Yuta Okkotsu stepped into the reception room with mixed emotions.
Then the curtain was suddenly pulled open.
"Yo, Okkotsu! I've been waiting for you for half a month!"
"Your Eminence Mahito! How can you just pull open the curtain?!" a girl exclaimed in exasperation. "Please compose yourself!"
Yuta Okkotsu had originally imagined that His Eminence Mahito, seated behind the curtain, would surely be dressed in the finest priestly robes. To display his dignity, his immaculate attire would be as solemn as that of a living deity.
No—Mahito was a living deity.
He should naturally radiate holiness and aloofness, overlooking all creation with a divine gaze.
However, the man who stepped out from behind the curtain was casually dressed in a white shirt. His hair had even curled slightly at the ends from not being styled for a long time. He wore jeans, had no socks on his feet, and sat cross-legged behind the curtain with a relaxed smile.
His heterochromatic eyes, which could have appeared sacred and majestic, were now gently narrowed, making him look like a college student enjoying freshly turned-on air conditioning during a hot summer day.
There wasn't the slightest trace of divine majesty.
Yuta Okkotsu blinked.
"Your Eminence Mahito... you're surprisingly informal."
"Before I became a god, I had to be extremely careful just to survive. Now that I'm a god, if I'm still being overly careful, then what was the point of becoming a god?" Mahito said as he casually pulled the curtain aside. Standing up from the seat of honor, he stretched comfortably.
"Honestly, pretending to be mysterious is exhausting. Fortunately, the remaining guests are all our own people, so I can relax a little."
As Mahito stepped out, another girl emerged from behind the curtain.
The moment Yuta Okkotsu saw her, his eyes widened again.
"Miyuki! You actually became His Eminence Mahito's Chief Shrine Maiden!"
It wasn't Yuta who spoke first.
Itadori Yuji had already stepped forward in surprise, carefully looking at Miyuki, who was dressed in black-and-white shrine maiden robes.
Despite her sacred attire, Miyuki's face was full of grievance.
She rubbed her forehead with a headache-ridden expression until she heard Itadori Yuji's voice.
"Itadori. Long time no see."
She forced out a smile.
Fushiguro Megumi looked back and forth between Mahito and Miyuki before sighing sympathetically.
"It must be hard, Miyuki, serving someone like this."
"Hey, hey! I'm still standing right here!" Mahito protested loudly.
Yuta Okkotsu glanced behind Mahito.
Besides Mahito himself, only Miyuki had emerged from behind the curtain.
No one else.
Confused, he asked,
"I heard Senior Hakari has always been by your side. Why don't I see him?"
Miyuki explained,
"The person before you is indeed His Eminence Mahito himself. However, in other locations, there are other versions of His Eminence Mahito."
"At this moment, His Eminence Mahito has split into more than ten clones."
"These clones are all physical bodies. They exist simultaneously while sharing a connected consciousness."
"They are all His Eminence Mahito."
"They can handle different matters at the same time."
"I accompany this version of His Eminence Mahito before you, while the others are receiving guests elsewhere. Other attendants are accompanying those versions."
"Lord Kinji Hakari is currently with another one."
In reality, not only Hakari and Miyuki, but also Ashiya Magon, Jogo, Hanami, Choso, and Kazeha were accompanying Mahito's various clones.
Only Kazeha and Dagon weren't assigned anywhere.
Their intelligence simply wasn't sufficient.
The two had become an idle duo, wandering around aimlessly every day out of sheer boredom.
There was once a legend of a divine child capable of listening to ten people's voices simultaneously.
The current Mahito had long surpassed that legend.
Only now did Yuta Okkotsu truly understand that Mahito had become a genuine god.
Mahito casually sat at one of the low tables without the slightest pretense.
"Come, come. Don't be shy. Sit wherever you like."
Crash.
The illusion shattered.
The tiny bit of divine majesty Yuta had just begun to feel disappeared completely.
All the solemnity built up throughout the journey collapsed instantly.
