Welcome back to another edition.
Merry late Christmas or whatever it is you celebrate, and a Happy New Year while I'm at it.
I want to wish a discord member, Bleh, a happy birthday, too.
I'm aware JJK released an epilogue, so I'll say now that I don't consider the lore bits of it canon for Cursebreaker.
Wasuke isn't the reincarnation of Sukuna's twin. Jin is. I won't complicate Yuji's already nonsensical family tree more than necessary; I hope we're all cool with that.
This chapter has been coming for a long time, and I won't keep you waiting with a long author's note, so let's get into it.
BetaReaders: BFTyrant, Chris, Daki, Rockmean, Luxutor, ReallyRey, Hackerman27, Chepatard, Jasonzzldude, Tupjunk, and Megadumbo.
...
Glass and metal scattered across the floor, bouncing along like glimmering bits of diamond as light reflected off their jagged surfaces.
*BZZT-BZZZT
A robotic limb slowly rose, a palm extending toward an unmoving figure.
Penny's voice escaped, distorted and confused, "I-I...do not...u-nderst-nnnnnd...a-a-rrr-e we n-t... f...friends?"
Her green eyes flashed, darkening for a moment before lighting up once more, "Did I do something wrong?"
'Itadori' stared down at her shattered metallic components, visibly and audibly grinding his jagged teeth, mumbling obscenities-
"Something-"
He chuckled, lurching back as his spine audibly popped, dragging his hands along his face, his smile gleaming through the gaps in his fingers, "Something more...something more...needs something-"
His head tilted to the side, a red eye staring at the unmoving crowd, "More."
*Tsssss
The lights flickered for a moment, the manmade environment darkening and illuminating at random before-
He was gone.
In less than a moment, 'Yuji' reappeared in front of Neptune, once shorter than the boy, now towering over him with that demented sneer across his tattooed face.
The blue-haired teen could hardly react before-
"HRRR!"
The sorcerer's hand wrapped around his neck, visibly denting his airway inward as his purple nails dug into his skin, drawing blood.
Neptune gasped, grabbing at the vessel's face, doing little more than bouncing off his skin, and soon, 'Itadori' had walked back toward the fallen android, his steps imbalanced and awkward, as if he couldn't quite control his motions.
Sun trembled but tried to rush forward, "H...HEY! LET HIM G-"
Before he could move, a tiny arm blocked him as Ruby screamed, "Don't!"
"What!? I don't understand! What the hell is happening!?"
The rose-themed girl winced, putting a hand over one of her eyes, "That...that's not him!"
Pyrrha looked at her, "What do you mean it's not him!?"
"Yuji doesn't stand like that! Remember!?"
It was an odd thing to notice, but for someone with enhanced eyesight, these minor things made all the difference-
The way Itadori looked now couldn't be more of a contrast. His expression was savage, his stance predatory, as if he wanted nothing more than for someone to try and stand in his way.
He gave off an aura so disgusting that it made anyone in proximity want to buckle and die, with a sickness invading their stomachs at his mere presence.
As Neptune's skin began to match his hair, suddenly, the sorcerer tossed him to the ground, and with a gasp, the teen's eyes widened, looking down to see his back was against-
The boy could only gawk in confusion as he lay on top of the fallen robot, "W-what!?"
A shadow loomed overhead, and he turned his gaze to see that same smile looking down on him.
'Yuji' smiled more, "He...hehehehe-"
He raised a foot-
Neptune paled, "N-no PLEASE DO-"
*BOOOM
There was a horrible squelch as, with unbelievable force, 'Itadori's' foot slammed into the boy's stomach, tearing clean through to the robotic components below, sending viscera and electricity crashing through the air.
The laughter grew as he did it again and again and again.
"HEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"
*BOOM
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
*BOOM
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM
Neptune's eyes had gone cold as a hole blew through his torso and the android below, tearing straight into the concrete below, his innards mixing with her blood-coated armaments.
Penny's eyes flickered on and off, staring up at her attacker, a gentle smile coming over her pale face, "I-"
"I love...y-yo-"
*FLICK
With the wave of a finger, a tapestry of lines intersected over her skin, and within a blink, the android's head exploded.
The vessel panted, a thin layer of drool escaping from his stolen lips and without so much as a warning, he fell to his knees, his hands digging through the mess of gore and metal-
With a horrid noise, Neptune's upper torso rose along with falling gears and wires.
Sukuna turned, facing the horror-stricken crowd.
He raised the corpse high, smiling all the while-
His teeth chattered-
His entire body twitched and spasmed.
*GRAAAAAAA
Yuji's head expanded, growing triple its normal size in seconds, his giant red eyes glowing as Neptune's head disappeared beyond the threshold of his teeth before-
*CRUNCH
Blood trickled from Yuji's mouth as it clamped shut rapidly, chewing as his hands shoveled more and more in as solid steel and bone meshed together as screams of terror rang out around him.
Moments passed before he took a massive swallow, his hands dug into the dead teen's entrails.
"So long...so long...so long-SO LONG-SO LONG-SO LONG!"
Sukuna stared at the Huntsmen before him, a hand clenching his chest, "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this? All those years couldn't hope to compare to the misery you people put me through, having to watch you lot interact with this mangy little mongrel brat...and I intend to make right on tha-
*CRRRR
The disgraced one looked down at his right hand in confusion as it twitched, "Hm?-"
!
*BANG
The sorcerer recoiled as his own fist crashed into his face, sending him tumbling across the floor as both left and right wrapped around his neck, strangling him as spittle dripped down his chin-
"Already? HAHAHA! You must truly hate me if you're capable of fighting back so soon, but it's not-"
Sukuna hummed as Yuji's left hand grabbed the top of his head, the right clenched down on his chin with so much force it broke through bone, "What are you-"
*CRACK
There was a horrible gasp as Yuji broke his own neck, turning his head the wrong way around, his body slumping to the ground, motionless.
...
...
His lips slowly moved, "When did I say you could die, you pathetic little runt?"
Sukuna began to laugh as vibrant red power leaked from his stolen body, with jolts of black lightning blasting out in each direction, soon exploding outward in a colossal blast of pure Cursed Energy, sending all respective parties flying into nearby walls, smashing against their surfaces.
A flash of color danced across Ruby's eyes-
A light shade of blue, which quickly disappeared.
Soon, the dust settled, and Sukuna merely turned his head back into place, healing the injury as if it hadn't happened. "That should put you in your place for just long enough to have my fun."
The King of Curses slowly stood, cracking his neck, leaving a bloody imprint along his shoulder, speaking to someone unseen as he stared at the hijacked Maidens, "You can let them go now."
There was an electronic hiss as a hologram of a well-groomed man appeared beside him, seemingly abandoning his use of the speaker system for a more professional facade.
Watts hummed, "Ryomen Sukuna...we meet at last. It took quite some effort to bring about your return, and now you're telling me you want it to end as soon as it began. Where are my thanks and standing ovation?"
The fallen one barked out a laugh, "The only gratitude you'll get is me allowing you to live, and that patience is quickly running thin."
Sukuna hissed, "This brat I occupy has a bad habit of throwing me back into his prison, and I can't have him adapting to this method just yet, and the longer this goes on, the more likely it is to occur."
The hologram crossed his arms, "If my assumptions are correct, why not abandon ship while you can? There's certainly a plethora of potential hosts in front of you."
