Meanwhile,

Just as the two current peaks of this world were about to clash under the watchful eyes of the entire world, Yuta who was currently far away at the Aoyama Cemetery had no idea about any of this as he was completely cut off from the outside world undergoing a complete transformation.

This transformation first began with his immense reserves of cursed energy which quickly transformed into a neutral/chaotic energy that was of higher quality and potential.

Then, the transformation started touching upon his cursed technique 'Copy', and his accompanying cursed Spirit Rika.

So, starting with Rika who usually acts as Yuta's storage for cursed techniques, cursed tools, and even as a huge external reserve of cursed energy.

She silently disappeared getting absorbed back into the core of Yuta's cursed technique which also started mutating the moment this happened.

Moreover, things weren't only limited to this as the disappearance of Rika also caused its huge reserves of cursed energy to get absorbed back by Yuta causing his already immense energy levels to reach even higher heights.

However, Yuta couldn't care much about this right now as he was currently trying to determine the changes that had occurred to his ability.

'Amazing!!'

'All limitations are removed, I can now copy and use any ability I lay my eyes on.'

'Moreover, there is also a higher level of copying called paste which allows me to make the copied abilities truly mine by [pasting] this ability into my body.'

'Additionally, I can even paste this ability into other people's bodies, however, there is a limit to the number of times I can do this be it to myself or to others.'

Scanning through his newly optimized ability trying to find and analyze any details he might have missed, a smile couldn't help but appear on Yuta's face as he finally judged that there were no hidden restrictions.

Determining this, the excitement on Yuta's face became more and more apparent as from this moment on, he is no longer limited to only using his full power for 5 minutes, now, he can use it for as long as his energy reserves allow him to.

However, it's a pity that nothing is perfect in this world as when there are advantages, there are drawbacks, and in this situation, that would be the disappearance of his accompanying cursed spirit, Rika.

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Thinking of this, Yuta immediately fell silent, the joyful look on his face subsiding quickly.

'Goodbye, my friend.'

Bidding farewell to it, Yuta felt a sense of melancholy; After all, even though the real Rika was back, this didn't mean that he didn't feel somewhat nostalgic toward the 'cursed spirit Rika' who fought alongside him for a very long period of time; He still felt somewhat reluctant losing it.

However, Yuta quickly suppressed these feelings as he knew that he didn't have much time left before Sukuna gets unsealed.

'He might get freed at any moment, so I have to be quick.'

'It's just that while my new ability [Copy & Paste] is very powerful and my energy became higher in quality which in turn increased my output and attack power, I actually lost my domain expansion which is also another drawback of switching between power systems.'

'From the information feedback that I got, Domain Expansion conflicts with the 3rd stage of this power system causing it to be unable to be used.'

'Moreover, Domain Expansion is based on one's innate ability/cursed technique, so, if this were to change like what happened to me, the Domain Expansion would also logically become unusable.'

'So, if I want to use it, I have to reach the [Outer Dream] level of this power system, however, I might not be able to achieve this in such a short period of time.'

Gritting his teeth, Yuta felt conflicted between trying to forcefully reach higher levels as quickly as possible to make his chances higher and between going out quickly so as to not get attacked by Sukuna if he were to get unsealed before he finished his practice.

'I should just...'

However, before Yuta could finish making his decision, a voice suddenly sounded directly into his soul causing him to freeze in shock.

"If you are worried about Sukuna, then you don't have to! I've made it so that he will only get unsealed once you finish your practice."

Hearing this, Yuta's eyes shrank for a moment before finally restoring his calm as he recognized the voice.

"Lorien!"

"Please note that this is a recorded message, I am not actually speaking to you."

"Huh?"

"Additionally, please note that the time here unfolds differently from the outside world, no matter how long you stay here, it'll only be a moment outside, so take your time!"

"..."

Hearing this, Yuta didn't know what to make of the situation as he was still confused by everything that was happening.

However, after reacting and analyzing everything that was said, Yuta couldn't help but release a sigh of relief knowing that this was the best possible turn of events.

So, not wasting any time, Yuta quickly restored his focus trying to reach the [Outer Dream] stage as quickly as possible.

"Wait for me, I'll protect everyone..."

-

However, just as Yuta's heart was filled with a sense of guardianship wanting to protect everyone, an entirely different and opposing emotion was currently unleashed kilometers away from this position.

There at the origin of this emotion, a young woman with a tall athletic build and long dark green hair could be seen standing in front of a huge old-looking household that looked like it was composed of several interconnected buildings for housing people and included several areas for meetings, training, and storage.

Standing there, the young woman clenched the sword she was holding a slight feeling of hesitation gracing her heart.

"Does this actually mean anything..."