The colony is still burning.
Collapsed buildings smolder, streets split open like wounds, and the sky above flickers faintly as if the barrier itself is struggling to hold together. Sirens echo in the distance, distant and meaningless against the chaos.
At the center of a ruined avenue, four figures stand surrounded.
Mirai steadies her breath, blood trailing down her arm but her stance firm. Beside her, Yuji Itadori clenches his fists, eyes sharp despite the exhaustion. Aoi Todo stands slightly ahead, posture loose but ready, while Maki grips her weapon tightly, scanning the area.
The curses they were fighting are gone.
Not defeated.
Gone.
Erased.
Mirai is the first to notice.
"…Something's off."
The air feels different.
Heavy.
Compressed.
Then—
A figure steps forward from the smoke.
Calm.
Unhurried.
Untouched.
Astra.
No dramatic entrance. No explosion of power. Just presence.
But the moment he appears—
Everything feels wrong.
Todo's expression shifts instantly. "…Oh?"
Yuji narrows his eyes. "That guy…"
Maki grips her weapon tighter. "He's not like the others."
Mirai says nothing.
She already knows.
Astra stops a few meters away, hands relaxed at his sides, eyes scanning them one by one like he's assessing tools.
"…So this is the current generation," he says calmly.
No hostility.
No arrogance.
Just observation.
Yuji steps forward slightly. "Who are you?"
Astra's gaze lingers on him for a moment longer than the others.
"…You're the vessel."
Yuji's eyes sharpen.
Todo cracks his neck slightly, stepping forward. "Oi. You're talking a lot for someone who just walked into a battlefield."
Astra shifts his gaze to him.
"…You're loud."
That's all he says.
Then—
He moves.
No signal.
No warning.
He disappears.
Todo reacts instantly, clapping his hands—
—but before the technique can even complete—
Astra is already behind him.
A single strike.
Clean.
Precise.
Todo is launched across the street, crashing through a collapsed structure.
Yuji lunges forward immediately, cursed energy flaring as he throws a punch straight toward Astra's head.
Astra tilts slightly.
The punch misses by centimeters.
Yuji's eyes widen—
Astra's hand moves.
A sharp, controlled strike lands across Yuji's torso, sending him skidding across the ground, breath knocked out instantly.
Maki closes in from the side, blade aimed cleanly—
Astra catches it.
Bare-handed.
No strain.
No resistance.
Just stops it.
He twists slightly—
Maki is thrown aside, crashing into rubble.
Mirai reacts next, blood manipulation activating instantly as sharp projectiles form midair and launch toward Astra from multiple angles.
For the first time—
Astra moves more than a step.
He shifts.
Minimal.
Efficient.
Every attack misses.
Not by luck.
By design.
He closes the distance.
A single strike—
Mirai is forced back, barely managing to block, her feet dragging across the ground as the force pushes her back several meters.
Silence.
Four fighters.
All down.
All overwhelmed.
Within seconds.
Astra stands in the center again, untouched, his breathing unchanged.
"…Too inefficient," he mutters.
Yuji tries to stand.
His vision blurs.
His body doesn't respond.
His breathing grows shallow.
"…Damn it…"
The world fades.
Darkness takes over.
And then—
Something else opens.
A surge.
Violent.
Ancient.
Cursed energy explodes outward, distorting the air itself as the ground cracks beneath it.
A presence far different from before.
Far heavier.
Far more dangerous.
Yuji's body rises again—
But it isn't Yuji anymore.
RyomenSukuna opens his eyes.
A smile forms.
Sharp.
Cruel.
"…So this is the situation."
Astra watches him.
For the first time—
There's interest.
Real interest.
Sukuna steps forward slowly, cracking his neck slightly as cursed energy flows around him like a living thing.
"Finally… something worth killing."
He vanishes.
Reappears in front of Astra instantly, launching a devastating strike.
Astra doesn't dodge.
He shifts.
Barely.
The attack misses.
Sukuna's eyes sharpen.
He follows with another—faster, sharper—
Astra counters.
A clean strike lands across Sukuna's side.
Sukuna is pushed back slightly.
Not heavily.
But enough.
The ground cracks beneath his feet as he stabilizes.
"…I see."
They clash again.
Faster.
Sharper.
Deadlier.
Sukuna's attacks tear through the surroundings, cutting through structures effortlessly—but Astra moves through it all with minimal motion, every step calculated, every response precise.
He doesn't overpower Sukuna.
He outplays him.
Sukuna's grin widens.
"…Interesting."
Astra steps forward, landing another precise strike that forces Sukuna back again.
Then he stops.
Completely still.
"…It's an honor," Astra says calmly, "to fight the King of Curses."
Sukuna tilts his head slightly, amused.
"…You're quite strong yourself."
A pause.
"…Who are you?"
Astra meets his gaze directly.
"Vice-Captain of Night Sky."
Sukuna lets out a small laugh.
"…A mere servant… huh."
His eyes sharpen.
"Don't get too overconfident."
Astra doesn't react.
"You're right," he says calmly. "I couldn't beat you in your full form."
A slight pause.
"That is according to Ryoga Endo."
Sukuna's expression changes slightly.
Not fear.
Curiosity.
"…At your current state of fifteen fingers…"
Astra's gaze sharpens.
"I can."
Silence.
Sukuna's smile fades—just slightly.
"…Ryoga Endo?" he repeats. "Who's that?"
Astra turns his gaze slightly, as if looking beyond the battlefield.
"You felt it."
The air grows heavier.
"That intense cursed energy."
A brief pause.
"That belonged to him."
The words settle.
Sukuna's eyes narrow.
For the first time—
Something registers.
Not fear.
But recognition of something… worth noticing.
Sukuna standing still, expression no longer purely amused, while Astra faces him calmly—the battlefield between them cracked and silent.
A new scale of power…
Has just been introduced.