As Sukuna in Invincible-Chapter 53: The Beginning of the End

The abandoned GDA facility lay in ruins, its once-pristine laboratories now a twisted maze of collapsed walls and shattered equipment.

Deep within this desolation, in a reinforced chamber that had somehow survived the structural collapse, Mad Levy hung suspended in a web of his own dimensional energy - a sickly green cocoon that pulsed erratically with each labored breath.

His body was a wreck.

Dehydration had hollowed his cheeks and sunken his eyes, while hunger had stripped away what little fat he'd possessed, leaving only wiry muscle clinging desperately to his frame.

The wounds he'd sustained during his escape attempt had festered, angry red lines streaking from them like lightning across his pale skin.

By all medical logic, he should have been dead days ago.

Only the dimensional energy flowing through him - the same power that had driven him to madness - now kept him alive, sustaining his vital functions through sheer metaphysical force.

"Water," he croaked to the empty room, his cracked lips barely able to form the word. "Please... water..."

As if in answer to his plea, the air before him shimmered, reality folding in on itself as a dimensional tear formed.

Through this rift stepped a figure Mad Levy recognized even through his delirium - another version of himself, but changed, scarred, with exposed brain tissue visible through a cracked skull.

"Look at you," Scarred Levy said, his voice a mixture of disgust and pity. "Pathetic."

Mad Levy attempted to laugh, the sound emerging as a wet, rattling cough. "Brother," he managed. "You... came."

"Not by choice," Scarred Levy replied, approaching cautiously. His exposed brain pulsed with green energy as he assessed the situation.

"The dimensional barriers are collapsing. All versions of us are being drawn together. It was only a matter of time before I found you."

"Sukuna," Mad Levy whispered, his eyes rolling wildly. "Did you see him? The King of Curses. The destroyer of worlds. He's here, in this reality. Just as I foresaw."

Scarred Levy's expression darkened. "Your obsession with this 'Sukuna' has caused nothing but chaos. Do you realize what you've done? The dimensional merger is accelerating beyond control. Entire realities are collapsing into one another."

"Good," Mad Levy hissed, a manic grin splitting his cracked lips. "Let them fall. Let everything burn. As long as he burns with it."

Scarred Levy studied his counterpart for a long moment, then sighed—a sound of resignation rather than sympathy. "I understand revenge," he said finally. "Better than most. But this... this goes beyond vengeance. This is madness."

"Is it madness to want to stop a monster?" Mad Levy asked, his voice suddenly stronger, more lucid.

"You haven't seen what I've seen, brother. The worlds he's devoured. The lives he's destroyed. The pleasure he takes in suffering."

"And yet, here you are," Scarred Levy observed, "suffering. Dying. While he remains free."

Mad Levy's eyes focused suddenly, a moment of clarity piercing through his delirium. "Not for long," he whispered.

"The trap is set. The bait is taken. When the dimensional barriers fully collapse, when only one version of each being can remain... he will face judgment."

Scarred Levy shook his head, but extended his hand nonetheless. "Come. This place is no longer safe. The GDA will return eventually, and in your condition, you won't survive another interrogation."

With surprising gentleness, he helped Mad Levy disentangle himself from the web of dimensional energy, supporting his emaciated frame as they moved toward the portal.

"Where... where are we going?" Mad Levy asked, his momentary lucidity already fading.

"Somewhere to recover your strength," Scarred Levy replied. "And then... then we'll discuss what comes next."

"The King of Curses must fall," Mad Levy insisted, his voice fading as they approached the dimensional tear. "Promise me, brother. Promise me he will pay for what he's done."

Scarred Levy paused at the threshold of the portal, looking back at the ruined facility. "I promise you this," he said carefully.

"When the dimensions settle, when the dust clears... only one version of each being will remain. Who that will be... that's what we're going to ensure."

Together, the two versions of Angstrom Levy stepped through the portal, which sealed behind them with a sound like tearing fabric, leaving only silence in the abandoned chamber.

------------------------

Miles away, in what had once been a thriving commercial district but now resembled a war zone, Sukuna stood facing the third and final version of himself to appear in this merged reality.

Unlike the Shibuya Sukuna who had possessed Yuji Itadori, or the Yukuna who had inhabited Yuta Okkotsu's body, this version appeared in his original form—the legendary King of Curses from Japan's Heian Era.

Heian Sukuna was magnificent in his terrifying splendor - four arms, each ending in clawed fingers; skin adorned with intricate patterns; four eyes that burned with ancient malevolence.

He wore traditional robes that somehow remained pristine despite the destruction surrounding them, and his very presence caused the air to distort with cursed energy.

