Megumi laid in his bed while staring upwards at the ceiling. It was always in the dead of night where his mind would wander off in some other realm just barely, like thinning on a line which separated two worlds. Eventually, he would find himself slipping off completely to the other side, and enter his dreams where everything came out of his control. Lost to the whims of his mind, he never thought it was a bad experience, or a good experience.
It could be either of them, and it really depended on the memories of his past day. If he had to come to a conclusion with his unwritten thesis, it was that he would wander off to a time where he found out his father and mother—both—had abandoned Tsumiki and him. It was sort of ironic, how he was practically replicating the same thing as his old man—old bastard—to be more precise, had done
A faint luminescent light glowed by his bedside and underneath it, as if urging him to turn his attention toward it with a sight-exclusive whisper. Megumi glanced toward the area and was brought to the sight of a silent nightlight. Its indefinite existence in the darkness was a change in the form of the dreary environmental canvas that he was exposed to before, and brought a different interpretation for what he had of the area.
Instead of despondently staring up at the roof with his pupils which had become familiar with the absence of light, he could ruminate in his thoughts with a more pleasant sight.
"...Megumi," Lada's silent voice came out from where the light was, prompting the black-haired man veiled in his bedsheets to turn toward it.
He glanced over from his bedside and onto the ground, finding a blonde-haired Ursus girl peeking out of her sleeping bag. The U.S.S.G. had come to the agreement that they would invade his room and take residency there aside from their own for the night, because it was guaranteed to be the last day before they would be separated for a length of time. Whether it was long or not... wasn't known.
"Lada," Megumi whispered back. "Do you need anything?" His mind registered the nightlight for only a second before he turned back to her. The darkness had always disturbed Lada, especially when he had brought her into the shadows or whenever she gazed into the endless well of the puddles summoned as a byproduct of his Shikigami's materialization.
"Well..." Her voice drew out in a way that seemed to say that she did have a need for something, but the physical hesitance in revealing it was palpable. "I don't want to be too loud, because everybody else is sleeping right now..."
"We're not." Sonya's voice came out and broke through the two converser's whispers in the room with empty lights.
"Oh?" Megumi detected the shuffling as he turned away from Lada who had jolted from where she was sleeping and sat upwards to see what was happening across the large room he was in. There were signs of movement and mumbling between the other U.S.S.G. members aside from the other two he was paying attention to, signifying that the clutches of sleep hadn't overridden their bodies yet.
"Really?" Lada kept her blanket coiled around her as she sat upwards and into the darkness, which further made her feel a sense of unease creep up her spine, and therefore turn back to the nightlight close by. "Ah, nevermind, I can see that," she hastily added at the end.
"It's hard to fall asleep with what's happening tomorrow," Anna said. Her voice caused Megumi to turn to the leftmost corner of the room, and with a small stretch of his body, he could see her bear ears. "How should I put this...? It's akin to..."
"Sleeping the night before an exam?" Natalya finished the analogy for her. "Surely, there have been times where the forthcoming day would be a nerve-racking one. The next one certainly fits the description."
"Eh, I guess you could say it's something like that. A real pain having to deal with them and lose sleep over the night, if you ask me." Rosalind was the next speaker as she peered over the black-haired man's bed. "Did ya' ever go through anything like that? Since you've been to school before," she asked Megumi.
He responded, "I never did. The worst grade I've ever gotten was an 80%, and that was when I didn't spend a second studying for the upcoming exam."
"R-really? Damn!" Rosalind's eyes widened. "Lookie here, we have a genius, huh?" She chuckled after.
"Grades aren't the only thing that matters," Sonya said from her spot. "There are also some who can get a sports scholarship. I heard that being good at beating up people in Kazimierz is also a viable option, because you can go down a career of their shining knights or something."
"Kazimierz? The Grand Knight's Territory?" Lada perked up at the mention. "Ah... I've heard of it a little bit, but I don't think I've caught up on its Major thing that much. Have you guys?"
