Chapter Text
[Help the strongest!]
[The strongest characters are usually the loneliest. Readers want to see a story where the strongest doesn’t have to be alone anymore!]
Yoo Joonghyuk probably wouldn’t have cared too much for the scenario if it weren’t for that last line.
It’s what the readers want.
Yoo Joonghyuk has lived many lives. Some were short, some were longer. The 0th round, his very first life, was supposed to be the happy ending that his reader wanted to see. It did not feel… complete. Would it be fair to do that to another character? Even if the character would never know? What makes an ending happy? Is it what the character wants or what the readers want that matters more? On the other hand, it is undeniable that the 0th round was necessary to get to this moment where Yoo Joonghyuk can finally search for his own [■■]. Perhaps the story that will be created upon completion of the scenario would be necessary for this character, too.
The universe itself is another issue; he hasn’t seen this story before. Traveling beyond the limits of his own universe, Yoo Joonghyuk has experienced time stacked on time, sensations that push the limit of his transcendence, and worlds that would break lesser minds. He has seen dungeon breaks and isekai and slice-of-life and worlds where everything seems so normal it made him anxious. This would, however, be the first time he is expected to help a character through their own story. Yoo Joonghyuk doesn’t even know what sort of effects changing the story might create.
[Help the strongest!]
[The strongest characters are usually the loneliest. Readers want to see a story where the strongest doesn’t have to be alone anymore!] [CLEAR CONDITIONS: Help the strongest navigate Jujutsu Kaisen and create a happy ending!]
[PENALTY FOR FAILURE: Erasure of the story, ???]
[REWARDS: A happy ending, ??????? coins, ???]
[DIFFICULTY: ???]
“What do you think, Biyoo?”
“Baat!”
Yoo Joonghyuk considers her words.
“You’re right. There’s no reason not to try.”
Entering different world-lines is always a new experience. In the nanosecond between Biyoo’s affirmative “Baat!” and dropping onto the sidewalk he now sees beneath him, Yoo Joonghyuk starts to feel the changes. The story shifts around him, trying to mold him into something more suited for the plot. He can feel his dormant energy turning into something… darker. His skills fall deeper into his bones, his Stories swirling as sentences settle themselves into a more usable form.
This is a world with skills, then, Yoo Joonghyuk thinks as he experimentally increases his power by the smallest amount and flexes his hand. The strength that courses through him is familiar, but the energy itself is different. He adds a bit more; still comfortable. He unleashes his transcendence, just a little to see how much the story can handle until–
Crack!
[Warning! Scenario cannot adapt to the character ‘Yoo Joonghyuk.’]
[Warning! Power cap destroyed. Power level cannot be adjusted. Power cannot be contained.]
[Warning! Power must be manually controlled.]
Yoo Joonghyuk frowns. It is troublesome to be stuck in a worldline that cannot adapt to his powers; since this universe cannot handle his strength, it means Yoo Joonghyuk is stronger than whoever the ‘strongest’ is. He will have to be careful. The scenario would be impossible to complete if he accidentally kills the strongest.
The city he landed in is barren and… broken, for the lack of a better word. The entire area has been slashed apart, cuts that destroy buildings and objects alike. There are smudges dried into the concrete; no doubt blood. It reminds Yoo Joonghyuk of an apocalypse story, but there is no residual energy of a dimension opening like a gate or a tower. There is some other faint energy, something dark that feels similar to the energy his power has become, but it’s far too faint to pick up anything else about it. Either the energy is from something weak, or whatever made the city this way happened a long time ago. Or both? It doesn’t look like this is the result of a swordfight; a good swordsman would never draw out a fight long enough to create this many individual slashes, and a weak one wouldn’t have the strength to do so. Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship would have cut through the entire city in a singular slash, and the energy of transcendence would have been much easier to detect.
A fizzling billboard dangles from a wire, cut perfectly in half. The letters flickering on and off the screen look familiar… Japanese? He’s in Japan, then, on Earth. Most stories are set in capital cities, so may Tokyo? Or another large city; maybe Shibuya?
“Baat!” Yoo Joonghyuk feels the familiar language patch settling into place, and the letters on the flickering billboard translate automatically into Korean.
“Thank you, Biyoo. Why are you not in human form?”
“Bah baat.”
Yoo Joonghyuk frowns.
“Why? I taught you to kill anyone who tries to hurt you.”
“Baat! Bah baat!”
Yoo Joonghuk watches as Biyoo flies around in exasperation before settling down again, cupping the white fluff ball gently in his hands with a ghost of a smile on his lips.
“You’re right, I was careless. I’ll be careful with the story.”
“Baat.”
“I’ll trust you to take care of yourself.”
Biyoo makes a motion as if she’s nodding before seemingly vanishing into thin air.
