Chapter 19

Meanwhile…

Suiryu looked about, this was a soul space. Just like the one Yuuji had within him. Yet, it was strange. It felt familiar but also different. "Where do you think we are?" Yuuji asked. "I mean, this is all new to me, it's like that space in my body, but…"

"Sshh" Suiryu said gently as he tried to listen. He paused and strained his ear. There was a sound here, but he couldn't quite make sense of it just yet. "Hm, I don't know either, but I agree. It's like your soul space just… empty."

Yuuji sat there, he already appeared board with it all. "As strange as it is for me to say, I feel confined in here. Like there isn't a lot of space to move about."

Funny, Suiryu just started to feel that sensation as well. He tested it out for a moment, pushing his right hand out into the void of white to see if anything happened. There was resistance instantly. "Hmm, we maybe confined somewhere for safe keeping. Either way, this could be perfect…"

"How?"

Suiryu turned to Yuuji. "What do you know about cultivating?"

He thought it over. "Well, the method I did was releasing my curse energy and reabsorbing it back into my body… that's about it."

"Want to know how Sukuna did it?"

He turned his head away. "Do I really want to?" he muttered.

Suiryu smirked. "You aren't him, and I can proudly say now nor am I. Not anymore. But Yuuji, this is important to know, as well, if something happened where you are on death's door… this is your final card to play. It can work if you are proficient in it, or it will end you quicker… let me think…" he paused to go over his thoughts but then found the example he needed. "You remember your last fight with Mahito? He was on the brink of defeat, but, he grew stronger right?"

Yuuji nodded. "Yeah, that was a pain in the ass…"

"This is the same method, when one is at the point of death, they can accumulate great power. Enough to either save them and bring that sorcerer or curse to the next level OR kill them." He paused and looked about once more. "The strange thing is about this place is that there is a fine line of impossibility."

"Huh?" Yuuji asked in a confused tone. His face even went blank for a moment. "I don't get it…"

Suiryu snickered. "This sensation… I feel we are on the brink of life and death, not part of either side at the moment. This is the sweet spot of cultivation, here… There is no risk, not far of going one way or the other, it's perfect!" Suiryu was able to move himself until he sat on the ground with Yuuji, but back to back. "I want you to focus with me, just relax your mind and let your energy flow."

"Okay,"

Suiryu felt his energy grow, yet this was far different. It didn't feel like curse energy at all. "What the hell…" he muttered as it continue to build.

"This… is different," Yuuji said. "It's not curse or divine jujutsu… it's… just pure energy!" he said and continued to cultivate.

Suiryu nodded in agreement. "It's very strange, I have never felt anything like this before…" He closed his eyes and began to focus. 'What is this? What is happening to us?' he thought.

Then his strength continued to grow. He began to surge with power as did Yuuji. "I… feel it… Suiryu… it's… it's…" Yuuji stammered, but then he gasped. "Whoa…"

Suiryu opened his eyes as well, he froze as the white room became a galaxy in a sense. Stars, formations, planets, it was all before him. He was even floating in place as Yuuji looked about it all with wide eyes and excitement. "What is this? This is amazing!"

"This is a clue," he said. "Yuuji, focus here. What is this trying to tell us? This is part of the cultivation, it takes you to a place and you figure out the message to your next step. So, what is this? Where are we? Why are we here?" he asked aloud.

Yet Yuuji wouldn't focus, he continued to float around and marvel at the vastness of space. "We're in space, aren't we?"

"No, this is metaphoric for what we are trying to do. We're growing our power and yet, why are we here?" he asked.

He turned but then saw it in Yuuji's eyes. They were mimicking the world around them! His eyes were black as a void, and yet, there appeared to be stars within them like the galaxy they were in.

But Suiryu tried to figure out the clue they were given. The higher one cultivates the more difficult it is to decipher the clue to grow.

As he began to think, Yuuji finally spoke up. "Suiryu…" he said gently. "Could this be a clue to our jujutsu?" he asked.

"It is, and I am trying to figure out what!" he snapped back. "Why here? Why this place?!" he said in frustration.

Yet he turned and saw Yuuji peer about. "Could it be that it's unlimited?"

Suiryu froze. "Unlimited?"

"Yeah, I mean, this reminds me of sensei's domain, infinite void… where it appeared to go on forever, endlessly… could this represent our jujutsu? I don't think ours is infinite like this, but…"

"It is," Suiryu whispered.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"What we were gathering earlier, the energy we had accumulated. You said before it wasn't curse or divine energy and I agreed. But, then, what was it?"

"Could it be just pure energy? I mean it doesn't have to be divine or curse to be jujutsu right?"

At that point, Suiryu felt stupid. He turned and stared at Yuuji, who continued to merely float around without much thought or care. Not realizing he may have just unlocked the secret to this place. "How the hell can you figure shit out on the fly like this?!" he demanded.

Yuuji giggled. "I just wing it, honestly. It just feels that way doesn't it. As if a new world has opened up to us, and it's saying, it's ours to have if we want it… I just don't think I would want this much power."

"I agree," Suiryu muttered. "Huh… I wonder how we get out of here?"

"Maybe we need to cultivate here? Just to have a taste of it, then again I feel like we need to ask permission."

"Huh?" It was Suiryu's turn to be confused. "Who the hell would you ask!?" he demanded.