"No," Sonya replied.
"I'm afraid not," Natalya said.
"Nope, nada." Rosalind shook her head.
"It never interested me," Anna commented.
"I have." Megumi's response was the most differentiated out of them, causing a wave of surprise to wash over them as their curiosity grew. "If you want to know more, I participated in the Major before. That's pretty much it."
"You've participated in the tournaments? Color me surprised." Sonya's eyes slightly widened while she gazed at the bed. "I don't find it too hard to believe considering what you can do, but why'd you ever participate in the Major in the first place?"
"Indeed, you don't look to me to be the type to seek fame." If he was, then Natalya was sure that his name would be widely known, such as the Radiant Knight or the Black Knight which she had heard when Kazimierz was ever mentioned. Though, she was sure that fact only applied to her, because she had studied many countries in auxiliary lessons given to her by tutors hired by her parents.
"I just did it as a one off thing, because it was more for a friend than anything else," Megumi said, clearing up any confusion. "The knights in there... I'm actually confident that if you guys banded together, then you could defeat even the top ones pretty handily. They're not that impressive, except for a scant few."
"Oh, wow! Really?" Lada shot upwards, uncaring that she was looking away from her faint nightlight as her gaze turned toward him from the bedside. "Are you just saying that to compliment us? Or do you actually believe we'd do pretty great in the Major's matches? Hehe," she continued on, her voice producing a melodious jubilance which provided a light-hearted scene for the room.
"Yes, and I'm not lying. It's obvious, you can tell why that would be the case with knights fighting in a controlled environment such as a tournament ground." In contrast, Fushiguro Megumi's tone was as blank as it could be, but for people who have heard him talk for a good length; it would be obvious that it held some particle of warmth.
"Experience matters a lot, does it not? For a soldier in the battlefield and a sportsman in an arena, the difference between them would be night and day," Anna commented.
"That's exactly so. Fighting for your life in any condition that you can imagine, completely trumps over any champion in an arena." Megumi took in a breath. "Though, if any of them were to vacate an actual battlefield or enter an occupation which isn't much different from experiencing such a thing, I think that would be the next big step in their growth."
"Next big step in their growth?" Rosalind raised an eyebrow, speaking on the behalf of the other girl's curiosity at his chosen words. "What do you mean by that?"
He gave his lengthy explanation. "...Eh, don't think too much about it. It's just that most people tend to grow more when pressure is applied. Say, you can't particularly develop your muscles if you don't strain them with more weights, and sticking to the same load would stagnate your growth and keep you at the same level indefinitely—until you add more weights, thus pressuring yourself more. The same applies to battle experience, and all other things when it comes to challenging yourself."
"Difficulty pushes the best effort out of people to overcome it. Yet..." Natalya drew out.
"Of course, moderation is also needed," Megumi lied, there was nothing moderate with the methods he had resorted to and the fights he had to go through in order to tap into his potential and usher forth an explosive growth powerful enough to topple cities. "For you guys, that would be for the best." They had already gone through enough in his opinion, and any more for them would hurt for him to see.
"We never had much of a choice in choosing what our moderation was," Sonya bitterly replied.
"That doesn't mean you should let it all completely loose," Megumi countered. "You're all young, don't waste your enjoyment of it."
"Aren't you also quite young yourself?" Natalya pointed out.
"Yes, I'm young too, but I'm sure my youth has personally been... sort of wasted because of rash decisions. Don't be like me."
"...That doesn't sound good. Did life kick you in the ass too?" Sonya mirthlessly said. 'Soundin' like an old fart.'
"Well, we've all experienced that in one way or another." He still remembered it, his soul being dragged deeper into the confines of that prison, his Innate Domain which had become his own greatest enemy. "There's nothing good in letting it drag you down, but it's really difficult to let it go. For me, I just look forward, I can't say much for you girls."
