"Huff… huff…"
Yuji Itadori gasped for air.
His head throbbed violently.
Fragments of memory surged back like a collapsing dam.
The moment Mimiko Hasaba and Nanako Hasaba were killed.
The inferno unleashed by Jogo's flames.
The horrifying destruction left behind by Ryomen Sukuna.
The moment Mahoraga was obliterated.
Every image stabbed into his mind.
Like knives twisting in his heart.
"…Ah…"
Yuji slowly lifted his head.
What he saw before him—
Was devastation.
Endless devastation.
Shibuya had become a wasteland.
Collapsed buildings.
Shattered streets.
Smoke still rising from the ruins.
Hell.
And he felt like the one who created it.
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Yuji screamed.
His voice broke.
He fell to his knees.
Clutching his hair.
His fingernails digging into his scalp.
"What did I do…?"
"What did I do?!"
His entire body trembled.
"Why did you save me…?"
"Why didn't you just let me die…?"
"Kill me…"
His voice collapsed into sobbing.
"Please…"
"Just kill me…"
The overwhelming guilt crushed the boy's spirit.
Then—
A hand gently rested on his shoulder.
Warm.
Steady.
Yuji lifted his tear-blurred eyes.
Standing before him—
Was Yagami Sora.
His clothes were torn.
Blood stained the corner of his mouth.
Several wounds still marked his body.
Yet his eyes remained calm.
Steady.
Unshaken.
But Yuji noticed something.
The hand on his shoulder—
Was trembling slightly.
The hand that had crushed Special Grade curses.
The hand that had clashed head-on with Sukuna.
Now trembled faintly.
Not from fear.
Perhaps anger.
Perhaps exhaustion.
Perhaps something deeper.
After everything he had endured—
The sealing of Gojo Satoru.
The chaos of Shibuya.
The endless responsibility he carried alone.
And now—
He had to lift up Yuji as well.
"Sora-nii…"
Yuji grabbed Sora's pant leg desperately.
"Please…"
"Kill me…"
"I don't deserve to live…"
"Don't cry."
Sora crouched down.
Meeting Yuji's eyes.
His voice was quiet.
But every word struck like a hammer.
"This isn't your fault."
"It was Sukuna who did this."
"And the ones who forced those fingers into you."
"You're not the criminal here."
"You're a victim."
As he spoke—
A faint white glow flickered behind him.
The nascent power of White Wings.
Not a weapon.
But a shield.
He gently guided that faint positive energy into Yuji's chaotic cursed energy flow.
Like calm water soothing a violent storm.
It wasn't strong.
Barely noticeable.
But it eased the suffocating despair in Yuji's heart.
"But it was my body!"
Yuji shouted through tears.
"I couldn't stop him!"
"I was too weak!"
"Then get stronger."
Sora's reply came instantly.
His voice wasn't loud.
But it struck Yuji's heart harder than any blow.
"Dying is easy."
"Close your eyes and everything disappears."
"That's the easiest escape there is."
"But that's also the choice of a coward."
Sora pointed toward the ruined city.
"Look around you, Itadori."
"If you die now…"
"Who will carry this burden?"
"Who will save the people who are still alive?"
"You chose this path the moment you swallowed Sukuna's finger."
"So walk it to the end."
"Live with the weight of your sins."
"Save as many people as you can."
"Repay the debt you owe to this world."
"That's what it means to be a man."
Yuji stared at him.
Speechless.
The death wish in his eyes slowly faded.
"And besides…"
Sora smiled faintly.
Ruffling Yuji's hair.
His hands had stopped trembling.
"Even if the sky falls…"
"I'll hold it up."
"I'm your senior."
"And your brother."
"With me around…"
He said lightly.
"You'll have a hard time dying."
The white light faded silently.
Yuji didn't notice.
Sukuna didn't notice.
Even Sora himself barely realized it.
But the power had manifested.
Not destruction.
Not domination.
Protection.
The first step toward becoming someone who could truly protect others.
Yuji wiped away his tears.
His breathing slowly steadied.
"…Mm."
He nodded firmly.
"Sora-nii…"
"Thank you."
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