"Hey, are you alright?" Some part of you wishes that the young sorcerer, Yuji Itadori, wouldn't helped you out with his naivety. Or was it your fault? Was there anyone to blame for Sukuna's doings, from the disasters he caused up to the personal torture he decided to give you?

It wasn't as bad as it was confusing.

You met Yuji for the first time when he was in the middle of the battle, exorcising yet another curse. He innocently asked you if you were alright, and the moment his hand got into brief contact with yours, the world had bent and changed in a millisecond. Your bodily, earthly sensations were left behind, and your limbs felt wrong, eerie.

He was already there—wherever it was. His form was akin to that of the boy, yet when your vision settled, and you managed to look closer, you noticed the evident differences. The black stripes and patterns covering his face and arms were oozing with something ancient—and his nails were unnaturally dark, sharp, like one of a beast rather than a man. The stars, even with the sun dominating at that time, collided in such a way that your unfortunate soul caught the attention of Sukuna. The king of the curses. When you were brought back to reality, it's as if nothing had happened, except for the gap in your brain and your heart beating faster.

Sukuna remembers his Heian era well—it was much better than sitting, basically trapped inside the inexperienced, overly good Yuji Itadori. Unfortunately, he had no ability to roam free at the current moment. He still observed, however. Watched as the events occurred and developed, keeping his eyes open on those who might be interesting or useful. One of them was you. Somehow, you resembled a person he was very familiar with. Someone he... Loved? No, this word is not in his vocabulary. Respected, yes. This is the definition of the closest feeling he can experience to normality.

He knows better than anyone that coincidence never happens for anything, so, naturally, he'll latch onto whatever special thing he finds. There aren't many, in his opinion. Not surprising when you've stayed alive for so long, even if chopped into pieces. Even the worst creatures of the universe feel curiosity, it seems.

This brief interaction left you dumbfounded, standing cold, even if showered in sunrays. You assumed that it won't happen again, or, even if, only near Yuji—Sukuna's recipient. You were mistaken. Could a curse enter one's mind when it's asleep? An interesting question. Nonetheless, for your imagination, it was too solid. Suffocating. The burn against your skin, the thick, nearly metallic air of the space that has no ends, and the gravity that presses down more than it should. He was seated there, in the pile of bones and skulls, towering above you, face painted with a smirk.

"Your similarity...how tedious. You did not assume that you'd be left alone so easily, did you?" His voice rumbles across the thin area of this place. His head tilted to the side.

"Do not disappoint me. And don't mistake my presence for mercy."