Hums of affirmation in their varied voices were heard as a hushed stillness came across the room. All sounds were sealed away in the walls surrounding them, bringing forth a serenity for the wounded souls to enjoy. No, there were no longer wounds, just scars that would be faint but still observable under a keen eye.
"Do you all want to hear a story?" Megumi suddenly asked. While he received a small bout of confusion from them, he continued on. "I just felt like it. After all, none of you had fallen asleep yet, and Lada here would always pester me to talk about myself more."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Lada pouted her cheeks.
"Sure," he replied and reached his hand out, patting her head in the process. The blonde-haired Ursus girl melted while he ruffled her hair, before he turned back to the other girls. "So, do you want to hear it or not? I wouldn't want to disrupt anybody's sleep, after all."
"I don't see why not!" Rosalind chirped toward him. "It's always interesting to hear what you have to say, because you always tell the strangest stories to us! Like how that one time your teacher called your other friends homewreckers, or something."
"...Then I take that as a yes from the rest of you?" He ignored her words while calling out to the other occupants in the room. He received nods, making him begin.
"Okay, what do we know about their weapon of mass destruction?" Ch'en scrambled through files as she attempted to find anything that she could find out of the mounds of them, as they were all related to what they—the L.G.D.—knew about Reunion. "A gigantic explosion, a gigantic shockwave, a large dosage of this... radiation, and intense heat enough to sear the skin even from a lengthy distance away."
"That sounds about right, but we still don't know whether it belongs to Reunion or if it was stolen from under Chernobog's nose. With all the projects they've had in store and most likely hidden away from the public eye, it's hard whether we can pinpoint who it actually belongs to," Hoshiguma reiterated.
"So, there's no more leads we can get on this subject? Reunion's will just be allowed to walk around with a weapon of mass destruction while we can do nothing but twiddle our thumbs?" The blue-haired Lung narrowed her eyes while attempting to scrounge up anything that would prove useful. "The scale of the explosion has been calculated to be large enough to leave an entire District of Lungmen leveled."
"We can't pursue any more information on it either, all agents in Chernobog have been pulled back, because of all the chaos that happened." Swire shrugged. "Unless we send more in while making it as discreet as possible, then finding any more information on that gigantic explosion as it stands is just gonna lead us to a dead end."
"Then what agents do we have available?" Ch'en inquired.
"Are you serious?" Swire widened her eyes. "We're going to send in agents after they're aware of what happened in Chernobog?"
"There are some who are willing, in fact, there were two who bugged me to get sent into Chernobog and investigate."
"Huh? Do they have no self-preservation or did you coax them?" The tiger lady narrowed her eyes.
"You know Ch'en would never do that," Hoshiguma chimed in.
"Agh, I know!" Swire gave up the line of thought rather quickly, making Ch'en close her mouth from setting off her fiery response. "Still—do they have a death warrant or something? Going into a place completely filled with Reunion, and without any Infected agents to boot, would be useless."
"I have somebody," the blue-haired Lung cut her off. "And I'm sure the both of you already know who I'm talking about."
"...I do." The Oni nodded. "Did you ask for her opinion?"
"She said she was willing. In fact, she said, and I quote, 'I've been waiting for your request.'"
"Jeez, she's crazy," Swire said, "in a good way, of course."
"Well, the problem now is getting her to discover where they're holding their WMDs, especially with how heavily-guarded and confidential its location must be. Some new members of Reunion won't be allowed any information on it," Hoshiguma gave her own opinion.
"...You may be right." Ch'en crossed her arms and closed her eyes.
"At that point, just withdraw her, she's actively putting her life at risk without getting us the information we need—ah, wait, let me guess—she's also refused?" Swire asked.
"That's right."
"Ugh, talk about being married to your job. She's just as bad as you are," the blonde-haired Feline sighed.
