Fushiguro Toji accepted his death calmly.
Perhaps there was regret, or perhaps there was resentment, but no matter how intense the emotions, at the moment of death, they all vanished into thin air.
The chirping of cicadas, the sound of the wind, the collapse of ruined buildings, the rustling of falling debris, the sound of blood and entrails dripping onto the ground.
A thick scent of blood seemed to linger at the tip of his nose.
Kobe Suzuo's mood plummeted, his expression instantly turned cold.
He secretly clenched his fists, waiting for Satoru Gojo to appear in his dream.
As a specially hired teacher at Jujutsu High, Fushiguro Toji would beat students during class and then go gambling after class.
Occasionally, when he was caught and reprimanded by the Fushiguro Siblings, he would get so annoyed by their nagging that he would run away from the school, only to come back and collect his wages once his money ran out. He practically treated Jujutsu High as a respawn point and a relief station for cash.
Even though he was scum, he had spent so many years playing the role of a nanny to kids that his temper had, at the very least, become less foul.
Fushiguro Toji even got along quite well with certain students (such as Itadori Yuji), would even play chess and drink with Itadori Wasuke, Itadori Yuji's hot-tempered grandfather, while complaining about his son/grandson.
Life was peaceful, he hadn't touched any black market dirty work for a long time.
Aside from Zenin Naoya, who would occasionally show up to cause trouble, he was rarely hated by anyone.
Fushiguro Toji possessed a collection of cursed tools gathered by the Kobe Group, the physique of a Heavenly Tyrant, decades of accumulated combat experience.
Kobe Suzuo could not imagine who else he could offend, nor could he imagine what kind of existence could grant him such a magnificent death.
Is this another timeline, or a possible future?
Did the World go to such trouble to give him a spoiler through a prophetic dream?
Before Kobe Suzuo could think of anything more, the scene before him rapidly shifted and changed; by the time he regained his senses, he was already standing on the podium of the Panxing Sect's grand hall.
The lights in the hall were bright, the overhead lights were blinding, as if they were meant to drive away all shadows.
Below the stage, the applause roared.
On the stage, a girl in a junior high school uniform was wrapped in plain cloth, her pure white headband stained a bright crimson, the blood on her face had already scabbed over, her messy black hair was matted with blood, covering more than half of her face.
Because of these, Kobe Suzuo failed to recognize her at first sight.
Kobe Suzuo's fingers curled up restlessly.
It was Riko Amanai.
Panxing Sect, the Star Plasma Vessel assassination incident.
Kobe Suzuo could be certain that this was a different direction of the world line, one he had never experienced before.
Riko Amanai is a third-year student at Jujutsu High this year. When the semester began, Yuki Tsukumo helped her apply for a study abroad program, now she is traveling all over the world with Yuki Tsukumo.
Her social media accounts were filled with various landscapes she had photographed.
She had originally intended to share them with Mikage Kurosawa, who had stayed in Japan, but by some twist of fate, she had become a somewhat famous travel blogger.
She had also vaguely recalled some things about Kobe Suzuo lately, had obtained Kobe Suzuo's account from Satoru Gojo.
And in this timeline, Riko Amanai died that summer.
The applause from those foolish Panxing Sect members below the stage was endless, parting like the Red Sea to make way.
Kobe Suzuo looked over, the gates opened. A figure stood before the gates, silhouetted against the light, but before he could see clearly, his consciousness drifted away once more.
Jujutsu High, the morgue.
Makoto Hibara's remains lay on the autopsy table, with dark red blood seeping from his chest and abdomen.
He only had his upper body left; his death was already a certainty, even Nobara Iori could do nothing to save him.
Makoto Hibara is graduating this year. He has no plans to continue his studies, so he took the special recruitment exam for civil servants and is preparing to return to school as an Assistant Supervisor.
His younger sister had just entered Jujutsu High as a first-year, Makoto Hibara wanted to look after her by his side.
An indescribable smell of blood lingered at the tip of her nose; Kobe Suzuo knew it was merely psychological, but she simply couldn't control it.
He stood in the cold, silent morgue and cursed under his breath, "Stupid world."
In the narrow, deserted alleyway, stars were faintly visible, the setting sun still left a streak of pink on the horizon. Yin and yang shifted, the Twilight.
Kobe Suzuo stood at the entrance of the alley, where someone was leaning against the wall in the shadows, stumbling forward with unsteady steps.
He could no longer describe his own feelings, but as that person drew closer and closer until his face could be seen clearly, Kobe Suzuo's heart still gave a violent tug.
Suguru Geto had lost a hand, but he was at least still alive; he was terrifyingly thin, with sunken eye sockets and a face that looked exhausted and haggard.
Even in such a state, he was still muttering something; Kobe Suzuo couldn't hear him clearly, but he could feel the intense obsession emanating from him.
