Darkness swirled.
A pit without sound. Without walls. Without escape.
Megumi sat within it.
Knees pulled up to his chest, arms draped loosely over them. His head hung low, eyes half-open—lost. The void wasn't physical. It was within him. It was him now.
Inside their shared soul, Sukuna's presence towered like a god above a dying candle.
And now, Sukuna spoke. His voice was casual. Amused.
"Well then, Megumi... I must say, it's quieter in here than I thought."
Megumi didn't respond.
Sukuna chuckled, circling the mental remnants of the boy like a predator pacing outside a cage that was already open.
"You saw her, didn't you? Her face. That empty shell."
He leaned closer, grinning.
"It's amazing what a little hopelessness does to a soul like yours. Truly."
Megumi slowly lifted his head. His eyes were hollow. Whatever fire had once blazed in them had now flickered into dying embers.
"...Do whatever you want," he muttered.
Sukuna froze for a moment, then slowly smiled—eyes gleaming with victory.
"There it is."
He raised his arms and spun slowly in satisfaction.
"Resignation. The final surrender. You're not fighting anymore. You're done. And that means I win."
The words echoed, but Megumi didn't even blink.
"You always feared losing control, didn't you? Thought you'd be like your father—like Toji. But no... you're far worse, Megumi. You've handed yourself over willingly. You just gave up."
Sukuna knelt down.
"Say it."
Megumi's voice barely came out.
"...You win."
The cursed king closed his eyes and inhaled, like the air itself had become sweeter.
"Excellent."
Then—
He stood.
And his presence surged.
Control was his.
He stepped forward, leaving Megumi's soul behind, shrinking further into the recesses of a forgotten psyche.
As his consciousness fully remerged with the physical body, Sukuna's lips curved into a smirk.
"This body is mine now."
And from deep within that dark abyss, Megumi silently drifted, the last of his will eroded by despair.