A blank stare was all the Lung gave Swire after, with the two eventually entering a deadlock in the present moment. Hoshiguma simply turned away and entered her own thoughts in order to formulate any plan for them. They already had a contract agreement with Rhodes Island, a pharmaceutical company which had paramilitary capabilities—strangely enough—but would that be enough?
Breaking them out of their thoughts, Swire's phone rang in the lapse of silence which had come over their deep postulations, and then brought everybody's attention to it. For the Feline in particular, she raised an eyebrow, cycling through all the contacts mentally where she had her notifications activated for. 'Which one was...?'
"Can't keep your phone muted during an important meeting?" Ch'en snidely remarked to the tiger lady.
"Shut up, the ones I don't have muted are usually urgent ones," she groaned back at the other woman while picking it up and taking a brief look at the notification. "Enough of that distraction, shouldn't be getting back—huh?" Just as she was about to set the phone back into her pocket after taking a glance at the notification, she brought it back to her eyes—the two orbs widening in surprise.
"What's got you so held up?" Hoshiguma was the next to speak as she watched the Feline's abrupt actions. "Is it that important?" She elbowed Ch'en just as the blue-haired Lung was about to shoot another insult, in order to silence her and receive a clear response from Swire, one which wasn't filled with cursing or insults.
"I... when was the last time we've had direct contact with Lin?" Swire rubbed her eyes with her index and thumb finger, before shaking her head, then narrowing her sights as if she wasn't seeing something properly. "Two years ago? One year and a few months?"
"...It was 11 months ago, why are you—" Ch'en began, but stopped just as quickly when she realized what the message being told was. "Don't tell me..." She felt strange at that moment, acknowledging that one suspicion that seemed unlikely, was very much likely.
"Uh-huh, 11 months and I still remember this number from anywhere," Swire sighed. "Take a look." She then brought her phone up for the two to see with one hand, prompting Hoshiguma and Ch'en to take a look at it by leaning over.
"What could she want this time?" Hoshiguma raised an eyebrow while stretching her neck. "You said it best, 11 months ago was when she last directly contacted you. After your... disagreements with investigating Kazimierz, or more specifically, Kawalerielki."
"Don't remind me." Swire was more snippish than usual with her response.
"Forget that, you dumb tiger. What is she even messaging you for?" Ch'en pressed the Feline for answers, which prompted a glare to be turned her way. "She must have heard about the weapon of mass destruction, too. Something like that, even if it's in the L.G.D.'s hidden databases, something as crucial as that wouldn't ever escape her."
"Let me take a look." The tiger lady reined in her anger at the dragon lady and turned her phone to herself. She clicked on the message, and squinted her eyes. "...Huh, oh... oh damn! What the hell?!" Immediately, she found herself gaping at what she was seeing, and her hand holding the device started to shake.
"...Well? What is it? Don't leave us hanging," Hoshiguma said and crossed her arms. From the side, Ch'en had shared the same sentiment as her.
"Holy. Shit. Just take a look," the Feline looked away while relieving a lot of air from her chest, and set her phone on the desk in front of them. A small thump was heard as the other two looked confusedly at what the message said.
In a moment, their eyes also widened, as a single phrase was displayed.
'He's in Lungmen.'
Amiya awoke in her quarters, and the first habit which came from it were her Cautus ears twitching under the pale light of the morning. She glanced upwards with droopy eyes, bearing sight to the morning dew on the window of her room, which was only physically tangible on the other side of the incorporeal wall.
Getting off from the bedside, she began her day. There were faint whispers of water sprayed from the showerhead, then the rustling of clothes as she uniformed herself in Rhodes Island's colors, and then the clicking of a door along with its mechanical whir as it opened. Now out of the confines of her room, there were many things that needed to be done this single day. Especially with what had been awaiting them.
While she was traversing through the hallways, Amiya eventually perked up when she saw two familiar faces passing by. They seemed to have also recognized her with the small turn of their heads, and their change of course to approach her signified that some sort of message must be delivered to the Cautus.
