The subway tunnel smelled of wet concrete and rust. Akira Kurose crouched behind a corroded pillar, his breathing shallow and rapid. The dim lights flickered above, casting long, twisted shadows along the walls. He could feel it—an energy that made his blood run cold.
"This is it…" he whispered to himself.
The first finger of Sukuna lay on the abandoned tracks ahead, partially submerged in a pool of stagnant water. Even as a small fragment, the cursed energy it emitted was suffocating. Dark, heavy, and aware, as if it had a will of its own.
Megumi and Nobara were just ahead, moving cautiously. Megumi's sharp eyes scanned the shadows, and his hands glowed faintly as he prepared his shikigami. Nobara's hammer rested at her side, her expression alert.
"Stay close," Megumi murmured. "Even a fragment of Sukuna is dangerous. Don't underestimate it."
Akira nodded, feeling the weight of responsibility pressing down on him. His Echo energy hummed in response to the cursed aura, reacting instinctively. He had survived minor curses before, but this felt… different.
The air thickened as they approached. The tunnel seemed to compress around them. The water rippled unnaturally, though there was no breeze. Shadows crept along the walls, twisting and stretching into writhing forms.
Then… a voice. Playful, mocking, yet chilling.
"Finally… someone new."
Akira froze. The voice was inside his head. A presence so overwhelming that his knees nearly buckled. He had seen curses before, but this was different—alive, intelligent, and cruelly aware.
The first finger floated slightly above the pool. Black veins crept along its surface, pulsating like the heart of a nightmare. Then it cracked, splitting with a small, echoing snap. A form emerged—a grotesque, humanoid figure, tall and skeletal, eyes empty but sharp, grinning with too many jagged teeth.
Sukuna had arrived.
"Move," Megumi ordered, summoning shadow wolves. Two spectral wolves appeared from the darkness, lunging toward the cursed figure.
Nobara swung her hammer in a wide arc. "I'll cover him!" she shouted.
Akira's heart pounded. He raised his hands instinctively, and a wave of Echo energy surged out. For a brief second, his aura mirrored Sukuna's attack pattern—anticipating the cursed strikes before they came.
The figure lunged, claws extending toward him. Akira jumped, Echo flaring, copying the speed and precision of the strike. A rush of power, intoxicating and terrifying at the same time, surged through him.
"You can see me… you can copy me…" Sukuna's voice echoed mockingly. "But can you keep up?"
Akira gritted his teeth. He had no choice. Every strike he mirrored drained him, sweat running down his face, his muscles screaming. But each move gave him a better understanding of the cursed energy that was not his own.
The shadow wolves attacked from the sides, forcing Sukuna to split his focus. Nobara leaped, hammer swinging in precise arcs, but Sukuna vanished and reappeared like a phantom, forcing constant adaptation.
Akira realized something crucial: Echo wasn't just a mimic. It amplified his instincts, allowing him to read the energy patterns of any curse he touched—even for a few seconds. Overuse left him vulnerable physically and mentally.
Sukuna laughed, a chilling sound that bounced off the concrete walls. "Impressive," he said. "But this is nothing. You're just a boy playing with fire."
Then, in an instant, the cursed figure struck with unimaginable speed. Akira braced himself, Echo flaring to its maximum, copying the trajectory and force. His body flowed like water, sidestepping, twisting, countering. The tunnel trembled with residual energy.
Finally, Akira saw an opening. The finger—still partially intact—glowed faintly in response to his presence. Channeling Echo fully, he thrust both hands forward. Energy surged into the cursed piece of Sukuna. A violent explosion of cursed energy rocked the tunnel, black smoke filling the air.
When it cleared, the finger was gone. Dissolved into fragments of shadow. Sukuna's form had vanished—temporarily, leaving only a lingering, oppressive presence that made the hairs on Akira's neck stand.
He collapsed to his knees, chest heaving. Silence returned, except for dripping water and his rapid breathing.
"Good work… for now," Megumi said, calm but tense.
Nobara gave a faint smile. "You've got potential, but don't think this is the end. That thing… Sukuna… will come back."
Akira nodded, sweat mixing with rainwater on his face. He had touched the power of Sukuna for the first time—and survived. The taste of true cursed energy left him exhilarated and terrified.
Gojo's voice echoed faintly in his memory: "Don't die before you even get started."
And Akira knew—this was only the beginning.
Cliffhanger: In the shadows of the tunnel, unseen by anyone, another cursed fragment pulses faintly. Sukuna's first finger is gone… but Akira has now been marked by its presence. Something older and stronger waits in the darkness.