Above Sukuna's head, Mahoraga's wheel spun silently, its metallic surface catching the last rays of the setting sun as it rotated with hypnotic regularity.

Neither combatant acknowledged it, yet its presence was significant - a silent witness to the confrontation between different versions of the same being.

"So," Heian Sukuna said, his voice carrying the weight of centuries of absolute power, "another fragment of myself, split across the dimensions. How... disappointing."

Sukuna regarded his counterpart with cool assessment. "Disappointing? Perhaps. But not surprising. The multiverse contains infinite variations, after all."

"Variations," Heian Sukuna repeated, contempt dripping from the word. "Is that what you consider yourself? A variation? A pale shadow of the true King of Curses?"

Without warning, he attacked, two of his arms extending to unleash Dismantle - invisible cutting force that sliced through the air toward Sukuna.

Sukuna didn't use cursed energy to counter. Instead, he relied on his newly integrated smart atoms, his body moving with impossible speed and precision to evade the attack.

He weaved between the invisible cutting forces and closed the distance between them with fluid grace.

Heian Sukuna's eyes widened in surprise as Sukuna delivered a devastating punch to his midsection - a purely physical attack that nonetheless sent him crashing through the remains of a nearby building.

"Impossible," Heian Sukuna growled as he emerged from the rubble, dust falling from his robes. "No mere physical attack should affect me to this degree."

"Perhaps your understanding of 'mere' is limited by your experience," Sukuna replied calmly, not bothering to pursue his advantage.

Heian Sukuna's face contorted with rage. "You dare mock me? I am Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses! Feared across Japan, worshipped as a god! Entire clans of sorcerers fell before me!"

"And yet here you stand," Sukuna observed, "shouting your accomplishments like a child seeking validation. Truly, the mighty have fallen."

With a roar of outrage, Heian Sukuna began to form his domain - Malevolent Shrine. Black lines started to spread outward from his position, reality itself beginning to warp as his innate domain attempted to manifest.

Before the domain could fully form, Sukuna moved with blinding speed, appearing directly before Heian Sukuna.

With a precise strike to his counterpart's chest, he disrupted the flow of cursed energy, causing the emerging domain to collapse before it could fully materialize.

"How?" Heian Sukuna demanded, genuine shock registering on his face. "No one can disrupt my domain formation! No one!"

"I am not 'no one,'" Sukuna replied. "I am you - evolved, refined, transcended. What you are, I was. What I am, you could never become."

"Sun's set," a new voice observed casually.

Both turned to see Emperor Mark descending from the darkening sky, his cape billowing behind him as he landed with precision on a chunk of broken concrete.

He surveyed the scene with calculated interest, his eyes lingering on the wheel spinning above Sukuna's head before shifting to Heian Sukuna.

"Another version?" Emperor Mark asked, addressing Sukuna. "You seem to have quite the collection of selves scattered across the multiverse, Megumi."

"Mark," Sukuna acknowledged, his posture relaxing slightly despite the potential threat. "Right on schedule."

Emperor Mark smiled - a genuine expression that held actual warmth when directed at Sukuna. "Hey, when have I ever been late for something important? Especially when it comes to getting you back." His gaze shifted back to Heian Sukuna.

"Though I gotta say, I'm kinda curious about this... primitive version of you. Is he giving you trouble?"

"Hardly," Sukuna replied. "He's merely a side show. An evolutionary dead end."

Heian Sukuna's rage was palpable, cursed energy swirling around him in violent patterns. "You speak to this human as an equal? You permit him such familiarity? Have you forgotten what you are - what WE are?"

"I haven't forgotten," Sukuna said quietly. "I've evolved. Something you, apparently, never managed to do."

"You're holding back," Emperor Mark observed, studying Sukuna with the practiced eye of someone who had witnessed his capabilities firsthand. "Why not just end this stupid show? Show him what you can really do."

"Patience has its virtues," Sukuna replied. "Some lessons are best learned slowly."

Emperor Mark laughed - a sound that contained genuine amusement. "Always the teacher, aren't you? Even when facing yourself. This is why I've missed you so damn much, Megumi. No one else gets the value of the lesson itself."

Their casual banter seemed to infuriate Heian Sukuna further. With a howl of rage, he launched himself at Sukuna, all four arms extended, cursed energy concentrated for a direct physical attack that would allow him to use Cleave.

Sukuna sidestepped the attack with contemptuous ease, delivering a precise strike to Heian Sukuna's back as he passed.

The blow sent his counterpart crashing into the ground, creating a crater in the already devastated street.

