Everything would end here

[What regrets did I still have in life?

Probably none.

It was late at night, beneath a sky that had yet to see dawn, with all lingering wishes laid to rest.

The winds of the past could not sweep away the road ahead, nor could I walk beyond the agony of death and choice.

Perhaps even regret, even pain and sorrow, would slowly fade once everything had ended.

Jujutsu High, dawn, transmigration, assimilation, the past, what came after-none of it would matter anymore.

An ending, compromise, surrender, letting sorrow and pain course through my body together.

Some things were destined to be difficult to persist in; some pain was destined to be unbearable.

Please do not grieve for me. My story has already ended, and yours has only just begun. Our choices all have meaning. Meeting you was the greatest honor of my life.

That is all. I do not look forward to our reunion.]

After taking Suguru Geto back to his dorm, I wandered through Jujutsu High alone, taking stock of every blade of grass and every tree around me, gazing up toward the approaching dawn.

It was still summer. I was not particularly fond of this weather, but if I had to choose between it and the bitter depths of winter, perhaps weather like this was not so bad.

I had already changed back into the outfit I had arrived in. Looking closely, I did have something of my old bearing.

Tomorrow was the last day of the five years. I might as well hand over the page early.

With that thought, I disregarded my hangover entirely, got into a car, and raced all the way to Toji Zenin's front door. He had clearly expected an enemy attack, only to look stunned when he discovered it was me.

"Toji, long time no see."

"What brings you here in the middle of the night, boss?"

"I came to keep my promise."

With a faint smile, I took the already torn-out page from the Book and waved it in front of Toji Zenin.

"Do one last thing for me, Toji Zenin."

I was still smiling, my lips curving faintly, my heterochromic brown eyes filled with warmth. Yet a terrifying chill radiated from my entire body, creating a stark contrast.

"As you wish."

"I remember you recorded our conversations before, didn't you? Don't bother denying it. I know you still have a backup. Send that backup to Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo in three days."

"...All right."

Having received the answer I wanted, I casually tossed the sheet of paper to Toji Zenin and gazed at the sky, which had slowly begun to brighten as time passed. Who knew what I was thinking.

Toji Zenin remained professional. Since I said nothing, he asked nothing, simply standing quietly behind me before turning and going home in silence after I left.

But I had no intention of returning to the school either. I flipped through the Book, now missing a page, and quietly set off for the Jujutsu Higher-Ups.

Nearly half the Jujutsu Higher-Ups were already my people. I had spent five years laying my plans. Now that this day had arrived, it was time to bring everything to an end.

With a faint smile, I looked at the wide-open entrance and the higher-ups bowing and scraping before me, then calmly walked upstairs.

"Dazai? Is something the matter?"

"Kenjaku, it's time this ended."

I still wore that faint smile as I watched the man with stitches across his forehead kneel before me, seemingly waiting for something.

"Dazai, what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

I sat before him, gentle and composed, watching the barrier slowly spread around us until the man in front of me could no longer escape.

"Dazai, can you tell me what you intend to do?"

"Ah, well, I want to burn you to nothing right here. With No Longer Human, everything becomes so much easier."

I spoke with complete indifference, watching the great blaze sweep toward us, watching the creaking wooden floor burn away bit by bit.

Most of those stationed here with the Jujutsu Higher-Ups were my people. They had already listened to what I said and left ahead of time.

As for the rest? Why not stay here with me?

I still smiled faintly, utterly unbothered by my impending death. Instead, I felt as though I was finally being set free.

They said most people who died in fires were not actually burned to death. I had simply never encountered the scene of a fire myself-unless, of course, I had started it.

Today was the date I had chosen years ago. A summer day that was not quite so hot, the day after the anniversary of their deaths, the day all my plans should finally fall into place.

A fine choice.

The flames slowly spread toward us. He could not leave, and I had never intended to. There were always things that could burn everything to nothing. There was nothing wrong with leaving my corpse here.

If I had to explain, my original plan had been to jump off a building. Later, I no longer felt quite so inclined.

I was terribly afraid of pain, so I could simply slit my throat after Kenjaku died.

Unfortunately, I still had not managed to develop a drug for painless suicide. Why, then, did this world have no euthanasia?

I did not really understand. I stared straight at everything before me, calmly waiting for the end this life should have.