"Hmph, all that boasting, and you still think a measly bowl can contain an ocean? You scientific types are all the same: vile wretches who crawl through open sewage in some vain attempt at finding gold."
Sukuna idly plucked a strand of blue hair from his teeth, flicking it to the ground, "The last one tried to recreate me using a broken-off piece of my soul and ended up making this pitiful excuse of a descendant, though something remains to be seen-"
"Did you bring about my return in some desperate power grab? Do you wish for me to slaughter your enemies and leave only you standing at the top of a mountain of dead, or are you just a fool looking where he shouldn't?"
Watts chuckled, casually shaking his head, "Nothing of the sort, I assure you. I am merely an observer with information you might find intriguing...the only thing I want is for this world to go back to the way it should be. Something is clearly missing, wouldn't you agree?"
"Cursed Energy and Spirits. Get on with your point."
"Is that what you call them?... Well, I believe you'd find it interesting to know they've been sealed away in their realm of origin by the powers above-"
"Someone sealed the Cursed Realm? I assumed as much. The human population is far lower than it should be, and with Curses nonexistent, it can only mean the cycle of reincarnation has been broken, with the world exclusively filled with newly born souls... I'm guessing you want me to break those doors down for you, hm?"
Watts' eyes lit up, "It would be most appreciated."
...
...
The King of Curses coldly smiled, "I refuse."
"Y-You what!?"
Sukuna raised his arms high, "I'm perfectly content to spend my days butchering the weak. Doing such a thing as releasing that pressure valve would only service fools with delusions of grandeur like yourself...frankly, you and Kenjaku would've gotten along swimmingly, two fools born with great ideals in mind, only to be met with failure again and again, brought about by your own weakness and incompetence."
He gestured to the Maidens once more, "I have my own plans in mind, and I will give you one last warning. Release them, or I'll spend what little time I have left hunting you down before smearing you across this settlement."
The scientist could only glare, his exposed teeth and narrow eyes reflecting his rage, "You-"
"You can't do this! Do you have any idea how much I've given!? HOW MUCH I'VE SACRIFICED!?"
The surrounding knights raised their rifles at the sorcerer, earning nothing more than a sneer, putting his hands in his pockets, "Try me."
...
...
Watts' hands shook as he typed a code along a keyboard, and like that, the pair of Maidens dropped their arms, the flames around their eyes dispersing as they stumbled to their knees.
The inventor could only glare at the Fallen One's form as his avatar faded away.
Sukuna sighed in approval, raising his hands as he cracked his stolen knuckles, turning to face his victims once more, "Now then...let's get started, shall we?"
...
Inside the Relic Vault
Beads of sweat trickled down Ozpin's face, with him and his allies surrounded by a seemingly endless desert stretching as far as the eye could see, but before them stood something different-
It was a small oasis of lush greenery surrounded by a gentle pond, and at the center stood a small marble pedestal, and atop its surface rested a golden lamp with a glimmering sphere of blue at its center.
Ironwood sipped the last of his military canteen, bending down at the water's edge, "Never did like the heat-"
Before the man could refill his container, Fria gently patted his back, shaking her head once their stares met, "Do not trust appearances in a place like this. What you see as liquid water is nothing more than an effect of the relic."
He deadpanned, "And the heat isn't?"
"It's all one and the same, dear. Though, one would end your life faster than the other."
He sighed, putting his canteen away, soon gesturing to his fellow Headmaster, "Then, by all means, grab your precious relic, and let's get moving."
Ozpin chuckled, "Still not a fan of sand, are we, James?"
The General stared at him, "I am from the coldest country on this planet, Oz. I enjoy a desert about as much as you enjoy your ex-wife's company."
"We...never technically divorced."
"Didn't she kill you?"
"Semantics."
"I am not in the mood for any of this. Just get the blasted thing already."
Ozpin waved him off, approaching the water's edge as a series of stone stairs leading up to the pedestal appeared. With him making his way up, "Yes-yes...though, there's the question of what other things we can discuss with J-"
*FWOOOOOOOOOSH
A hot wind blew in from the entrance, with the immortal pausing, his stare narrowing as he noticed trickles of red flowing along the ground before passing by-
It made contact.
*Bump-Bump
Ozpin shook in place, "No...no, it can't be-"
He stared off at the open door to reality in the distance, his entire figure growing pale, "...You?"
Ironwood scoffed, snapping a finger, "Who?"
"...Ryomen."
*CRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
The ground trembled as the Cursed Energy made its way into the relic, making the entire plane of existence tremble around them.
The General drew his firearm, aiming in every direction, watching as plumes of black smog erupted from beneath the sand, shooting into the sky, rapidly forming darkened clouds, "What the hell is happening!?"
Fria pointed to the polluted clouds, "Those are-"
She trembled, hearing the cries of millions carried by the wind, "Souls?
Ozpin slammed his staff into the ground for support, "The gods designed the relics to only absorb energy from the Ever After! If there's an external source of great enough strength, it poses the risk of breaking the entire system! GAH!"
The stairway trembled as reality continued to distort, with the immortal shouting, "I've only seen two people capable of using that energy, but neither he nor Yuji should be capable of causing this kind of disturbance! But that...no, that could only mean...Fria! Is he really-!?"
Fria grabbed onto the General for support, her eyes igniting in blue flame, the wind nearly blasting her off her feet, "There's no doubt! The Maiden inside of me is certain...Ryomen has returned, and he's far stronger than before!"
Ironwood gritted his teeth, "We need to grab the relic and get out of here while we still can!"
Ozpin hissed, "You don't understand! If the seal weakens even by a fraction, then what's waiting below can-"
His eyes widened, and with a running leap, the Director tumbled into the sand as a horrid beam of bluish-green energy shot into the sky, tainting the atmosphere as the surrounding pillars of darkness shot into it, culminating in a growing sphere of power as small limbs and faces stretched out of the surface, letting out a chorus of wails.
Just like that, the influx of red energy ceased, and the trembling came to an abrupt halt, with the corrupted sphere falling apart, its fleshy bits smashing into the pond below.
Ozpin took sharp breaths, looking around in confusion, "It stopped?... Then the seal...it hasn't broken just yet-"
He slowly stood, gazing off at the doorway back to Remnant, "What in the world is going on out there...?"
...
...
"You have other problems to address...human."
*Blip-Blip
The pond began to overflow, the water soon coursing by their ankles and along the desert floor, refusing to dissipate as a stream turned into a flooding river, the rough currents nearly carrying the trio off before Ozpin slammed his staff into the ground, letting off a burst of green light, blasting the water away with a barrier.
Down below, the spirits broke down into Cursed Energy, absorbed by a larger force swimming beneath the surface as a looming shadow before-
*BWOOOOSH
A figure flashed into the sky, hovering above as droplets trickled off its tendrilled face, hovering against the sunlight, its features nearly blocked out in darkness.
With a vaguely humanoid shape, its octopus-like head coated in black dots looked down on them with blindingly white eyes, its entire body red, with the inner portions of its arms, thighs, hips, and chest coated tan, its stomach a dark black, a set of giant wings on its lower back flapping as it floated above.
Ozpin looked up, surrounded by green energy, "Am I safe to presume you're a spirit from down below?"
