Sukuna felt a crushing weight on his heart.
This wasn't the self he'd imagined… no, it was wildly different!!
He covered his face and scrubbed hard.
Then he looked out at the world once more—
The Spine-Ceiling, the Mountain of Corpses, and Sea of Blood were still there.
He wore the same white kimono as the "him" in the dream.
The air carried a faint metallic sweetness; oddly, he didn't find it unpleasant—almost a light sugary note.
Like dew on dawn grass.
He agonized: was it because he'd grown used to it, or had the stench truly vanished?
He consoled himself—at least staying here wasn't unbearable… so… head pounding, he wondered: what about Yuji?
When the kid swapped in next, will he land here too?
If so… how do I explain this savage, blood-soaked Innate Domain…?
Sukuna sighed in misery.
No hiding it—unless he never planned to switch out again.
After grieving for a while, he chose honesty, clearing his throat.
[A-hem…]
Hearing that familiar cue, the worried Yuji lit up.
"Sukuna, you're finally awake!"
[Mm…]
The King of Curses sounded listless; his mood was unmistakably low.
Yuji tensed instantly.
"What's wrong, Sukuna? Did something happen after the third finger?"
Sukuna hesitated, muttering,
[…Well…]
He dragged his words.
[There's something I should tell you ahead of time.]
"W-what is it?"
Yuji swallowed, nervous.
"…Have your memories returned?"
Memories?
[Oh, not at all.]
Sukuna answered easily; one fleeting image hardly counted.
Relieved, Yuji exhaled.
Good—no memories. This was still his Sukuna.
He felt a guilty flutter of joy, then caught himself—his friend had lost his past; how could he be happy? Forcing focus, he asked: "Then what is it?"
Sukuna's voice paused inside his head.
[Turns out my thousand-year-old self was… just a teensy bit brutal…]
He spoke haltingly.
Yuji blinked. "Eh?"
Sukuna lowered his eyes, pinching a sleeve. "[My inner world isn't pitch-black anymore…]
[It's kind of… uh…]
[…filled with surreal performance art and violent aesthetics…?]
Yuji: "…???"
Huh?
Baffled, Yuji replayed the line, then gave up. "Sukuna… plain talk, please. I'm lost."
Sukuna: […]
He sighed.
[Fine… long story short, I probably slaughtered a lot of humans back then…]
Yuji: "…"
A heavy sadness settled on him.
He'd guessed—Sukuna was history's dreaded King of Curses—but hearing it still stung.
Remembering the bovine skulls, Sukuna quickly added,
[Oh, and plenty of animals too.]
Yuji: "…?"
A silent question mark floated over his head.
The somber mood slipped.
Sukuna went on, sighing. "[Anyway, my inner world's pretty scary now…]
—scary even to Cursed Spirits.
He sounded dejected. "[I figured I'd warn you so you won't freak when you switch in…]
Yuji gulped.
"Then… what does it look like? Give me a heads-up."
Sukuna: […Mountains of corpses, seas of blood…]
Yuji: "…"
Sukuna: […Piles of bones…]
Yuji: "…"
Sukuna: [At least there's no stench, or I'd be on my knees…]
The last line flipped Yuji's fear into sympathy.
How could his neat-freak Sukuna stand that place?
Yuji inhaled. "Got it. I'll brace myself and check tonight."
[O-okay…]
Task done, Sukuna gathered his spirits.
[What time is it? How long was I out?]
Sharing Yuji's eyes, he saw the squad training on the field.
"Two days. It's the third afternoon since you crashed. Everyone's drilling now."
Yuji squirmed.
He'd spent every minute dreading Sukuna might never return.
But he had—so what if the inner world changed?
He exhaled in relief.
[What—two days?!]
Sukuna yelped inside his skull.
[I thought it was two hours! How many snacks did I miss?!]
Yuji: "…"
…Give my touching mood back!!
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