[Imperial Sky Knight]
Officially designated as: [Kamen Rider Cronus].
Punching power: 110 tons. Kicking power: 120 tons. Jump height: 96m. Running speed: 100m in 0.96s. The official data above was filled in arbitrarily.
It wasn't filled in at random by the editors of *Kamen Rider Ex-Aid*, but by Tsumiki Fushiguro herself. Only after dragging this armor from fantasy into reality did she realize that the original data was just numbers the Rider himself filled out on a whim.
Tsumiki strictly adhered to the Tokusatsu show's settings to manufacture this armor. The birth of the Imperial Sky Knight proves that the original code had already been generated within the Dream Migration. The Imperial Sky Knight's Buggle Driver is precisely the kind of driver capable of special operations within a game world.
What does this prove?
It proves that as long as your coding ability is sufficient, you can treat the Imperial Sky Knight like a walking Cheat Engine.
As the strongest Construction Sorcerer in a millennium, Tsumiki Fushiguro is the most skilled individual in the world at coding for the "Game World." In this regard, not even Mahito, possessor of the Six Eyes, can compare to her.
This is also why the Kamen Rider she initially targeted was Zi-O. It wasn't out of arrogance; rather, if there was anyone in this world capable of manifesting the Lord of Time into reality, it would undoubtedly be Yorozu.
However, the Lord of Time was impossible. The settings were too exaggerated. Tsumiki had tried until now without a single spark of success. And the *Hyper Muteki* gamer from *Kamen Rider Ex-Aid* was far too complex—brain-burning work. If she had another ten years, Tsumiki might have been confident, but with only a few months, she had zero assurance.
Step by step, she settled for the next best thing. The Imperial Sky Knight appeared in her options.
And now, she had finally reproduced it.
*Click.*
[PAUSE]
This was likely the first time in the history of the world that anyone had witnessed what Ryomen Sukuna's slash actually looked like. The Imperial Sky Knight advanced slowly, using a cat-walk. She turned her body slightly sideways. Ryomen Sukuna's slash hung suspended there—an invisible blade fixed in place, freezing as it grazed the Imperial Sky Knight's side.
The Imperial Sky Knight's duration: 10 minutes.
But these 10 minutes were not the Imperial Sky Knight's subjective time, but *real-time*. In other words, within the Time Stop, this countdown did not tick forward. This was the reason Tsumiki had established a Binding Vow to lower the fantasy intensity (stats) in exchange for preserving the core ability completely.
The core ability of the Imperial Sky Knight is Time Stop. From this moment on—only the Imperial Sky Knight can move. This is a true Time Stop.
The Imperial Sky Knight walked up to Ryomen Sukuna. She carefully observed Sukuna's expression. She saw that he was not as relaxed as he claimed to be. There were injuries on his majestic body that couldn't be healed immediately after enduring a Black Flash. In his battle with Yuji Itadori, Sukuna must have been hit squarely by Black Flashes multiple times, so much so that even with Reverse Cursed Technique, he hadn't fully recovered.
Yet his expression remained arrogant. He possessed two faces, but not a single eye from either face was spared for Yuji Itadori. Right now, all of Ryomen Sukuna's attention was focused entirely on her. That arrogant smile, that soaring fighting spirit, and those cold, cruel eyes... at this moment,
"They belong entirely to me," Tsumiki whispered low.
She was clearly so calm. In the two months of contact, she had never been swayed by the fanaticism of the ancient sorcerer Yorozu. Yet, at this very moment, a flame suddenly ignited in her heart. A massive fire instantly lit up her heart and flowed with the blood to her limbs and bones. This wasn't Cursed Energy—she couldn't possess Cursed Energy in the Imperial Sky Knight state. This was an overwhelming psychic force, a mental power that made her—
—Seethe with murderous intent!
"Sukuna-sama." Her voice, which should have been calm, cracked into a rasp, like a sound spilling from lips pushed to the brink of fanaticism.
She said:
"I... have come to kill you!"
*Click.*
A clock face appeared beneath the Imperial Sky Knight's feet. As the clock manifested, she raised her leg. She didn't kick directly; instead, following the compass-like scribing of the line within the frozen time, she executed a roundhouse kick against Ryomen Sukuna. The hour hand of the clock followed the trajectory of her kick, slicing through with the Imperial Sky Knight's strike.
One full rotation!
*Click.*
The clock returned to zero.
This is the starting point, and also the end point. This is—
[CRITICAL CREWS-AID (CONCLUSION)]!