The figure growled, "Spirit...hmph, that is what your kind once referred to us as before deciding our fates mattered less than yours, but let it be known-"
Its hands clenched together, fingers moving into place, flipping upside down, "My name-"
"Is Dagon."
"Domain Expansion: Horizon of the Captivating Skandha."
Reality distorted, and soon, the smell of salt water invaded their senses.
The trio opened their eyes to see a transformed landscape of tropical islands scattered about a vast sea, with the sun shining overhead, reflecting off the ocean waves.
Before they could hope to gather their bearings, Dagon hovered above, letting out a huff of air, "Weak and defenseless, but I will take no chances... an even thirty-three percent on each of you seems more than fair..."
The Curse snapped a finger, and soon, plumes of water shot out across the ocean as monstrous sea creatures of varying colors emerged from below.
The entities let off howling cries as they raced for the shore, launching themselves out of the waves like torpedoes, their razor-sharp teeth aimed at the trio's flesh.
It was nearly instantaneous. In one moment, the creatures were nothing more than dots on the horizon, and now, they were practically on top of them.
Ozpin casually smiled, his staff spinning in his hand, aiming backward without so much as a glance. Green energy coalesced at its end before firing off, blasting the pedestal to pieces and sending the relic sailing into the air.
The Director merely raised a hand, catching it by the ring at its top, then-
He held it out.
*FWOOOOOOSH
The relic glowed bright, pulling in the entities like a vacuum until none remained.
The Headmaster couldn't help but smirk, "Considering the alternative, I'm quite glad the relic still serves its purpose. Though, you certainly must be disappointed, hm?"
The Curse narrowed its eyes, "That device...it's negating my domain's certain-hit effect, absorbing the Cursed Energy back into itself...in that case-"
Dagon lowered himself atop the waves, his wings briefly flapping as the sea creature took off at explosive speeds, letting off a sonic blast as he surged toward the immortal.
Ozpin watched the being intently, soon pushing the relic off into Ironwood's hands, speaking in an utterly calm tone, "Keep hold of it, and you'll be safe for the time being, and Fria-"
The aged man held out a hand, "I'm going to need to borrow that Maiden of yours."
The elderly woman slowly nodded, grabbing his hand without hesitation, "They are yours at the end of the day...you hardly need to ask."
The flames around her eyes dissipated, with a vibrant flame trickling down her arm and into the Headmaster's.
Ozpin let off a small laugh, "I'm simply being courteous."
At the same time, Dagon reached the shoreline, flicking his wrist as cannon-like streams of water shot out on all sides, trailing in his wake, and with a thunderous slam, the Curse crashed onto the beach, his stomach erupting as a giant eel slithered out of his entrails, rocketing toward the Professor at untold speeds, only to-
*SPLAT
The water and eel smashed to bits, colliding with a sudden burst of color, vaporizing into a mix of gore and steam, clearing away to reveal a vibrant green barrier, with the immortal standing on the other side, utterly unharmed, his appearance slightly different-
His skin was a bit tanner, and his hair had more than a few streaks of brown amidst the grey and white.
Ozpin pointed forward, and the barrier fired ahead, slamming into Dagon headfirst, with the Curse stretching out a hand to stop the attack in its tracks, but-
The shield bent and warped, wrapping the monster in a snare.
Dagon growled, his claws digging into the glowing surface, sending cracks across, "What is this!?"
Its eyes widened as Ozpin's eyes ignited in the same green color, his feet rising off the ground as an unseen power levitated him into the skies above and with a simple aim with his staff-
"Let's take this elsewhere, shall we?"
A blast of energy crashed into the barrier like a roaring wave, sending the Curse flying, but soon, with a burst of Cursed Energy, Dagon flexed its arms, shattering the thing entirely.
The disaster shouted in rage, taking off with explosive power, its body twisting as it reeled back a massive left fist, hurling it toward its opponent.
Ozpin could do little more than raise his staff, only for the limb to bash it to the side, cracking him across the face, the sheer force sending him reeling, flipping backward through treetops as Dagon rushed after him.
The immortal slammed his hands outward, stopping his uncontrollable spin as blood trickled down his face, ears ringing.
The Headmaster took off toward the disaster, set to collide once more. His staff ignited in green energy at the last moment, setting off a vibrant explosion and knocking Dagon's strike off course.
Using the blast as propulsion, Ozpin whirled around, slamming his staff into the Curse's face and igniting it in another burst of energy, charring its flesh as the blast carried it down into the waters below, vaporizing it into steam on impact.
The wizard steeled himself, aiming downward, waiting for any sign of-
*BWOOSH
*CLAK-CLAK-CLAK-CLAK
Streams of multicolored piranhas shot out from the mist, their teeth gnashing as they sailed upward.
The immortal coldly muttered as the light around him burned bright, "Maraci."
Beams of light shot out of his staff, zig-zagging around the ancient being before flowing downward, bending and weaving at perfectly acute angles, vaporizing the living projectiles on impact.
Ozpin huffed, allowing a cloak of green haze to wash over him, soon flying toward the waters below, followed closely by his trailing beams of energy.
*SPLASH
A nearby crash of water caused him to point a finger in its direction, sending a barrage of razor-thin blasts through the haze, hitting nothing but the waves. He hissed-
Ozpin expanded his barrier outward, pushing away the haze and as his sight cleared-
*GRAAAAAAAA
A massive shadow surged from the depths below, with a colossal tendril shooting for the skies, coming down atop the immortal, only for a beam of pure light to slice through its flesh with laser precision.
A roar bellowed as more tentacles emerged, slashing away at the Professor as he danced between them, firing down into the unknown, but as one made a pass-
!
Ozpin's eyes widened, moving to the side, watching as Dagon clung to the bottom of the massive limb against one of the hundreds of suction marks.
"The sea has existed long before the age of man and will continue to persevere long after your decline...and this struggle of yours-"
*BOOOOOM
With an explosive leap, a ring of water vapor formed, with the Curse launching himself as a projectile, using his summoned sea creatures as fodder to absorb the wizard's blasts-
Dagon's wings flapped as he flew at untold speeds, roaring, "ISN'T WORTH THE SEDIMENT YOU'LL LEAVE BEHIND!"
Ozpin raised his staff, forming a shield to block the attack, but a shadow soon loomed overhead as the mighty Kraken's head emerged from the water below, its tendrils slamming into the vibrant shield, smashing it into glimmering green fragments!
With monumental force, Dagon's giant fist crashed into the immortal's stomach, bending it inward as his ribs shattered, a fine spray of blood erupting from his mouth.
Ozpin bounced along the waves like a rock, haphazardly raising a barrier to prevent further damage, his momentum only coming to a halt as he smashed against a nearby island, forming a superheated crater in the sand as glass fragments crackled around him.
The disaster observed him for a moment, its focus turning toward its summon, its glare hardening as the Kraken's form began to shrink, with trickles of Cursed Energy flowing toward the relic like stardust.
Dagon hissed, clenching a fist, "Is this what it means to be human? To live knowing your existence hinges on an unseen time limit, moving forward regardless of any action you take?"
From below, Ozpin hacked, shakily rising to his feet, using a hand to swipe away the grains of sand, "I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question...were I to die, I would awake with a new face to call my own, meaning-"
The Headmaster pushed aside a strand of bloody hair from his face, his eyes glimmering green, "I have no way of knowing what the end entails."
