The subway station was a tomb of concrete and flickering lights. Yuji Itadori stood amidst a sea of blood, his breath coming in ragged, desperate hitches. Across from him, Mahito wore a grin that looked like a jagged wound.

"What is this, Mahito?" Yuji roared, his voice echoing off the tile. He lunged forward, his red shoes splashing through the gore. He didn't wait for an answer. He couldn't. Every second Mahito drew breath was another second of agony for the people Yuji failed to save.

Mahito didn't even flinch. He simply tilted his head, his long, stitched-together hair swaying. "You don't have to shout. I can hear you! Yuji Itadori!"

Yuji’s fist connected with a transfigured human—a bloated, blue nightmare that let out a sickening 'Save me' as Yuji’s Cursed Energy tore through it. Yuji recoiled, the sound of the victim's voice ringing in his ears.

Mahito’s hands moved with fluid, terrifying grace. Between his palms, he crushed two miniature souls together. "Soul Multiplicity," he whispered. A massive, writhing wall of flesh erupted, surging toward Yuji like a tidal wave of bone and screaming mouths.

"Body Repel!"

The wall exploded outward. Yuji was caught in the blast, his body slammed against a concrete pillar with a bone-jarring thud. He slid to the floor, blood pouring from a gash on his forehead, staining his vision crimson.

Mahito loomed over him, his shadow stretching long and distorted. He held the head of another transfigured human—one that looked hauntingly like Junpei.

"Why did you kill so many people?" Yuji choked out, his spirit fracturing.

Mahito’s grin widened. "If I count and kill while looking troubled, will you be satisfied? I'll do that next time." He leaned down, his face inches from Yuji’s. "You are me."

In the original timeline, this is where Yuji found his resolve. But here, the weight of the bodies—Nanami, Nobara, the thousands in the station—was too much. The blue glow of Yuji’s Cursed Energy flickered and died.

"I want to prove..." Yuji started, but his voice was a ghost of itself. "I'm a... Jujutsu Sorcerer..."

"No," Mahito corrected gently, his hand reaching out to touch Yuji’s cheek. "You're just a cog that's finally stopped turning."

Mahito didn't kill Yuji. He did something much worse. With a surge of Idle Transfiguration, the purple sparks of Mahito’s Cursed Energy enveloped Yuji’s head. Yuji’s scream was cut short as his jaw distended, his eyes melting into his skull.

The boy who wanted a "proper death" was gone. In his place stood Mahito’s greatest masterpiece: a transfigured sorcerer with the face of a hero and the soul of a curse.

Mahito laughed, the sound echoing endlessly through the empty tunnels. "Now, Yuji... let’s go find Sukuna."