Atop the Tree – Tora
Perched high on a thick branch, not far from the battlefield, Tora crouched in silence, his breath held tight in his chest. The wind carried the scent of dust and cursed energy, crawling over his skin and raising every hair.
Before his eyes, the world was breaking apart.
"This… is insane…" he whispered, his voice barely audible, as if even sound itself would provoke the two monsters clashing below. "Their fight… it's almost beyond what human eyes can follow…"
Blue and black lights collided, every impact sending shockwaves that rippled through the forest floor and up the trunk of the tree where Tora stood. The surrounding forest was no longer a forest—it was a graveyard of shattered trees, split boulders, and cursed energy fissures cutting through the air in invisible patterns.
Another explosion.
BOOOM!
The earth quaked as though struck by a colossal hammer. Far-off ruins crumbled, collapsing into a storm of dust that swallowed the night sky.
Beside him, Rainbow Dragon, perched on a neighboring branch in its smaller form, let out a low hiss, its obsidian eyes reflecting the unholy clash below.
Then suddenly… Gojo stopped moving. His footsteps ceased amidst the swirling haze, his expression calm—until a smile curved across his lips.
Tora's breath caught.
"…Why… is he smiling?"
From beneath the debris, a towering shadow stirred. Shinzo Zen'in emerged, his body marred with horrific cursed burns—yet his hand rose steadily, Reverse Cursed Technique knitting flesh and bone with merciless precision.
Tora's eyes widened, his body rigid.
"Look at that… RCT… and… Domain Amplification?" His voice trembled. "They're… they're using them as if this is nothing more than a game."
His gaze darted between Gojo and Shinzo. The two of them—beings that defied humanity—looked less like sorcerers and more like gods of war.
_______
Back to Shinzo Zen'in
Shinzo felt his wounds closing, cursed energy surging violently within him. He tilted his head slightly toward Gojo, a faint smirk touching his lips.
"Not bad…" he muttered, his voice like grinding steel. "This fight… isn't boring."
Gojo narrowed his eyes. He brushed the dust off his uniform with a lazy motion, then laughed.
"Hahaha… this? This is what you call a fight?" His voice rang sharp, almost mocking. "You're making me hope for more. Honestly… I thought the old generation was supposed to be stronger than this."
The taunt sliced through the air, but Shinzo didn't flinch. His expression remained cold, his eyes sharp enough to cut back at Gojo.
"…Come then, arrogant brat," Shinzo said in a low growl.
He raised his hand, forming a seal. Cursed energy trembled violently, as though the world itself held its breath. The sky darkened, the air grew heavy, and the ground cracked under the weight of impossible pressure.
Shinzo's smirk sharpened.
"Domain Expansion…"
_______
Tora
Tora swallowed hard, his breath freezing in his chest. The air around him felt like ice.
"No… don't tell me…"
______
Shinzo
"Chimera Abyss: Mourning Palace."
A tidal wave of black energy erupted from Shinzo, staining the world in living shadows that spread like ink through water.
But at that very instant, Gojo lowered his hand, forming his own seal with calm, lethal grace.
"Yes… finally," Gojo muttered, his tone unnervingly light, but his eyes burned with sharp intensity.
His smile twisted into something dangerous.
"Domain Expansion… Unlimited Void."
The air collapsed.
Space inverted.
Two domains collided—not just power against power, but two realities tearing into one another.
Tora clung to the tree, nearly thrown from his perch. His fingers dug into the bark, his entire body trembling.
"This… this is beyond human comprehension…!"
Rainbow Dragon growled low beside him, its sound deep and primal, as if even the shikigami could feel the pressure of the gods of curses waging war below.
And in that chaos, Tora's gaze locked onto the two titans.
"…Gojo… Shinzo… this isn't a fight. This is a war between the old world and the new."
_______
Domain Shinzo — Through Tora's Eyes
Tora's eyes widened, his breath sharp.
In the distance, the sky split apart. From the heart of the battlefield, pure darkness unfurled, swallowing the light itself. This was no ordinary Domain Expansion.
Something's wrong… Tora thought, his pulse hammering in his ears.
"Domain Expansion is supposed to create a cursed space, bend the environment, and amplify the user's technique… Old-era domains—the so-called 'Non-Lethal Domains'—were only meant to enforce cursed technique rules… not to kill…"
But as Tora stared at Shinzo Zen'in, his pupils contracted.
"…This one… isn't. Isn't this… a barrierless domain—like Sukuna's?!"
Scarlet fractures of light spiraled within the blackness, glowing like bleeding cracks in the night sky. A low rumble reverberated through the air, as if the heavens themselves rejected its existence.
Even from a distance, the crushing pressure smashed against Tora's chest, forcing him to swallow hard.
"From here…" he muttered under his breath, "the battlefield's around 250 meters away… and that darkness… at least 150 meters wide."
His voice trembled with disbelief.
______
Back to Gojo Satoru
Gojo stood before Shinzo, his smug smile unshaken. The air howled with the force of colliding cursed energy, rattling the ground beneath them.
"Interesting…" Gojo murmured, his calm voice cutting through the chaos. "It's been a while since I've seen a domain this… unique."
Behind his black shades, his hidden eyes burned with dangerous anticipation.
Shinzo stared back at him, meeting his confidence with a cold, unflinching gaze.
_______
The darkness now fully formed—a barrierless dome that looked as though the night itself had descended upon the earth.
Tora blinked, horrified. Inside it, the air pulsed with an eerie sound… like the whispers of a thousand starving beasts.
"This… isn't a normal domain…" he whispered.
At the center of it all, Shinzo Zen'in stood motionless—surrounded by writhing shadows that didn't belong to him.
Then… they appeared.
Ten Chimera Agito.
Grotesque hybrids of curses and primeval beasts, each towering over three meters tall, encircled Shinzo like an army of demons. Their flesh was black-veined crimson, jaws fractured and twisted, and their glowing eyes dripped with pure hatred.
But it didn't stop there.
50 meters from the center, three larger Chimera Agito emerged, crowned with jagged horns and whip-like arms that dragged along the ground.
100 meters out, another three prowled in the shadows, their monstrous forms melding with the darkness, moving like hunters circling their prey.
And at the very edge of 150 meters, a single colossal Chimera Agito loomed—four times larger than the rest, a silent god of death staring down at the world with hollow, merciless eyes.
Tora's skin crawled.
"This… is a living fortress…"
_______
Gojo raised his hand, his grin sharpened.
"Well then… let's see," he said coolly.
"Domain Expansion: Infinite Void."
A white ring bloomed beneath his feet. But—
CRAAACK!!!
An ear-splitting noise ripped through the air. From deep within the abyss, the colossal Chimera Agito at 150 meters lashed out, its cursed whip slicing through the very air, cleaving Gojo's forming circle before it could even stabilize.
The white ring shattered like glass.
"…" Gojo paused, momentarily surprised—but his smirk returned. "Heh… now that's interesting."
From the tree, Tora's face turned pale.
"Gojo… failed to form his domain…? He was forced to cancel it… with just one strike?"
Shinzo stepped forward, his smile cold and merciless.
"Inside my domain…" his voice echoed like the bottom of an abyss, "…you'll never control this field, Gojo Satoru."
All around him, the ten Chimera Agito roared in unison. The sound was like dimensional fractures ripping through reality, shaking the earth so violently that even beyond the domain, the ground trembled.
_______
Author's Note:
I need coffee…