"It's that thing again," Yuji said with a frown, instinctively recoiling in disgust.
"Sukuna's finger," Megumi Fushiguro replied, his expression turning serious. "This is probably the source of the incident. We need to recover it and take care of it properly."
As he spoke, he stepped forward.
"Wait."
Sol's voice stopped him.
Megumi paused and looked back in confusion.
Sol's gaze rested on the dried finger lying on the floor. Deep within his dark red eyes, there was not the slightest ripple of emotion.
Then he turned to Yuji.
"Yuji, eat it."
"Huh?!"
Yuji, Nobara Kugisaki, and Megumi all exclaimed at the same time.
"Eat it?!" Yuji pointed at himself in disbelief. "Sol, you're joking, right? That thing looks disgusting. Just being near it makes me feel sick."
"Sol, do you know what that is?" Megumi asked urgently. "That's a Special Grade Cursed Object. It contains the power of the King of Curses. It's dangerous enough to touch, let alone swallow."
He quickly continued.
"We should take it back to Tokyo Jujutsu High and let Gojo-sensei handle it."
"No need. I'm here," Sol replied.
Megumi froze.
"The safest option is to deal with it now."
His tone carried absolute certainty.
Even Nobara looked disturbed.
"I know you're strong, but that's way too reckless."
Sol remained unfazed.
He simply looked at Yuji.
"Your physique is special. You can handle it."
His voice was steady and matter-of-fact.
"It's the fastest and most complete way to deal with the finger."
He paused briefly.
"And I won't let anything happen to you."
Yuji stared at the ominous finger on the floor.
Then he looked at Sol.
The confidence in Sol's eyes never wavered.
After a few seconds, Yuji clenched his teeth and nodded.
"Alright!"
He took a deep breath.
Without hesitation, he strode forward and picked up the finger.
The moment it touched his skin, an icy malice seeped into his body.
Yuji shuddered.
Suppressing his revulsion, he pinched his nose, shut his eyes, and shoved the finger into his mouth.
Then he swallowed it whole.
"Ugh...!"
A powerful wave of nausea surged through him.
His face immediately turned pale.
The instant the finger reached his stomach, everything changed.
Boom!
A vast and violent consciousness erupted within him like a volcano awakening from a long slumber.
Boundless curses.
Endless malice.
Overwhelming hatred.
It swept through Yuji's spiritual world in an instant.
"Hahahahaha!"
A cruel, arrogant laugh echoed through his mind.
"You fools! To let me consume two fingers! This body is mine!"
The voice seemed to come from the depths of an endless abyss.
Outside, Yuji's body suddenly froze.
The light vanished from his eyes.
A sinister gleam replaced it.
Black markings spread across his cheeks.
An overwhelming surge of Cursed Energy exploded from him.
It was completely different from the Special Grade Cursed Spirit they had just defeated.
And far more terrifying.
"Yuji?!"
Nobara and Megumi immediately jumped back into fighting stances.
The person standing before them no longer felt like Yuji.
The pressure radiating from him was suffocating.
"Oh no..." Megumi muttered as cold sweat ran down his face. "Sukuna's awake again!"
Within Yuji's body, Sukuna had only just seized control.
After years of imprisonment and another taste of freedom, he was preparing to indulge in his murderous impulses.
Then Sol stepped forward.
He raised a finger and lightly tapped Yuji's forehead.
The gesture looked almost casual.
Yet the instant contact was made, Sol's consciousness pierced directly into Yuji's spiritual world.
Like an invisible blade, it locked onto the newly awakened King of Curses before he could fully establish control.
"Hm?"
Sukuna's voice sharpened.
"Who dares?"
For the first time, he felt something he could not understand.
A presence completely unlike Cursed Energy.
Vaster.
Colder.
More absolute.
It invaded a domain that should have belonged entirely to him.
Inside Yuji's spiritual world, an endless sea of dark crimson stretched in every direction.
At its center stood Sukuna's monstrous four-armed form, radiating terrifying malice.
Opposite him floated Sol's consciousness.
Calm.
Motionless.
His dark red eyes regarded Sukuna with complete indifference.
Like a god observing an insignificant insect.
"Get out!" Sukuna roared.
"This is my domain!"
His four arms swept outward.
Violent waves of Cursed Energy surged across the sea of blood, crashing toward Sol with enough force to shred the souls of ordinary sorcerers.
The attack never reached him.
The massive waves vanished the moment they approached, dispersing as though they had struck an invisible, unbreakable wall.
Not even a ripple appeared around Sol.
He didn't move.
He didn't react.
He simply looked at Sukuna.
"Will you calm down yourself," Sol asked evenly, "or should I do it for you?"
His voice echoed directly through the core of Sukuna's consciousness.
There was no anger in it.
No emotion at all.
Yet the coldness within those words sent a chill through the King of Curses.
Sukuna's four eyes remained fixed on Sol.
The arrogance and bloodlust in his expression slowly faded.
In their place appeared something almost unheard of.
Unease.
Over the course of a thousand years, he had encountered countless enemies.
Never one like this.
The man before him wasn't using Cursed Energy.
Yet every instinct Sukuna possessed screamed that this being could erase him at any moment.
"What are you?" Sukuna demanded.
Uncertainty crept into his voice.
Sol offered no answer.
He merely raised a finger.
At once, an incomprehensible force descended.
It was overwhelming.
Absolute.
Like the heavens collapsing.
Sukuna could neither resist nor understand it.
His consciousness was instantly restrained.
His power was sealed.
His senses were suppressed.
Everything that made him the King of Curses was compressed and forced back into the deepest corner of Yuji's spiritual world.
"No...!"
Sukuna managed only a single unwilling roar before his voice disappeared completely.
Outside.
The terrifying Cursed Energy surrounding Yuji vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
The black markings faded from his face.
His eyes rolled back.
Then his body went limp.
Before he could hit the ground, Sol caught him.
The entire exchange lasted only moments.
From Nobara and Megumi's perspective, all they saw was Sol tap Yuji's forehead.
The terrifying Sukuna, who had seemed ready to unleash chaos upon the world, instantly fell silent.
Then Yuji lost consciousness.