Rain's just going nuts on the Jujutsu High rooftops—like someone upstairs is mad and flinging buckets, lightning scribbling cracked kanji everywhere. Akashi Ryuunosuke stands there, not even bothering with shelter, just letting the storm soak him all the way through. His shirt's glued to his back, kinda showing off that weird Spiral Brand glowing along his spine. Pretty ominous, honestly.
But nah, he's not training. He's stuck in his head again.
Every raindrop hits and suddenly he's back in Sector 9—yeah, *that* place, where everything reeks of blood, burnt metal, and lost souls. And, great, the whispers are back too. Not actual voices, just... bits and pieces, syllables snapping through his brain like broken radio static.
"...kai..."
"...mu..."
"...chi..."
He just loses it for a sec and drives his fist straight into the ground. The floor doesn't stand a chance—cracks spider out everywhere, thanks to his cursed energy. Obviously, that's gonna get attention.
Cue Sano Kaito, slipping out of the shadows like he's on some dramatic timer. The guy looks like a cryptid—blood-red robes, dragon teeth sewn across his blindfold, old scars hidden by newer ones. Used to be Akashi's instructor in the underground, back when things were even messier.
"You caught it again, huh?" Sano's voice is soft, but it slices.
Akashi just stares. Not in the mood for heart-to-hearts.
Sano drops a scroll at his feet. The thing's practically throbbing with unstable reverse cursed energy—ancient, twitchy, like it wants to bite someone. "The Black Spiral Lotus only shows up when you're ready to come undone," Sano says, all cryptic. "You're outgrowing your old self, Akashi. That spiral? It's evolving."
Akashi's hands are shaking, but it's not fear. It's like the brand is vibrating with him.
"I saw the Veil again," he mumbles, eyes not really here. "But this time... I was *in* it. And it felt like it knew me."
Sano's face goes heavy. "Because it does."
He crouches down, lowering his voice. "You're not just a container anymore. You're becoming the writing."
And of course, before Akashi can process *that* bombshell, the ground behind them just detonates—cursed energy rips through the training field, wild and raw. Reflexes kick in, both of them whipped around before the dust settles.
There's a tear in the air. Like someone took reality and just—unzipped it.
And out crawls a cursed spirit, all limbs and black script stitched into its skin. Its mouth opens way too wide, and when it screams, it's not a sound. It's a word, heavy and wrong.
"...KU...!"
Akashi's Spiral Brand flares up, wild as hell.
He snaps into Dragon Tongue without thinking. Low crouch, elbow back, coiled tight like he's the world's angriest snake. He lets his syllable slip out—
"SEI."
The shockwave smashes a hole in the campus wall. The cursed spirit? Just gone—its script marks unwind in reverse, like someone rewound the curse, pressed "undo" on its whole existence.
Sano's got that look—proud, but maybe a little scared for what comes next.
"You're ready," he says. "Spiral Trial time."
Akashi's chest is heaving. Vision's flickering—reality keeps glitching out. For a second, he's not even here. He's inside the Spiral Veil, and something in the dark is whispering, right into his core:
"Speak with me... or be swallowed by me."
He comes to, coughing up blood, on his knees in the mud.
At the courtyard's edge, Nobara and Megumi are sprinting over. Yuji's trailing behind, watching with that look—you know, the one that says he's seen some stuff, but this? This is next level.
They all felt it. The Spiral's not sleeping anymore.