Chapter Text
The battlefield is unrecognisable.
Sukuna’s presence devours everything. The sky, the Earth, and even the air they breathed. Infinity strains against Malevolent Shrine in a storm of cursed energy so violent that the world itself seems to scream. For the first time in Kotone’s life, she saw Satoru struggle; not grin, not toy with his opponent, but actually struggle. The “strongest” struggling against “The King of Curses”. This battle would be known far and wide as: “The strongest sorcerer of today vs The strongest sorcerer in history”. Kotone’s fists locked tight, her nails carving sharp crescents into her palm, causing warm blood to seep through her fingers. Kotone’s cursed energy surges through her like a second sun. Blinding, unstable, and desperate. She screamed his name once, then again, but the storm swallowed her voice whole. Suddenly, there was silence. She witnessed her older brother's body fall, lifeless, the shimmer of his limitless flickering, and go out like a candle. In the same instant, something inside her tore open; all the walls she had built, all the control she held onto up to that point. It shattered. Her cursed energy erupted outward; wild and endless, warped and hot. Unlike other times, when she's used her cursed technique, she wasn't releasing it, but instead, it was tearing her apart from the inside. The pain was rough, harsh. There was a hand on her shoulder; her younger brother Kazuke had gotten to her before anyone else. He braved the distortion Kotone had caused with mild difficulty. Kotone lifted her head, her eyes filled with tears. Yet, Kazuke was calm, not a single shred of sadness or panic. He then grabbed her hands quickly and got to his knees, "Kotone, look at me," Kazuke said to her in a tone that was stern but reassuring. Kotone's gaze snapped to his fully now, tears still falling. Her crown of braided white hair flailed about with a cursed energy, the stars in her purple eyes sparkling even as she shed tears. Before Kotone could respond, a soundless pulse rolled out from the broken sky, reality exhaling. The air folds in on itself, and before both of them can move, the world drags both into the vast unknown.
Gasping awake on the cold pavement, her cursed energy still sputtering like a flame in the wind. Kotone sits up, being blinded by a sudden light, a way too bright light. Once she sat up, she took deep breaths to calm herself before looking around, only for panic to set in again. Everything was wrong. They weren't in Shinjukyu anymore, but somewhere else entirely. The sky was bright, and cars had come to a halt and stayed where they were. Kazuke knelt beside her, scanning their surroundings with that calm look of calculations that's more infuriating than comforting right now. Kotone looked up, following his gaze and noticing tall towers, buildings that stretch what seem to be endlessly into a sky that is unrecognisable. This isn't our Japan. "...Where-?" Kotone starts but gets cut off by Kazuke, who notices her limitless starting to flare up again. "Kotone, breathe first." She does, barely. Each inhale is a razor in her throat. This ripple wasn't gentle, but what caused it? 'We're not home, we know that much," Kazuke remarks while studying the buildings. Yet his voice shows caution. Kotone notices the crowd of people starting to show, while Kazuke is paying attention to something else. People are staring, cars are honking, and phones are out recording. Their eyes said it all. They weren't fellow "people" to them, but anomalies. "We're being watched." Kotone mutters under her breath. Slight annoyance showing, causing Kazuke to turn his attention to the now forming crowd. He weaves a thin layer of cursed energy through the air, invisible threads humming with a quiet threat.
"Then let's make sure the wrong people don't get too close." He whispered back. Suddenly, footsteps were heard. A lot of them, rushing towards us while yelling, their arms out and ready to attack us at a given moment. "Stay where you are! one of them sho. A dome suddenly appeared, shimmering and glowing around the plaza. Kotone pushed herself up slowly; her eyes felt heavy, but the energy under her skin was feral, cursed energy coiled around her like a living thing, powerful. Kazuke stepped in front of her, hands in his pockets with a loose posture, daring them to make a mistake. One of the men takes the bai, and they shoot a blast from their hand. The blast screams towards the two, then it freezes in midair. Kazuke's sharp eyes catch the light, his emerald eyes showing beneath his shagger white hair, a green outline shimmering around him, limitless was active, then the fizzled out and dispersed, but didn't hit any bystanders or buildings. He contained it so itdidn'tt hit anyone. "That wasn't a Quir," A big-bulked man said, letting out a slight gasp. "No, it wasn't, 't" another man responded in awe.