Dagon observed him from above, "Such is the way of your kind, led astray from whence you came, gifted with intelligence, yet choosing to remain in blissful ignorance of your own actions. Anything not within your line of sight may as well not exist...The land, the sea, their inhabitants, even your fellow humans, nothing is out of line when it comes to your greed."
Ozpin leaned against his staff, his vision blurred, "I was warned about you...Curses, beings born with nothing but hatred in their hearts, deadset on eradicating our kind from the face of the planet, and for what? What makes you think you're any different from us when all you know is destruction?"
"Life begins and ends with the sea, originating from microbes born from the rich minerals shooting out from volcanic vents. All that you see in the world comes from them...but my kind has only existed since the day yours came out into the light...since the first spark of fire crackling in the cold night and your intrinsic fears of the unknown became something more than simple instinct."
Dagon raised a hand as the sun shined down from above, "We Cursed Spirits are the fruits of your own failings as a species. I do not claim for a moment that we are different. No, we were in competition with one another, a balance constructed by nature to prevent its own destruction, and in death, we continued to serve that purpose-"
"Human could become Curse...Curse could become human...or take any shape needed to keep this world whole, yet your kind were the ones to break that order. By sealing away the Cursed Realm, you've ended the cycle of reincarnation, damning all to eternity in darkness, but I emerge for one reason alone-"
Cursed Energy surged around the disaster as he shook in rage, "Hanami...Jogo...Mahito...-"
Dagon roared, "HOW DARE YOU MAKE THEM SUFFER LIKE THIS!"
The Kraken submerged its head, inhaling plumes of water from below. Surging upward, it fired an explosive projectile, the sheer pressure slicing through the atmosphere like a blade, approaching the immortal like an unstoppable hurricane condensed into the space of a mere few meters.
Ozpin tried to move, quickly finding his body uncooperative as his broken ribs jostled in place, forcing the aged man to grit his teeth. He raised his staff to the sky.
The sun itself seemed to dim, with particles of light gathering in the immortal's weapon, thrusting outward, sending a colossal beam of energy into the surrounding glass fragments, scattering the light into multicolored waves, bending in each and every direction, shooting ahead, forming a massive structure in less than a second.
"Dharmapāla!"
The colors coalesced, forming a giant masked woman in a defensive stance, her skin a deep blue, her long red hair flowing across the seas, stained much the same hue, glaring ahead with three eyes, bracing her massive arms as one hand held a human skull aloft.
*BWOOOOSH
The sound barrier shattered as the attack made contact, sending rocks, trees, and the ocean itself blasting off in each direction, but the barrier held firm-
Dagon slashed a hand over the horizon, "NOT YET!"
Giant cephalopods breached the surface on both sides of the barrier, launching themselves above into the skies, their armored forms crashing down on the skyscraper-sized defense, its knees buckling until-
*FWING
Scattered beams of light shot across the skyline, bending at perfect angles, racing through the creature's exposed eye sockets in a flurry of color, sending their lifeless bodies slumping back from whence they came.
Ozpin stood atop a platform of shaking sand, a flickering cloak of green wrapped around his shoulders, gesturing to the glass fragments around him, "I owe you my thanks for such a useful medium...It seems I'm quite out of practice."
Stray beams of light shot down from the sky, refracting off the broken glass, bouncing back and forth, scattering into different wavelengths, and launching over the horizon as a rainbow of colors, crashing into the disaster, who could only brace his arms at the last moment, feeling the searing burn across his flesh-
The Curse recoiled in shock, "What!?"
The immortal casually smiled despite his injuries, "It's hard to believe, but in my golden years, I could use the atmosphere itself for such a thing with little effort...you claimed life comes from the sea, yes? Well, to that, I ask, how does one preserve it without the light?"
The sky darkened as a halo of energy gathered atop the mighty Kraken, and with an atmosphere-shattering burst, a razor-thin beam careened downward, splitting the creature's flesh in two, its halves falling apart before sinking entirely, cutting its attack short, with the immortal's construct fading soon after.
Ozpin spun his staff in his hold, pointing it toward the Curse, "You have your priorities, as do I...our arrangements may not be fair, but I've been tasked with maintaining the status quo no matter the cost, gifted power by the gods themselves to ensure this happens. Would you care to know what it is?"
The aged man smiled, "I can move the very photons that allow us to see any way I deem fit... condensing it into vaporizing blasts or slowing it to form physical matter, often called hard light, amongst other uses... meaning-"
"I can manipulate the very light of our sun."
Dagon hissed, regrowing his charred skin, "How...how are you this strong? Where was this when-"
"I apologize for the confusion. I wasn't trying to trick you...I simply needed to remove a layer of rust I accumulated over these long years...although it certainly helps you've been growing weaker the longer this fight continues."
The wizard slowly crouched, scooping a handful of jagged shards into his hand, rising tall despite his wounds, an unknown confidence crossing his aged features, "By all means, let's continue."
With that, the sands ruptured as the immortal took flight, blazing through the atmosphere toward his foe.
Ozpin launched a glass fragment far ahead with the flick of a single finger, firing a vibrant blast soon after, splitting apart once more.
The multicolored attack approached the Curse from all directions, engulfing Dagon in an inescapable tomb of light as it shrank around the beast.
Ozpin's ability came with certain drawbacks, and while control over the fastest thing in existence seemed a blessing, his eyes were only human, forcing the immortal to slow his attacks to perceive their shape and size, benefiting himself and his opponents...a self-imposed limit he could remove at great risk to his surroundings.
Although splitting light into its respective colors would undoubtedly lower the energy of the attack, it was a tactical choice based on the principles of attrition-
It's better to hit several smaller blows than risk missing an all-or-nothing attack. Winning a battle would not guarantee victory in war.
As the heat began to char the Curse's skin, Dagon's eyes narrowed, "Life without the light...a simple matter. GRAH!"
Dark plumes of liquid shot out of the disaster's skin, engulfing itself and the surrounding skies in a darkened plume of expanding-
Ozpin hummed, "...ink?"
It dawned on him in an instant-
That Curse-
It used the darkness of its ink to absorb the light!
*HISS
As the liquid rapidly fell, his eyes widened as a serpent shot out from the void, utterly ignoring his cage of light!
The wizard tried to blast it away, but the creature lunged to the side, the strike grazing its flesh as it wrapped around his staff, snapping at his exposed wrist with jagged teeth before-
*CRR
*CRR-CRR
The serpent's flesh contorted, pulling backward like a wench, dragging the immortal closer to the darkened cloud, and with a sudden gust of wind, the mist dispersed, sucked into the center as Dagon emerged at the center, its face-tendrils pulled upward, mouth exposed as it rapidly inhaled, creating a vortex of wind!
The disaster's eyes spoke of an unseen smile, "If you prevail in the skies, then I'll take you where the light wouldn't dare to reach."
With that, Dagon dove downward, facing the sky as he and the serpent pulled the wizard toward the sea, splashing down with explosive force, a faint trail of bubbles emerging in their wake.
...
...
The sun faded far faster than it should have; they had only moved down for seconds at most, but the pressure was immense. If it had not been for the protective haze surrounding the aged man, he would've suffered a terrible fate.
