I want to keep up with the manga until the end of the culling game. So updates are a bit slow. Maybe more building up the OC characters.
"So what happened between you and your husband? How'd you get stuck in here in the first place?"
Grandmother poured tea for Gojo. She slammed the cup down in front of him.
"...that bastard." She grumbled her painted red lips set a deep frown, "he was jealous of the priests, jealous of me. I couldn't stand that since he was the man. Anyways, he didn't tolerate the news of my immortality and got the whole 'til death do us part thing stuck in his mind." She squeezed the handle of her fancy chair. Her already pale knuckles turned a shade of bright white.
Feeling awkward, which he never did, Gojo took a step back in the conversation, "I'm sorry, we don't have to talk about this..."
"No, it's just my first time talking about this, so forgive me."
"Well, if that's the case, they say love is the most powerful curse."
"We were never in love. It was a political act."
"Ah. I misunderstood."
"Back then, there was no such thing as love in marriage. He had his dalliances, and I had mine. Maybe we loved that our coupling gave us more respect in our community. That was it. His family was known for their wealth. But they were haunted by a vicious curse. No priest was able to handle it until I came along. God- I regret purifying her. She deserved to haunt those men until the end of time. As a token of gratitude, the family offered up the heir for me to marry. The Priestdom was suffering politically because of the emergence of sorcerers so I married him."
"Ah. Sorry for existing." Gojo scratched his head.
"I mean your existence- as the six eyes proves the gods gave up on priests- I think." Her lips curled downward in sarcastic uncertainty. "Those sorcerer-backed curses kept killing you little oracle babies, surprised to see one of you live this long. Putting you in here for a thousand years while they dominate, genius." She grinned, "Satoru, sorry but I'm going on a first name basis here, your existence aligns within everyone's best interest priests, sorcerers, and humans- you sleazy people pleaser."
"You talk quite a bit, but you never got to how your husband made that binding vow."
"Oh yes!" She snapped right back into her story.
Satoru was in such shock, his blindfold managed to slip down from his face.
"What pretty blue eyes!" Exclaimed grandmother.
...
It was officially midnight. Halloween was over and in 18 days the stupid culling game would end. Reina wasn't marked to participate, thankfully, but she noted not to accidentally teleport or go near one of those domes.
She had no idea what her next move was. Could she build a base at an abandoned building?
She worried for Nana and Hinata. She worried for her mother. She worried for Mieko. They were all over the map, and Reina didn't even know where to begin.
Where was Gojo?
What did the curses mean by he is no more?
Because in her heart, as cheesy as it sounded, she still felt him around. It was hard to explain and something she was in denial of since she learned of the red string's existence.
Her phone buzzed, finally a text from Mieko. Rheina dropped it, the screen shattered as it hit the asphalt.
I've been marked.
Reina quickly picked up her now broken phone, feeling the sharpness of the glass on the pads of her fingers as she desperately tried to figure Mieko's location. None of Reina's texts sent.
Frantic, Reina paced around. Her phone now completely fried as she pressed harder on the keys. Her brute strength further damaged the phone, making it utterly useless. She threw it across a barren street, once heavily trafficked by pedestrians, now likely hiding in fear.
She wasn't a nurse anymore- she could accept that. But she couldn't accept no longer being a sister. A wave of panic hit, marked with grief. She found a narrow alley, letting the pain escape through howling wails. Her back slid down the rough brick walls of an office building as she felt her breathing normalize. She felt a glimmer of hope- Mieko was a priestess. There was likely a way to purify the curse mark, even with the minimal power her older sister held.
Still, Reina decided on gut instinct to enter a dome and declare her curse user status. There was no way some deranged curse could get away with this.
...
Mieko awoke to the sound of frantic knocking at her door. She peered into the peephole to see two young teenaged girls. Confused, she threw on her housecoat and opened the door. Maybe they were fans?
"Can I help you?" Mieko asked, teenaged girls were scary.
Something was off about them. They appeared disgruntled, annoyed even. The blonde one pulled out her cell phone and snapped a quick photo of Mieko. The other one somehow pulled a rope out of nowhere.
"You brat! Give me your phone!" She reached out towards the blonde's arm. Taking her by surprise. The chair behind Mieko rammed into her knees, causing her to stumble back into it. The dark-haired girl prepared the rope quickly. Within seconds, Mieko was hogtied.
"Master was right; she has some immunity to cursed techniques. My rope won't activate around her."
"Too bad for her though her apartment wasn't the same."
Mieko writhed frantically in the ropes, "Listen, I don't know what you witches are up to, but we aren't in the culling game. So why try and kill me? You want my jewelry, my food? Sure. You're curse users, right? Are you obligated to participate? Do you want me to remove your curse?"
The dark haired girl met her beady little eyes with Mieko's grey ones, "why would we get rid of our gifts, the ones that make us superior to humans?"
The blonde rolled her eyes, "stop talking to her, she's obviously against everything we're about. So hag, what's your phone's passcode?"
Mieko rolled her eyes, "It's 150712"
"Cooperative."
"What you gonna do?" she asked.
"Text all your contacts that you've been marked."
"Why would...?" Then Mieko realized.
Reina.
"I honestly don't know, we gotta take you somewhere else too, say cheese."
"Why do we have to carry such a heavy woman ourselves?" The black haired one sighed.
