Riku stood still, sweat already dampening his brow as the cursed spirit snarled across from him. The ground beneath his feet was cracked from past battles, and yet, this time it felt different. 'This time, I'm walking away with the win.'
Cursed energy surged through his body. He inhaled deeply, controlled, then poured the energy into his limbs. His muscles tensed. He dropped into a tight boxing stance, right foot slightly back, fists up by his face.
The cursed spirit dropped low, its form crouched in a distorted animal-like posture, legs twitching like coiled springs, jaws unhinging unnaturally wide.
It lunged.
Riku ducked, his reflexes sharpened by experience and adrenaline. Time slowed. His eyes tracked every twitch, every shift in muscle. He pivoted left, shifted his weight, and slammed a powerful liver punch into the curse's side. The impact made the thing snarl in rage, its ribs crunching under the force.
He followed through with a kidney punch—only for the curse to twist suddenly and block. Its clawed hand slammed into his stomach. Riku grunted, arms raised to absorb the hit, but the force still launched him backward. He skidded across the dirt, digging his heels in to stop.
Breathing hard, he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, grinning wide.
"You felt that, didn't you?" he said, voice hoarse but confident. "This time's gonna be different, motherfucker."
With a battle cry, he charged forward, cursed energy concentrating in his legs. He dropped low, flipped mid-air, and switched into Muay Thai—elbows and knees flowing in sharp arcs. A crushing kick met the curse's side, sending it sprawling. Bones snapped on contact.
The cursed spirit shrieked in pain and fury, twisted back up, and rushed him. It raised a leg high, aiming a savage kick. Riku leaned back, hands catching the ground for balance.
"I wanna try something."
With a pivot of his hips, he swept low, utilizing Taekwondo to take the curse off its feet. Then—he let loose. He flowed into his breakdancing instincts, spinning into a flurry of low kicks, mixing it with Sikaran—each kick delivered like a shotgun blast to the spirit's ribs and chest. The final strike lifted the cursed spirit off the ground and sent it tumbling backward into the dirt.
But the curse was relentless.
Its jaw distended again, cursed energy glowing within its throat. It fired a crackling, sickly projectile.
"Shit—!"
Riku crossed his arms, cursed energy flooding them just in time. The attack hit. Agony screamed through his nerves as the blast seared his arms and launched him back like a ragdoll.
He hit the dirt, rolled several meters, and coughed blood onto the ground.
But then—his arms began to heal. Slowly. Painfully. Bones knitted back together. Torn skin closed.
He forced himself up, chest heaving, vision blurred but burning with fire.
He laughed, delirious. "What do you think of that, fucker? Didn't expect me to be tied with you, huh? But here's the thing… while you're fighting me—I'm growing faster and faster. Your defeat is approaching, bitch!"
The curse roared in fury and lunged again.
But this time, Riku dropped his stance and slammed his foot into the ground. The earth ruptured. Debris burst skyward in a cloud of dust and flying rocks.
Riku leapt upward, his hands and feet tapping each rock in mid-air, cursed energy flowing into each one. A barrage of glowing projectiles rained down.
The cursed spirit snarled and unleashed another mouth-beam, obliterating many rocks mid-air—but not all. Some slammed into its body, drawing screeches and blood.
Riku landed—only for the curse to vanish into the dust cloud. His instincts screamed. Too late.
It grabbed his legs and slammed him down.
Hard.
The ground cratered. Before he could move, it kicked him full-force in the gut, sending him flying again.
He hit a tree, cracking it in half. Blood ran from his forehead. His chest throbbed. He got up, shaking, arms limp at his sides.
"Fucking… bitch," he wheezed.
The curse advanced, its body smoldering with cursed energy. It was growing more serious.
Riku closed his eyes.
'This is bad. I know how to fight. But the difference in power is still huge. I need more. I need… something new.'
He remembered the greats.
Gojo had Limitless. Sukuna had Shrine. Megumi had Ten Shadows.
'What the hell do I have?'
He gritted his teeth. 'I can't bullshit my way through this by saying "These hands" are my cursed technique. No. I need to reflect who I am. What I believe. What I've struggled with.'
The curse lunged again. He raised his arms to block—but the punch still blasted him off his feet.
"Damn it! Gimme some time to think!" he shouted, coughing.
'What reflects me… cursed techniques are mirrors of the soul. Of pain. Of purpose. Of self.'
His eyes widened. The word echoed.
'Reflect.'
He looked down into a shattered puddle from the earlier attack. His blood ran across its surface—his reflection split, distorted, staring back.
And he understood.
"Reflect…" he whispered. "That's it… I'm a genius… I'm a fucking genius! The reincarnation of Einstein!"
He grinned like a madman, stumbling up.
"I'll call it… Mirrorbound Domain."
The curse howled again, preparing a final attack. Its entire body glowed with cursed energy. It knew this was close to the end.
Riku raised a trembling hand.
"Let's test this out."
Cursed energy burst around him. It shimmered—then warped, distorting like bending glass.
His hand caught the curse's incoming strike—barely—and on reflex, his cursed energy mirrored the force.
The curse flew back, stunned by its own redirected strength.
But Riku nearly collapsed. "Shit. That took a ton of energy…"
Still, he laughed. It was working. Not fully, not cleanly—but it was there.
'Mirrorbound Domain… it's not just reflection. It's absorption. Redirection. Turning every enemy's strength into a weakness.'
He steadied himself.
"Let's go."
The curse charged again.
Riku dodged, ducked, redirected—a wild blur of blocks, kicks, counter-strikes.
Every time he tried to activate the technique, it flickered. Half-reflections. Off-angles. Fragmented mirroring.
But with each use—it got sharper. Tighter.
Their battle spilled into chaos. Trees were obliterated. The ground cratered. The air vibrated with clashing cursed energy.
Riku's movements got more fluid. More precise.
The curse fired a projectile again.
Riku moved like glass—and the blast bent mid-air, redirected into a tree, which exploded.
He panted, grinning. "There it is…"
But the curse roared—wounded, furious, and afraid.
It began charging a massive final attack, a corrupted orb of cursed energy growing in its palms.
Riku watched, eyes burning with purpose. His body trembled, barely standing.
He breathed out.
"Alright… let's see if I can really pull this off."
The curse fired.
Riku raised his hand.
Mirrorbound shimmered into place.
The cursed blast hit—and the world shattered into light.
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Cliffhanger chan.
Did I pull the cursed technique out my ass....yes no shit.
Anyways what do you guys count as "really suffering"