Reality itself seemed a fickle thing in this imposed dimension, but even in these circumstances, Ozpin could garner some kind of rationality. The light was gone, as was the receding coastline, replaced by an endless darkness on all sides. It could only be-
The midnight zone-
A vacuum-like space thousands of meters beneath the ocean surface, utterly alien, totally hostile, devoid of anything one could call normal on the surface, but somehow, life managed to persist even in the most impossible of places.
Ozpin was pulled in each and every direction, becoming utterly disoriented as right and left may as well have been impossible to tell.
Ozpin didn't wait to act, firing a beam of light from the tip of his staff, zig-zagging it around him, crashing into the serpent attached to him, frying it into ash, and soon using his remaining energy to form a protective layer of green around his person, rapidly expanding it into a sphere, allowing him to catch his breath-
The pull from below had stopped, and without missing his chance, the wizard shot upward, but-
There was nothing.
The Director hissed, "I can't tell up from down...am I going the wrong way or-"
"Is it some kind of effect?"
*GRRRRR
A shadow emerged below as Dagon smashed a fist against the barrier, sending the immortal flying as a crack appeared, unable to move more than a few feet before the water-born creature appeared above doing much the same, blasting him back another direction again and again-
"This world could end a thousand times over!"
*BOOM
"But you've brought this on yourselves!"
The shield thudded as unseen projectiles crashed into it from behind, revealing themselves to be viperfish, their sunken eyes and exposed jaws flashing as they tore at the material.
Ozpin hissed, raising his staff to blast them away, only for Dagon to crash into him once more!
*BOOM
A colossal squid impacted the shield, holding it in place as the Curse rushed ahead, kicking its left leg back, bracing for impact-
"The land has receded!"
*BOOM
The sphere blasted through a field of helmet jellyfish, each glowing blue as they exploded in a vibrant burst of Cursed Energy!
*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM
Ozpin absorbed what little light he could, firing explosive rounds across the vacuum-like space as Dagon rushed toward him like a torpedo, bobbing and weaving between the luminous attacks, raising a massive fist once more!
"The seas have expanded to disastrous effect!"
*BOOM
"Their inhabitants have dwindled! Their souls and ours unable to be reborn!"
*BOOM
"This planet rests on a knife's edge! Our fates tied as one, but I DON'T CARE FOR MY OWN!"
*BOOOOOM
The Curse raised his hands high, bringing them together for a devastating downward strike, blasting the immortal into an active undersea volcano as superheated minerals shot into the waters from the Earth's mantle!
Seawater leaked in from cracks along the shield's surface as massive crabs grabbed at the barrier with their jagged pincers, the sheer heat blurring the immortal's vision as he struggled to stay conscious!
Dagon rushed through the blaze, sinking its talons into the surface, piercing through, "To protect and maintain an unbalanced world, one doomed to die, but beneficial to a minority of your kind and them alone, using claims of honor...obligation...and responsibility...there is nothing more flawed, nothing more-"
"Human...than that, and that is why-"
"Even without the oceans-"
"Without the seas-"
"Without the very things that led to my existence-"
The barrier seemed to shatter as ocean water flooded in.
Dagon grabbed the immortal by his jacket, "I will never-"
The disaster clenched its left fist, "Forgive you-"
"FOR TAKING MY BROTHERS LIVES AWAY FROM THEM!"
The disaster pushed through, unhindered by the nonexistent defense, Cursed Energy coursing along its very fingers, sharpening them into jagged talons.
Ozpin hovered there, his very flesh boiling as he remained unmoving until the last moment as the Curse drew near, his palms suddenly shooting outward, a spurt of bubbles escaping his lips, and through garbled words, he roared, "Helios!"
*FLASH
*CRUNCH
It was a moment of utter chaos.
Ozpin's attack focused not on the spirit's senses, knowing the futility in attacking such a thing from an immaterial being, but instead, its very essence.
For a brief moment, Dagon could only perceive white, as if it were born blind and deaf.
However, that certainly didn't stop the disaster's hand from impaling the man's stomach, breaching out the other side as blood flowed freely.
Ozpin hovered there, his body trembling as color receded from his face.
Dagon, seeing the man's body slow, gave an unseen smirk, knowing victory was in its hands.
But in that moment of pride-
The disaster had no way of detecting the small sphere of light appearing around its head, only feeling it once the sides clamped shut around its neck.
Nor could it have known the barrier never truly broke. The aged man had pulled all his remaining light inward, baiting the disaster into moving in for an unblockable strike, too blind to use its abilities to prevent it from occurring.
Dagon sputtered, "W-wha-"
*SPLAT
Ozpin clenched a fist and the barrier shrank, utterly crushing Dagon's skull into a spherical slurry, and without the source of the domain maintaining its existence-
It flickered, fading away as colorful smoke slowly absorbed by the distant relic.
Ozpin stood on the shifting sands, panting, gripping the Curse's slowly disappearing remains, pulling its arm from his torso, letting out a torrent of blood in the process, sinking to a knee.
He did not speak.
He did not think.
But Ozpin's eyes spoke a different story as he watched Dagon disperse into Cursed Energy-
They spoke of utter sadness.
Not out of empathy but a deep confusion about what his mission really entailed.
Time flooded back in an instant, with Ozpin gripping the wound on his torso, blenching blood across the sand as footsteps drew close-
Ironwood almost tumbled down a dune, skidding to a stop, the relic hanging off his belt, "Oz! Are you-"
His eyes widened, seeing the severity of his wound, "My God...hang on!"
The General reached for the relic, "I'll ask it what we can do about that!"
The wizard waved a hand, "That...that won't be necessary-"
"You might have another hundred years to wait for more questions, but I won't live long enough to see it. We can spare one!"
Ozpin stared up at the artificial sun, his eyes igniting in green flame as a grotesque layer of vines stretched from the ground into his wound, forming makeshift veins, muscles, and flesh, stopping his innards from falling out.
The Headmaster winced, "That should do it for now, but I'll be needing surgery...preferably sooner rather than later."
Ironwood gawked, "Where the hell did you learn to do that!?"
The immortal shrugged, looking down at the relic, "I've asked that thing the same question for a very long time...she's given me...pointers, as Yuji calls them...on how to better use my powers."
The General scoffed, his glare hardening, "Well, you're still alive, and that thing's dead, so it must be worth something."
He offered his old friend a hand, pulling him to his feet.
Ozpin sighed, "A victory for now, but it just might be pyrrhic...If Ryomen is truly back, I'd need time to conduct the ritual to take back the Maidens by force and regain my true form, but that would undoubtedly mean Amber's death-"
Ironwood's eyes widened, "You never found a replacement!? What the hell were you doing!?"
"It's not something to take lightly! Whoever takes the mantle would have to live with a death on their conscience!"
"Every Maiden does, you fool!"
"Not like this! It doesn't matter! What's done is done! We need to get out of here and assess the situation, and if need be...I'll do what has to be done, but-"
Ozpin hissed, "In my current state, there's no doubt that my current body would die soon after...if I even survived the process."
Ironwood grimly nodded, "Before anything, we should leave the vault and assess the situation. You're right...it's tempting to use the questions now, but it's better to save them for the things we can't determine on our own, and if that...thing is really back, then we'll be able to see it clear as day."
Fria approached, having moved far slower than the General, "That would be a wise choice-"
Ozpin gave an awkward nod, "I'm inclined to agree, but...I hope you understand if I keep your Maiden for just-"
The woman smiled and waved him off, "It's always been yours, dear. I just hold onto it...but there's something I believe you should know. Before you took it, I...saw something."
