As is commonly known, all Jujutsu techniques originate from brain activity.
So when positive energy was channeled into that control center... an explosion of ecstasy was inevitable.
It wasn't mere happiness—it was an uncontrollable surge of euphoria.
A side effect of sudden enlightenment and perfect synchronization between body, soul, and technique.
Back to Rian—after staggering six steps backward, he suddenly leapt into the sky, reaching a height equivalent to a two-story house.
His body floated effortlessly, lying on his back midair, suspended by the activation of Infinity, which rejected the pull of gravity itself.
His gaze turned upward, toward the night sky—toward the pale moon shining coldly amid the dark clouds beneath the Curtain.
His bright blue eyes narrowed… empty… as if part of him no longer belonged to this world.
His consciousness expanded—further and further. Every movement of the air, every pulse of energy, every distant resonance was processed in fractions of a second.
It was as though his brain had become the very computation core of the world—tireless, ceaseless, infinite.
Rian was in an unbelievably deep zone—a state of hyperfocus where an endless flood of information streamed into his mind.
Yet his brain didn't collapse. The positive energy generated by the Cursed Reverse Technique stabilized the immense pressure from his fully active Six Eyes and Limitless.
One part of his consciousness felt utterly calm. But another part… began to grow uneasy. Rian let out a low groan, his breathing heavy, before muttering under his breath:
"Damn it… what's with this pleasant feeling… this is bad… I don't want anything anymore… not skincare… not my cheesy pickup lines… not even my silly thoughts about Shironeko…"
For the first time, Rian felt too satisfied.
And that—was terrifying.
Down below, beneath the shadows of the forest and the moonlight slipping through the gaps in the leaves, Ophis stood in silence. Completely still. Like a living statue bathed in cold silver light.
The chocolate bar in her hand was left untouched, lightly held, forgotten. Her eyes—two bottomless voids—stared up at Rian floating in the sky.
And then…
Rian's right hand slowly reached upward, as if trying to grasp the pale moon above, even though it was still trapped within the boundaries of his own Curtain.
In the stillness, a faint murmur broke the silence—soft, almost like a prayer whispered into the night.
"Junten and Hanten... or in other words, Lapse and Reverse. From the very beginning, I've wanted to try it… at least once."
Within his body and mind, Rian began a complex simulation, directing the full control of his Six Eyes to balance two opposing poles of extreme energy.
Blue and Red—two forces that inherently rejected one another—were produced simultaneously inside him. Their energies collided, intertwined, then clashed violently.
His entire body became shrouded in arcs of blackish-purple lightning, like fractures in space struggling to hold themselves together.
Ophis watched closely. There was something in her eyes—not surprise, but curiosity—one that deepened into a profound fascination.
Meanwhile, Rian turned his gaze toward the trees. His body still floated in the air, relaxed, lying back as if gravity had lost its meaning.
Slowly, his right hand lifted. His middle finger bent, pressed by his thumb, ready for a simple motion—a snap.
From that poised finger, a swirling mass of energy began to form. A hypothetical singularity born from the fusion of two absolute forces: repulsion and attraction—a destructive convergence of existence itself.
"Hollow Technique: Purple."
The finger snapped.
A surge of violet energy burst forth from the tip of Rian's right hand—wild, pure, absolute. Hollow Purple shot through the air, unstoppable, carrying with it an undefinable destructive force.
In an instant, the ground along its path peeled away, shattered, and vanished. The air trembled, screaming under the distortion of an energy that defied logic itself.
The trees caught in its trajectory didn't burn.
They didn't explode.
They simply ceased to exist.
Reality along the path of Hollow Purple was erased, as though it had never been there to begin with.
A radius of twenty meters, five meters wide—gone in utter silence. There was no explosion, no heat, no pressure. Only absence.
Even the Curtain, which had once shielded the training area, was not merely destroyed—it was obliterated, leaving behind no trace, no residue, no shadow of its presence.
All of it happened in mere seconds, yet the silence that followed stretched on endlessly, heavy and suffocating. The world itself seemed to hold its breath.
