Decision

Hours passed on the devastated Flaxan world.

The twin suns of this dimension had completed nearly a dozen rotations across the amber sky since the battle's conclusion, casting long shadows across the ruined landscape.

In the center of what had once been the governmental district, two figures sat in silence, their backs against a fallen pillar of purple stone.

Both were bloodied and exhausted, their bodies pushed beyond normal endurance, yet slowly recovering through vastly different means.

Nolan Grayson's Viltrumite physiology worked to knit his wounds, cellular regeneration gradually closing the countless lacerations that had penetrated his supposedly invulnerable skin.

Beside him, Megumi Fushiguro periodically channeled small amounts of cursed energy through his battered form, accelerating his own healing process.

Neither had spoken for some time, each lost in contemplation of what had transpired between them.

The battle had been more than physical - it had exposed truths both had been avoiding, questions neither wished to confront.

"We need to return to Earth," Megumi said finally, breaking the silence. "For us, it's been days here, but on Earth, barely hours have passed since the invasion began. The Guardians, the Teen Team - they'll still be dealing with the aftermath."

"Time dilation," Nolan nodded, wincing slightly at the movement. "One of the Flaxans' natural advantages. It's why they can rebuild and regroup so quickly between invasions. What might be years for them is only days on Earth."

"And for Viltrum?" Megumi asked, watching Nolan's expression carefully.

"Time is consistent there with Earth. Standard galactic measurement," Nolan's voice carried a hint of the academic he pretended to be on Earth.

"They'll expect my regular reports. If those cease, they'll investigate."

"How long?"

Nolan considered this. "Six months, perhaps a year. Viltrumite resources are stretched thin. They won't divert assets for a routine check without cause."

Megumi nodded, absorbing this information. "Then we have time. Not much, but some."

"Time for what, exactly?" Nolan asked, his tone carefully neutral. "I haven't agreed to anything."

"No," Megumi acknowledged. "But you haven't rejected the possibility either."

Another silence fell between them, punctuated only by the distant sounds of the few surviving Flaxans, scurrying through the ruins of their civilization.

"We'll need the Flaxans to create a portal," Megumi continued. "Neither of us has the ability to traverse dimensions independently."

Nolan laughed, a harsh sound that held no humor. "After what we've done to their world? They'll be more likely to hide than help."

"They're pragmatic," Megumi replied. "They'll understand that cooperation is preferable to further destruction."

The Viltrumite studied him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Perhaps you're right. Though neither of us is in condition to be particularly threatening at the moment."

"We don't need to threaten," Megumi said, pushing himself to his feet with visible effort. "Just persuade."

It took them nearly a day to locate a group of surviving Flaxans. The aliens had retreated to underground shelters, hiding from the catastrophic battle that had demolished their capital.

When Megumi and Nolan descended into one such shelter, the green-skinned beings cowered in terror, their goggled eyes wide with fear.

Nolan started to step forward, but Megumi placed a restraining hand on his arm. "Let me handle this," he said quietly. "You're the one who's been systematically destroying their world for the past several days."

The Viltrumite frowned but stepped back, allowing Megumi to approach the trembling aliens.

"We require passage back to Earth," Megumi stated, his voice calm but carrying authority. "Create a portal, and we will leave your world in peace."

One of the Flaxans, distinguished by more elaborate goggles and what appeared to be insignia of rank, chittered something in their language.

"They want assurances we won't return," Nolan translated, his knowledge of alien languages another benefit of his centuries of experience.

Megumi nodded. "Tell them they have my word. No further incursions to Earth, no further retribution from us."

As Nolan relayed this in the Flaxan language, the alien leader seemed skeptical, gesturing emphatically at the Viltrumite.

"He says my word means nothing," Nolan explained, a hint of dark amusement in his voice. "Given the circumstances, that's not unreasonable."

Megumi considered this, then stepped forward again. "Tell them that I defeated you," he said to Nolan. "That I am now the one who decides whether their world lives or dies."

Nolan's eyebrows rose slightly, but he translated the message. The effect was immediate - the Flaxans' chittering increased in volume and urgency, their gestures becoming more animated.

"They're discussing it," Nolan murmured. "The concept of someone defeating me seems to have made an impression."

After several hours of intense debate among themselves, the Flaxan leader approached cautiously, making a series of gestures toward what appeared to be a technological installation at the far end of the shelter.

"They'll create the portal," Nolan confirmed. "But they need time to prepare the equipment. Their primary dimensional gateway was destroyed in our... disagreement."

