JJK: Red Priest Pathway

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"I'm going to make every person in this world a sorcerer."

The words, though short, felt like they stretched on forever. They lingered in the air, as if needing extra time to break through reality and reach Maki.

Her gaze didn't waver. She kept her eyes locked on mine — steady, almost unreadable. But to say she was calm would be a lie. I knew her too well for that. She was a master at controlling her body down to the smallest detail, but even my trained eye caught the subtle tells. A slight tension in her shoulders, a small twitch of her ears, the tightness around her nose... But more than anything, her eyes — they narrowed, just for a second, in a way that could only mean one thing: danger.

She was surprised. No — more than that. She was rattled. Maki wasn't the type to hold back her anger when it hit, and if she was staying quiet, it meant she was holding on by a thread.

Suddenly, she turned sharply, and the tension between us seemed to flow into her movement. She walked away, stopping only when she reached the edge of the rooftop. One hand resting on her hip, the other brushing her hair back as she took a deep breath. From this angle, bathed in the soft glow of the city lights, she looked like part of the skyline itself — cold, distant, and unyielding. The sky was clear, with only a few scattered clouds, and the moon hung high above, casting a gentle light over the rooftops and streets below.

"And when exactly were you planning to tell me?" Maki finally spoke, glancing back at me over her shoulder.

Her voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it, sharp like a blade, ready to cut through whatever excuse I might offer. She was waiting for an answer.

And that's when everything inside me flipped upside down. How was I supposed to tell her the truth? How could I explain something I couldn't even fully accept myself? Every time the thought surfaced, I buried it deep, too terrified to admit it even to myself. How could I confess to anyone what I was planning?

I was stuck. I knew the path I'd chosen would make me the villain. Just another villain, ready to throw the world into chaos for my own selfish reasons. Turning everyone into sorcerers seemed like the only logical solution to me. But explaining that to Maki? To anyone? I wasn't some delusional maniac who thought this was the only way. I knew no one would accept what I'd set out to do.

I stood there, feeling like I was teetering on the edge of a cliff, with no idea what to say. My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, all of them tormenting me. No matter what excuse I tried to conjure up, it all sounded weak. It wasn't Maki cornering me — it was me, cornering myself.

Finally, I made a choice. Standing here in silence wouldn't get me anywhere. This was it. I could either lose her forever or take the plunge — tell her the truth, no matter how bitter, and hope that it would be enough to keep her by my side.

"I've thought about this for a long time, Maki," I began, trying to gather my thoughts. "Every time I imagined telling you what I'm planning, I stopped. Every time, it felt like I was going too far, like I was losing myself…"

She kept her eyes on me, not saying a word, but her gaze pierced through me. Maki was always like that — when something serious came up, she'd never let you escape. And this was definitely one of those moments.

"I know it sounds insane. Turning every person in the world into a sorcerer... it sounds like some cheap villain plot. But I really believe it's the only way to change this world. Our world — the one we, as sorcerers, live in. And the rest of the world — the one that doesn't even know cursed energy exists. I know it'll lead to chaos. I know the consequences could be catastrophic. But isn't the way things are now already awful?"

The words flowed out of me, like I'd been holding them back for too long. I couldn't stop anymore.

"I knew none of you would accept this path… That's why, to answer your question — I don't know when I would've told you. Honestly, I was afraid of this. I tried not to think about it. I mean, this isn't just a little disagreement about what movie to watch."

The silence between us felt heavy. Even the wind seemed to have paused, like everything around us was waiting to see what would happen next. We stood there, locked in each other's gaze. Maki didn't blink. Her eyes — dark, deep shadows — bored into mine, but there was no judgment in them. No anger, no rage. Just… something else. The silence, thick and heavy, felt both torturous and strangely freeing. It was like, finally, I'd let myself be honest, but at the same time, I knew there was no turning back now.

Maki was the one to break the silence. Her voice was barely above a whisper, cutting through the tension:

"What surprises me most is that you still manage to crack jokes at a time like this."

She looked me up and down, like she was trying to spot something she'd missed before. Her eyes were cold, but there was a flicker of warmth in them, too. Something in her gaze made me feel exposed, but instead of backing down or putting up my usual walls, I did what I always do.

I smirked, tilting my head slightly, as if this was just another ridiculous moment I could brush off. A thought crossed my mind — maybe this was my defense mechanism, my way of laughing even in the face of something deadly serious. But hell, hadn't it always worked before?

"No point in crying over it," I shrugged, trying to seem as casual as possible.

Maki's frown deepened, her gaze heavy like a hammer about to fall. And honestly? I was ready for the blow.

"You realize how many deaths this will cause, don't you?" Her voice was sharp, yet restrained, like a blade held back but ready to strike.

For a moment, I froze. I could have made excuses, tried to sidestep the question, but hadn't I promised to be honest?

"Yes," I replied, without breaking eye contact.

She hesitated, as if weighing my words, not quite believing I had just agreed so easily.

