Above a boundless expanse of ruins, the ground beneath was a mountain of piled corpses, with thick plasma soaking the soil, reflecting a dark red luster under the firelight.
The air was thick with the stench of burning mixed with rust, and raging fires wound around the broken gate towers like giant pythons, dyeing the horizon a tragic orange-red.
Amidst the roar of the flames, the wails of lost souls were faintly mixed in, as if the entire world had been reduced to a physical manifestation of purgatory.
At the peak of the mountain of corpses, a throne built from twisted bones stood majestically.
Bleached white skulls were embedded in the back of the chair, with ghostly blue fires flickering in their hollow eye sockets. Broken ribs intertwined to form armrests, with undried blood slowly dripping along the cracks in the bones.
Seated upon the throne was a pink-haired man with two faces and four arms.
This man was the King of Curses from a thousand years ago, the absolute ruler of the Heian Era, the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer in history, and the notorious arch-villain, Ryomen Sukuna.
"Transmigrating into such a notorious villain, I don't even know how to feel. This place is way too crappy, how did Sukuna even endure it?"
Sukuna, or rather, the new Sukuna, whose original name was no longer worth mentioning, muttered to himself.
Perhaps it was a past life or just transmigration. In short, a young man from Earth was at home discussing who was stronger between Sukuna and Satoru.
While he was in thought, Truck-kun appeared in his 22nd-floor rental apartment and sent him flying into another world, where he became Ryomen Sukuna.
"It's one thing to transmigrate as Sukuna, but why am I still in the state of a finger?"
Sukuna looked at his wretched living conditions and desperately wanted freedom.
He adjusted his sitting posture. This bone chair was way too hard on his butt, uncomfortable no matter how he sat.
[Qualified host detected. Collector System is initializing.]
A cold, mechanical voice rang out.
[Strong will to exist and potential value orientation detected... Collector System, activated.]
[This system aims to assist the host in becoming the greatest collector in the infinite worlds. By collecting 'collectibles' with unique value, you can obtain generous rewards. The value of a collectible is determined by multiple dimensions: rarity, historical significance, power level, emotional intensity, etc. The higher the value, the richer the rewards.]
"Oh? A system? Can it make me stronger? I'm really looking forward to this."
"Let me see what kind of world it is outside."
This world of flesh and blood was Sukuna's Domain. He had seen enough of this monotonous place and was ready to go out and see the world outside.
The transfer of consciousness brought a brief moment of dizziness and detachment, as if surfacing abruptly from deep water. Light and sound became distorted and unreal.
When Sukuna's perception stabilized, the first thing he felt was an extreme restraint.
He couldn't move.
Not even a bit.
It wasn't suppression by a powerful force, but rather that this body itself felt as if it didn't belong to him. The feedback from nerve endings was weak and unfamiliar. His entire body felt as if it were filled with lead, too heavy to move an inch.
He tried to mobilize his power, only to find himself like a soul trapped in an exquisite doll—possessing consciousness, yet unable to drive the shell.
Just like an ALS patient.
He "opened" his eye, or rather, a single eye grew separately on this body. The blood-red eye looked around curiously.
What came into view was an unfamiliar ceiling. It wasn't the oppressive dark red of his domain, but a soft, finely textured cream-white.
A simple feather chandelier, emitting a warm glow, hung quietly.
The air was filled with a faint, sweet fragrance, like a blend of fruits and flowers, forming a contrast like heaven and hell with the smell of blood in his domain.
The eye moved across the body, though because of the clothes, there weren't many places it could go and he saw parts of the room.
The walls were light-toned, covered in fresh floral wallpaper. The bookshelf was stuffed with books, and a laptop and some scattered stationery were on the desk. The whole room was tidy, warm, and full of vitality, but every detail clearly announced something.
—This was a girl's room.
"Tch..."
The situation seemed to have exceeded his expectations. He originally thought he would possess a strong warrior or at least an adult male to facilitate his actions.
But this body was petite and soft, completely incompatible with his original violent power.
He tried to concentrate. Besides the eye, it seemed... his mouth could move too?
He felt the existence of another organ not controlled by the body's owner.
Was this a blessing in disguise? At least he could speak and not be a pure bystander.
The night was deep, with only scattered light from street lamps outside filtering in.
Sukuna suppressed the urge to immediately figure out the situation and decided to stay put for now, using this body's senses to gather information.
He heard the sound of steady, shallow breathing nearby and felt the chest rise and fall slightly with each breath. The owner of this body was fast asleep.
There wasn't much he could do, so after a while, Sukuna returned to his Domain to sleep.
— — —
The morning sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains.
Before the alarm clock could ring, the girl named Kasumigaoka Utaha naturally opened her eyes.
She had long black hair, with a few strands stuck to her cheeks. Her eyes still held a bit of misty drowsiness from just waking up.
She stretched lazily, her slender curves faintly visible under her soft pajamas. She threw off the covers and stepped onto the soft carpet and walked dizzily toward the bathroom.
Turning on the light and walking to the sink, Utaha habitually leaned over, preparing to use cold water to wake herself up completely. She reached for her toothbrush, and her gaze inadvertently swept across the mirror in front of her.
The mirror reflected her familiar face—long black hair, red pupils, looking slightly weary from staying up late writing, yet still as exquisitely beautiful as ever.
Just as her gaze was about to shift away, her movements froze.
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong!
Below her eyes, on that fair, smooth skin, at some unknown point, two... eerie slits had appeared?!
The slits looked as if they had been sliced open by the sharpest blade, yet they blended perfectly with the skin. There was no bleeding, no swelling. They were just abruptly there, symmetrically distributed on both sides of the bridge of her nose.
Utaha's heart suddenly tightened, and her sleepiness vanished instantly. She instinctively leaned closer to the mirror, almost pressing her face against it, her pupils dilating in shock.
At the very moment she focused her gaze, those two slits... moved!