Yoo Joonghyuk knows that Biyoo is more than capable of holding her own in a fight, but he cannot help but worry nonetheless. However, her words were true. Yoo Joonghyuk’s actions here may result in the immediate failure of the scenario. He has no clues as to who the strongest is or where to find them. There is no telling what the consequences of killing a character might be. If she wants to explore, Yoo Joonghuk will have to simply put his faith in her and do his own duty to explore the story, too. They’ll reconvene and discuss their findings later. Yoo Joonghyuk sets off in the direction Biyoo assigned him to. However, a subtle change in the air makes him stop in his tracks.
Something’s off. Imperceptible to any normal person, Yoo Joonghyuk watches as the space a couple feet in front of him shifts and distorts before a person just… appears.
The man (?) is tall, taller than Yoo Joonghyuk by a few inches. His bright, white hair is held up by a black blindfold (??) that covers his eyes and forehead, but Yoo Joonghyuk can still see a sharp jaw and defined nose.
The man stares (???) at Yoo Joonghyuk.
Yoo Joonghyuk stares back.
“Well, you don’t look like a curse.”
Yoo Joonghyuk scowls. He’s not entirely sure what that means, but it sounds like an insult.
“I’m not a curse.” Or at least, he doesn’t think so. “Who are you?”
The man ignores the question entirely. Instead, he takes a couple steps closer and leans in close to Yoo Joonghyuk’s face. It would be uncomfortable if not for something that hovers in the air, putting distance between them. Yoo Joonghyuk is tempted to move away regardless, but stays still. A beat passes, and the man leans back, hands in his pockets.
“So all this cursed energy is yours?”
Yoo Joonghyuk assumes the man is talking about the darker form his power has taken on. Cursed energy. Sounds accurate enough; the energy itself feels negative in nature.
“Yes. Who are you?”
Glossy lips spread in a grin. “Ah, but how strange! Another sorcerer with the cursed energy of a special grade? Why don’t I know you?”
He completely ignored the question, Yoo Joonghyuk notes, eyebrow twitching. He’s tempted to use [Eye of the Sage], but it’s hard to tell if the man can somehow see through the blindfold. It’s too early to say how the stranger might react to a glowing golden eye. The man steps away and Yoo Joonghyuk can feel the weird energy move back with him. He makes an exaggerated look up and down his body.
“Yeah, I’d definitely remember meeting someone who looks like you.” The man’s head is tilted somewhere below Yoo Joonghyuk’s face, and he follows his gaze downwards to his chest. Is it the belt? He supposes the belts and sword are out of place, especially since he hasn’t seen a single weapon on the other man.
“You didn’t answer my question. Who are you?”
“I’m the one and only Gojo Satoru, of course!” the man says, taking his hands out of his pockets to spread his arms wide. He waits for a moment, then drops them, looking in Yoo Joonghyuk’s direction the whole time. He expects something from me, Yoo Joonghyuk thinks. Does he want me to introduce myself?
“I am Yoo Joonghyuk.”
Yoo Joonghyuk, for some reason, doesn’t have the best of luck in social interactions. People tend to say things they don’t mean, and don’t say the things they want to. It’s difficult to pinpoint when something has gone wrong, but Yoo Joonghyuk has experienced it enough times to know that sometimes he’ll just get a weird feeling, a strange itch, and he’ll know that he missed something. It amuses Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung to no end, but neither of them are here right now to point out his “mistakes.”
The man–Gojo Satoru, apparently–grins even wider, showing off shiny, white teeth. Something about it feels a little fake, and Yoo Joonghyuk is once again struck with the familiar feeling that he did something wrong.
“Yoo Joonghyuk, hm? Are you Korean?” The pronunciation is perfect. He didn’t think the language patch would include names.
“Yes.”
Gojo Satoru starts slowly circling around Yoo Joonghyuk, hands laced together behind his back. “It’s weird that I don’t know you. Wouldn’t you say so, Yoo Joonghyuk?” The last part is a drawl in Yoo Joonghyuk’s ear. It’s a conscious effort to not reach for his sword as he tilts his head away.
“No.”
“No? Well, it’s definitely weird that you don’t know me!” There’s the itch. There’s clearly something he’s missing here.
“Why?”
He can feel the satisfied smile on Gojo Satoru’s face without even looking.
“I’m the strongest sorcerer alive. Every sorcerer in the world knows my name, even the Korean ones.”
Oh. There it is. That’s where Yoo Joonghyuk did something wrong.
“So, Yoo Joonghyuk,” the taller man drops a heavy arm on his shoulders, “I say we have a talk, and then I’ll decide whether or not I need to kill you!”
Ah, shit, Yoo Joonghyuk thinks. Biyoo’s going to be upset with me.