"How long?"

"Several hours, by their estimate. Which would be mere seconds on Earth."

Megumi nodded. "Then we wait."

They retreated to a corner of the shelter, maintaining enough distance from the Flaxans to allow the aliens to work without the constant terror of their presence.

As the green-skinned beings scurried about, connecting equipment and making adjustments to their technology, Nolan and Megumi resumed their conversation.

"You still haven't answered my question," Megumi said quietly. "About what happens when we return to Earth."

Nolan's expression hardened. "What would you have me do? Abandon my mission? Betray my people? Twenty years of preparation, discarded because of one battle?"

"One battle that proved you can be defeated," Megumi pointed out. "One battle that showed there are forces on Earth capable of challenging even Viltrumite power."

"You are an anomaly," Nolan countered. "A single individual with abilities that defy conventional understanding. The rest of humanity remains... inadequate."

"Mark isn't," Megumi said simply. "And he won't be the last. If my theory is correct, Earth represents not just one evolutionary path, but multiple. Physical, like the Viltrumites. Spiritual, like myself. Perhaps others we haven't yet identified."

Nolan fell silent, considering this. When he spoke again, his voice had lost some of its certainty. "Even if what you say is true, the Viltrum Empire won't simply abandon its plans for Earth. They'll send others."

"Then we prepare," Megumi replied. "We build defenses, train defenders, create alliances. With your knowledge of Viltrumite strategies and weaknesses, we'd have advantages no other world has had."

"You speak of betraying my people," Nolan reiterated, though his tone was more thoughtful than accusatory now.

"I speak of choosing your family," Megumi corrected. "The family you've built here, not the empire that sees you as merely a tool for expansion."

Nolan's eyes hardened again. "Debbie is-"

"Don't," Megumi interrupted, his voice suddenly sharp. "Don't say she's just a pet. Not again. Not when we both know it's a lie you tell yourself to make your mission palatable."

For a moment, it seemed Nolan might lash out again, his muscles tensing despite his injuries. But then, unexpectedly, the fight seemed to drain from him.

"Twenty years," he said quietly. "Twenty years I've lived among humans. Watched them, studied them, prepared for their eventual subjugation. And in that time..."

He trailed off, his gaze distant.

"In that time, you found things worth preserving," Megumi finished for him. "Worth protecting."

Nolan didn't confirm this verbally, but his silence was answer enough.

"Tell me about Viltrum," Megumi said, changing tactics. "Not the empire it is now, but what it was. Before the conquest, before the expansion."

Surprise flickered across Nolan's face at the unexpected question. "Why?"

"Because I want to understand what you're fighting for," Megumi replied simply. "What this mission really means to you."

Nolan studied him for a long moment, then began to speak, his voice taking on a quality Megumi hadn't heard before - something almost wistful.

"Viltrum was... magnificent once. A world of achievements, of art and science advancing in perfect harmony with physical perfection.

We didn't begin as conquerors. We were explorers, philosophers, builders of wonders."

His eyes grew distant, seeing not the ruined Flaxan shelter but memories of a world light-years away and centuries past.

"The Scourge Virus changed everything. Half our population, gone in months. The civil war that followed claimed more. What remained was... harder.

More focused on survival at any cost. Thragg's ascension to Grand Regent solidified the new direction - conquest as the path to restoration."

"And you believe in this path?" Megumi asked quietly.

Nolan's expression grew complex. "I was born after the change. Raised to be a warrior, a conqueror. It's all I've ever known."

"Until Earth," Megumi observed. "Until Debbie. Until Mark."

Another long silence fell between them, each lost in their own thoughts. Around them, the Flaxans continued their work, the dimensional portal gradually taking shape under their skilled manipulations.

"If I were to..." Nolan began, then stopped, recalibrating his words. "Hypothetically, if I were to consider an alternative to my mission, what would that look like? Practically speaking."

Megumi recognized the significance of the question - not a commitment, but an opening. A willingness to at least discuss possibilities.

"First, we'd need to address the immediate issue," he replied carefully. "The Guardians of the Globe. Your original plan involved eliminating them, correct?"

Nolan nodded reluctantly. "They represent the most organized defense Earth has. Without them, resistance would be fragmented, ineffective."

"Instead, they could become the core of Earth's defense against Viltrum," Megumi suggested.

"Trained with your knowledge of Viltrumite tactics, equipped with technology designed to counter your species' advantages."