"Ms. Shining, Ms. Nightingale?" Amiya greeted them in a tone of slight confusion. She had also noticed how Nightingale was not in her usual wheelchair, or had one in close proximity. The last time she had seen the two of them on the landship, that had been a constant, even when the blonde-haired Sarkaz was in her more active episodes. Still, she wasn't complaining, it was good to know she was doing better.
"Amiya," Shining responded in kind. "The Department of Human Resources has sent you a digital message, I assume you've read it over already?" She came to a halt afterwards.
"Ah?" The Cautus blinked rather owlishly when the information came to her. "Oh... I most likely have my notifications muted when I was sleeping. I'll see to it soon, but, uhm, since they sent you to deliver that message to me, how long ago has it been sent?" Getting into business first thing in the morning was unexpected, but she was already used to such things.
"You needn't worry, it's been some time, about a few hours, but all they need is a small degree of paperwork to be filled out by you. Or an assistant," she repeated the message she was told to give when passing by, because HR had already become accustomed to her passing by their office en route to Amiya. "Five girls, refugees from the tragedy that had occurred in Chernobog, had arrived. "
"Five...? Okay." Amiya nodded. "I'll get to it quickly then, and I also have to depart to Lungmen with the Doctor soon. Thank you for informing me!" The Cautus made sure to show her gratitude to the Sarkaz in front of her with a small bow.
Nightingale glanced from the side with slight interest in what she had heard, but promptly let it go. Lungmen in her eyes didn't hold much of a significant thing, because she hadn't been to the place for much time. What was happening inside, however... was far more worrying. Especially when Nearl had come back to them from Chernobog with a story to tell.
"The Doctor, hm?" Shining noted, before she nodded in affirmation. "Well, best of luck to you two. I'll be off for the time being."
Amiya watched as the two went on their way, and promptly gave the two a wave for her departure. The blonde-haired Sarkaz waved back, not in the despondent way she would when the clock was turned backwards, but one filled with... considerably more life than last time. Even if it were still lacking in some aspects.
However, it was heartwarming to see her condition improve, even if the Rhodes Island medical staff were scratching their heads and scrounging up as much sense as they could at the sudden shift. Operator Nearl was about the same when it came to those matters, with Shining only divulging that Rhodes Island could potentially have a new ally—something along those lines. Confusing as it was, the Cautus had decided it was best not to be occupied by it too much, they would most likely meet that strange person Shining had mentioned someday.
Hopefully as allies.
"Was it him?" Nightingale softly asked Shining. "The one from back then? The Leithanian village?" Some expectation could be detected from her voice, as she remembered the description Nearl had given them of the person back in Chernobog. Four eyes, black hair, a black Higashinese robe dubbed as a haori, and even the way his distant attitude was...
"I'm confident it was." Shining closed her eyes and affirmed the white Sarkaz's questions, which made her eyes beam ever so slightly brighter. "All the descriptions match perfectly. It looks like Fate has directed our paths to intertwine once more, hasn't it?" She remembered his departure when he had elsewhere to go, mainly Laterano. Sarkaz were discriminated against in such a place, so she couldn't bring herself and Nightingale with him despite the latter's desire to.
"...How do you think he is?" The blonde-haired woman asked, a distant look coming across her face. "When I last saw him... back then... he was hurt. So much so that it felt like I was experiencing it too..." Once upon a time atop a wheelchair, she saw the spectral form bathed in shadows pass by and made its way toward her. There were two hearts, four lungs, and four eyes which bore an emptiness in them. "As if he were drowning."
"I'm sorry to say, but I'm not quite sure myself," she apologetically replied. "He was never one to express much of his emotions, but there was something plainly wrong with the enclosed attitude he would show. Only once or twice, can I say with much confidence that he was at his most freely expressed form." Namely, when the black-haired man was vomiting his guts after having dug a hole into his heart. It was utterly shameless of him to pose such a danger in front of himself and suggest it to a doctor, but the past was the past. "Even for his well-being, it was rather disturbing."
