In the end, he couldn't really make too many changes to 'Nobara', who used to be Shalaxi, who was also subsequently spawned from hedonistic Cursed Energies – sex, drugs, and rock and roll kind of shit. Of course, he could add new facets to to the existing blueprint to tune down the hedonism into something relatively normal and human, and that's exactly what he did, but the code couldn't be altered any further – or, perhaps, it was more accurate to say that the very base of it couldn't be changed at all. And, if nothing else, that sucked but there really wasn't anything to be done at that point. Plus, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't exactly recreate the real Nobara, just because he felt like it, because he couldn't and because it'd be disrespectful to his dearly departed student.
Plus, the thing that now stood before him looked nothing like Nobara. If anything, it still kind of looked like Shalaxi, minus the weird shit. Cursed Spirits had no need for genitalia- what the fuck. Beyond that, 'Nobara' maintained Shalaxi's function, which was that of a front line fighter who got in your face and tore your face off – metaphorically. Satoru changed the Cursed Spirit's programming so that it looked for the most efficient way to kill, instead of dragging it out for shits and giggles, like Shalaxi was coded to do. Also, a spear and a shield just made way more sense than a spear and a whip. So, instead of tearing her opponent's face right off, Nobara would just slice them apart instead or run them through with her spear, depending on whichever is most efficient.
The most interesting part, however, was the sudden and unexpected development of a very familiar Innate Technique. How or why it suddenly came to 'Nobara' was... a mystery, honestly, because Satoru had no idea that such a thing was even remotely possible. But, somehow, 'Nobara' developed the exact same Innate Technique as her namesake, the Straw Doll Technique. Quite literally, a doll appeared, hanging by a loose string, around Nobara's neck, accompanied by a bunch of nails all over her body, piercing skin and flesh, but drawing no blood.
Was it related to the bestowing of a name, perhaps?
Was Nobara's Innate Technique attached to her name?
He honestly had no idea. Names were powerful things, because they represented concepts and ideals that were carved onto the soul upon birth. Names were more important than most people thought. They influenced one's destiny and, in the cases of Jujutsu Sorcerers, influenced the formation of one's Innate Cursed Technique. Satoru would have a very different manifestation of Six-Eyes and Limitless if he'd been given the name of Asuka, for instance. His mother once mentioned that his name would've been Asuka. If so, then his life would've been entirely different.
All because of the name.
The same was true, perhaps, for Cursed Spirits. But it was also remarkably different. For all intents and purposes, the Code that governed their existence was their true name; it represented all that they were and all that they ever will be. Altering their Code altered their true name, altered their purpose, their very being. In this case 'Nobara' and 'Shalaxi' were not their true names, but were, perhaps, mere descriptors. Or maybe not. Maybe there was no such thing as a True Name, but reflections of the soul. Because what he did to Shalaxi could not be done to a living human being, simply because the body would override whatever alterations he added or removed.
But, honestly, Satoru had no idea.
There was still so much about Jujutsu and Cursed Energy that Satoru honestly hadn't the faintest clue about, questions that needed to be asked and mysteries that needed to be solved. Despite the veil of chaos and disorder, Cursed Energy actually followed a very strict set of rules – rules that only the bearer of Six-Eyes could possibly decipher to their fullest, because not even Cursed Spirits were aware of their existence. And therein lay the key to his ascension. Even in this weirdly dark future, the potency of Six-Eyes remained incredible. Because not even the Ancient Aeldari, who were capable of performing incredible feats of creativity with Cursed Energy, could do what he just did with Shalaxi – or, at least, not to the same extent.
Anyway...
The thing that now stood before him had transformed into a freakier version of his former student, its hair even turning into a light shade of brown. He wasn't sure what to feel about it, honestly. All things considered, the Straw Doll Technique was a very strong Innate Technique that, if properly harnessed, would've turned his student into an absolute monster, a terror on any battlefield. Nobara merely needed more time, more training, and more experience. It was the same case as Sukuna himself, actually; by itself, Shrine really wasn't that strong of an Innate Technique. It was Ryomen Sukuna himself and his mastery over every single facet of his Innate Technique that turned it into something horrifyingly strong.
So, he couldn't wait to see what this Bound Cursed Spirit would do with Nobara's Cursed Technique, especially since it wasn't just limited to a hammer and nails.
And, with that, Satoru closed the code and took a step back as the Bound Cursed Spirit finally awakened to its new existence. Satoru nodded. "Tell me your name."
"I am Nobara." The Bound Cursed Spirit answered, its voice like a melody – beautiful and terrible all at once, like Taylor Swift and her hit-or-miss albums.
"And who is your master?" Satoru continued.
"I exist to serve my lord, Gojo Satoru, to destroy his enemies and to fight his battles." Nobara answered. Yep, good enough. Satoru then held out his right hand, the Mark of Khaine glowing red-hot and dripping blood. Nobara then stepped forward and slowly began to dissolve into the mark until she disappeared entirely. Well, not really; Satoru still felt her within the mark, taking residence within his soul. He could summon her whenever he wished, to fight alongside him if or when he was overwhelmed. A nagging feeling told him that sending her back to the Cursed Realm would be a bad idea.
He also realized that he did not have enough space to host yet another Bound Cursed Spirit – at least, not one on Shalaxi's level. That space, Satoru mused, was likely governed by his Cursed Energy Reserves and Output – both for Limitless and Khaine's bloody-fire magic thingy.