Yuuji pointed just behind Suiryu. "Something… moved over there… something big… bigger than mom."

He froze to the comment and turned, from the corner of his eye, he saw something shift the stars. There was something else here! But, what is it?

THUD

The two dropped, hitting solid ground but were in a darkened world now. No stars, nothing! "Where are we now?!" Suiryu muttered.

But froze as he heard a deep breath being taken. Yuuji had frozen up as well as a massive yellow eye came overhead of them. It was the sky above them! "Are… we kin?"

A deep resonating voice came over their ears, it was heavy enough to bring them down to their knees! "What the hell!" protested Suiryu.

"Are we kin?" the voice asked again.

Suiryu turned to Yuuji and Yuuji turned to him. They gave a nod to each other and announced. "We don't know," respectfully.

"What?!" the voice demanded.

Yuuji gathered his strength to look up. "We don't know, if we said we were, and are not. We would offend you. If we said we weren't and are, we would anger you for not noticing." He said gently. "Until we know… we don't know if we are kin."

There was silence.

The eye suddenly grew smaller, the room began to feel lighter and yet, still, there was this massive being before them. Hiding its own features from them, but, both could see two colossal yellow eyes staring down at them.

"It's eyes look like mom's." Suiryu whispered. "Damn it I keep calling her that!" he muttered.

Whatever that thing was suddenly felt as if it were over top of them, they were nearly lifted off their feet as an updraft suddenly formed. Yet when they hit the ground again, the creature stepped back.

But then, it began to laugh.

A deep resonating laugh filled his ears as the being snickered aloud. It leaned over once more and took in their scent again. "Haha! There's no doubt now, we are kin! You have your mother's blood. Tiamat,"

"You… know mom?" asked Yuuji.

The being laughed once more, a low but light chuckle. "Of course, she is my daughter."

Suiryu and Yuuji froze. "Daughter?" they asked at the same time.

"Which means… you are my grandchildren, yes?"

"Uh…" the two stammered. "I don't think we are." Suiryu said gently. "Mom… shit… lady Tiamat…"

"She is your mother and you will address her as such!" the being scolded. "I smell her blood in you both, you are her children are you not?"

"How can we be?" Yuuji asked aloud. The two gathered their strength to stand as they confronted the great being before them. "Sir, we have been trying to figure this out, we don't know where we are, we don't know how we're alive and quite frankly, mom has been walking on eggshells around us. Seriously… HOW THE HELL DO WE EVEN KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO US!?" Yuuji shouted in frustration.

Suiryu nodded. "We… don't understand how we died, I hardly remember it. All I can recall is mom reclaiming my soul."

The being laughed aloud once more. "Very well, that is acceptable for me to understand. You are frustrated and unable to answer me despite demanding an explanation… I shall teach you then."

"Teach?" they asked.

"Indeed. First names, I have many but the easiest one to say for me is Kur."

They nodded. Yuuji was the first to lower his head. "I'm Yuuji Itadori," he said respectfully.

Suiryu followed suit. "I'm Suiryu."

"Ahem!" Yuuji said and glared at him oddly.

He smirked. "Suiryu Itadori" he said proudly and lowered his head as well.

"Now, your first lesson, you are already accomplishing it now but cannot control where you end up. Let's work on that, for you need to see where you are now. Envision where you wish to be, where do you want to go and obtain it! This is astral projection."

Suiryu paused for a moment. "Out of body experience…" he muttered. "Okay… Bro?"

Yuuji nodded in agreement. They took a seat on the ground and tried to focus. "I want to see the others again, I want to see my friends. But first, I need to know where I am, what has happened to me…"

"I want to know where we are…" said Suiryu.

"Now, you have an idea where you wish to be, now. Bring yourself there!" Kur said.

The brothers nodded, as they felt strange for a moment. Next thing they knew the world spun around them, they stood in an odd room but… they were in a familiar place. "Whoa…" Yuuji whispered.

Suiryu's attention however, was over to the left side of the room. He nudged Yuuji and pointed. "Mom's asleep," but then stared oddly. "Was she always that big?"

Yuuji was stunned too as he took a closer look. "Whoa… mom got really big!" he said with amazement. "I didn't know she was expecting… she didn't look like this when we saw her."

You see now?

The brothers jumped to the voice. Kur was in their heads now. "We see, but, why are we here?" Suiryu asked back.

The voice snickered in their heads. You wanted to know where you are right? This was your destination, to learn where you are

Suiryu sighed as he stretched himself, but that was when he saw it. There was movement coming from mom's belly. "Huh?" he muttered. Yet he stretched out his right arm, as he did, he saw her stomach shift and then a handprint appear from her left side. Slowly, Suiryu retracted his arm and found her belly did the same.

"Wait…" once more he tried again, but this time made a fist. He saw a fist mark appear at her side!

"Oooo not so rough there, momma is trying to rest." She said gently and rubbed down her side.

Suiryu froze.

"I… felt that," he muttered.

"What?" Yuuji asked in a bewildered tone.

"Her hand… I just felt that now… wait…" Suiryu's mind was about to burst "Kur?"

He heard a gentle chuckle. How else do you think her blood got into you?

"Fuck…" he said in a bewildered tone.

"Suiryu?"

"Yuuji… we're right there…" he said pointing to her belly. "She's pregnant with us!"

Yuuji looked like a very perplexed cartoon character…