*BANG—!* Within the stillness of stopped time, the Imperial Sky Knight's roundhouse kick connected with Ryomen Sukuna. The unknown energy carried by the kick detonated in an instant. Half of Sukuna's body was covered in explosion effects that looked like game graphics, but these "special effects" were genuinely embedded into his body. His insides detonated along with them, as if a rain of blood was about to fall.
But just before it could fall, both the special effect explosion and Sukuna's own bodily detonation were paused in mid-air.
Tsumiki Fushiguro turned her back and spoke in a raspy voice: "Sukuna-sama, from this day forth... you are officially discontinued!"
*Click.*
[RESTART]
Time flowed once more.
*BOOM!* A massive roar erupted behind the Imperial Sky Knight. Ryomen Sukuna was engulfed in the explosion, his flesh blasted away instantly! In Sukuna's eyes, he likely didn't even know what had happened. He had just released "Dismantle," but before the slash could even reach the Imperial Sky Knight, he received a fatal blow.
The two faces on his head detonated simultaneously. His body was torn into fragments. The giant mouth on his stomach was blown wide open, flying off in all directions. Even his legs, planted firmly on the ground, were blasted away. Chunks of meat belonging to Ryomen Sukuna flew everywhere. A genuine case of—
—Blown to smithereens.
In the distance, Yuji Itadori's eyes went wide. He was completely stunned. He hadn't seen the Imperial Sky Knight's movements either. In his eyes, Ryomen Sukuna had just mouthed the word "Dismantle," and in the next instant, like a PowerPoint presentation, the frame skipped to the Imperial Sky Knight standing with her back to Sukuna, while Sukuna exploded.
Aside from disbelief, fear surged forth involuntarily.
If it were other Kamen Riders, Yuji Itadori might not be able to name their specs, but he happened to know the Imperial Sky Knight. After all, it was a work from 2017. Just last year, Kamen Rider tokusatsu was extremely popular. Yuji, a carefree middle schooler last year, obviously loved watching it.
Because of that, even though the scene before him was exaggerated, he knew the true secret. Time Stop! It had to be Time Stop!
That was Kamen Rider Cronus's signature move! When he saw the Imperial Sky Knight transform back then and deliver a Critical Conclusion in frozen time, Yuji had only thought the villain was cool and scary. But he had never imagined how... despairing it would be when that villain truly appeared in reality.
It wasn't just scary; it was despair! Isn't this just f**king invincibility?!
The Imperial Sky Knight walked toward Yuji Itadori. She raised her hand, preparing to dismiss the armor. For her, the battle was over—Ryomen Sukuna had been blown to bits; surely that counted as the end? She wanted to chat with Yuji. She knew Yuji was Megumi Fushiguro's best friend, and loving the house meant loving the crow on it—she held considerable goodwill toward Yuji.
But before that, Yuji Itadori's widened eyes halted her steps.
Naturally, Yuji would feel fear and awe toward her current form; that was a normal emotion. If it were limited to that, she wouldn't have wavered in the slightest. But that wasn't it. Yuji's fear and vigilance existed only for a split second. To put it nicely, Yuji was someone who didn't overthink things and had a big heart; in reality, he was a bit of an airhead. Although he felt fear, he would quickly toss it to the back of his mind, focusing on the fact that this was Megumi's sister, so there was no need for vigilance.
Therefore, the object of Yuji Itadori's vigilance was *not* the Imperial Sky Knight.
The Imperial Sky Knight sensed something and slowly turned her head.
There, the chunks of meat and blood that had been blasted apart had, at some unknown point, dissolved into a black liquid dripping onto the ground. This black liquid crawled together, forming a dark pool. Gloomy Cursed Energy radiated from the black pool, and then...
A hand emerged from the darkness.
*Slap.* The hand gripped the edge of the pool. An aberrant figure slowly crawled out. He had two faces. He had four arms. He was stark naked, with a giant mouth on his stomach.
Ryomen Sukuna, resurrected.
Even Tsumiki Fushiguro couldn't help but voice her disbelief: "Impossible! I definitely killed you. I destroyed your Innate Technique. I destroyed your Cursed Energy Core. I smashed you into fragments. Even a special Cursed Spirit incubation ritual couldn't be cleaner than what I did. You were definitively dead. You should have entered the cycle of reincarnation. How could you possibly... re-emerge from the shadows?"
Ryomen Sukuna stretched lazily. He stood naked before Tsumiki Fushiguro, grand and unashamed. There was no trace of male embarrassment on his faces, only a natural arrogance as he spoke: "No need to doubt, Yorozu. You did indeed kill me just now."
"...But!"
"If this were ordinary times, I would indeed be dead. But aren't you underestimating me a little too much? If you can obtain new power from the Dream Migration, what makes you doubt that I can do the same?" Ryomen Sukuna said haughtily. "Perhaps modern memories have made you forget my capacity for learning... How many times do you think I've died in this Dream Migration?"