"...I understand." Nightingale could discern that much. There was one time she remembered when Fushiguro Megumi had been dazed, along with stains of blood flowing from his white shirt like a dried out river. "He has... good healing capabilities. But it's not Arts." It was also enough for him to block out Originium completely from his body, but she was sure it could also be attributed to the negative aspect of that strange energy, too.
"He's full of mysteries, but even then, despite all of his capabilities, he's still a human. A fragile, pale human who has been through turbulent times." Shining's finger traced along the sheath of her blade. "There's not much I can do but act as a small alleviation to the ailment afflicting him. Even if he is hesitant to accept any, which is a troublesome flaw of his."
"Mhm." she nodded. "Margaret... is afraid of him."
"It takes a substantial amount of effort to terrify her, but it doesn't surprise me that a soul bathed in such negativity would be one to strike such an echo in her heart. Though, I'm sure Margaret will persevere through, as a light would in the pitches of darkness. After all, where else does a light shine brightest other than in a place devoid of radiance?"
"I'm aware... but..." Nightingale felt her hands clutch her staff tighter. "What if..." It was difficult to make the words out. "We meet once again... as adversaries?" She found herself almost wincing with her doll-like features when speaking the last word.
"...Then I'm afraid we'll have to push each other back on the correct path."
A golden gleam of the blade was shown when it struck forward in a thrust. The striking motion illuminated the entire room as it carried both life and death with it, overpowering any leaking moonlight which bled through the crevices of the tunnels that they were in. Motes followed along with it, tearing apart the walls around it with such precision that it would leave renowned swordmasters green with envy.
In contrast, a black dim was carried through the air with a leaking miasma, moving in a perpendicular motion to its trajectory as it skillfully parried with a skill only one step below what was shown before. The negativity emanating forth like blood seeping from a gaping wound was heavy, carrying just enough weight to stop the other person dead in their tracks and enter a clash.
"Shining..." Megumi grunted as he felt the Dharmachakra turn. If it hadn't had many before, then he was confident that the masked woman in front of him would have sliced an arm off with that single motion and completely overpower him. The memory had entirely gone to shit the moment he stepped into where Liz had been held, and that damned Salus had snuck him from behind. To top it all off with a cherry atop a frosted cake, Shining's past self had to come barging in at the worst moment possible.
"I know not who you speak of." The woman's soft voice leaked out from the golden mask she was adorned with, bearing resemblance to an emotionless skull-like object. "You're an intruder, and I shall do my duty when it comes regards to them."
The black-haired man clicked his tongue as he twisted his blade with a near-impossible way if it weren't for the adaptations his Dharmachakra had undertaken. It was able to break away freely from the clash as he ducked down and dashed out of the way for a horizontal slash which had left a shockwave travelling all across the tunnels. He began running away from the woman, attempting to find his way through the place once more.
She tailed after him with a melancholic gait, but one which was swift enough to edge her blade just enough to leave a red streak to form on his neck when she struck once more. With that, he was forced to dodge and kill his own momentum, allowing the Sarkaz woman to flourish her thin blade and stab toward his torso, the largest target which it could pierce through without compromising precision.
"Ghk!" Megumi let out a grunt as he quickly grasped the woman's hand in an attempt to lessen her blow or redirect it, but it still made its mark through his shoulder. He was pushed against the wall, with blood pouring off the wound, entering yet another contest against her in strength—no longer with blades—but with physical strength. "Hah... damn!" He cursed under his breath as his Dharmachakra turned, making him resist her physical strength further.
"Strange," the Sarkaz woman said. "My Arts possesses no effects upon you." Her eyes narrowed from under the mask, possessing a clinical gaze from underneath. "You are a strange one, intruder." There was something morbid with the way she spoke, something not even the other man could quite concentrate on if he didn't want to blunder.