I had left Nozomu Sakai's and Sōsuke Mizukawa's remains in their respective hometowns, even though I did not know whether they wanted to go home.

Still, fallen leaves returned to their roots. Dying without even being able to remain in your hometown was probably something worth grieving over.

Nozomu Sakai had entered Jujutsu Society with nothing but reckless courage, only to die in his third year at Jujutsu High. After he vanished without a trace, his family searched for him almost frantically, only to learn that their child was dead and that there were not even any ashes left.

Teacher Yaga had originally thought they would make a scene. In the end, they accepted everything calmly, but the look in their eyes spoke all too clearly of what they felt.

Sōsuke Mizukawa no longer had any family. His body lay in his family's ancestral burial ground. Although they were only a small family, the graves had been fairly easy to locate. Their ancestors had once been wealthy, after all, and the graves were reasonably well built.

Miss Riko Amanai had sent me a message two days earlier, saying that she and Misato Kuroi were doing well together and planned to travel all around the country, so I need not worry about her.

The cursed spirit that had caused Yu Haibara's death had already been completely exorcised. As one of my only two students in this world, he should keep living well.

In short, I truly had no regrets left. None.

But would Teacher Yaga be sad if I died?

No, Teacher Yaga should be happy for me!

I had pursued death for so, so long. So, so long. If I finally achieved it, Teacher Yaga would surely be happy for me.

And I had already sealed Sukuna's Finger completely inside the Book. Nullification would destroy it along with the Book, and then everything could end.

Let me embrace this absolutely eternal death!

Time crept onward with the choking fumes. Drowsiness overtook me as I struggled to keep my back straight, staring blankly at the curtains before me, already consumed by the blaze.

The flames would reach me soon. I should kill myself before they did.

With that thought, I took the gun out of my pocket.

It was a gun Nozomu Sakai and Sōsuke Mizukawa had once given me. Unfortunately, the jujutsu imbued in it could never affect me. Of course, that did not stop the gun from being able to kill me.

Really, thinking it over one last time, a single fatal shot was still the better choice. Slitting my throat with a knife would leave me suffocating. If that was the case, how was it any different from simply choking to death on smoke?

With that thought, I smiled faintly at Kenjaku's motionless body before me, and at Kenjaku himself, whose survival was uncertain.

It did not matter. With Tengen's barrier, nothing could get out as long as even one living thing remained alive inside.

That practically made this another Gojo cat carrier... No, another Prison Realm.

Well, that was good too. If I burned straight to ashes, no one would have to worry about collecting my body.

In a daze, I silently looked at the gun in my hand, then aimed it at my heart.

A gunshot rang out. Blood slowly drained away, followed by a sudden stab of pain. Then all the pain vanished, and I slumped to the floor in a haze.

The flames overhead flickered, and I could barely keep my eyes open. Brain seemed to want to take over my body, but barring any surprises, I was being cremated on the spot. If he wanted to possess my body, he should think again.

Besides, what I possessed was No Longer Human. Back in my original world, it would probably have produced a perfect singularity.

The flames were still destroying everything, but I sank into a world where my life flashed before my eyes.

After all, to be safe, I had even used someone else to write in the Book. "Osamu Dazai and Kenjaku perish together"-a single short line, yet it had to be expanded into an entire story. What a nuisance.

But it did not matter. My wish had already come true.

And in that hazy moment, I seemed to return to the days of my past.

Trading barbs with a certain Little Dark Midget, then obtaining the Book and doing whatever it took to become the boss, only to transmigrate into this inexplicable world just after taking over.

Why did I keep feeling as though I had forgotten something?

What exactly had I forgotten?

I clutched the Book tightly, and for the first time, confusion appeared in my heterochromic brown eyes.

It seemed I had forgotten some very important people. It seemed they were something I had never wanted to forget. But what exactly were they?

In my daze, I struggled to remember, only to find that no matter how hard I tried, I could not clearly recall the figures behind those hurried moments.

I could not see my past. That was not right. Ah, I was Osamu Dazai.

My former name was Shūji Tsushima. After leaving home, I had always used the name Osamu Dazai. I had not forgotten anything. I was the former boss of the Port Mafia, and now I was an ordinary teacher at Jujutsu High.

Was that right? Probably.

Who was I, really?

Osamu Dazai, probably.