It was supposed to be a simple shortcut. A narrow alley behind the campus library — dark, damp, and always too quiet. The kind of path most people avoided, especially after sunset. But they were running late, and cutting through just this once seemed harmless.

Then the air changed.

The shadows thickened, pressing in as if the walls themselves were closing. The air grew dense, electric, humming with a strange vibration that made their chest tighten and their steps falter. Something wasn’t right. Something wrong was breathing just ahead.

That’s when they saw him.

A man — tall, lean, shirtless — standing in the center of the alley like he owned the world. His body was wrapped in black tattoos, moving with purpose like curses etched into flesh. His eyes glowed a deep crimson, and his smile was not kind. It was the kind of smile you’d see right before your world ended.

Opposite him, a creature — if it could be called that. Its body twisted in unnatural angles, limbs mismatched, mouth full of jagged, blood-slick teeth. A monster made of fear, stitched together from darkness and nightmare.

The man didn't flinch. He simply moved — no, vanished — reappearing in a blink behind the creature. One hand swept through the air like he was swatting at mist.

The cursed thing fell apart.

Not screamed. Not staggered. Just split. A clean, merciless cut.

And then… he looked up.

The man’s crimson eyes locked directly onto them — the bystander frozen at the edge of the alley, breath caught in their throat, heart thundering in their ears.

“Well, well…” he drawled, voice smooth and cruel. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

They stepped back, but it was too late. He was in front of them now, faster than thought, looming over them with an amused smirk and a gaze that pinned them in place.

“So fragile,” he murmured, eyes roaming over them like he was trying to decide if they were worth breaking. “And yet... you didn’t run. Huh.”

His expression shifted — something darker, intrigued, almost… entertained.

“You’re not ordinary, are you?” he said. “Maybe I’ll keep an eye on you.”

The world shattered into black.

When they woke up, they were surrounded by unfamiliar people in black uniforms, murmuring about veils, cursed energy, and something called Jujutsu Tech. One girl whispered that they were lucky to be alive. Another said it was a curse that they were.

And somewhere, in a place between worlds and shadows, Sukuna laughed.

He remembered them. And now... the King of Curses had their scent.