"Ah, really..." He stared into the black holes of her mask when turning his head upwards while he continued to resist her pull. If he let his muscle's tension lose itself, then the blade would travel through his body. There were many methods he could use to escape her grasp, but the Jujutsu Sorcerer decided to take another path. "Are you really going to let Liz... live a life like this?"
She looked upwards—the confessarius did.
Megumi had been planning to leave Lungmen and beeline it straight to Chernobog to settle the business he had at that place. Going inside Rhodes Island already posed enough of a risk for him, so he couldn't accompany the U.S.S.G. students inside of it, much to their chagrin. Nevertheless, they had his Vajra, so that should have already been enough affirmation, and he also made the excuse that he didn't want to be seen as their parents to avoid misunderstandings.
Flimsy, but it was both true and valid. Overall, it served a double purpose that benefited the both of them more than it did not. There were some people that he didn't wish to meet on Rhodes Island, and that didn't just include... Laurentina. Even then, that wasn't what mattered at his current place in time.
He had come across the news article claiming higher Infected activity in the slums. Although it was difficult to separate what were fake articles which were meant for fear mongering or not, this one he could wholly trust in because of what he remembered back in the Ursine Nomadic City. Reunion's forces had already infiltrated Lungmen's slums and were walking around like rats in a sewer.
For a moment, had come to the conclusion that he needed to investigate this matter before diving headfirst into Reunion and getting answers from Talulah. It also allowed him to clear out whatever criminal organizations had been stuck festering in the area like a tumor eventually killing the host it was attached to. Good—two birds—and one stone, that would allow him a lot more time to contemplate some other things over too.
Extra points if he discovered something important.
Tapping his foot against the ground, the black-haired man came to his decision, and leapt off the building he was standing atop. His body effortlessly merged with the shadows, becoming a part of them in order to boost his mobility in a way that also enhanced his stealth. The more he trained this single application of the Ten Shadows, the more infatuated he had become with it, especially with the many other utilities it could provide.
The heights of Jujutsu Sorcery were aided by backbones which stretched its entire system upwards into the sky and beyond; toward the endless expanse of space—and furthermore to the edge of the universe. Teetering on humans who could only tap into less than a millionth of a fraction of its truest potential to an infinitesimally repeating degree of multiplicity, Cursed Energy was wholly untouched in its actual capabilities and applications.
Like a droplet in the vast primordial sea spanning the entire planet, in which the planet itself was merely a polymer of a solar system held together by gravity, and such solar systems were only even smaller parts of what made up enormous clusters of them known as galaxies; the overall significance of Cursed Energy's usage was diluted.
For the first pioneers of Jujutsu Sorcerers who had discovered its capabilities, and tapped into even a smidgen of its force, it had become a terrifying wake up call to them. Yet, limited by their time and era in what they could truly achieve, they could never reach the true capabilities achieved by gods, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas.
Right now, Fushiguro Megumi had recently received an earful about the historical and scientific significance of Cursed Energy from Gojo Satoru... in his apartment complex rather than at Jujutsu Tech. Seriously, he was also sure this kind of subject didn't exist in his current curriculum, which had led to the point where he was at now.
"I control space with my Cursed Technique. Although that isn't the specific application of it, as it's actually infinity, the byproduct of manipulating the concept of infinity also by extension applies to space—because infinity exists in all forms of space which is present in our everyday lives and then some. Now, my dear student~! What is it that you know about space, its relative, and all the jargon that comes with it?"
"You tell me." Megumi took it as the cue for him to turn away and let out a huff of air. He did not need a university lecture about astrophysics, metaphysics, quantum mechanics, and all the like when it came from Gojo Satoru. His brain would melt first before all of that.
