cang" suddenly activated, teleporting him behind Dan Bo!

"This guy actually drew fire on me!"

Faced with Tsuchimikado's indiscriminate bombardment, Tanba chose to flee immediately, with Genichi close behind.

"Your intangibility spell also has a limited duration, right?"

Xuan Yi's voice followed him like a shadow. Dan Bo was startled and lashed out with a barbed iron chain from his left sleeve. But when he saw Xuan Yi's outstretched hand and recalled the previous scene, his body instinctively activated a spell.

The chains, along with his body, became ethereal and then passed through Xuan Yi.

Seeing Xuan Yi's unwavering stance and the upward curve of his lips, Danbo sensed something was wrong. The next second, the spell dissipated, and Xuan Yi kicked him hard, sending him flying into the center of a barrage of light spheres!

"No--!!"

The screams were swallowed by the explosion. Amidst the dazzling starlight, Tanbo's body was torn to pieces and quickly vanished completely.

One solved!

"hateful!"

Tsuchimikado, standing in the distance, gritted his teeth. With a snapping sound like scissors, several orbs of light changed their trajectory, arcing around to behind Genichi before exploding with a bang!

Countless stars exploded with a deafening roar.

Light and heat converged and exploded at the same instant, and shock waves tore outwards in layers, shearing off several inches from the ground. Scorched earth and rocks mixed with sparks were swept into the sky, forming a huge firework woven from destruction.

Tsuchimikado Yoru was pushed back half a step by the blast wave, but he couldn't hide the ecstasy on his face. He suddenly raised his arms and shouted:

"We won—!!"

However, before the syllable could be uttered, his expression suddenly froze.

Before the smoke and dust had even cleared, a dark figure burst forth from the smoke like a demon!

Half of the man's body was charred black, his clothes stuck to his flesh, revealing the scarlet skin beneath. But his eyes—those terrifyingly bright eyes in the ashes—were fixed on him, filled with an almost insane, unquenchable fighting spirit.

Tsuchimikado Yoko's pupils contracted sharply, and a chill ran down his spine to the top of his head.

"Injured like this... and you can still move?!" His voice changed, even carrying a tremor he himself didn't realize. "What kind of monster are you?!"

He was about to wave his staff when he faintly heard the sound of the threads snapping.

"The time for the ritual has come." Tsuchimikado frowned deeply. "Damn it, of all times! Tsubaki!"

The shrine maiden's figure stood between Tsuchimikado and Genichi.

She spread her arms and began to dance.

Her steps were light and graceful as she twirled and her sleeves fluttered. Crimson petals drifted down from the sky with her dance, starting as just a few scattered petals, but in the blink of an eye, they transformed into a shower of blossoms.

She closed her eyes and softly recited:

"Domain Expansion—"

"The Fallen Flowers of the Underworld".

Xuan Yi stopped in his tracks.

Within the pitch-black realm, countless blood-red camellias drifted down from the void, appearing as if they were slowly falling one by one.

But Xuan Yi knew in his heart that, like most fields, this was nothing more than a visual misdirection.

The instant those petals appeared, the sure-hit spell was already applied to the target within the domain.

Before he could even react, the flesh on his shoulder began to fester and corrode, revealing the stark white bone beneath.

"My technique, 'Decay,' accelerates the flow of time for any object upon contact. Steel corrodes instantly, and flesh ages in a flash. This is the infallible technique I've etched into my domain."

The priestess's voice came from the center of the domain.

"Every camellia petal here carries hundreds of years of history, and will decay according to the corresponding number of years if touched."

She slowly raised her hand, and more petals began to gather.

"You have no way to leave this land of the underworld sealed by the Thousand-Gate Stone. Just stay here... and slowly rot away."

However, the moment she finished speaking, the flow of magical power within the domain froze.

Under the shocked gazes of the two, Xuan Yi slowly raised his finger.

The charred outer shell peeled away inch by inch, like burnt talisman paper, revealing the new skin beneath. He raised his eyes, the previous madness and agitation completely gone, leaving only an almost serene calm.

"I've wanted to try this so many times already."

He said softly, taking a step forward.

Tick.

The soft sound of a drop of water falling into the lake.

The pitch-black lake spread silently from his toes, like ink dripping into clear water, slowly and steadily staining the surroundings. Petals fell in, without ripples, only sinking; starlight sank in, without echo, only silence.

Tsuchimikado Yoru looked down and saw that the ground beneath his feet had turned into a black mirror. The mirror reflected everything, yet it seemed as if nothing existed. He stared blankly into the depths, into that pure, boundless "nothingness".

"After fighting you, I seem to finally be able to see my own 'true nature' more clearly."

Xuan Yi stood on the water's surface, his voice seemingly coming from the bottom of the lake.

"Domain Expansion—"

"The Land of Nothingness."