The mission location was an abandoned commercial block on the outskirts of the city.
Collapsed shops. Broken signage.
And the unmistakable stench of curses.
Yuji Itadori stretched his arms. "So, uh—first mission together, huh?"
Ren nodded. "Looks like it."
Gojo's voice crackled through the earpiece.
"Light recon mission. Low to mid-grade curse activity. Don't die."
"That's very reassuring," Yuji said.
Ren almost smiled.
They entered the building quietly.
Yuji moved naturally—too naturally—for someone facing curses for the first time months ago. His instincts were sharp, body coiled like he'd been doing this his whole life.
Ren noticed.
"You don't hesitate," Ren said.
Yuji shrugged. "If I do, people get hurt."
Something about that answer sat wrong with Ren.
The first curse appeared fast.
A malformed thing, crawling across the ceiling, mouth stretching too wide.
Yuji launched himself upward, fist crashing into it with raw force.
The curse shrieked—
Then vanished.
Ren blinked.
"That was Grade 2," he said.
Yuji scratched his cheek. "Oh. Was it?"
Ren frowned.
They moved deeper.
That's when Ren felt it.
Not cursed energy.
Not pressure.
Something watching.
He stopped walking.
"Yuji," he said quietly. "Do you feel that?"
Yuji stiffened.
"…Yeah."
The air shifted.
The shadows bent unnaturally.
Then a voice echoed—
not aloud, but inside Ren's skull.
Oh? He can feel me?
Ren's blood ran cold.
Yuji grabbed his head, teeth clenched.
"Tch—don't—don't start now."
Ren turned sharply. "Start what?"
Yuji didn't answer.
The curse ahead suddenly exploded, ripped apart by something invisible.
Not exorcised.
Obliterated.
Ren stared.
"That wasn't you," he said.
Yuji's hands shook.
"…No."
The world tilted.
For just a second—
Ren saw it.
Not clearly.
Not fully.
A presence vast and ancient, coiled around Yuji's existence like a crown of knives.
Four eyes.
A smile that wasn't meant for humans.
And those eyes—
focused directly on Ren.
Interesting,
you're not empty either.
Ren staggered back.
The pressure was suffocating.
Yuji screamed. "SHUT UP!"
The presence laughed.
Then vanished.
The building fell silent.
Yuji collapsed to one knee, breathing hard.
Ren rushed to him. "What was that?"
Yuji looked up.
His eyes were normal again.
But fear lingered.
"…That," Yuji said quietly, "is Ryomen Sukuna."
Ren felt something tighten in his chest.
"A curse?" he asked.
Yuji shook his head slowly.
"No," he said.
"A disaster."
Ren looked back into the darkness of the building.
For the first time since arriving in Japan—
He felt small.
Somewhere far away, Gojo smiled.
Because Ren Oshimiya had just learned the truth:
There are powers you inherit.
And then there are powers
that choose to exist.