"Pathetic," Sukuna commented, watching as Heian Sukuna struggled to rise. "You rely too heavily on your cursed energy, on your reputation, on the fear you inspire.

But what are you, truly, without those crutches? Just another being clinging to power without purpose."

"Purpose?" Heian Sukuna spat, blood staining his perfect teeth. "What purpose does a god need beyond his own satisfaction? What meaning exists beyond power itself?"

"That," Sukuna said softly, "is precisely why you fail."

With blinding speed, he closed the distance between them, delivering a series of strikes so precise and powerful that Heian Sukuna had no chance to defend himself.

Each blow landed with devastating effect, targeting pressure points and energy meridians with immense accuracy.

Heian Sukuna collapsed to his knees, blood flowing from multiple wounds, his cursed energy fluctuating wildly as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"Impossible," he gasped, staring up at Sukuna with a mixture of rage and disbelief. "No mere physical attacks should affect me this way. My body is-"

"Vulnerable," Sukuna finished for him. "As all bodies are, when one understands their true nature."

With a final, decisive movement, Sukuna drove his fist directly into Heian Sukuna's chest. But this time, cursed energy flowed from his hand - not to destroy, but to extract.

Heian Sukuna's eyes widened in horror as he felt his own cursed energy being drawn out, pulled through the point of contact into Sukuna's body.

"What... what are you doing?" he managed, his voice weakening as his power drained away.

"Taking what I need," Sukuna replied calmly. "Your cursed energy will serve a greater purpose than you ever could."

As the transfer neared completion, Sukuna made a swift cutting motion with his free hand.

Twenty perfect incisions appeared on Heian Sukuna's arms, severing his fingers with surgical precision.

The digits fell to the ground, each one containing the cursed energy Sukuna had extracted.

"My... fingers," Heian Sukuna whispered, staring in disbelief at his mutilated hands. "My vessels... you're stealing my-"

"Not stealing," Sukuna corrected. "Repurposing."

As the last of the cursed energy left his body, Heian Sukuna's magnificent form began to wither. His skin lost its luster, the patterns fading like old tattoos.

His extra arms shriveled, retracting into his torso with sickening cracks of bone and sinew. His extra eyes clouded over, then sank into his skull, leaving empty sockets that wept blood.

"What... am I... becoming?" he gasped, his voice now barely audible.

"A weak, lifeless, pathetic human," Sukuna replied simply. "What you always feared most."

With a final, rattling breath, Heian Sukuna collapsed, his body continuing to deteriorate until only a withered husk remained - a mortal shell that had once housed a god, now empty of the power that had defined it.

Sukuna gathered the severed fingers, each one pulsing with cursed energy, and stored them within his own body through a technique that caused his skin to ripple and absorb them - a trick he learned from Mahoraga through the use of smart atoms.

Throughout the entire confrontation, the wheel above his head had continued to spin, its rotation neither slowing nor accelerating, its purpose still unrevealed.

"Damn, that was impressive," Emperor Mark commented, having watched the entire exchange with calculated interest. "Though I notice you didn't go four-armed mode on him. Saving your energy for our inevitable chat, maybe?"

Sukuna turned to face him fully, his expression revealing nothing of his thoughts. "Perhaps."

Emperor Mark's eyes narrowed, his tactical mind reassessing the situation. "No," he said slowly. "There's something else. That wheel above your head... it's been there since I got here. It's connected to whatever you're planning."

He took a step forward, his casual demeanor shifting to something more dangerous. "What are you up to, Megumi? What game are you playing?"

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"No game," Sukuna replied. "Merely ensuring survival in the face of dimensional collapse."

Emperor Mark's expression hardened. "My sentimentality has made me a fool," he said, his voice taking on a harder edge. "In my joy at finding you again, I momentarily forgot who you are - what you are.

The strategic genius who taught me to anticipate every possibility, to never leave an outcome to chance."

He took another step forward, his cape billowing in the wind that had begun to pick up as the dimensional energy in the sky intensified. "I'm sorry, my dear teacher. It was stupid of me to think you would just accept coming back to our world without looking for alternatives.

If anyone could find a way to resist me, to avoid returning home, it would be you."

Without warning, he moved - faster than most eyes could track, his body a blur as he closed the distance between them. Sukuna reacted instantly, meeting the charge with his own enhanced speed, their collision creating a shockwave that shattered windows for blocks around.

The battle that followed was a masterclass in superhuman combat.

Emperor Mark attacked with the practiced precision of someone who had conquered worlds, each strike calculated to disable rather than kill - holding back significantly.

