Jujutsu Kaisen: False Dawn

The paper in my hand felt heavier than it should. Not because it was thick, not because it weighed much, but because of what it carried. A sentence. A single, dangerous, too-vague sentence. A binding vow.

I looked down at the words I had written just a day ago. My handwriting wasn't the best—crooked and slightly rushed—but I remember how long I sat there, just staring at the ink as if it would bite me. And maybe it had.

'Let this vow bind us: You shall relinquish all that curses you—all power, all pain, all ties to Rika. You shall be freed of her… And in that freedom, Rika shall be bound to me. What was once yours shall now be mine to bear.'

Even as I wrote it, I knew the risks. There was no guarantee how Rika would react. No guarantee of what exactly I'd be taking. "All that curses you" was a terrifying phrase in the Jujutsu world. Curses came in all forms—some physical, some emotional, some too abstract to be understood in one lifetime. But it had to be vague. It had to be enough.

Back in the present, I passed the paper to Yuta with the calmest expression I could manage.

"Don't worry," I told him, keeping my tone steady and wise. "I have one more. This one… it will work for sure."

Yuta looked at the note, lips trembling, eyes wide. "But won't this give you not only the curse but also my pain? I... I don't understand why you would take this. This deal is unfair..."

I smiled at that. Still worried about me.

"Well," I said, giving him a small shrug, "because you're a kid. And you shouldn't be handling a curse like this—or the pain. Do it, Yuta. Free yourself… and Rika too. Give her the freedom she needs. Let her go and forgive yourself."

I clapped my hands once, like a monk completing a chant. Yuta flinched from the sound. His breath caught, and I could feel Rika's cursed energy pulsing faintly nearby. Watching. Waiting.

Yuta's face twisted. He didn't get it—yet. But those words hit something inside him. A silent truth.

Yuta's eyes widened. Those words struck somewhere deep inside him—deeper than even Ren had expected. Because Ren, for all his manipulation, had told the truth.

Rika hadn't cursed Yuta. Yuta had cursed Rika.

It was simple. So, so painfully simple.

Yuta stared down at the page again. "Forgive myself…"

He sat in silence, paper trembling between his fingers. Then, in the softest voice, one full of pain, longing, and maybe even love, he whispered the words of the vow. Not as a curse. Not as surrender. But as acceptance.

Yuta lowered his head, his bangs shadowing his eyes. His lips moved. Barely a whisper at first.

Then the words came.

"Let this vow bind us... I shall relinquish all that curses me... all power, all pain, all ties to Rika... I shall be freed of her... And in that freedom, Rika shall be bound to you... What was once mine... shall now be yours to bear."

The moment he finished, the world seemed to pause. Ren didn't feel the wind. Didn't hear the birds. Only his own heart, pounding like a drum in his ears.

A bright flash of light. Soft, at first. Then unbearable.

Yuta collapsed backward on the bench.

Ren dropped to one knee.

Something entered him.

It was like his soul was being torn apart and sewn back together with burning threads. Every nerve lit up. His spine felt like it would snap. His stomach twisted. His brain screamed.

And that's when it happened.

It was like the world held its breath. Wind stopped. Trees quieted. And the cursed energy that once clung to Yuta cracked like old ice.

He collapsed gently against the bench, completely unconscious. Not from pain—he looked peaceful, like someone who had finally let go of a weight they didn't even know they were carrying. A kid, finally free.

Me? I dropped to one knee, clutching my chest.

The curse flooded into me. Like swallowing glass. It wasn't just cursed energy—it was information, too. A bond, a feeling, an emotion so strong it had become reality…

My head spun. I wanted to scream. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to breathe, but my chest felt like it had been kicked in.

And then I heard it.

Soft footsteps.

No cursed energy. No pressure. Just… footsteps.

When I looked up, I wasn't ready.

She stood there barefoot, dress rippling softly, like she was underwater while the rest of the world stood still.

Rika.

But not the monstrous version. No. This was the girl. The real one.

A child. Gentle. Heartbreaking.

"You're clever, big brother," she said with a smile too soft for this world.

"You stole me."

She didn't sound angry. Just observant. Like she was acknowledging the fact, not blaming me for it.

I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

She stepped closer, and even though I was on one knee, we were eye-level. I still couldn't speak.

"You're not who he needed," she whispered, eyes drifting to the sleeping Yuta. "But you knew what he needed."

"You freed me."

Tears threatened to sting the corners of my eyes. Not from fear. From something else. Something old. Something sad.

Then she looked back at me and smiled.

"So now I'm yours."

She tilted her head.

"But."

"You better keep Yuta safe."

"He doesn't have me now."

And just like that, she began to fade. Little flecks of light shimmered off her body, like dandelion seeds in the wind.

I wanted to say something. Anything. But my voice didn't come.

As she almost vanished entirely, she turned over her shoulder and smiled once more.

"Thank you…"

And then she was gone.

Just like that.

No explosion. No cursed surge. Just… peace.

I sat there, still holding my chest, shaking.

For the first time in this world, I didn't know if I'd done something brave or something horrible. But it was done.

Yuta would wake up soon. He'd find that the curse was gone. That she was gone.

I looked at the palm of my hand. My cursed energy was still swirling madly inside me, adjusting, adapting. Somewhere, buried deep in that surge… she was there.

Rika.

Mine, now.