The storm rolled over Tokyo's skyline, grumbling like a beast that refused to sleep. Lightning cracked behind the clouds, briefly lighting the boy standing atop the shrine roof.
Riku's golden eyes shimmered as he watched cursed energy ripple across the city like radio waves—thin, invisible pulses of dread that only he could see clearly.
"There's something coming," he whispered. "Something old. Something violent."
Aira stepped onto the rooftop behind him, her boots tapping against the old tiles.
"You felt it too?"
He nodded slowly. "The school outbreak was just the beginning."
Below them, cursed spirits squirmed through gutters and alleyways like insects beneath a dying sun. They weren't strong—but they were afraid. Fleeing from something unseen.
> Or maybe, Riku thought, they're fleeing from what I'm about to do.
Aira tilted her head. "You're doing that thing again. The crazy face."
He didn't answer at first.
Instead, he closed his eyes—and whispered:
> "Ten Shadows Technique… Mahoraga."
The very mention made the air tighten. Thunder howled.
Aira paled.
"Wait, you're not serious. Riku, you can't—!"
"Not summon. Prepare," he said. "I won't unleash him. But I need to understand him. Because someday… I'll have to fight something only he could adapt to."
> And maybe one day, even fight myself.
Mahoraga, the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General.
The most unstable shikigami in the Ten Shadows arsenal. A creature no summoner had tamed. Not even Sukuna could face it without consequence.
And yet… Riku needed it.
Not for power.
For preparation.
He walked to the center of the rooftop and raised both hands, casting a shadow-circle using his own cursed energy as the base. Ink-black sigils formed around him, crackling like electricity.
> "Shadow Incantation: Mahoraga's Presence."
He wouldn't summon the full being.
Just a fragment.
Even that nearly split the sky.
A pillar of cursed energy surged into the heavens. Space rippled. Somewhere, glass shattered. Aira stepped back, shielding her eyes.
Then—he appeared.
A silhouette.
Towering, horned, covered in swirling bands of cursed scripture. The wheel behind its back turned once, groaning like rusted chains dragging through hell.
> "You dare call me," a voice rumbled—not from the shadow, but from inside Riku's very bones.
He dropped to one knee instantly, blood streaming from his nose and ears.
His body wasn't ready. But his mind held.
"I don't want to tame you," he said hoarsely. "I want to learn… how to survive you."
Mahoraga's form flickered, testing him with phantom blades.
"You are weaker than those before you."
"I'm not them."
"You carry the stink of Sukuna."
"I'm not him either."
The wheel spun again.
"You seek evolution," the voice echoed.
"I am evolution," Riku growled, eyes flashing. "And I won't break just because you look down on me."
For a long moment, Mahoraga's form was still.
Then—
> "Prove it."
A phantom blade slashed toward him.
Riku moved instantly—activating Cleave and Rabbit Escape together, causing the rooftop to explode in shadow.
The spirit struck again—an afterimage technique that blurred the line between shikigami and swordplay. Riku blocked with only his left hand glowing in cursed runes, his vow screaming through his body.
He faltered.
But he didn't fall.
And when Mahoraga struck the third time, he dodged without thought.
For a heartbeat, they danced—a cursed boy and the specter of adaptation.
And then, just as fast, the spirit vanished.
The shadow circle collapsed. The air returned to silence.
Riku collapsed to his knees, sweat pouring, lungs burning.
Aira rushed to his side.
"Idiot," she whispered, kneeling and wrapping an arm around him. "You could've died."
He chuckled weakly. "I didn't."
She looked at him—really looked.
"You're trembling."
"I just stood inside the eye of a storm," he murmured. "But I saw it… I saw how he adapts. Every turn of the wheel is not just a defense. It's an evolution. He doesn't react… he becomes."
She helped him stand.
"And you think you can become like that?"
He smiled faintly, golden eyes gleaming.
"I will become more. Not just because I want to win… but because I want to protect you. And Momo. And this whole stupid world."
She stared at him for a moment, heart thudding, before looking away with a soft blush.
"Then next time, let me train beside you."
"Deal."
The sky finally cleared.
And on the wind, something whispered from the spirit world:
> You are not him… but something worse is awakening in you… something freer.