No matter which dire they tried walking forward, backward, or even through the forest fnking the path they always ended up back at the same spot.

  They eveed splitting up. One person walked forward, another backward, and the st through the forest. Yet, all three returo the same pce.

  It was as if they were trapped in an endless looping spao matter what they did, the oute remained unged.

  At first, they had been fident they could find a way out of this bizarre situation. But as time dragged on, that fidence gave way to unease, and unease quickly turned into fear.

  "Are we really going to die here?"

  "..."

  For once, even Maki didn't have an answer. She didn't want to die here, but the situation was being increasingly hopeless.

  "Ahhh!"

  Yuji however, remairangely eic.

  Though lying on the ground moments ago, he suddenly sat up, spping his face repeatedly to jolt himself awake.

  "???"

  Maki and Nobara exged baffled g Yuji's behavior.

  "Did… he lose his mind?" Nobara whispered.

  Thankfully, while Yuji's as seemed ridiculous, there was a method to his madness.

  "Don't sleep! Don't sleep! Stay awake!" Yuji shouted to himself.

  From the sed day of being trapped, Yuji had been attempting to make tact with Sukuna, the curse residing within him.

  Though he despised relying on the malevolent King of Curses, Yuji couldn't think of any other solution. After all, Sukuna had been the most powerful sorcerer a thousand years ago. If anyone could get them out of this situation, it was him.

  Unfortunately, Sukuna had shown no respoo Yuji's repeated calls. It was as if the curse was pletely dormant.

  That ck of rea frustrated Yuji to no end. By this point, he was willing to try anything to get Sukuna's attention.

  "Sukuna! Ryomen Sukuna! Wake up already!" Yuji yelled, his voice eg through the empty forest.

  "..."

  At first, Maki and Nobara didn't uand what Yuji was trying to do. But as they listened, realization dawned.

  Yuji was attempting to wake Sukuna to ask for his help.

  After all, desperate times called for desperate measures. They had lear Jujutsu High that Sukuna's power was highly dangerous, and relying on him was something to be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

  But this situation was as desperate as it got.

  Even so, watg Yuji repeatedly sp himself in the face was a sight her Maki nor Nobara knew how to respond to.

  "Pa! Pa! Pa!"

  The sound of Yuji's hands smag his cheeks echoed loudly. He didn't hold back, and his face quickly began to swell on both sides.

  Maki and Nobara winced. It was hard to tell whether they were more shocked or ed.

  "Alright, enough already! That's enough!"

  Finally, Sukuna's voice rang out, interrupting Yuji's self-inflicted punishment.

  A grotesque mouth formed on Yuji's cheek, and Sukuna's irritated tone spilled forth.

  "You're seriously annoying, you know that?"

  "Great!" Yuji excimed, relief washing over him. He immediately stopped spping himself, though the sting on his face reminded him just how hard he had been hitting.

  Ign the pain, Yuji wasted no time getting to the point.

  "Sukuna, you don't wauck here forever, right? Do you know how to get out of this pce?"

  Both Maki and Nobara turheir attention to Yuji, waiting anxiously for Sukuna's response.

  "Hah," Sukuna she disdain in his tone unmistakable. "Are y to threaten me?"

  Yuji's bluntness clearly irritated Sukuna. While it was true Sukuna would be invenienced if Yuji's body were to die, being threatened by his host was something the King of Curses did not appreciate.

  "Call it what you want," Yuji replied, unfazed. "But do you really think I won't do it?"

  Yuji wasn't like most people who quaked in fear at the thought of Sukuna. While he didn't uimate the Curse King, he also wasn't afraid of him.

  As a sorcerer, Yuji had e to terms with the possibility of dying the momeered this world. That unshakable resolve allowed him to stand his ground even in the face of Sukuna's intimidation.

  "..."

  Sukuna fell silent for a moment.

  While the King of Curses despised Yuji's guts, he couldn't deny the strength of the boy's spirit.

  How irritating, Sukuna thought. This brat is far too good at pushing my buttons.

  Still, Sukuna dide the frontation. There was no point. As much as it annoyed him to admit, Yuji was right. Sukuna didn't want his vessel dying in this godforsaken loop.

  "Fine. I'll tell you this much, you're in a domain space."

  Sukuna's voice was ced with mockery, though his words carried the weight of truth.

  He had known for a while now that they were trapped within a cursed domain. But, of course, he had no iion of saying anything until it became absolutely necessary.