The training ground felt quieter than usual.
Not calm—just waiting.
Like even the air had learned to hesitate around Takeru.
Yuji was the first to notice it.
"…He's doing that thing again."
Nobara frowned."…What thing?"
Megumi's eyes narrowed immediately."…Preparation posture."
Takeru stepped forward.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Then he raised both arms forward at a slight upward angle.
Closed fists.
A stance that didn't belong to anything casual anymore.
It looked like he was holding something unseen—
like a wheel turning above a head that wasn't there yet.
Yuji blinked."…Is that new?"
Megumi's expression darkened slightly.
"…No."
"…That's not new."
Takeru's voice came out calm.
"…With this treasure, I summon…"
A pause.
The cursed energy around him shifted.
Not expanding.
Not exploding.
Aligning.
"…Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General…"
The ground beneath him cracked.
Not from force—
but from recognition.
"…Mahoraga."
Silence.
And then—
it arrived.
Not emerging like a creature being summoned.
More like something reality had been avoiding finally being acknowledged.
The wheel turned behind it immediately.
Once.
Twice.
Already observing.
Already adapting.
Yuji stepped back instinctively."…It's back…"
Nobara:"…WHY IS IT BACK?!"
Megumi didn't answer.
His gaze shifted immediately to Takeru.
"…He didn't tame it."
Takeru didn't respond.
He was already moving.
But something was different.
The air around Mahoraga tightened.
Not from fear.
From command structure interference.
Yuji's eyes widened."…Wait—what is he doing now?!"
Takeru spoke quietly.
"…System override."
And then—
the cursed energy inside him shifted again.
He didn't release it outward.
He reframed it.
"…Domain Expansion."
Megumi's eyes widened sharply."…No way."
Yuji:"…NO WAY?!"
Nobara:"…NOT AGAIN!"
The space collapsed inward.
Not expanding like normal domains.
But crushing inward into law.
And then—
it formed.
A shrine.
Endless.
Unavoidable.
"…Malevolent Shrine."
Silence.
Yuji froze completely."…WAIT THAT'S—"
Megumi whispered."…Sukuna's domain…"
Nobara stepped back instantly."…WHY DOES HE HAVE THAT?!"
Inside the domain—
Mahoraga turned its head slightly.
The wheel spun faster.
Takeru stood at the center.
Calm.
Unmoving.
Watching it adapt.
Yuji's voice cracked slightly."…He summoned Mahoraga… and THEN used Sukuna's domain inside it?!"
Megumi's expression was tight.
"…He stacked systems that were never meant to coexist."
Nobara:"…That's not stacking, that's a crime against reality!"
The shrine expanded its influence.
Everything within range began to fragment into unavoidable slashes of space itself.
Mahoraga was caught inside it.
The wheel spun violently.
Trying to adjust.
Trying to survive.
Trying to define what it was experiencing.
Takeru exhaled slowly.
"…Let's see which one wins."
Yuji shouted."…Takeru WAIT—!"
Megumi:"…He can't hear us."
Nobara:"…OR HE DOESN'T CARE!"
The wheel spun faster.
The domain pressure intensified.
Reality itself began to strain at the overlap.