Fria pointed toward the exit, "When that mess of souls emerged, I know for a fact I saw two leave through that door."
Ozpin blinked, "Are you certain?"
Ironwood raised a brow, "Is it really that shocking? If I were stuck down there, I'd certainly attempt a prison break."
"That's not the issue...with the seal in place, the souls stuck in the Ever After have nothing to latch onto in this world...I'm shocked that Dagon could even materialize in the vault for as long as it did."
Fria stared at him, "Without a doubt, I know what I saw."
Ironwood grimaced, "Then...what does it mean?"
Ozpin could only hum, "...Some piece of them must still be out there somewhere, but what it means-"
"I have no idea."
...
Back in Mistral
Cinder's hands twitched, now free from Watts' control, focused solely on the teen's tattooed back as he marched toward his prey, recognizing those symbols in an instant-
"It's really you...isn't it?"
She dropped to her knees, bowing her head nearly to the floor, her teeth gritting in silent rage, dissipating into trained subservience, "...My Lord. I apologize for disturbing you, but there's something I believe you would benefit from knowing."
Sukuna stopped, staring back at her from the corner of his eye, his demeanor shifting from overt hostility to something more...calm, if the word even fit such a monster.
He stared at her indifferently, glancing at the wound on Raven's chest, "Tell me, were you the one to leave those marks on the filth beside you?"
The chieftain couldn't move. She was so terrified.
Cinder closed her eyes, pushing through the manic pressure he gave off, "I was."
...
...
Sukuna waved a hand, "You are forgiven...Now, get on with it and say what you need to, but considering your propriety, I hardly think I need to warn you of the consequences of wasting my time."
The killer took a breath, "Yes...I come on behalf of my mistress, Salem-"
He deadpanned, "Never heard of her."
"Y...You have, but it wasn't the iteration I'm currently-"
Sukuna dropped a fist into his palm, "Ah, the so-called lost fragment of my soul? Tell me, how exactly did that come about?"
"I...am not certain-"
She rapidly spoke, seeing his disappointment, "Though I'm sure I can get the information for you! Salem has awaited your return with great interest!"
Sukuna glared down at her, waving at the nearby corpses, "Do you truly think I care for the whims of some long-lived hag? You're quickly losing your worth, so tell me somethng of use before you join these peons."
Cinder kept her eyes on the floor, "I understand...I-
She trembled, watching as Penny's lifeless bionic eye stared at her, "...Your other half is buried beneath Mountain Glenn and has knowledge that can help you escape your current host."
...
...
A sadistic smile crossed the man's face, "Is that so?"
Cinder nodded, "He was sealed in ice some time ago by a previous generation of Maidens...his body attracts Grimm like a magnet, and no kingdom wants to take the risk of moving him...it's heavily guarded at all times by a detachment of Atlesian-"
"Do you have the ability to melt it?"
"...Any Maiden can, my Lord, but alone, I wouldn't stand a chance of-"
Sukuna chuckled, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared, reappearing in front of the girl, a shiver racking her spine as his hand cupped her chin, his four red eyes all too close to her yellow orbs-
"Look at the animals behind me...the feline and the ape...their kind worship me as their deity. You will go to them and tell them of my return...and what better way is there to serve your God-"
He grinned with orange and blue hairs stuck in his blood-coated teeth, "Than to die for my amusement?"
With that, the King of Curses let go, "Now, get out of my sight."
Cinder didn't talk back; instead, she rose to her feet, took off into the cave system, and set on finding her allies and getting out of this city as fast as possible.
Sukuna shifted his focus toward Raven, staring down at her as though he were an endless void, "Aren't you going to bow? Ah...my mistake, you can't see me very well, can you? One eye short...I wonder why-"
He smiled, leaning closer as she tried to move away, "You have one second for your head to hit the floor, or I'll make it two."
Raven shuddered, but-
She didn't move-
"You won't kill me."
"Oh, and why's that?"
"Because you need me, and by extension, you aren't allowed to harm my daughter. Those were our terms."
Sukuna stood there in silence.
Across the room, Qrow mumbled, "...Arrangement?"
His eyes widened, "Raven? You-You didn't seriously make a deal with this fucking thing, did you!? What the fuck were you thinking!?"
Raven struggled to respond, seeing the hurt and anger on her twin's face, but-
Yang shivered, "M-Mom? You...I don't understand! What did you do!?"
Raven clenched a fist, "I did...I did what I had to do, Yang...I needed to get stronger...for...for you-"
"Stronger...for the girl you abandoned? Is that some kind of joke!?"
Qrow's eyes narrowed, glaring at his sibling, "Oh, I know this fucking act...He was gonna kill you, wasn't he? Forced you into some deal to save your own skin...what was it-"
The veteran hissed, "WHAT WAS IT YOU FUCKING COWARD!?"
Raven flinched, "It doesn't matter! Yang is safe, and that's all that-"
Her breath chilled.
A hand dropped on her shoulder as Sukuna faced away toward the students, "Will she?"
The bandit hissed, "You know our arrangement. You can't-"
He remained calm despite her abrasive attitude, "Can't harm her, yes?...But I have to wonder, at that moment-"
"What did you mean by harm?"
He leaned into her ear, "For all your bold claims of complexity, you're as simple as an ant that doesn't know its place, and I won't let that stand... I can't hurt your daughter, but-"
Qrow yelled from across the room, raising his sword, "YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!"
Sukuna savagely grinned, "I can't be held accountable for what she does as a result of my actions, can I?"
The ground burst as Qrow took off, rushing the Fallen One, dragging his blade along the floor, and screaming in rage as he pushed through his fears.
The Huntsman swung with everything he had before-
*CRUNCH
Qrow's sword was shredded by an unseen force, not even coming close to the possessed teen.
Sukuna swiped with such speed only one in the crowd could even perceive it, backhanding the veteran's face with a single hand, his neck making a horrid crunch as his head spun the wrong way.
...
...
Ruby screamed, trying to rush ahead, only for Yang to catch her younger sister by the arm, pulling her face into her chest as she tried to free herself.
The younger sibling kicked, tears falling down her pale face, "Yang, what are you doing!? WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!"
The blonde pulled her sister closer, a pained look on her face, running a hand through Ruby's hair, "Just...close your eyes...okay?"
"...Are we gonna die?"
The fist-fighter could feel her shirt getting wet as Ruby dug in, "I don't wanna die..."
Yang struggled to even comprehend their circumstances but still tried to say something...anything, but-
Sukuna didn't even glance at them, idly watching as Qrow's form twitched on the ground, his tone indifferent, as if this were utterly mundane, "Give me a minute."
The King of Curses crouched, grabbing the veteran by his hair, pulling him up, "Hmmm...must've broken a few vertebrae...and I thought I was holding back. Hey, woman-"
He raised the dying man to Raven's face as she recoiled, smiling all the while, "Was your snark worth it?"
The chieftain paled, shivering as Qrow's mouth slowly opened, a trail of red escaping his lips, "R...Ra...ven-"
The Huntsman weakly gasped, "T...take...kids...out...of...here-"
"...please."
Sukuna cackled, rising to his feet, opening his hands in a challenge, dragging the former bandit with him, "Well, you heard him...are you going to honor his dying wish?"