"They wouldn't trust me," Nolan pointed out. "Not without explanation."

"Which brings us to the second point," Megumi continued. "The truth. Mark and Debbie deserve to know. All of it. Who you are, why you came to Earth, what choices you're facing now."

Nolan's expression darkened. "Debbie would never understand. She'd see only the deception, the years of lies."

"You underestimate her," Megumi countered. "She's stronger than you give her credit for. And she loves you - the real you, not just the cover identity you've maintained."

"And if she doesn't?" Nolan's voice carried a note of vulnerability that seemed alien coming from the powerful Viltrumite. "If she sees me as a monster?"

"Then that's her choice to make," Megumi said simply. "But hiding the truth from her is making that choice for her. Denying her agency in her own life."

Nolan fell silent again, absorbing this. When he spoke next, his voice was quieter. "And Mark?"

"Mark will struggle," Megumi acknowledged. "His world view will be shattered. But he's your son - Viltrumite and human both.

He has your strength and Debbie's compassion. Given time, he'll understand the complexity of your position."

"You seem very confident in your assessment of my family," Nolan observed, a hint of his usual dry humor returning.

"I've observed them," Megumi replied. "And I've observed you with them. The connection is real, Nolan.

Whatever you tell yourself about pets and temporary diversions, the bond you've formed with them is genuine."

Sukuna as he said this himself still felt a bit of... wonder at the words coming off his tongue. At trying to convince one so much alike to his previous self in view of love.

In his original life he himself was a person who quite believed in connection - especially the one of family,

yet being the tyrannical King of Curses for decades, having forgotten during it his first life made him believe any form of love worthless.

Weakness.

Yet...

'It is that brat again.' Sukuna thought to himself as he looked at the sky. 'Yorozu for all her words and attempt to make me understand love,

be it through connection, emotional or physical thinking me incapable of understanding love was foolish.

I always understood love. I never saw it as something valuable. As something worthy of possessing. But my loss proved otherwise.

Though I experienced it not physically, I read it - I know what I would have done, I saw the truth behind it.

And I am not fool enough to deny reality - to deny when I was wrong.'

Before Nolan could respond, the Flaxan leader approached cautiously, making a series of gestures toward the now-completed portal device.

"It's ready," Nolan translated, rising to his feet with visible effort. "They can open the gateway to Earth whenever we're prepared to depart."

Megumi stood as well, his movements equally strained. Both were still far from fully recovered, though their respective healing abilities had closed the worst of their wounds.

"Before we return," Megumi said, fixing Nolan with an intense gaze, "I need to know your decision. Not a commitment to every detail of what might come, but a direction. Are you with us, or against us?"

Nolan held his gaze for a long moment, the weight of centuries of conditioning and duty visible in his eyes. When he finally spoke, his voice was steady but quiet.

"I've spent twenty years on Earth, Megumi. I've watched humanity with the detached assessment of a Viltrumite officer, cataloging strengths and weaknesses, preparing for eventual conquest. But I've also..."

He paused, seemingly struggling with the admission.

"I've also lived among them. Built a life I never intended to value. Found... connections I never expected to form."

Another pause, longer this time.

"I don't know if Earth can stand against Viltrum. I don't know if I can betray everything I was raised to believe. But I do know that I'm not ready to destroy what I've built there. Not yet. Perhaps not ever."

It wasn't a complete commitment, but it was honest - and for now, it was enough.

Megumi nodded. "Then we return together. And we face what comes next together."

The Flaxan leader, sensing they had reached a decision, activated the portal device.

A swirling vortex of green energy formed in the center of the installation, identical to the gateways that had opened above Earth during the invasion.

As they approached the portal, Nolan spoke again. "When we return, Mark will have questions.

About what happened, about why I entered the Flaxan dimension, about why we're returning together injured like this."

"We tell him the truth," Megumi replied. "Or at least, the beginning of it. That we encountered each other here, fought the Flaxans together, and found common ground.

The rest can come later, when you're ready to have that conversation with him and Debbie."

Nolan considered this, then nodded slowly. "A partial truth, then. For now."

"For now," Megumi agreed.

They stood before the swirling portal, two beings of immense power who had fought each other to a standstill and emerged with an understanding neither had anticipated.

"After you," Nolan said, gesturing toward the gateway with a slight nod of respect.

And so Sukuna stepped through, with Nolan soon following after him.

The Conqueror has submitted to the King.

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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter!

Do tell me how you found it.

I hope to see you all later,

Bye!)