"I guess that's mission success?" Satoru shrugged as he snapped his fingers and tore down the barrier he'd erected over the Hall of Khaine, the same barrier that kept Shalaxi Helbane contained. As it fell, the remains of the temple crumbled around him. Great clouds of dust and debris arose as Satoru leapt up and out, landing in a courtyard, whereupon he was greeted by hundreds of Aeldari warriors and civilians, who bowed their heads and bent their knees in his presence. Satoru basked in their praise and worship, breathing in the Cursed Energies they exuded, the Cursed Energies that belonged to him and him alone, no matter how little a trickle it actually was.
"Rise," Satoru said. And the crowd obeyed. They liked kneeling, but he honestly would've been fine if they didn't do that. The idea of being worshiped
Caoimhe was missing. He couldn't have been gone for that long, right? He didn't feel anything different about the Craftworld. Beyond the artificial sky was the infinite dark and twinkling little lights of outer space, stretching on forever. They were still traveling, it seemed. And that was good. The last he heard, the Farseer Council, under Caoimhe, decided to start visiting 'Exodite' Worlds, places where the native Aeldari had chosen to live simpler lives with literal dinosaurs and shit. Or something like that. Caoimhe's explanation didn't make a lot of sense, but the gist of it was that these 'Exodites' apparently escaped the Thirsty Bitch by reverting to a very mundane existence – no high tech space ships and stuff, just farming... and dinosaurs. Actually, Satoru wanted to see some dinosaurs.
He turned to one of the Aspect Warriors, one of the Swooping Cranes. "Oi, how long was I in there?"
"You were in there for a week, Lord Britheim." The Swooping Crane answered, causing Satoru's eyes to widen. That long, huh? Well... what the fuck happened? His fight against Shalaxi barely lasted ten minutes. "We, the faithful were not worried and so we waited for your victory. Lady Caoimhe is coordinating the Council of Farseers in a Divination Ritual, after witnessing a vision. She has asked not to be disturbed, my lord."
Satoru nodded and shrugged. "Cool, I guess. And I would like to announce to everyone here that I have successfully bound a Cursed Spirit to my service! Behold!"
The crowd gasped as Satoru willed forth Nobara to appear beside him, its presence exploding outwards, causing more than few of the Aeldari to just straight up faint from the exposure to Nobara's extreme amounts of Cursed Energy. Right, Satoru mused, it was easy to forget that Nobara was almost equal in power to Kairos; the greatest difference between them lay in the manifestation and expression of their powers. Shalaxi wasn't a particularly difficult opponent, despite her martial prowess. Kairos was an entirely different story simply because the dude very likely possessed the means to bypass Infinity, whereas Shalaxi simply could not, despite the fact that their Reserves and Outputs were only marginally different. No one ever said Infinity was fair.
Satoru turned to Nobara, the Bound Cursed Spirit and grinned, knowing well enough that the Aeldari were sensitive enought to Cursed Energies to have felt the source of Nobara's being, the hedonism that simmered beneath the surface, the withered and faded presence of the Thirsty Bitch, Slaanesh. And yet, Nobara belonged to him now and it'd be a great boost of morale if the Aeldari figured that out too. "Who do you serve?"
"I serve Gojo Satoru," Nobara announced and, at that, the crowd erupted into cheers. "I exist only to wage war against his enemies."
Satoru smiled and reabsorbed Nobara into the mark, before turning to address the crowd once more. Of course, he'd seen this little tidbit in the murals. One of the many-many-many Britheim prophecies involved the taming and binding of 'Daemons', which Satoru took to meaning Cursed Spirits, as one of the Britheim's many acts of stealing from the Four Gods of the Cursed Realm. In this case, his first act of theft was perpetrated against no other than the Thirsty Bitch herself, the greatest enemy of the Aeldari peoples. Of course, he hadn't set out to bind a Cursed Spirit with that, specifically, in mind; in fact, he did it because the ritual reminded him a little too much about Geto's Cursed Technique: Cursed Spirit Manipulation. The Ritual of Daemon Binding was essentially a longer, more complex version of Geto's Innate Technique. Satoru had to test it immediately, just to see if it worked the same way.
It didn't. Not at all. Geto's version was far more refined and far easier. The only similarity was that a Cursed Spirit first needed to be dominated before it could be bound and forced into servitude. Beyond that, the necessary processes were very different. Plus, without Six-Eyes, Satoru was pretty sure the ritual would've failed entirely, because how else was anyone supposed to alter the Code?
Not quite the same, but kind of close enough.
Still, that was another prophetic thing he'd just fulfilled, yet another act of divinity before the Aeldari. And so he was not at all surprised when he felt the surge of the fervor of their faith, following by an immediate increase in the amount of Cursed Energy he passively gained from each and every one of them.
"THE BRITHEIM HAS STOLEN FROM SHE WHO THIRSTS!" One of the Aeldari roared. "IT IS AS WRITTEN!"
Yep, there it was.
The Craftworld shook. A wave of silence and awe and shock passed through the crowd. And Satoru's eyes narrowed as he turned to look beyond the false sky. Black ships appeared, stalking across the void like silent predatory beasts. Definitely not from the Imperium. New enemies? Just how unlucky was this Craftworld?
"Drukhari..."
AN: Chapter 43 is out on (pat)reon!