Raven's fingers twitched, "I-"
She looked to Qrow, "I-"
Sukuna's stare bore down on her very soul, making her feel so insignificant she might as well not exist, "I-"
Raven looked to her own daughter, staring her in the eyes, watching the look of terror on her face-
"...I'm sorry."
*FWOOSH
She dissapeared in a flash.
The King of Curses chuckled at the empty space, "Looks like she used her technique and left without you-"
He looked over his shoulder at Yang with a demonic grin strewn across his stolen face, "What a shame."
...
...
Yang trembled, a forced smile soon coming over her, "Y...Yuji...you...you don't have to do this. I...I know we have some issues, but-"
"We're cool, right? I mean...what would Oz do if he found out? So, why don't we just...forget about it, yeah? We can leave right now...and things'll go back to normal..."
Ren swallowed a breath, "...Yang, I know you're scared, but that isn't him-"
The King of Curses stared with those bright red eyes, "What would you know about this brat that isn't a bold-faced lie? That he's one of you? That he's that senile fool's grandson? Hahahaha! It couldn't be further from the truth!"
Sukuna raised Qrow into the air, staring into his face, soon glancing at Winter, "You're both part of his inner circle, so you two must know the reality of the situation...This disappointment and the old man aren't kin, not by blood, nor by any standard-"
"But perhaps I owe him thanks-"
"For taking care of my son."
...
...
For the first time since this began, Weiss was knocked from her stupor, "N-...No, that's not...you're lying!"
Blake looked to the ground, "It's not possible! Ryomen lived so long ago, he couldn't be Yuji's-"
Sukuna stuck his fingers into Qrow's mouth, pulling his agonized face into a smile, "I was born a thousand years before him, but that didn't stop that disgusting 'mother' of his from making it so...you saw her ...or should I say 'him,' in the brat's memories... the one with the stitched forehead-"
The Fallen One's smile faded, "Kenjaku kept itself alive by switching between bodies, moving their brain through different skulls, defying death in a different way than I, waiting for the day a splinter-piece of my soul was reborn in a different time...and it was then that vile being took the corpse of this brat's mother, seducing my reborn half, mixing my Cursed Energy with who knows what, creating the abomination before you-"
Sukuna sneered, "Call him my descendant, nephew, even my own child, all valid in their own ways, but regardless, he was meant to be my new body. Not that it mattered; this freak of nature continued to resist, even ending his own life in some vain attempt at dragging me with him to the afterlife, but like everything he does, it ended in failure...as if I would let such a low-life organism bring about my end."
The King of Curses nails dug into Qrow's flesh, his face twisting into a hate-filled snarl, "It took millions of years to undo the seals on his remains, but it pales to the torment you mongrels put me through...forced to watch your drivel through his eyes since the start of this nonsensical farce of normality in some pathetic attempt to retain his sanity-"
Weiss' eyes widened, putting a hand over her mouth, "Y...you mean...back when I tried to activate his...you...you were there?"
His hands moved to the Huntsman's temples, holding him up as he screamed in pain, "I wished for nothing more than one of you fools to try poking around where you shouldn't and that blind low-life got off far easier than he should...after all-"
Sukuna smiled, a red aura crossing his stolen body as he spoke using Itadori's own voice, "He doesn't like it when people touch his soul."
...
...
Ruby cried into Yang's chest, "S-stop! STOP USING HIS VOICE! YOU AREN'T HIM! YUJI WOULDN'T EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!"
The Fallen One continued, his grip over Qrow tightening as the man spasmed in pain, "What is it the brat would say?-"
"Don't worry about it, I've got this?"
"I'll keep you guys safe?"
"It's not something you gotta worry about?"
...
...
Sukuna stepped closer, "Hey...hooded girl...look at me."
"Come on...it's just me."
"You can trust me...right?"
...
...
His smile faded, "Watch or make him scream until you do."
Their horrified tremors did little more than make the Fallen One smile wider, "Humans are always so curious...striving to know more in a world that will chew them to bits and spit them aside like dregs regardless of what they attempt with their pitiful lives, not understanding that their own weakness determined their fate from the day they were born...instead, focusing on the simple things...what they do and don't know-"
Ruby dug deeper into her sister's shirt-
Sukuna cackled, "He...he-he...so tell me...was finding the truth about this boy important to you?"
"Was it worth it?"
"Speak the name of death and tell me if it has any impact on your demise-"
"You may know me as Ryomen Sukuna, but all that transpires today will come down on this brat's head."
His hand flashed, grabbing Qrow by his face, his eyeballs bulging as blood trickled down his elongated nails-
Ruby could take her uncle's screams no more, slowly turning her head against Yang's demands, both siblings forced to watch their family in such a state, helpless to do anything to-
The Fallen One's stare met theirs, "Hey."
A shadow crossed his face, his four eyes glowing red in the dark, "Savor this moment."
His fist clenched, and Qrow's skull exploded, followed by an uncountable number of slashes, turning his body to liquid.
...
...
Qrow Branwen was dead, with nearly no trace of his existence left behind.
The siblings had fallen into hysterics, with Ruby falling to her knees, screaming and crying as Yang could do little more than stare blankly at the puddle, in complete shock.
Sukuna kicked a foot through the gore like a child in the rain, letting out a content sigh, clapping his blood-soaked hands together, "I'll let them simmer a bit before killing the younger one...these things can't be rushed."
Pyrrha buckled, her entire body refusing to move, her throat feeling so dry it was like she was choking, "Why-"
She roared, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!?"
Sukuna smiled, "Pleasure...and nothing brings me more satisfaction than ruining this brat's life over and over...of course, what's happening to you lot has nothing to do with my inevitable escape-"
"I just want you dead, and breaking you first does so much more to him than slaughtering you wholesale like cattle."
He turned, scanning over his targets-
Nora crumpled in on herself, with Ren putting himself in front of her like a shield.
Teammates-
Sun tried to do the same with Blake, but she just pushed him aside, standing her ground.
Animal companions...mere mutts in the human world.
Pyrrha tried to stand strong but couldn't budge a finger-
A partner-
Sukuna then turned his attention to the Schnees, his eyes honing in on Weiss as Winter positioned herself in front of her-
The King of Curses gave a smile so wide the sides of his face split open.
...Perfect.
Sukuna pointed a finger at the heiress, blood dripping off the end of his purple nails, "Out of all parties present, I've anticipated this opportunity the most-"
He took a step forward, and Winter raised her sword, her communicator blipping off as static echoed, "Stay back! I've alerted our forces, and they're converging on this location as we speak!"
The Fallen One kept walking, "Such is the nature of locusts...alone they are selfish and weak, but together, they mistake their numbers for strength, becoming a swarm, consuming all matter in sight until the land is barren, ensuring their own destruction regardless of which path they take-"
"If one cannot ensure their own ends are achieved, they're nothing more than nutrients for those that can...your claims of comradery disappeared as you let your ally die right in front of you-"
He took another step, "And-"
Winter yelled, "STOP!"
"You-"
"I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU, YUJI!"
"Did-"
He took one last step, standing a mere few feet in front of them, his visage dark and utterly demonic-
"Nothing."