Suguru Geto walked to the end of the alley, as if he had seen someone, his expression changed, returning to the look Kobe Suzuo was familiar with.
A smile curled at the corners of his mouth, gentle yet infuriating, as if nothing had changed from before. Leaning against the wall, he slowly sat down.
Suguru Geto began talking to the person at the entrance of the alley.
Kobe Suzuo could neither see nor hear; he could only judge the extent of the situation by sensing the atmosphere, which was no longer so tense.
Before this, all of Kobe Suzuo's lucid dreams were strongly related to Satoru Gojo.
He had bound his anchor to Satoru Gojo. In the process of being accepted by the world, he used dreams to trigger a mental resonance, achieving a soul-level honesty, thereby solidifying and confirming the anchor.
But until now, Satoru Gojo hasn't appeared. This isn't reasonable.. No, wait, he has been here all along.
He is here!
Kobe Suzuo suddenly looked up and sprinted toward Suguru Geto.
He saw Suguru Geto propping himself up, letting out a bitter and helpless laugh; he saw his head drop, his always stylishly groomed hair falling in a messy tangle; he saw his eyes slowly close, never to open again.
He saw a flash of azure cursed energy.
The pain lasted only a moment, then life came to an end.
“Satoru!”
Kobe Suzuo shouted with all her might, but no sound came out.
Satoru Gojo returned to Jujutsu High with Suguru Geto. The moonlight was bright, shining upon his silver-white hair like a layer of frost.
He had his back to Kobe Suzuo from beginning to end, walking slowly through the desolate, deserted alleyway, finally becoming that lonely North Star.
The sense of detachment that occurs when scenes shift in a dream appeared once again.
Kobe Suzuo really wanted to scream, to say that they should stop this, or to drag World Consciousness out and give it a severe scolding and a beating.
But it wouldn't work; even he, even Satoru Gojo, money isn't everything, even the Strongest will eventually find himself powerless.
Satoru Gojo once again became the protagonist of his dreams.
Continuous missions, suppressing his temper to deal with Old Orange, sleep time compressed to a mere three hours.
Kobe Suzuo followed him, following behind him just like when she used to step in his footprints in the snow when they were children.
When you can't catch up, just stand at a distance and watch.
0.2 seconds of Limitless, giving everything he had within 299 seconds.
Kobe Suzuo had never seen such an exhausted Satoru Gojo.
His right foot stepped forward more than his left, a stance reminiscent of a cat.
His calves were slender and even thinner than he remembered; as he gasped for breath, his right leg, positioned behind him, trembled slightly from exhaustion.
When "Suguru Geto" appeared, Kobe Suzuo immediately understood the cause and effect of everything.
He began to laugh uncontrollably, his laughter gradually growing louder, drowning out everything else.
After laughing until she was exhausted, Kobe Suzuo wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, finally gaining a slight understanding of what the World Consciousness was trying to pull with this stunt.
Long before the story began,
The timeline with Kobe Suzuo only drifts further and further away; no matter how many corrections are made, it has nothing to do with the original ending anymore.
Is it still not over?
Kobe Suzuo looked at the chaos unfolding before him.
At this point, is there any need to continue?
He raised his hand, loosely grasping his own neck. "I'm not sure if I can wake up, but I can try."
World Consciousness was forced to "speak."
[Witness, Ending]
Meaningless, distorted text flooded into his brain, for a moment, his consciousness went blank.
He didn't lie to me.. You really can communicate with us directly.
Kobe Suzuo pressed his temples and complained bluntly, "Nonsense, do you think our Binding was just formed like that?"
[.. Go take a look. Once you have witnessed the original ending, the contract will be complete.]
Kobe Suzuo's emotions fluctuated wildly, perhaps because she had received too much information in such a short amount of time, or perhaps because this battle regarding life had been far too long.
His voice suddenly rose, his tone bordering on acerbic: "Is that an end? Is it not just torment?"
“To give him abilities, to make him bear responsibility, to repeatedly leave him in a state of helplessness. Is it necessary for me to witness him being toyed with by fate?”
Just because you are the World—
Kobe Suzuo suddenly fell silent, her voice dropping low as her rationality finally returned:
Sorry.
I forgot. I understand. You all generally do not interfere in our lives, I shouldn't take it out on you. I'm sorry.
It no longer replied.
Kobe Suzuo said, "Let's begin."
Then the perspective shifted once again; the sky was a clear, washed blue, a beautiful azure.
The person standing in the ruins had a familiar face, identical to Satoru Gojo's.
Kobe Suzuo witnessed the life of "Satoru Gojo" in a dream, traveling from the past into a future that Kobe Suzuo had not yet reached.
By the time he came to his senses, that person was already very different from the Satoru Gojo that belonged to him.
Kobe Suzuo watched quietly, his pitch-black pupils growing deeper and deeper, as heavy as a night devoid of stars and moon.