And Rian—still floating in the air—looked down at the aftermath… a faint, quiet smile curving his lips.
The sheer scale of the impact occurred because Rian still had about 90% of his total energy reserves left after using Red earlier.
His brain and energy flow had yet to reach exhaustion—unlike Gojo's state during his second encounter with Toji, when both his body and mind were pushed to their absolute limits, only recovering through the Reverse Cursed Technique.
It was in that very moment, however, that Gojo's Six Eyes fully awakened—his complete understanding of the technique allowing him to overturn the battle, surpass Toji, and execute Hollow Technique: Purple for the first time.
Now, after unleashing his own Hollow Purple, Rian's remaining energy had dropped to around 70%.
A number that was already the result of maximum efficiency, thanks to the Six Eyes' innate ability to drastically minimize the energy consumption of both Blue and Red, even when used twice in succession.
Still, this was not a technique to be used lightly. Fortunately, Rian possessed the title "Beloved by Infinity," which greatly amplified his INT attribute—boosting it by a remarkable 58 points.
Without that title, a single use of Purple would have already placed an unbearable strain on his body—its energy consumption far beyond reason.
Down below, at the very edge of the devastation, Ophis stood. Untouched. Unmoved.
The night wind drifted softly, rustling the leaves, tugging at her hair and the hem of her dress. Yet the small girl remained still—like the calm center of an empty void.
Her usually expressionless eyes shifted ever so slightly. The cold line of her lips curved upward, just barely—a faint, almost invisible smile… but a real one.
Slowly, Ophis raised her right hand toward the sky, reaching out to the silhouette of Rian, still suspended in the air, shrouded in the fading remnants of Hollow Purple's light.
Her voice followed the silence—soft, yet deep. It drifted through the air like a whisper born from nothingness.
"Rian Andromeda…"
"You and I… are different, yet the same."
"Two forms of infinity."
"I wonder… what would happen if we became one."
As those ambiguous words slipped from her lips, Ophis's body slowly dissolved into the blend of shadow and moonlight—vanishing without a sound.
She faded into the void itself, leaving Rian still suspended in the silent night sky.
***
In the Gremory mansion's living room, the night should have been peaceful—
but this time, it wasn't.
Something felt… off.
A vast, unfamiliar aura spread from afar, rippling through the air like a tremor, seeping into their bones and stirring primal instinct.
Even though the source was estimated to be four hills away, the vibrations were strong enough to make the high-ranking devils in the mansion fall silent.
Rias Gremory stood at the center of the room, eyes narrowing, her expression tense.
She hadn't even changed out of her nightgown; her long crimson hair, still slightly damp from her bath, had dried—but none of that mattered anymore.
There was something out there.
Something enormous. A pressure… and a strange premonition that instantly led her thoughts to one name: Rian.
One by one, her peerage members gathered, still dressed in their sleepwear, the same unease etched across their faces.
"What was that just now?"
The question hung in the air—unspoken, yet felt by everyone.
Rias quickly gave her command.
"Gasper, Issei, Asia… stay in the mansion. This could be dangerous."
But the reaction wasn't what she expected.
"Eh!?" Issei shouted, panicking slightly. "Wait, Buchou! I'm coming! That might be Rian, right!? What if he's hurt!? He's still out there, isn't he!?"
Asia stepped forward too, her expression filled with worry. "Me too… I can heal anyone who's injured…"
Even Gasper, though trembling as usual, tried to muster some courage. "I-I'll come too! I can help… a little…"
Rias fell silent for a moment.
They were serious. This wasn't just a desire to meddle—it was genuine concern. And perhaps… a sense of responsibility.
"…Alright," Rias finally said. "But stay close. Don't ever get separated, understood?"
Issei clenched his fist, Asia nodded quickly, and Gasper swallowed hard before agreeing as well.
Rias turned to her three main members. "Akeno. Koneko. Kiba. We're heading out."
"Understood," the three replied in unison, their eyes gleaming with battle-ready resolve.