Jujutsu Kaisen: False Dawn

I stood in front of the shrine, breath steady, fingers twitching. No more waiting. No more pacing or planning. I had to know—how much stronger had I become?

"Rika," I said, my voice calm, even.

A small black spot appeared beside me, like ink dropped into reality.

And then I saw her.

The head appeared first. A white, skull-shaped mask with deep, horizontal lines cut across it. No eyes. Just hollow sockets and a jaw filled with long, slightly jagged teeth. Her body emerged next, a hulking black mass, shifting like smoke condensed into form. Two powerful arms—muscular, near-human—protruded from her sides, the fingers ending in black, trimmed nails that looked almost… delicate?

I didn't move. Couldn't move.

Even though this was just her partially manifested form, I could feel it. The weight. The danger. The fear. It crept up my spine like static. It wasn't the same as when I faced random curses in the street or manipulated Kai or Kai2. No. This was different.

This was Rika.

I had never stood next to something this strong. Not truly. Not until now.

My throat tightened. "Rika…" I managed. "Shake my hand."

Yeah. Silly. Real silly. But what else was I supposed to do? I needed to test her somehow. Start small.

Immediately, Rika responded. She turned toward me with no hesitation, raised her enormous hand, and—*smack*—wrapped it around mine. A shake. Firm. Controlled. She followed the command without question.

That was good. That was really good.

I exhaled, relieved. "Okay, okay…"

Now the testing began.

—

Rika, in this partially manifested state, could only stick around for thirty seconds. Once those thirty seconds passed, she'd disappear—and I couldn't call her again for a full minute. Like a cursed technique timer. Again. Another goddamn timer.

I looked up at the sky and shouted, "Fuck you!" because honestly, I deserved better.

Still, there was no divine rebuttal. Just birds fluttering away from the trees in panic.

Even limited like this, Rika's partial form was insane.

I told her to punch a tree. She did.

The bark exploded off the trunk like someone had hit it with a truck. The entire tree leaned like it wanted to fall over.

"Wait! Keep the tree up—don't knock it over!"

Somehow, she understood. Her hand caught the trunk like a pillar holding up a roof. I just blinked.

"That's… both hilarious and terrifying."

She was stronger than me. By a wide margin. That was fine. No—*great*. Because if her partial form was like this…

What would her full form look like?

Still, I kept at the smaller tests. Simple commands. Movement cues. Reactions.

What I learned:

- She responded fast.

- She was strong—physically way stronger than any other cursed being I have seen.

- She wasn't smart, not like a person. But she understood. Enough to follow orders.

- She didn't speak. But I could feel… something like thought.

It was good. But I needed more. I needed the real deal.

I stood in place, let the timer run out, and waited a full minute. My heart was already racing.

Then, I whispered, "Rika, come out."

The air ripped.

Like thunder tearing through a glass hallway, space cracked beside me—and she arrived.

Not the half-formed creature from earlier. No.

This was Rika. Full manifestation.

And god… she was beautiful in the most terrifying way.

White hair—long, flowing like ghost silk—replaced the grotesque tentacles from her old form. Her upper body had bulk, with lean muscle coiling over her torso, but it was less monstrous than I expected. Her ribcage wasn't fully exposed like in the JJK 0 art—now it looked… almost elegant.

Still cursed. Still terrifying. But there was something mournful about her appearance.

The lower half of her body remained a tail of black mist, wrapping around itself like smoke caught in water. Her arms hovered with strength, crackling faintly.

And then it hit me.

Not a punch. Not a shockwave.

It was her cursed energy.

A tsunami of raw, brutal, cursed power hit me. No warning. No ramp-up. Just an ocean slamming into a puddle.

My own cursed energy started spiking wildly, reacting to her presence like a child trying to mimic an adult. And for the first time since I came into this world, I nearly lost control.

I dropped to a knee, breathing hard, my hands shaking.

My circuits—my red stitch network—were trying to hold together under the flood. I could feel it.

This wasn't just a power-up. This was a second core. A second cursed energy battery flowing into me.

And then I realized—this wasn't mine. Not even a little bit.

It was Rika's.

She shared it.

No, not even that. She gave it to me.

I didn't have to command her for it. I didn't have to beg. It was a thought—a link—and suddenly, I was full again. Cursed energy refilled. Circuits humming. My body vibrating with potential.

The connection was seamless. Terrifying. Exhilarating.

This…

This was power.

And I knew. Deep in my soul, in the way that cursed technique knowledge had bloomed in my head from Copy... I knew:

This is what Yuta must've felt.

Only, I didn't have a school backing me yet…

No, Gojo.

No Inumaki.

No Panda.

Just me.

But for five minutes? I was unstoppable.

I raised my hand. "Rika," I said softly.

She looked down.

I smiled. "Let's see what we can do."