"He who names the fire shapes its path...BUT...He who survives it becomes the path."
— Ryuen Monastic Writ, Fragment XIII
Kyoto Jujutsu High – Restricted Vaults
Toudou Aoi was standing in front of this absolute beast of a iron door, layered with so many cursed scripts it looked like someone got a little too excited with calligraphy. Dude wasn't pounding on it or anything, just pressing his fists against the cold metal, eyes closed like he was praying, not waiting.
Inside, the headmaster and a bunch of jujutsu brainiacs were fussing over a chunk of Akashi's Spiral Flame—the leftovers from his last big throwdown at the Fourth Gate. The thing didn't look like fire, not really. It pulsed. It squirmed. It felt, well…Maybe alive.
"His cursed energy isn't just burning," one of the researchers whispered, all jittery. "It's recursive. It folds into itself like a spiral—and it's alive."
Toudou, not even looking back, just grunted, "That's because it's not a technique. It's a lineage."
The door groaned open. Headmaster Gakuganji—old and grumpy as ever—stepped out.
"Send word to Tokyo," he said, voice sharp. "The balance is shifting."
Tokyo Jujutsu High – Underground Courtyard
Akashi and Gojo were standing by this ancient, mossy well—seriously, the kind of thing you'd see in a horror movie right before something crawls out. The entrance to the trial chamber. Definitely not the tourist route.
Gojo poked at the silence. "You sure about this?"
Akashi nodded, eyes set. "The Spiral Codex is still echoing inside me. I'll be stucked if I can't face it head-on."
"You know this place chews up half-grade sorcerers and spits out bones, right?"
Akashi's voice, soft but solid: "Then I'll burn my way out."
Gojo cackled, messing up Akashi's hair. "Man, you're starting to sound like me."
Trial of the Thirteen Flames – Codex Pathway
Down into the spiral Akashi went—stone steps, endless dark, time doing that weird stretchy thing it does when you're about to die or pass a test you didn't study for.
Thirteen floating torches hovered in the void. Each one a lesson, a scar, a locked gate. He'd have to walk through every single one if he wanted to master the Spiral Codex still tangled up in his soul.
First Flame: "Grief"
His mother's death—again. Her last breath, her arms around him, all that stuff that's supposed to break you. This time, Akashi didn't flinch. Didn't cry. Walked right into the memory.
"I don't run from pain again," he whispered. "I build myself from it."
The flame flared silver. Good enough.
Second Flame: "Isolation"
Back to the slums. Ashes everywhere, nobody cared, nobody coming to help. He was just a kid. Didn't matter.
"But I survived this already anyway."
Another flame, another pass.
Third to Ninth—honestly, it was a parade of misery. Betrayal, rejection, failure, fear, you name it. Akashi just kept moving, stubborn as hell. Every time, the fire blinked, acknowledged, moved aside.
Tenth Flame: "Love"
This one hit's different.because it's Nobara, standing there. Not saying a word, just looking at him with those eyes that make you want to stand up straighter.
Akashi hesitated. First time in all night.
"This isn't pain. This is what makes it all worth it."
The flame tried to roast him alive. Testing if love was his strength or his weak spot. Akashi stood his ground.
"I'll protect her. Even if I lose everything else."
The fire dimmed. Bent, almost like it was bowing.
Eleventh & Twelfth Flames: "Hatred" and "Vengeance"
He was brawling with twisted copies of himself—versions fueled by rage, the kind that wanted to torch the whole jujutsu world for letting his mom die.
"I'm not here to be a god of ruin," he growled, pinning one clone to the floor. "I'll be the fire that frees each and everyone from the sufferings"
Only one left.
Thirteenth Flame: "Naming"
This last torch? Blank. No color, no image, just the question hanging in the air:
"What are you?"
Not who. Just What.
Akashi took a breath. For once, he didn't answer with all the usual titles—A son, fighter, sorcerer, dragon, blah blah blah.
Then finally, he said that echoed throughout the entire chamber..
"I am the Crownless Flame. I am Akashi Ryuunosuke."
The flame bowed. Then crashed into his chest, shattering into him.
Outside – Tokyo Jujutsu High Grounds
Nobara jolted awake under a tree, hair all tangled, blinking like she'd just heard her name screamed from the bottom of a well. The cursed energy was all different now—not angry, not wild, just… awake. Like a dragon stretching after a long nap.
She stared at the old trial chamber, heart pounding.
"Akashi…"
Somewhere Else — Spiral Remnants, Now Mobilizing
Deep under Kyoto, in a cave no one sane would ever visit, a leftover Spiral cultist was smashing his fist into a cursed altar, muttering curses that'd make your grandma faint.
"He passed the Thirteen. It's officially started."
Something huge and ugly crawled out of the dark—stitched together from bones and curses, more monster than man.
"Then we wake the Four-Tongued Worm. If we can't crown him… we'll eat him."