The King of Curses hummed, watching the operative shatter multiple purple viles, and as a vibrant purple glyph appeared beneath his feet-
Countless portals emerged around him, with dozens of various Grimm charging out at once-
Winter screamed, "I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY-"
Sukuna's stare darkened
"Get real."
*FWIP
With the flick of a finger and the stop of a foot
The glyphs were obliterated with no effort to speak of as a jagged slash crashed into the wall, sending debris and dust in every direction.
Weiss recoiled, soon squinting, looking at her sister through the haze-
Winter's eyes were dull, and soon-
A bloody line appeared across her thighs-
The specialist's upper half slid off, tumbling to the floor as her legs remained upright, a cascade of blood erupting from the severed limbs.
Weiss let out a shriek, her bloodshot eyes widened beyond belief, running to her sister's side, "WINTER!"
She shook her, but the woman was in shock, clutching at her stumpy legs, letting off a scream-
Weiss kept trying to do something, "JUST STAY STILL! YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE!"
Sukuna merely stood there, a faint smile on his face, "Trying to weigh me down with gravity...it's only fair for you to know what it's like to not be capable of movement, wouldn't you agree?"
The Fallen One let out a sigh, "It's almost a shame...the snow-white hair...the powers of frost at your fingertips...I once knew someone much like that, only...Uraume was never such a disappointment."
"The younger of you was going to die regardless. The brat having a lover is something I could never allow to go unpunished...but if the elder had shown any kind of promise, I would've spared you to grow stronger and give me a real challenge some other day, but let's be honest with ourselves-"
"It would be a waste of my time."
Sukuna crouched, slamming a palm into Weiss' chest, the sheer pressure sending her crashing into the shuttered doorway, a spray of blood escaping her mouth.
The King of Curses grabbed Winter by her hair, raising her so they were face to face, "But before you bleed to death, I'll be treating you to a front-row seat as I ruin your sibling, using the body of the one she cherishes so much."
His eyes reflected nothing short of madness, "There are so many options, but only one seems fair for the torment I've endured-"
"I think I'll have my way with her, and only when she's well and truly broken will I let her die...but not before making her eat your remains. I'm not one to waste good meat."
Sukuna smiled, his focus turning to the younger sibling as his drool trickled down his stolen chin, his voice shifting to his host, "Tell me, girl-"
Weiss weakly backed away, the back of her head thunking against solid metal, "G-get away!"
He crawled toward her, teeth chattering, "Will you scream? Will you cry out his name...and beg him to stop?"
Tears flowed down her face, "I hate you...I HATE YOU!"
His pace quickened, reaching her in seconds, cupping her chin with a clawed hand, "Good girl, but only the beginning! Once I'm done with you lot, I'll storm the surface and slaughter every man, woman, and child I can get my hands on, leaving this brat with nothing and no one!"
"HAHAHAHA! IT WON'T JUST BE A MASSACRE! IT'LL BE A GENOCIDE!"
"THERE'LL BE NOTHING LEFT WHEN I-"
*Thunk
Sukuna paused, staring ahead at the barrier as something slammed into it from the other side-
*THUNK-THUNK
"...Cursed Energy?...What in the-"
*CRRRRRR
The shutters tore open as two mist-like beings surged through, appearing as bodiless clouds of green and blue energy-
Sukuna tried to fire his technique, but-
His body sent the attack the other way, shredding half the chamber down to the soil as it collapsed in on itself!
The Fallen One's eyes widened-
The brat didn't do that-
How-
He stared ahead, seeing a layer of detail unknown to even the finest sorcerers, down to the souls themselves-
"...You?"
*BWOOSH
There was a surge of wind as the beings lunged, slamming into the King of Curses, seemingly diving into his flesh and disappearing within the sorcerer, and within less than a second-
Sukuna lurched, a sudden force blasting him back, sending him tumbling across the floor as his hands clenched against his will, crashing into his face again and again, his stolen flesh contorting and twisting as though multiple beings were fighting it out inside-
Faces appeared across the vessel's skin as additional mouths and eyes opened across his limbs and torso, biting and screaming as different voices escaped at once-
Some eyes were pink, others nothing more than hollow pits of darkness with blood trickling out of them.
Sukuna roared in rage, "You inconsequential GNATS!"
The Fallen One released a blast of Cursed Energy, suppressing the distortion as soon as they appeared.
He rose to a knee, shivering in fury, "You dare!? YOU DARE!?"
The King of Curses screamed to seemingly no one, "I'LL DIGEST YOU INTO NOTHING AND BURN AWAY YOUR VERY SOULS FOR DARING TO-"
*BUMP-BUMP
A pulse of Cursed Energy radiated from the vessel's stomach, his tattoos rapidly disappearing as a feeling of exhaustion rapidly overcame him, his red eyes struggling to stay open-
"The brat! I need to-
Sukuna growled, falling to the floor, his jagged teeth drawing blood as he tried to retain control.
He crawled ahead, reaching out a hand toward the students, only for it to come back at him, the resounding cleave slashing a chunk of the vessel's face off, exposing the bone beneath!
The sorcerer's hands flashed up, grabbing himself by the neck as slash marks appeared across his skin.
Sukuna tumbled onto his stomach and immediately hopped onto all fours, crawling toward the students as though he were possessed by one motive alone-
Itadori's splattered blood began to vibrate, with bright red tendrils shooting out, wrapping around the teen's legs, pulling the teen's body back, his resistance growing weaker by the moment-
As Sukuna's head thunked against the floor, he could only mumble, "Who...told you...you could...come...back?"
Itadori's body rapidly grew shorter, his hair falling slightly as his tattoos faded from reality, with both sets of eyes closing shut.
Only a few seconds passed before Yuji violently coughed, with it soon turning into a gag.
The vessel rose to his knees and, without missing a beat-
His throat pulsed, and he lurched forward, vomiting up a mixture of flesh, hair, and metallic components, staining the already battered ground further.
Itadori remained there, staring at the mixture with an emotionless look on his face, his brown eyes completely dull-
Soon, he opened his mouth, plucking stray blue and orange hairs from his teeth with his fingers.
That simple motion proved too much, making him fall back, staring up at the ceiling as his arms dangled at his sides before his head dropped down, staring at the survivors, utterly dead to the world.
They just stared at each other like that for who knows how long.
Sukuna was gone, but the tension wasn't.
Their looks were of complete terror, looking in both hate and fear for the person they trusted most.
...
...
*Creak
An extra eye opened on the vessel's right hand, with the limb seeming to rise on its own, stopping next to his face, but-
It wasn't red-
The sclera was black, and the iris was pink-
A mouth soon opened beneath, an unfamiliar voice escaping soon after-
"Hey, are you alright?-"
"Little brother?"
...
Enjoy that cliffhanger, lol.
Before someone rags on me about Sukuna and Yuji's relationship, I'll spell it out-
Since twins are considered the same person in JJK by the powers that be, spiritually speaking, Jin and Sukuna are the same person, and therefore, you could argue Yuji is Sukuna's son, but-
Physically speaking, Sukuna is his uncle at most, and Jin is his biological father.
I'm not going against the evil Unc memes; I'm just evidencing the complexities of JJK with Sukuna using the statement to ruin Yuji's life lmao.
Anyway, I'll see you all next year for the turn in Cursebreaker's plot; I hope you're excited and don't wanna strangle me over this chapter; cheers to another year of this fic.
Discord:
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