"And you're okay with that?" Her voice grew colder, like a biting wind cutting to the bone.

I stayed silent for a moment. Inside, everything was spinning. I knew it was harsh. I knew that many — no, almost everyone — would never accept my decision. My plan would destroy the lives and futures of billions. But when you have a goal like this, when you see the world so differently from everyone else, you have to make choices that others would find unbearable.

"Change, especially on this scale, has never come easily or peacefully," I said calmly, as if we weren't talking about the fate of the world but something as mundane as everyday matters.

Maki clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white with tension. But her face stayed composed, a mask of control as she fought to balance understanding and fury.

"This isn't just change," she stepped closer, her voice quiet but carrying a dangerous edge. "This will be the destruction of the world as we know it. Do you really think this will fix everything? Make things better?"

I stepped forward too, closing the gap between us, feeling the tension between us fuse into something palpable.

"This won't make the world better, Maki," I said, locking eyes with her. "The world has never been, and never will be, a 'better' place. But at the very least, I'll rid it of curses. At most, I'll give humanity a chance to start over."

"You sound like one of the villains we usually take down," she said with a faint smile, though her eyes were filled with pain.

"Maybe I am," I said, holding her gaze. "We all have our reasons. I can't just ignore what I see. I can't stand by, knowing that things can be changed."

"Even if it costs thousands of lives?" Her voice rose, almost furious. "You want to be the one who decides who lives and who dies?"

My heart skipped a beat.

"I don't want that. If there was another way, one where no one had to die, I'd take it. But sometimes... that choice doesn't exist."

Her eyes flared with anger, but she quickly regained control. Maki had always been strong, even when everything seemed to be falling apart.

"And the option of not killing everyone doesn't work for you?" she asked, her voice quiet but laced with that cold steel she always carried inside.

"And what? Keep living like this?" I took another step toward her, feeling the tension between us intensify. "We exorcise curses year after year, and it never ends. Every year, we lose comrades — burning their bodies, those who never got the chance to live a full life. We bury the ones who never saw their families again, who never found happiness, who never got to live another day. We lose people who might've been born to change the world, but died before they even had a chance. And it just keeps going, over and over."

Maki clenched her fists, her gaze burning into me.

"That's our burden. The burden every sorcerer bears from birth. Why do you think you're the exception? What makes you think you can change what's been our way for centuries?" Her words came out as a challenge, but beneath the surface, I could hear the confusion, not just anger.

I smirked slightly, tilting my head, but inside, I was boiling.

"Funny. You keep saying I'll kill thousands… hundreds of thousands," I began, struggling to keep my voice steady, "but all I really want is to give people the power to control cursed energy. If they start killing each other because of it, then does this world even deserve to be saved? If this world is so greedy, so cruel, that people turn into monsters, what's the point in protecting it? If they lose themselves in the power I give them, how are they any different from the curses we fight?" I locked my gaze with hers, refusing to back down.

The silence between us was suffocating, heavy like a blanket of thick fog. I could see Maki wrestling with herself, trying to find an answer that wouldn't shatter her world.

"I never wanted people to die… That's why I started all of this," my voice wavered, but I forced myself to continue. "Do you know how many sorcerers I've personally known who've died since I started exorcising curses? No? I'll tell you. Seventeen. Sixteen of them didn't die of natural causes. They gave their lives fighting something we might've been able to prevent. Every single one of them could have lived. But they didn't. And I'm tired, Maki. Tired of losing people. Tired of watching this world break those who never even had a chance to grow strong."

I fell silent. The words lingered in the air like bitter, unspoken thoughts, each one heavier than the last.

"If you had the chance to put out every fire forever, to eliminate crime as a concept, wouldn't you take it?" I asked, locking eyes with her. "Wouldn't that be worth it?"

Maki narrowed her eyes, something dark flickering behind them, but she didn't back down.

"And at what cost? How many lives will that take? What will happen to the arsonists and criminals when they get their hands on this new power? How will the world change when everyone can wield cursed energy? Do you even realize the kind of war that could erupt when anyone with bad intentions gains access to that kind of power?" Her voice cracked like a whip, sharp and biting, but beneath it, I could hear the real worry.

I took a deep breath, feeling the tension rise, but I kept my voice steady.

"And how much stronger do you think the ones who protect order will become? How much safer will the world be with people like Mechamaru and Satoru standing guard if everyone has access to cursed energy? You think the real threat to humanity is a war with cursed energy? No, the real threat is nuclear weapons. All I'm suggesting is giving people a tool that can make the world better. In the end, it's about balance."

Maki's lips pressed into a tight line, her breathing quickening as if she was struggling to hold back the emotions threatening to break through.

"Why? Why did it have to be you I fell in love with?!" she burst out, her voice full of raw, conflicting emotions — anger, frustration, and something deeper, maybe even love.

I looked at her for a long moment, then shifted my gaze to the dark sky, scattered with stars.

"I've been asking myself the same question," I replied softly, almost as if I was speaking to the stars themselves.