"A dragon doesn't fear the fire. It remembers who first taught it to burn."
—Inscription, Codex of the Third Spiral
Northern Prefectures — Ryuen Clan Ruins
Wind screamed through the bones of what used to be a clan stronghold, all the way up in Japan's snowy nowhere. This place… man, it reeked of bad memories. Trees looked half-dead, rocks still wore the scars of some old, cursed inferno. Even the air tasted angry, like it was holding a grudge.
Akashi stood there, freezing his ass off in front of the Ryuen shrine. His coat wouldn't shut up, either the little dragon glyphs pulsing under his collar, showing off. Every breath hung in the air like a ghost he couldn't shake.
"This is where my mom was born," he muttered, not really to anyone.
He spotted a plaque, busted and half-swallowed by the snow.
"Ryuen Clan — Custodians of the Third Codex. Excommunicated."
Yeah. That stung, more than he'd admit.
We'll go back to a small Flashback — 10 Years Ago
Little Akashi, maybe six, watched his mom doing some ritual with a dying spirit. Her hands moved in weird spirals, nothing like the standard jujutsu moves. The marks glowed, all soft and blue in the moonlight.
"Why do they hate you?" he'd blurted out.
She smiled, sad and tired. "Because they're scared, kiddo. Not of me. Of what I'm carrying."
He frowned. "What do you carry?"
"Memory. Truth. And something I've hidden… even from myself."
Now coming back to the Present — Shrine Cavern
The cave under the shrine hooked downward, cold and sharp. Crystals scattered everywhere, whispering with leftover curses. Akashi moved slow, nerves and jangling. Not out of fear—this was something older, deeper.
Halfway down, the walls lit up with spiral glyphs.
"So it's real…"
At the end, an altar waited. The Third Codex sat there, white leather, spine stained red. He stepped closer, and BAM the cursed chains shot up from the floor.
Then came the voice. Smooth, smug, absolutely with the jerk energy.
"You should've died in the slums with her."
A man stepped out of the dark. His robe had the Ryuen symbol, cracked and faded. Pale face, sharp angles, eyes like gold coins in the dark.
"You…" Akashi's lip curled.
The man grinned. "Yes. Her brother. I'm the one who sold her out to the Curses that night."
Akashi's blood went cold. His fists shook.
"You killed your own sister?"
"She was the vessel of the Third Spiral. She was a problem. And You are, too."
Battle — Ryuen Style: Spiral Blade
Akashi's uncle whipped up a blade made of pure spiral energy. The Cursed script wrapped around it, warping the air. He swung, and Akashi barely dodged it by blasting back with a kick wreathed in fire and singed the bastard's shoulder.
"You play with her fire, but you don't even get it," his uncle spat. "Let me help you put it back where it belongs!"
They crashed together, flame on blade. Sparks everywhere, lighting up the cave like a busted planetarium. Akashi ducked a spinning slash, slammed his palm into the guy's ribs and the dragon-shaped cursed energy exploded out. Take that, you traitor bastard...
"She taught me more than you ever learned," Akashi snapped.
Transformation — Dragon Aspect: Crimson Bloom
The fight just got more nastier. Something inside Akashi snapped. Glyphs blazed up his arms, eyes went gold-and-red. Scales broke out on his back, little crystal things but not full wings, but close. He wasn't just using his power now. He was becoming it.
"You're a monster!" his uncle choked, stumbling.
Akashi grinned, wild and furious. "Nah. I'm her son."
He charged, with hurling a spiral lance of dragon flame. It punched through his uncle's chest.
"Too late…the Codex will wake up on its own…" the man croaked, then crumbled to ash.
Aftermath — The Codex Speaks
Now it was just Akashi and the Codex. He walked up, hands still shaking.
The book opened all by itself.
Pages flipped in by some invisible breeze. Spiral script crawled across the parchment and then, a voice, it's His mother's voice.
"To my son… If you're reading this, you've been founded the fire I left behind."
Akashi nearly lost it.
"This Codex isn't a weapon. It's a choice. And it's totally yours now."
The writing shifted one last time:
"To stop the Spiral Cult, you'll need to open all three Codices… and survive."
Final Scene — Jujutsu High
Akashi came back that night.
Bloody. And Done. Changed for good.
Nobara was waiting at the gates, freaked out but trying to play it cool.
He didn't say a word.
He just hugged her, tight.
And whispered, "I heard her voice."