Sukuna defended with equal skill, using his knowledge of martial arts and his newly enhanced physiology to counter the Emperor's superior strength.

Yet he did not transform into his four-armed state, despite the clear advantage it would provide. The wheel above his head continued its steady rotation, seemingly unaffected by the violence below.

"Why won't you transform?" Emperor Mark demanded as they grappled mid-air, their movements creating sonic booms that echoed across the devastated city. "Show me your true form, Megumi! Show me what you've become!"

"This is who I am," Sukuna replied, breaking the clinch with a technique that used Emperor Mark's own momentum against him. "Four arms or two, the essence remains the same."

They crashed back to earth, their impact creating twin craters in the already damaged street. Emperor Mark emerged first, his costume torn but his body unmarked.

"You're holding back," he accused, genuine hurt entering his voice for the first time. "After everything we've been through, everything I've done to find you... you still don't trust me."

Sukuna rose more slowly, blood trickling from a cut above his eye. Without his four-armed form, his regenerative capabilities were reduced, making the physical disparity between them more apparent.

"Trust has nothing to do with it," he replied calmly. "This is simply the most efficient approach to the current situation."

"Efficient," Emperor Mark repeated, a bitter smile touching his lips. "Always calculating, always three moves ahead. It's what made you such a perfect advisor, such a brilliant strategist." His expression softened. "Such an amazing friend."

Without warning, he lunged forward again, but this time his attack was different - not a strike but an embrace.

His arms wrapped around Sukuna with careful strength, pinning his arms to his sides in what appeared to be a hug but functioned as an inescapable restraint.

"Got you now," Emperor Mark whispered, his voice breaking slightly. "After all this time, all this searching... I've finally got you back."

To Sukuna's surprise, he felt wetness against his shoulder - tears, falling from the Emperor's eyes as he held him.

"You're so strong now," Emperor Mark continued, his grip tightening as Sukuna tested its limits. "So much stronger than before. It's amazing, Megumi. You've evolved beyond anything I could have imagined."

Despite his enhanced strength, Sukuna found himself unable to break the Emperor's hold. The Viltrumite's power was simply too great, his control too perfect.

"I had plans, you know," Emperor Mark said, his voice taking on an almost conversational tone despite the tears still flowing. "For when I found you. I was gonna keep you safe in the Imperial Palace, where no one could ever hurt you again.

Only Eve and I would be allowed to see you, to talk with you. The rest of the universe would have to live without your guidance, your wisdom."

His grip tightened further, causing Sukuna to wince as his ribs creaked under the pressure. "But now... now I see I don't need to worry about that. You're strong enough to protect yourself. Strong enough to stand at my side as we rule together, like it was always meant to be."

"Mark," Sukuna managed, his voice strained by the crushing embrace. "This isn't the way."

"It's the only way," Emperor Mark insisted, his tone hardening even as tears continued to fall.

"I lost you once. I won't lose you again. Not to death, not to dimensional collapse, not to your own stubborn independence. You're coming home with me, Megumi. Where you belong."

The wheel above Sukuna's head spun faster, its metallic surface catching the light of the dimensional energy that pulsed overhead with increasing intensity.

"I'm sorry," Sukuna said quietly. "But I have my own path to follow."

"NO!" Emperor Mark roared, his grief transforming instantly to rage. "You don't get to decide this time! You don't get to leave me again!"

His grip became punishing, threatening to crush Sukuna's ribcage despite his enhanced durability. The wheel spun faster still, its rotation now audible as a high-pitched whine that cut through the night air.

Just as it seemed Sukuna might be crushed by the Emperor's desperate embrace, a blast of pink energy struck Emperor Mark from behind.

The impact wasn't enough to harm him, but the surprise caused his grip to loosen momentarily - just enough for Sukuna to break free, rolling away with fluid grace.

"Get away from him!" Eve shouted, hovering above them, her hands glowing with concentrated molecular energy. Her expression was fierce, protective, her usual scientific detachment replaced by raw emotion.

Emperor Mark turned slowly, his eyes narrowing as he regarded the newcomer. "You," he said, recognition and contempt mingling in his voice. "The pale imitation. The unworthy version."

"I don't care what you think of me," Eve replied, descending to stand protectively in front of Sukuna. "But you're not taking him anywhere against his will."

Emperor Mark's laugh was cold, devoid of the warmth it had held earlier when speaking with Sukuna. "Against his will? You understand nothing. Megumi and I share a bond you couldn't possibly comprehend. A connection forged through years of shared vision, shared purpose."

