What is the experience of death like?
The answer is nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Jogo was like floating in a silent ocean, slowly advancing toward the depths with the waves. Tens of thousands of people die in this world every day. He thought he would drift along with those hundreds of thousands, but that wasn't the case. There was no one around him. He was like a lone leaf boat in a lonely sea.
Ah, this is death. Jogo thought.
No, he didn't even have the capacity for such thoughts.
The moment he stepped into death, he recalled everything from his life. He was like an enlightened monk who had let go of all worldly troubles, sorting through everything he had done. Then, a strong intuition told him he should step into the depths of the Soul, undergo the most severe wear, and be cast back into the mortal world.
This is reincarnation.
Jogo understood. This was the greatest injustice of this world. Yes, not fairness, but injustice.
Death is the greatest injustice in the world. This is because undergoing reincarnation after death has clear criteria. Ordinary people who cannot control Cursed Energy will only be worn down into completely blank powder and thrown into the great cycle of Cursed Energy. Over time, they are bleached into completely blank Souls, becoming newborns residing in a mother's womb. However, Souls with powerful Cursed Energy can resist this wear, leaving their own imprint. Only those who retain such an imprint can truly be considered to have undergone reincarnation.
Being able to determine one's posthumous treatment while still alive—doesn't that prove the injustice of death? Yet death is also the world's greatest fairness.
Because death can equally devour all living beings, like a sacred mother whispering softly in everyone's ear. No matter how powerful the Jujutsu Sorcerer, or how weak the ordinary mortal, they will all eventually step into the spiral of death, embraced by this final mother.
This is death.
Suddenly, Jogo's thoughts returned. He felt his hand being grabbed by someone.
In the pitch-black deep sea, a golden pillar of light abruptly appeared, completely enveloping Jogo. Jogo's thinking ability, which had already worn away, was slowly recovering bit by bit, as if waking from a deep sleep. Relying purely on instinct, Jogo reached out toward the end of the light pillar. His body, which had originally vanished, was now being reassembled like fragments under the illumination of the light.
Jogo rose faster and faster, his thinking ability recovering more and more rapidly. Finally, he could clearly see the end of the golden light pillar.
It was an eye. A golden pupil!
This eye was like a child's eye peering through a glass window from outside, filled with curiosity. This eye swept across the entire pitch-black deep sea. Droplets rising and falling in the deep sea separated from the waves. This time, Jogo saw clearly—they were Souls.
The Souls of the entire world were buried by this pitch-black deep sea. Every drop of water was a Soul.
How many Souls were in this pitch-black deep sea? How many had been completely bleached? How many of these sedimented Souls had entered the final cycle of reincarnation?
A tremendous fear suddenly rose in Jogo's heart. He thought death was an unjust father, a loving mother. But now he knew—death was a beast of insatiable hunger. This beast opened its never-satisfied maw, endlessly devouring everything until the end of the world.
Slap.
A hand truly grabbed him.
Jogo abruptly climbed out from the white sand. He had already completely left death in his daze. His single eye still held a vacant look. His hand was grasped by a white gauntlet. Jogo's gaze slowly traveled upward, finally seeing the figure clad in white dragon god armor.
"It's been a while, Jogo." The Dragon God's voice resonated like a cello's echo in a professional concert hall—sacred, solemn, heavy, and dignified. "How does death feel?"
"Terrible." Jogo answered while exerting force with his hand, using the Dragon God's pull to rise from the white sand.
Although it was an unfamiliar set of dragon god armor, Cursed Spirits recognize people not by appearance. For a Cursed Spirit, the residual aura of Cursed Energy is more important. The moment he touched the Dragon God's gauntlet, Jogo recognized exactly who this Dragon God was, so he was completely on guard.
Jogo looked back. There was no pitch-black deep sea, no golden light pillar. Here, there was only a desert composed of white sand. Countless white grains covered the entire world. At the world's edge, where the white desert met the sky, there was a line—the horizon.
He looked down at his feet. The sand he stood on seemed to have a new sensation.
"So that's how it is." Jogo thought deeply. "What appeared to me as a beastly death is, in your eyes, some meaningless natural landscape? This white sand must be the final remnants of the bleached Souls as you perceive them. You pulled me out from these remnants, granting me new life... This is resurrection."
