"To wake up the real Spiral, you gotta give up your name first."
That's the last thing Gojo tossed at Akashi before peacing out andvprobably off to play politics, maybe to break a few skulls. Now Akashi's standing barefoot in this creepy underground chamber under Kyoto's Jujutsu High annex. The kind of place where blood didn't just get spilled, it got used as ink.
Stone walls throbbing with cursed scripture, spiral glyphs spinning lazy circles on the floor and stuff that makes normal jujutsu look like finger painting.
Dead center: a ritual basin, black as obsidian, still as death.
Spiral Reconciliation.
Totally forbidden. Not on the syllabus, not even in the footnotes. The kind of thing seniors whisper about after midnight, half as a dare, half as a warning.
Akashi steps in. His Spiral mark lights up, like someone shoved a hot iron under his skin.
"Name, blood, and memory," he mutters. "All yours."
Cursed energy ripples out, messing with reality like a stone skipping across a pond. The room starts to warp, folding in on itself, geometry gone nuts.
"Dragon Tongue: Gate Form—OPEN."
The Spiral just lets loose.
Inside the Spiral Realm
He wakes up in this endless sea of black mirrors.
Every step he takes, the water shivers and ripples. Reflections twisted: his mom calling his name, Nobara's cackle, Yuji's fists smacking his in sparring, Megumi's silent side-eye. It's all there, echoing.
But then—something else.
"Why do you seek me, Spiralborn?"
A dragon.
Monstrous, wrapped in shadows, a thousand eyes blinking all over. Its whole body is a mess of cursed sutras, and its teeth? Jagged, like broken-off names.
"I am Enki," it hisses. "I eat names. I'm the voice of your curse. I'm the silence your mother died for."
Akashi? Doesn't flinch.
"I'm here for a pact. Not to kneel. Not to chain you up."
"But to speak with you."
A second of silence.
Then, a sound like thunder.
"Then give me your name, kid. And try not to die too early."
The Spiral rips open under him.
Back in Reality
Outside, Nobara and Megumi feel it hit in their spine.
Gravity's gone weird, like the air's listening in.
"He did it," Megumi grumbles. "Started at the damn thing."
"Idiot," Nobara snaps, white-knuckling her hammer. "If he dies, I swear, I'm dragging him out of the afterlife just to kill him again."
Doors explode open.
Akashi staggers out. Cloak shredded, shirt toasted, spiral glyphs burning bright across his chest and arms. His eyes? Not blue anymore. They're gold now—spiraled, alive, swimming with words.
And just for a blink, behind him—a massive and majestic dragon's shadow curls, fanged and silent, tattooed to his back.
"It worked," he croaks.
"I remembered my real name."
Later—Gojo's Return
Gojo's chilling on the dorm roof, slurping a juice box, when Akashi rolls up.
Doesn't even look at him, just smirks. "So...The Pact is done now ..huh?"
Akashi nods. "Enki talked to me and Ate my fake name."
"So what are you now?" Gojo asks, eyes glinting.
Akashi's smile? Way too sharp. "Tenth Spiral. Voice of the Forgotten Curse."
Gojo finally turns, grin spreading.
"Now you're ready."
Akashi squints. "Ready for what?"
Gojo's grin drops.
"For war."