The last thing Mieko saw was the flash of that stupid fucking phone.
...
Reina found her way to Mieko's building, finding evidence of a struggle. Mieko's phone smashed to pieces just like Reina's. No. This couldn't be.
Reina ran out Mieko's building, tears rolling down her cheeks. She spotted one of those giant black domes, barreling towards it at intense speed. The dread, the grief sparked immense power at her feet. She could barely feel the burn from the conflict between the blessed and the cursed within her.
The plan to find the prison box was the last thing on her mind. Reina stood in front of the giant black dome, feeling it tower over her. The likelihood of making it out alive- she couldn't muster an estimate. She just needed to make sure Mieko was okay.
Her hand glid effortlessly into the darkness; the rest of her body followed. She found herself midair, in the middle of a completely different neighbourhood. Reina braced the fall, enhancing her strength with cursed energy. The minute she deactivated, she felt weaker than before its use. Dizzy from powerful emotions, Reina fell to her knees. She was on a roof of an unfamiliar building.
It was so quiet for a culling game. And it was only the beginning. It would make sense that the amount of killing would follow a logarithmic pattern. This made it all the more terrifying.
A giant moth or firefly buzzed above her head. It reeked of curse. It was kinda... cute?
"Welcome to the game Miss Aoshima. I'm your dutiful kogane. I serve to explain the rules and keep track of your points as you exterminate others."
"What if I don't want to kill?"
"Rules are rules. Currently you have 0 points; if you accumulate 100, you can add a rule as you like. As long as it doesn't compromise the other rules."
"Got it."
"Non-sorcerers are worth 1 point, sorcerers are worth 5. You are worth 100 points. Entering this dome officially declares your curse user status. However, you are seen as a bug to fix in the game, therefore encouraging your elimination is important in continuing the game."
"Why is that?" Obviously it had to do with Priestdom, but she wasn't gonna say anything.
"The gamemaster decided so."
"Vague. What about Aoshima Mieko? How many points is she worth?"
"An Aoshima Mieko hasn't been registered to play. No such curse user exists in my compendium."
"She wasn't marked?"
"Not according to the database. These are currently the list of players."
There weren't many left- maybe 150. Some racked up as much as 200 points, meaning there was no mercy. So many killed already on day one.
Reina scrolled down to see her name highlighted in a different color. Alongside her name, was written 'special kill worth 100 points'.
"Am I highlighted for everyone to see."
"Yep."
"Fuck."
Bulldozing headfirst into battle royale was not her brightest move. She needed to think, and fast. Because if she came across anyone, then it would mark her end or having to kill.
She was too late, already spotted by someone.
"Hi sweetheart," a man leered from behind. Reina could only cringe. He pulled out a knife, she could hear the blade obnoxiously rub against its sheath, "so you're worth 100 even though you haven't killed anyone, hey?"
"How many have you killed?" She asked.
"I've got 10 points, but I wouldn't mind making some rules." He lunged towards her and she gracefully dodged, "not making this easy, are you?" His muscles bulged out of his tattered wife-beater as he embued himself with cursed energy.
"So what are you- marked or an innate curse user?"
"Innate," he frowned, his speed increased and dust lifted from the roof as he barrelled towards her.
Reina gracefully leaped over him, touching his bald head, and commenced the purification process. The man, petrified, stood still as he felt the warmth of blessings overcome him. She landed, keeping a finger on him as she relived his childhood. The purification went quick. Faster than she was normally used to.
His posture softened. He then fell to his knees, "why do I feel... Forgiven?"
"It is as the gods intended."
His kogane buzzed over him, "you will now be transported out of the game due to cursed technique removal."
"But am I dead?"
"According to the game, yes."
Reina interjected, "but you're alive, as a human. You just don't have cursed energy anymore."
"You fucking cunt," he grumbled.
"It's better this way."
His bug spun around him, releasing threads of silk as though putting him in a cocoon, "I will now commence transport out of the game."
They vanished.
"So is he dead?"
"Nope," buzzed Kogane, "otherwise you'd get his 10 points. You've nullified his game contract."
"So that's why I'm a bug."
In this realm of sorts, Reina felt lighter than usual after purification. She felt nimble and stronger too. She noticed when that man charged toward her, her leap was much higher. Did this place enhance her abilities too?
She ventured on. Memories of that man's childhood at the top of her mind. She took a benzo to calm down.
"Hey Kogane, who else is on this list?"
"I'll show you the list."
She browsed the names, to find a name all too familiar. Reina was raised on years of fables and artwork dedicated to her parable.
Angel.
A priest who sold herself out, and ended up dying a horrid death. This was an attempt to give up her blessings to become a powerful curse in the name of Sukuna. Looking at the name, Reina assumed the fables were wrong about her death after all.
Angel's score was getting up there too, at 70 points. Seems she definitely gave up the Priest gig altogether. She could deal with a sorcerer, a cursed spirit, but a fallen priest?
Did she still have priestly abilities?
"Kogane, why isn't Angel considered a bug?"
"Unsure."
Reina needed a nap. A long one. She could hide her energy. Just wait it out.
She quickly found a recently abandoned apartment building. On the top floor, she found a unit- there was still food in the fridge and a comfy bed. She closed her eyes and tried to keep her mind still.
What's next in store for Reina? We'll see!