Chapter Text
“It’s lonely without you.. Fushiguro”
Yuji’s voice reached Megumi, clear and unmistakable even in a place where most things were swallowed. His words cut through the darkness that Sukuna wrapped around his soul. Though they arrived quietly, almost awkwardly, like they didn’t belong in a place like this.
Megumi heard them anyway.
For what felt like a long time, but was probably just a moment, he didn’t respond. The darkness around him stayed the same as Megumi remained as he was. Curled up, a prisoner in his own body, in a place where time stopped mattering and thoughts lost their shape before they could become anything useful.
But the words lingered.
And against his will, they made him think.
He thought of Tsumiki. Not the version of her he wanted to protect, but the one he last saw. A malevolent sorcerer piloting his sister's body. He wondered if she tried to fight against the intruding soul, or if she just laid down and gave up like he did. He wondered if she was even aware of what was going on. He wondered what would’ve happened if he fought a little harder, if he were a little stronger.
He couldn’t save her.
The thought settled in easily, like it had already been repeated a thousand times before. Because it had. Down there, with nothing but himself, Megumi had gone over every possibility, every choice, every second where things might have turned out differently. What could he have done to stop this? Would any of this have happened if he had just used his potential to the fullest? Could he have saved his sister if he had just done things a little differently?
The thought settled in easily, like it had already been repeated a thousand times before. Because it had. Down there, with nothing but himself, Megumi had gone over every possibility, every choice, every second where things might have turned out differently. Each time, the result stayed the same.
Failure.
And it didn’t stop there. Once his mind started moving, it kept going, dragging everything else with it. Every mission, every person, every decision that led him there. Every time he told himself he was doing the right thing, or at least something that mattered.
What did any of it actually change? What was the point of anything he did, if this was the outcome? If he couldn’t protect the person who mattered most, if his strength ended up being used to hurt others anyway, if everything he stood for collapsed the moment it was tested, then what was the point?
As usual, the darkness didn’t answer him. It just let the thought sit there and grow, let it take up space until it felt like the only thing that made sense.
Megumi almost accepted it, until something interfered. Yuji cutting through everything again, but instead of his voice..
Dismantle.
The feeling of his cursed energy brushed against his soul, a sensation spreading through the space Megumi occupied. The weight of Sukuna’s presence shifted slightly, tightening in response, but it didn’t close fast enough.
The thought from before was still there.
What’s the point?
Megumi repeated the thought, but this time it felt incomplete.
He examined it properly, turning it over instead of letting it sit. And the more he did, the more it started to fall apart. Since when has he ever needed a guaranteed result to act?
He had known from the start that none of this worked like that. People weren’t saved because they deserved it. Effort didn’t always promise success. He understood that better than most, and it had never stopped him before.
So why was he letting it stop him now?
His metaphysical eyes widened. He was making excuses. Maybe not consciously, maybe he was influenced by Sukuna's Bath, but nonetheless he had let everything that happened reduce him to a single conclusion, one that conveniently justified doing nothing.
That wasn’t who he was.
Megumi exhaled, or at least the closest thing to it he could manage in a place where his body didn’t exist the way it should. The thought of Tsumiki didn’t disappear. The weight of what happened didn’t lessen.
But it shifted.
He couldn’t change any of it. That much was obvious. But that wasn’t where his responsibility ended. The present was still there, whether he wanted to face it or not, and right then, Yuji was fighting alone in a situation he helped create.
That was enough.
The darkness didn’t vanish when he decided to move. Sukuna’s presence was still overwhelming, still pressing down on him from every direction. But this time, when Megumi pushed back, he actually felt it.
The outside world came into view in broken pieces, but it was clearer than before.
Yuji was standing strong, fighting against the King of Curses piloting his body.
Despite Megumi's resistance, Sukuna was still moving through his body with the same terrifying precision, but now there were flaws. Ten Shadows was no longer in Sukuna's control, the flow of his movements slightly delayed.
Megumi kept pushing.
Each attempt was like forcing himself through something dense and unyielding, but every time he did it, the interference became a little more noticeable. Sukuna’s control tightened in response, his presence pressing down harder, but it didn't completely erase what Megumi was doing.
Then something else hit.
It came from both inside and outside at the same time, a sudden, violent resonance that tore through the space they shared.
Megumi recognized it instantly.
Kugisaki.
Yuji didn't waste a single moment, quickly using dismantle against the foe before following up with a punch. The kind Yuji used at the very beginning, back when his style was still forming. A straightforward strike, but one that carried something extra, something delayed. The impact landed first, solid and immediate, and then the second hit followed just behind it, slightly out of sync with the first.
A temporal difference.
It connected cleanly.
And then..
Black Flash.
The distortion of cursed energy around the strike was unmistakable, the impact tore through Sukuna’s control with a force that went beyond physical damage. Megumi felt it directly this time, the impact tearing through Sukuna's soul and into the space where he'd been trapped.
Something gave out, and suddenly Sukuna's hold wasn't absolute anymore. The outside world went dark as the two souls in Megumi's body turned inwards.
"How will you ever be able to face the world again?" Sukuna questioned. His voice was plain, but there was a hint of something beneath it. "You had your body stolen by me, and your sister was killed, and you refused help, and..."
The demonic sorcerer paused for a moment.
"Oh right! The boy you saved slaughtered lots of people."
Sukuna's face warped slightly with every word, his eyes expanding, his tone changing slightly, his form becoming blobbish as he moved repulsively close to Megumi.
"Just give up. You'll never be able to live a normal life. So stay quiet and let me handle things."
Megumi paused for a moment, silence echoing through the darkness before he answered, his voice plain and unwavering.
"Why are you so desperate?"
Sukuna's eyes widened, his form becoming less coherent, his darkness slowly melting away like water down a drain.
"One of Sukuna's fingers is still out there." He continued, "If the way to become a cursed object is set and Itadori pulls me out, you'd die. Plus resonance isn't always good for you. If 19 fingers disappear, the last one probably can't carry on your soul."
Megumi stood a little straighter, light pouring into his soul.
"But I'm relieved to see even you fear death."
Sukuna's eyes went desperate, his presence being warped, pulled out of Megumi's body by force.
Megumi watched the spectacle unblinkingly. It was violent in a way that had nothing to do with physical pain. The pressure that had defined and defiled his existence for so long was tearing away, leaving behind something raw and empty in its absence.
"I never intended to live a normal life." Megumi started again, mostly to himself as Sukuna was almost entirely removed. "The world is full of people besides myself."
His thoughts went back to Tsumiki, with her unshakeable kindness. She was gone, he had failed, and he would never see her again. His thoughts went to those who gave their lives to stop him.
Higuruma
Choso
Gojo...
But this time, he didn't wallow. They were gone, and there was no going back. No matter how much he wished otherwise. His thoughts went to Yuji, a selfless sorcerer, a good person, the paradigm of what a sorcerer should be. His thoughts went to Kugisaki, who fought fiercely even when it was clear she was hopelessly outmatched, and who was apparently still alive. His thoughts went to everyone who was still alive. While he'd give anything to be able to go back and try again, that didn't matter. The past was behind him, and what mattered was right now.
"I think.." Megumi started, the last of the King of Curses leaving his body, "..once more, I'll live for others."
His declaration rang across his freed soul as everything faded to black.