"Your Eminence..." Miyuki muttered weakly.
"Alright, alright. I've already spent the whole day dealing with a bunch of old men. Isn't that enough? Let my other selves handle the rest!" Mahito said lazily.
"Seriously... clones are amazing."
"They're absolutely wonderful."
"It's over..."
Yuta Okkotsu thought silently.
"So the world is actually going to be entrusted to someone like this."
"Everything is over..."
Once everyone had taken their seats, Fushiguro Megumi impatiently spoke first.
"Excuse me. Where did my sister, Tsumiki Fushiguro, go? Ever since the Apotheosis Ritual ended, I've been unable to find her. I even tried spending points to locate her, but it only says she's outside the service area."
Mahito smiled.
"She went on a trip with your old man."
Fushiguro blinked.
"A trip? Where? America?"
"They went to another world."
"...Another world?"
"I think you're one of the secret members of the organization Satoru established."
"You should already know I found a method of traveling to other worlds."
"Your sister and your old man simply didn't want to remain in this world."
"To be more precise..."
"They didn't want to face you."
"So they both ran away."
Mahito chuckled.
"Oh, right."
"They both left messages for you."
Fushiguro Megumi had indeed heard about other worlds before.
Mahito had sensed Souls from other worlds within the River of Souls and had already dispatched Curse Users to investigate them before the Apotheosis Ritual.
However, because the Apotheosis Ritual had been imminent, no one had paid much attention to that information.
Now that everything was over, interdimensional travel had become the next priority.
Mahito had unceremoniously sent anyone unwilling to remain in this world somewhere else.
Fushiguro's mouth twitched.
"...Please tell me."
Mahito nodded.
"Tsumiki's message is..."
"Do not chase useless remnants.
Do not fall in love with the dust of the past.
Walk forward, understand the pain of the stars, and meet me again upon the eternal wilderness."
Kugisaki Nobara's eyes sparkled.
"How beautiful."
"As expected of Big Sister Tsumiki."
Mahito answered expressionlessly.
"In plain language..."
'Don't come chasing after me.
I'm not the sister you knew anymore.
If you keep following me around, I'll beat you mercilessly.
Train hard first before thinking about standing in front of me again.'"
Nobara's face froze.
She looked resentfully toward Mahito.
Mahito pretended not to notice.
Fushiguro Megumi covered his face with one hand and sighed.
"Oh, right."
"There's also a message from your father, Toji Fushiguro."
"I don't want to hear it," Fushiguro replied immediately.
Mahito ignored him.
"His message is..."
"Gojo Satoru was the one who killed me."
Fushiguro paused for a moment before replying coldly,
"So what?"
"Is he trying to tell me not to grieve over Teacher Gojo's death?"
"He's overthinking it."
"Whether it's Teacher Gojo or Toji Fushiguro..."
"I don't care."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Mahito applauded enthusiastically.
"See?"
He turned toward Miyuki.
"Isn't the companion you admire wonderful?"
Miyuki remained expressionless.
Itadori Yuji glanced around before taking the initiative to change the topic.
"Lord Mahito."
"I'm planning to participate in Dream Walk Migration in America."
"When will you begin the next Infinite Possibilities tournament?"
"And..."
"Since it's called Infinite Possibilities, as long as it's something you're capable of doing, it should be possible, right?"
"If I win and wish to resurrect Teacher Gojo..."
"You won't refuse, will you?"
The earlier questions didn't really matter.
The final one did.
Itadori Yuji looked at Mahito nervously.
His heart pounded.
In his imagination, Mahito would surely hesitate for a long time when faced with the possibility of reviving the only person who had ever threatened his position.
Perhaps Gojo would return with altered memories.
Or lose his appearance.
Or lose his talent.
After all, such precautions were only natural for a ruler.
Itadori Yuji had already accepted that possibility.
He only wanted Teacher Gojo to come back.
Nothing more.
As countless thoughts raced through his mind—
Mahito answered casually.
"Sure."