With that intent firmly rooted in his heart, Rian raised both hands and pressed his palms together, forming a hand seal — a symbolic oath for the technique he was about to use.
In an instant, the space around his body began to bend and flicker faintly — a subtle distortion, the telltale sign of Blue, the signature power of the Limitless technique.
Yet, Rian wasn't using it for offense or defense.
With composed elegance, he established a spatial convergence point — a fixed coordinate he had marked beforehand: his private apartment in Kuoh City.
Then, Rian compressed the space between himself and that destination, pulling the two points of the dimension into a single invisible line. The result? Distance ceased to exist.
In a flash, Rian's figure vanished completely — erased from where he stood.
The air fell silent once more, leaving behind only a faint trace of spatial pressure, the lingering residue of distortion… detectable only by someone like Gojo Satoru himself.
Though Limitless had only recently been listed among Rian's abilities, in truth, advanced techniques like Blue — let alone Red — were still beyond his formal reach.
Using an advanced technique like long-range teleportation based on Blue was, technically speaking, something he shouldn't have been able to do yet.
However, Rian had found an alternative. He had experienced interdimensional teleportation more than once — crossing worlds separated by distances far beyond what any local teleportation could ever reach.
And that alone was enough for his Six Eyes to record and analyze how it worked.
Simply put, Rian used his experiences of inter-world travel as a foundational reference to reconstruct the teleportation mechanism of Blue.
He understood the rhythm of space, the convergence points, and how the body could synchronize and dissolve into the structure of a dimension.
Since the technique wasn't officially sanctioned or recognized by the system, Rian created a binding mechanism of his own: a special hand seal, formed as a personal vow.
It was both a physical and spiritual commitment — a stabilizing anchor for a technique that had yet to be perfected.
In the principles of Jujutsu Kaisen, a Binding Vow is a contract made by a jujutsu sorcerer, either with themselves or with another entity.
Its purpose is to impose a restriction or sacrifice — one that, in turn, grants greater power as compensation.
The greater the risk or limitation set within the vow, the greater the power or benefit gained in return.
In Rian's case, the Binding Vow was used to stabilize his premature teleportation technique — with the restriction that he could only use it to travel to pre-marked locations, such as his own apartment.
***
Kuoh Academy.
The sun stood high in the sky, directly overhead, casting a warm golden light across the school grounds.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees lining the field, creating a peaceful yet lively atmosphere.
It was lunchtime.
Students filled every corner of the academy — some sat on benches in the garden, enjoying their lunch with friends, while others gathered in the cafeteria, forming long lines amidst cheerful chatter and laughter.
On the other side, the sports field echoed with the sound of footsteps and shouts — a group of boys played soccer, while the girls strolled leisurely or sat reading under the shade.
The midday air wasn't too hot; it was cool and fresh, perfect for relaxing.
Kuoh Academy felt alive and serene under the afternoon sun.
Beneath the shade of a large tree, not far from an old building that still stood firm despite its worn appearance, Rian could be seen lounging casually on one of its branches.
Rian leaned back, his left arm serving as a pillow behind his head while his right hand held a piece of bread he slowly enjoyed.
The lively sounds of the school carried faintly in the distance, yet beneath that tree, Rian had carved out his own little world — quiet, peaceful, and, of course… handsome.
Once the bread was gone, he slipped the wrapper into his Void Ring, intending to throw it away later.
Then, with a smooth motion, his hand reached into the inner pocket of his Kuoh Academy blazer and pulled out a small mirror.
It was elegant, simple, and perfectly reflected his face — enough to make Rian smile in quiet satisfaction.
"Hmm… truly reminds this handsome man of his youth," he murmured softly, though loud enough to be heard. "But… this handsome is truly a curse."
From beneath the shade of the tree, a calm, almost lazy voice replied flatly:
"How old are you? Narcissist."
The voice was light, but laced with dry sarcasm — unmistakably belonging to Koneko Toujou, who sat neatly by one of the tree's roots, quietly eating from her lunchbox.
Without turning his head, Rian lowered his mirror slightly, letting the sunlight gleam across the dark lenses of his sunglasses.
Behind that tinted glass, his bright blue eyes watched from above — sharp yet utterly relaxed.
"Oh… so my cute kouhai-chan was down there all along," Rian said casually, a faint smile curving his lips. "This handsome man didn't even notice your presence… you're quite skilled at sneaking around."
Of course, that was a lie.
With the Six Eyes, Rian had sensed the girl's presence long before she arrived — her heartbeat, body temperature, aura fluctuations… nothing escaped his perception.
But that was Rian Andromeda. A man who played with words like they were instruments, his honeyed voice wrapped in charm and harmless deception.
Not out of arrogance, but simply because that was his nature — teasing, smooth, and always a few steps ahead.
"I don't really keep track of age," Rian said calmly, eyes drifting toward the shafts of sunlight filtering through the leaves above him.
"But… if we count by the number of people who've fallen in love with me, this heart might already be centuries old."
Below him, Koneko calmly chewed on a piece of fried tofu from her lunchbox, her expression as flat as ever.
"Hmph. Narcissistic senpai."
Rian chuckled softly, leaning back against the trunk once more.
"Better to be narcissistic and honest," he said lightly, "than to hide one's charm behind silence, don't you think, kouhai-chan?"
Koneko didn't reply. But the slight roll of her eyes — followed by the sharper bite she took of her tofu — said enough. She was clearly restraining a sarcastic comment.
A mischievous idea flickered through Rian's mind. He pushed himself upright, slipping the small mirror back into the inner pocket of his blazer.
With an effortless motion, Rian leapt down from the branch, landing gracefully right in front of Koneko.
He crouched to her level, the faint glint of his blue eyes visible behind his sunglasses as he met her golden gaze head-on.
Koneko blinked once, clearly surprised — though true to her nature, she said nothing and simply continued eating in silence.
"Sometimes, this handsome man wonders," Rian said casually, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "If little girls like kouhai-chan should be given a big ribbon and a warm glass of milk during lunch breaks."
Koneko stopped chewing. Her expression stayed flat, but one eyebrow twitched — a subtle but clear sign of impending danger.
Unbothered, Rian continued in that teasingly calm tone of his. "Don't get the wrong idea. It's just concern… after all, with how tiny you are, a strong gust of wind might just blow you away."
Koneko slowly set her lunchbox aside. Without uttering a word, she grabbed Rian's collar with her small but surprisingly strong hands.
Rian tilted his head slightly, still smiling. "What's the matter, kouhai-chan? Don't tell me… you want to kiss this handsome man?"
The crease on Koneko's forehead deepened.
In the next instant—
THUD!
With a swift motion, Koneko lifted Rian off the ground and slammed him down into the soft grass with surprising force.
"You're annoying," Koneko said flatly.
Without another word or change in expression, she picked up her lunchbox and walked away, leaving Rian lying on the grass.
He didn't grimace in pain or look even slightly upset, despite the fact that Koneko's throw had been strong—at least by normal human standards.
Of course, for Rian, the impact meant nothing. In a fraction of a second, Infinity had activated reflexively, nullifying all the kinetic energy from the throw to absolute zero.
At this stage, since Rian hadn't yet mastered the Reverse Curse Technique, he couldn't keep Infinity active passively at all times—doing so would risk overloading his brain and burning it out due to the constant strain of Limitless.
Instead, Rian relied entirely on the absolute perception of his Six Eyes to detect potential danger, allowing him to trigger Infinity instantly through precise reflexes.