After hearing the events from Uraume, Sukuna realized Yukiori hadn't intended to bend to those sorcerers' will.
Having escaped them once, why would he return willingly? Perhaps Yukiori even believed his presence endangered Uraume.
This wasn't Uraume's fault—Sukuna's own carelessness caused it all.
Uraume grew quieter than before. One day, he left, returning drenched in blood.
Sukuna knew what Uraume couldn't let go of, just as he couldn't, nor planned to.
Evil ran in his bones, and now nothing could restrain him.
In the end, even Sukuna lost count of how many he'd killed, or if any were innocent.
He wanted the sorcerers to send more to hunt him—one came, he slew one; a group came, he slew them all.
Gradually, they stopped using his name, calling him the King of Curses.
Some even began to worship and follow him.
Shouting "King of Curses," Sukuna found them noisy and tiresome, killing them on a whim.
Hypocrites didn't deserve to follow him.
Sukuna never deigned to acknowledge the title "King of Curses," confident in his current power.
But these sorcerers were like ants, swarming endlessly, impossible to exterminate no matter how many he killed.
Until he met a sorcerer named Momoto Ichi. Seeing him, Uraume, in a rare burst of emotion, attacked him.
Only then did Sukuna learn Momoto was the sorcerer who first imprisoned Yukiori.
Yukiori…
The name felt distant, yet Sukuna hadn't forgotten—he dared not think of it, dared not long for him.
By pretending, Yukiori remained alive, and Sukuna sank to deceiving himself.
Driven by jealousy, especially after failing with Yukiori, Momoto, alone, provoked Sukuna.
He vividly described how Yukiori took his life after Uraume's escape that night, even hurling insults.
Unable to possess, destroy—such was Momoto Ichi.
Thus, Momoto died in agony.
Sukuna personally severed his body, keeping him conscious to feel his organs spill, his entrails devoured.
Mental and physical torment made Momoto's final moments an eternity.
Yet Momoto's words plunged Uraume back into his private nightmare.
"He wouldn't blame you."
Yes, Yukiori was a fool who only blamed himself.
…
…
"It's snowing."
Uraume lifted his face, feeling snowflakes melt into water on his skin.
Beside him, footsteps halted. Sukuna stopped, eyeing a young man who appeared suddenly.
"King of Curses, Two-Faced Sukuna."
Sukuna was surprised this man knew him, yet dared block his path, showing no fear.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand to strike—time was too precious for chatter.
"I'm here to deliver a message from someone named Yukiori."
His hand froze. Uraume, hearing Yukiori's name, glared coldly at the speaker.
"Who are you? How do you know Yukiori?"
No sooner had Uraume asked than he recalled Yukiori should be dead, meaning this man was likely using Yukiori's name to deceive them.
Damn him, exploiting Yukiori's name to manipulate him and his lord!
As Uraume moved to kill him, Sukuna stopped him.
"My lord, he dares use Yukiori…"
"Wait. He's strange."
Sukuna frowned at the young man, giving him a chance to speak.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Kenjaku, Yukiori's… servant."
Days after Yukiori's death, Kenjaku learned vital information: the follower beside Two-Faced Sukuna was named Uraume.
Recalling Yukiori's desolate look when he mentioned Two-Faced Sukuna, Kenjaku guessed Yukiori knew him.
Piecing together the events, Kenjaku deduced the truth.
He decided to use Two-Faced Sukuna to achieve what he currently couldn't.
Whether this held personal motives, only Kenjaku knew.
"King of Curses, if you're so strong, why couldn't you protect him? Why didn't you save him when he was drowning in despair?"
"Don't you know Yukiori was waiting for you to save him?!"
Why not save him? Because they thought Yukiori was dead…
Yet Kenjaku struck at their hearts, ensuring Sukuna would follow his plan.
"You're lying! Yukiori died long ago!"
"What do I gain by deceiving you?"
Kenjaku, unhurried, recounted Yukiori's past two years, each word heavy, especially when describing Yukiori's passing…
With every sentence, Uraume's face paled further.
Uraume could scarcely believe what he heard.
Yukiori had been alive, and they didn't know.
Kenjaku repeated Yukiori's suffering, himself pained by it.
"He said he'd wait for you in hell."
At this, Kenjaku's gaze settled on Sukuna.
Sukuna sensed Kenjaku's strangeness but had no mind to ponder its source.
Yes, he was the King of Curses, who vowed to protect Yukiori, yet those words became a mockery.
Worse…
He'd committed an unforgivable mistake.
Yukiori wouldn't forgive him, would he?
No, he would…
It was Sukuna who couldn't forgive himself.
"My lord…"
Uraume, like a lost child, looked at Sukuna with misty eyes, unable to face Yukiori, even in hell.
Sukuna once saw Yukiori as a follower like Uraume, but later felt he was different.
After losing Yukiori, Sukuna conflated these feelings with his bond with Uraume.
Now, he realized he'd underestimated how much Yukiori meant to him. The affection he'd ignored erupted when Kenjaku revealed the truth.
So, Yukiori held him so dear, waiting for him, while Sukuna did nothing?
He was too late again.
This time, Yukiori was truly gone.
No…
Yukiori must still be alive…
Hell wouldn't take Yukiori, but before that, some would pay their due.
…
…
In November that year, the King of Curses and his follower launched a one-sided slaughter of sorcerers. Their demise unleashed cursed spirits, stirring public outcry.
The sorcerer world waged a month-long crusade to eradicate the King of Curses, Two-Faced Sukuna.
No one knew why he'd gone mad, as pointless as asking a lunatic's reason.
His sole aim seemed to be killing every sorcerer.
What did commoners' lives matter to the King of Curses?
By year's end, Two-Faced Sukuna was confirmed dead, his follower's fate unknown.
More precisely, he was sealed—no one could kill the King of Curses, whose power transcended humanity.
His strength was divided into his twenty-one fingers, each holding a twentieth of his power, sealed multiply to prevent his revival and further chaos.
But sealing him nearly destroyed the sorcerer world, leaving it crippled.
The golden age of sorcery vanished, everything reshuffled.
A century later, a special-grade cursed object went missing from its vault.
Two-Faced Sukuna's finger.