The Dragon God said in surprise, "Jogo, your comprehension seems to have improved?"
"That's probably the epiphany from death." Jogo sighed with emotion. "In the face of death, all knowledge and power seem utterly meaningless. The state I could perceive while floating in death allowed my thoughts to sublimate, enabling me to more accurately describe the truth of the world... There is indeed a clear line between having died and not having died. I have crossed this line and entered a new realm."
"You've grown stronger, Jogo." The Dragon God sighed in admiration.
"I only hope to keep up with your footsteps." Jogo said remorsefully. "I'm sorry, during the decisive battle with Gojo Satoru, I held you back."
"Satoru is the genuine strongest of the modern era. To truly fight him, one cannot afford the slightest flaw. The Soul Fusion Knight that Kenjaku and I jointly designed could indeed gain a small advantage, and it was sufficient as a probe. It was I who arbitrarily changed the plan, wanting to kill him in that very battle. That's why you couldn't keep up. It's not your fault."
The Dragon God comforted him. "Jogo, there's no point comparing yourself to a prodigy like Satoru. All you need to do is stand behind me, blocking the attacks I might overlook while focusing on Satoru. That is enough."
Jogo was very unwilling, but he knew Mahito's words were correct.
Before this, Jogo simply couldn't imagine anyone being as strong as Gojo Satoru. Although during the fight with Gojo Satoru, he had almost lost all consciousness—only by doing so could he act as Mahito's Soul shell to withstand the Unlimited Void—because of his complete fusion with Mahito, he was fully aware of Gojo Satoru's terror.
In that battle, until Mahito shed him, he was considered a participant. He fully understood why Mahito shed him in the midst of such intense combat—he was holding him back!
Jogo made a firm decision. "Mahito, turn me into a Half-Cursed Spirit."
"If you become a Half-Cursed Spirit, then the [Soul Fusion Knight: Geyser Rage Blazing Soil Calamity] will truly become history." The Dragon God said, "I can't use the [Soul Creation Dragon Spirit Body] to face enemies every time. It's my ultimate trump card. But I can frequently use the [Geyser Rage Blazing Soil]."
Jogo understood Mahito's meaning. A trump card is meant to be used last. He himself could serve as the transitional stage to probe the enemy's capabilities as much as possible before the trump card is used. He wasn't useless; he was very useful and a great help to Mahito.
If it were before, just hearing Mahito say this would have satisfied him. But now he was different. After experiencing death, his thoughts had truly sublimated. Some traditions he stubbornly clung to before now seemed particularly laughable.
So now, he said without hesitation, "Mahito, I know you're comforting me. Since you already have a better [Soul Creation Dragon Spirit Body], saying you can use me frequently... but ultimately, I'm still a dispensable existence... I don't want that. I want to truly keep up with your pace! Since the Soul Fusion Knight has become history, that also allows me to make up my mind to move forward."
Jogo took a deep breath and bowed his head to the Dragon God.
"I beg you, Mahito, let me become a Half-Cursed Spirit and continue following behind you!"
The Dragon God looked at Jogo quietly and sighed. "You have truly grown, Jogo."
Before this, although Jogo had the appearance of an old man, his temperament was extremely irritable, and he had absolutely no patience to listen to others. Even when he was wrong, he stubbornly never admitted fault and often fell into arrogant self-aggrandizement, believing everyone except those around him was a bunch of worthless riffraff.
Even when he was proven wrong time and again, he never intended to correct himself. He adhered to the nature of a Curse, impossible to change. Only now had he truly grown.
He genuinely felt his own powerlessness and genuinely stepped onto the true path of becoming stronger.
"I understand. After we get out, I will transform you into a Half-Cursed Spirit." The Dragon God said solemnly. "With a physical body, you will better comprehend the essence of Cursed Energy. At the same time, you will also be able to use the Reverse Cursed Technique. Neutralized by positive energy, you will truly break free from the limitations of a Curse and truly embark on the path to becoming the strongest."
"Ah! I will definitely follow closely behind you, Mahito!" Jogo said happily.
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