Rain falls steadily now, washing over a battlefield that no longer resembles a city.
The ground is carved into jagged trenches, the sky still scarred from the earlier clash.
At the center stands Izana Kurokawa, his body damaged, breathing uneven, one arm gone, cursed energy flickering like a dying flame.
Across from him, Satoru Gojo steps forward—and this time, Ren steps with him. Not behind. Beside.
Izana watches them, silent for a moment, then lets out a faint, almost tired smile. "…So this is how it ends."
Neither of them answers.
They move.
Gojo vanishes first, reappearing above Izana as Blue ignites in his palm, dragging the air and debris upward in a violent pull.
At the same instant, Ren closes in from below, distortion wrapping around his arm like a collapsing field. Izana reacts on instinct, gravity erupting outward to crush both directions—but he's slower now. Just enough.
Gojo slips through the pressure. Ren breaks through the edge.
Both attacks land.
The impact caves the ground inward, splitting the battlefield open as Izana is driven back across shattered concrete. He stabilizes instantly and counters, striking toward Ren's chest with a precise, lethal blow.
It stops.
One inch away.
Izana's eyes flicker.
He adjusts, striking from the side—stops. From behind—stops. Faster—sharper—deadlier—
Every finishing attack halts at the same distance.
Ren doesn't hesitate this time. He steps into that gap and lands a clean hit across Izana's side, the force bending space around the impact and sending him sliding back again.
Gojo follows immediately, Red flashing into existence as a repulsive blast detonates point-blank, launching Izana upward. Before he can recover, Gojo is already there—his kick lands clean, sending Izana crashing back into the ground.
Ren drops from above and slams another distortion-infused strike into him the moment he lands. The battlefield trembles, cracks spreading outward like fractures in glass.
Izana forces himself up again. His breathing is heavier now. Control is slipping.
He attacks Ren again.
Stops.
That same inch.
That same invisible refusal.
"…Still," Izana mutters, a quiet laugh slipping out, "…still won't let me finish it."
Gojo steps beside Ren, calm, watching. For a moment, none of them move. Rain falls between them.
Izana looks at Ren. Then at Gojo. Then at his own hand—the one that cannot cross that final distance.
Understanding settles.
His stance lowers, not in attack, not in defense—but in acceptance.
"…I see," he exhales. "I guess… this is the end, huh."
Silence.
Gojo steps forward. No hesitation now. Red and blue spiral together in his hands, the air vibrating as space itself distorts into something absolute. Ren stands behind him, steady despite the damage.
This is it.
Gojo raises his hand. "Hollow—"
And then—
It hits.
A massive surge of cursed energy floods the battlefield from behind them, so overwhelming it feels like the sky itself has dropped.
The ground trembles, the barrier above pulses violently, and even the rain is blown sideways under the pressure.
Gojo's technique halts mid-formation.
Izana's eyes narrow slightly—not in fear, but recognition.
Slowly, all three turn.
The air behind them warps under an approaching presence. The energy isn't chaotic—it's controlled, heavy, suffocating in its precision.
Watching.
Waiting.
A massive wave of cursed energy distorts the horizon itself as it approaches, bending the skyline—while Gojo, Ren, and Izana stand frozen mid-conclusion.
Something far worse has arrived.