𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑶𝑾⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐋𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈 - 𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐔𝐏𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

GOJO SATORU HEAVED, breath caught in his lungs as he stared at the Curse with wide eyes. He could feel the air around him shifting, the ground beneath his feet slowly disappearing as the influence of the creature grew out of the corners of his eyes, black smoke billowing across the floor before rising and plunging into his lungs.

It was suffocating; this endless blanket of darkness woven into perfect tiny little pieces of night. It was so empty and so wide, much like the hole he felt in his soul whenever Limitless spilled out of him. It was calm, but nothing about the eery emptiness felt safe. Satoru didn't move, the darkness spiralling at his feet while The Beldam licked its blackened lips. The hunger and energy radiating from the beast prickled at his skin, a sense of danger settling into his bones.

This thing was... inhuman. It wasn't an abnormal detail to note about a Curse, but this creature in front of him was no such thing. The Beldam walked towards him, its steps slow while its jagged feet dragged across the forest floor. There was no noise in this place, no sound other than the haunting screech of the creature's fragile bones as it moved. Satoru gulped down the fear – and it was fear, true unadulterated horror at what stood before him.

This thing wasn't a Curse; the emptiness around it was too hollow, too unworthy to even compare it to anything he'd seen before. The Beldam was old, so old he could see the edges of the universe splintering across its aged skin. So old he could feel the breath that gave life to earth, nestled somewhere between the hollow bones of this creature's ribcage. It was so inhuman, so daunting and paralyzing, and yet... the darkness welcomed him. It embraced him with open arms and, as The Beldam swallowed him whole with a single gulp, Satoru let himself fall into the endless pit of despair.

Gojo fell. He fell into the deep darkness of The Beldam, through the hollows of the universe, slipping through cracks of interwoven reality. It reminded him of the glimpse he got through his Six Eyes, that tiny little speck of everything that blossomed in his sight, a small window into an entire new world he didn't dare open. Satoru stole from the window; he borrowed. Power, energy, whatever he fancied, but he never – not even once – dared to cross it. And here he was now, in the eternal blackness of the other side, watching himself disappear into this sweet oblivion that welcomed him gently.

There was no light at the end of the tunnel, no kernel of truth or divine guidance. Just... nothing. Satoru let out a sigh of relief, wondering when exactly he'd decided that this fate was kinder. He wouldn't be judged by otherworldly powers, he wouldn't be punished for all eternity. He'd just... cease to exist altogether. Was this death? This feeling of utter and complete peace coupled with the dissonance of an echo that never got to fade?

"I could show you terrible, terrible things." The Beldam's voice echoed in the darkness from a hundred spaces at once, bouncing into the nothingness before enveloping Gojo once again. "I could show you every single horrible thing you've ever done; every heart you've broken, every Curse you've doomed, every man you've killed..." The creature sighed, amusement gone from its frigid voice. "but I think a part of you would enjoy it, so I'll show you something else, instead."

The air cut like razor blades, every nerve burning with insurmountable pain for a second before it all faded out once again. Satoru waited in the darkness, no longer floating directionless, but standing still on an endless surface of blackness. He blinked, whirling around as he tried to find whatever The Beldam was trying to show him. There was nothing in this place, just the endless night ahead of him and his reflection at the edge of the water. Satoru inhaled sharply through his nose, kneeling as he sunk his hands into the water, cupping a piece of it and watching as it dribbled down his fingers.

"I've looked inside of your head, sipped on your fears and feasted on your insecurities." The Beldam continued, its voice now muted, as if coming from a great distance. "But you are far from weak, there is very little you regret. So many horrible deeds, yet you have no real remorse, do you?" The thing cackled. "And still, somewhere deep inside of your mind; there is a day." Satoru swallowed, closing his eyes as he imagined himself standing on that meadow, his friend's heart in his hands. "And it's not the one you think."

Satoru frowned, looking down once again, eyes etched onto his reflection as the water around him rippled with The Beldam's voice. The sorcerer paused, fingers dancing atop the edge of the water for a brief second, the sound of pouring rain echoing in the distance along with a familiar string of thunderous sobs. Satoru stood, arms falling limp at his side as realization sank in.

This place... he knew this place. Knew this day.

Satoru's heart sank into his stomach and like a frightened little boy, he turned. There it was, a window drawn into the darkness – almost like a hole cut through reality, the bleak thundering sky spiralling out of the frame while Gojo watched himself. Satoru stood at the edge of the window, staring into his past with a pale face, hands balled into fists while the scene unfolded.

The sorcerer bit his lip hard, drawing blood which he let run down his chin while regret settled at the pit of his stomach. He was close now, so close he could read the words sprawled across the concrete building, the faded letters still etched onto the entrance despite the fact it had been abandoned for a long time.

Kansai Lighting Factory.

And there he was, on that day. Trapped in the exact same nightmare he had been reliving for the past ten years. Her nightmare.