Tsumiki froze.
She had indeed forgotten Ryomen Sukuna's greatest strength.
Of course, as a deformed entity, a truly [Perfect Sorcerer], Sukuna could sweep through the world relying solely on his physical body and Innate Technique. But that was merely a physical talent. Ryomen Sukuna also possessed a terrifying capacity for learning. No matter the technique, as long as it was a general skill, he could learn it with a single glance.
This was explained in the original work as well: Ryomen Sukuna only needed to see Kenjaku turn a dying sorcerer into a Cursed Object once to learn how to do it himself. Using this method of creating Cursed Objects, during the time Yuji Itadori lost consciousness, he shoved a newly created Cursed Object finger into Megumi Fushiguro's mouth, ultimately achieving incarnation in Megumi and obtaining the Ten Shadows Technique.
And this resurrection mechanic? How many times had Sukuna experienced it? 39 times.
19 times killed by Mahito. 20 times killed by Satoru Gojo.
39 resurrections allowed Sukuna to see through the mechanics of revival. What he lacked was a technique to facilitate his own resurrection. But for Sukuna, this was the hardest part. In the entire world, only [Idle Transfiguration] could truly achieve resurrection. Other techniques, even the closest one like [Seance Technique], only revived the soul and required obedience to the caster, as well as a prepared vessel.
Obeying another? Preparing his own vessel? Unable to wake in the realm of souls after death? These were all unacceptable to Ryomen Sukuna.
Since this capability didn't exist in the world, Sukuna decided to create one for himself.
Other sorcerers, perhaps even Satoru Gojo, might not be able to do it. But Sukuna did, because he is the world's greatest Master of Binding Vows! The technique he targeted was the Ten Shadows Technique. The Ten Shadows inherently possessed a similar resurrection mechanic; the original text explained that under specific conditions, the abilities of a slain Shikigami would be inherited by the others.
Ryomen Sukuna utilized this characteristic. He bound himself to the Ten Shadows Technique. If he died, he would be resurrected within one of the Shikigami.
Of course, the resurrected Sukuna would permanently lose one of the Ten Shadows. This was the Binding Vow for resurrection. To strengthen this ability, he even created a Binding Vow that stated: [Once resurrected, aside from Mahoraga, I will no longer be able to use any other Shikigami].
In other words, the current Ryomen Sukuna had a total of [Eleven] lives.
Tsumiki whispered, "...Magnificent. As expected of Sukuna-sama. From now on, death cannot defeat you. You have truly become a perfect being."
"...You, as well. I didn't expect the current you to be this strong." Sukuna rolled his four shoulders and looked at the Imperial Sky Knight. "That unknown energy, it can't last long, can it? How much operational time do you have left?"
"Enough," Tsumiki said.
*Thud.*
Tsumiki took a step forward.
Sukuna narrowed his eyes. "Oh-ho? You don't plan to use that trick that blew me up instantly? You're choosing to close the distance to attack?"
"Mahoraga of the Ten Shadows Technique possesses the ability to adapt to all phenomena. Although I can't see it externally, you must have secretly activated this ability, right? I can't be sure if my sure-kill move will be adapted to by Mahoraga. In that case, naturally, I must use my fists to kill you," Tsumiki said coldly.
Generally, Mahoraga must be summoned and take damage itself to adapt. However, Mahito had specifically warned her. He let her know that if Ryomen Sukuna used it, he could substitute himself for Mahoraga to undergo pre-adaptation. Thus, it was possible for Time Stop to be adapted to by Mahoraga. If that happened, the Imperial Sky Knight's strongest core ability would be rendered semi-useless.
What was more terrifying was that this was the Dream Migration. Since Sukuna could figure out how to use the Ten Shadows for resurrection, there was no guarantee he couldn't grant himself Mahoraga's adaptability... Although such a thing had never happened in history, neither had using oneself as a substitute for Mahoraga's adaptation.
Once the word "Impossible" involved Ryomen Sukuna, it became "Possible." Thus, Tsumiki naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to let her core ability fail.
Therefore—
"If I don't get close, how can I kill you, Sukuna-sama?" Tsumiki said.
"Oh-ho. Very well. Then come closer." Ryomen Sukuna also stepped forward, advancing toward Tsumiki. Then, in the instant they closed in, Sukuna expanded his Domain.
"The current you has absolutely no Cursed Energy. In other words, you no longer have the ability to expand a Domain... How dare you get this close to me, Yorozu!"
Domain Expansion:
Malevolent Shrine.