"I understand enough," Eve countered, her hands still glowing with pink energy. "I understand that you're obsessed with a memory, with a version of Megumi that doesn't exist anymore - that maybe never existed except in your mind."

Emperor Mark's expression darkened dangerously. "You dare-"

"She's right," Sukuna interrupted, rising to his feet beside Eve. "The Megumi you knew is gone, Mark. Changed by time, by circumstance, by choice. Just as you have changed."

"No," Emperor Mark shook his head, denial written across his features. "No, I can see you - the real you - beneath whatever this world has done to you. My friend, my brother, my teacher. The one who showed me what true leadership could be."

"Perhaps that version of me did exist in your world," Sukuna acknowledged. "But I am not him. I cannot be him, no matter how much you wish it."

Emperor Mark's expression cycled through grief, rage, and finally settled on a cold determination. "It doesn't matter," he decided.

"When the merger completes, when only one version of each being remains... you'll remember. You'll understand. And until then, I'll keep you safe - whether you want my protection or not."

He moved again, this time targeting Eve - clearly intending to remove her from the equation before securing Sukuna. His speed was incredible, crossing the distance between them in a fraction of a second.

But Sukuna was ready. He intercepted the Emperor mid-charge, his body moving with precision that belied his earlier difficulty breaking free from the embrace. Their collision created another shockwave that sent debris flying in all directions.

"You would protect her?" Emperor Mark demanded, genuine hurt in his voice. "This... replacement? This inferior version of your true partner?"

"I would protect what is mine," Sukuna replied simply, his stance shifting to a more aggressive posture.

"As would I," Emperor Mark countered, his own stance mirroring Sukuna's. "And you, Megumi, have always been mine. My friend. My brother. My guide."

They clashed again, their movements too fast for ordinary human perception to track. Buildings shook from the force of their impacts, the ground cracking beneath their feet as they traded blows that would have shattered mountains.

Eve maintained her distance, looking for an opening to assist without getting caught in the crossfire. Her molecular control was precise, but against a being of Emperor Mark's caliber, a direct confrontation would be suicidal.

The battle carried them across the devastated commercial district, through abandoned buildings and across empty streets. Wherever they touched down, destruction followed - concrete pulverized, steel bent, glass shattered into dust.

Throughout it all, the wheel above Sukuna's head continued to spin, its rotation now so fast that it appeared as a solid disc of light rather than a spoked wheel.

"The wheel," Eve murmured to herself, her mind analyzing its purpose even amid the chaos. "It's related to his plan. It's been spinning since he returned from dealing with the other Sukuna variants."

She watched as Sukuna fought defensively, never transforming into his four-armed state despite the clear disadvantage he faced against Emperor Mark's overwhelming physical power.

"He's stalling," she realized suddenly. "Waiting for something to complete."

Emperor Mark seemed to reach the same conclusion. With a burst of speed that left a sonic boom in his wake, he disengaged from Sukuna and shot upward, aiming directly for the spinning wheel.

"NO!" Sukuna shouted, genuine alarm in his voice for the first time.

Too late. Emperor Mark's hand closed around the wheel, his fingers gripping the spinning metal with enough force to stop its rotation instantly.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a sound like shattering glass magnified a thousandfold, the wheel cracked.

Fractures spread across its surface like lightning, each one glowing with an inner light that seemed to intensify as it spread.

Until finally within the Mad Emperor's grip the Heavenly Wheel shattered into a thousand pieces.

"There, whatever you were planning has failed." the Emperor stated as he opened his palm and the pieces within it fell with the others to the ground.

Sukuna's expression seeing this turned into a seething rage.

"Now," Mark continued as he extended his hand, his face softening, the tear streaks still on his face, "Come back with me. You have nothing left you can do.

If you don't-" the Emperor began as he clenched his extended hand into a fist, "Then I will kill them all. I will raze this planet till only the dust remains and then you'll have no chocie but to return with grief rather than joy.

It will hurt me more than it will hurt you, but it will be necessary."

The Emperor spread his arms, "So, choose. Are you coming willingly, or do I have to take you with me kicking and screaming? Either way you're coming with, after all, don't forget, you made me The Strongest."

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(Author note: So! Mahoraga's wheel is broken! Is it permanent though? Of course not!

But I searched it up, nowhere was it stated that the Wheel of the General is indestructible, so this to me was a logical possibility.

So yeah, do tell me how you found it. What do you think will happen? Will Emperor Mark win? Cause that is a possibility, I am nothing if not unpredictable - sometimes at least. And I like Emperor Mark enough that he may get his W.

Well, I hope to see you all later,

Bye!)