"C'mon, aren't you being too uninspired?" Gojo chuckled while shrugging in a manner that seemed to say, "welp! I give up!" That was before he began talking again, "Well, a Jujutsu Sorcerer's gotta know a lot of semantics and theories if they want to succeed in utilizing their Cursed Technique, so keep an open ear, 'kay?"
"I possess the Ten Shadows." The black-haired man began multi-task reading, listening to Gojo Satoru, reading a book, and replying to him. "Why would I need to learn about space and infinity? To counter your ability? I doubt that will happen any time soon." Or ever, for that matter.
"Uh, well, I dunno. They say that you've learnt something really well or are knowledgeable about it, if you can also teach somebody else it, ya' catch my drift?"
"Obviously, that doesn't apply to you."
"Geh! Whatever." Gojo let out a breath. "Keep yourself curious, losing that little part of your youth would be detrimental... for your abilities as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, too!" He did not forget to leave the last part spoken.
"...OK," he replied to his teacher.
"Ah, where do I begin now?" Gojo placed his hands behind his back and placed his right leg on his left knee, leaning back on his chair in the process. "Jujutsu Sorcery... fundamentally, it's pretty amazing, right?"
"There's no doubt about that," Megumi mumbled half-heartedly.
"Controlling infinity itself, manipulating shadows, they're all concepts that revolve around the world, because they quite literally exist in our little bubble of a universe." Gojo tapped the back of his head while speaking. "Cursed Energy is so malleable to the point where it can fuel Cursed Techniques, which then also "burns" the Cursed Energy in a way that it can do all sorts of crazy stuff."
"Controlling infinity and manipulating shadows, yes." Megumi nodded while repeating what the white-haired man had said. His pen started spinning between his fingers as he came over a text on the book which made him contemplate it over.
"Is there a limit to Cursed Energy? I dunno, it's probably limited to Refinement, Control, Reserves, and Output. Those are the limitations on them, and that's what comes from us." Gojo pointed to himself with a thumb. "Think of all the insane and crazy stuff that hasn't been found out about Cursed Energy and Cursed Techniques yet, what do you think some possibilities could be?"
"Erasing people from existence," he joked.
"Plausible." The white-haired man cupped his chin with a smile. "Manipulating reality. Tearing apart space-time. Perhaps time-travelling? Creating mathematical impossibilities? Touching the untouchable? Making a blackhole?"
"...I believe you're exaggerating, Gojo-sensei."
"Eh? Really~? I don't think so." All the teacher did was give his student an all-knowing smile. "After all, you have a Shikigami that can adapt to any and all phenomena, and I already have the ability to control space by manipulating infinity. Can you really say those are just exaggerations?"
"...Maybe you're right." Megumi still held some doubts, but he wasn't in the mood to debate with Gojo Satoru.
"Anyways, I've probably rambled on long enough," Gojo said. "To top it all off, I've actually been attempting to manipulate space via Limitless in a way that can also affect time, because they're relative in a way."
"Affect time...? How would that work?"
"Want my 236 page thesis?" The Strongest Sorcerer grinned. "I'm not allowed to publish it because the old heads up there—" he pointed upwards with his index finger "—wouldn't want the fashionable and great Gojo Satoru to be involved with in matters related to the "ignorant masses who possess no Cursed Energy," so if you want to read it over..."
"No way."
He visibly jolted from the denial to his request. "Aiya~! You can't do this to me, Megumi!" The white-haired man sprung from his seat while crying crocodile tears and latched onto the irritated black-haired man. "Do you know how many countless nights I've spent making up, theorizing, disproving, and elaborating on pre-established laws?! And now you're saying you don't want to read what I've poured my heart and soul into?!"
Megumi felt his eyelids twitch. Gojo Satoru did not spend countless sleepless nights making up that essay of his, in fact, he had already heard of the subject around a month ago when the white-haired man had preemptively brought it up to him.
It was completed in a few days only.
'...You're not fooling me, Gojo-sensei.' A tick mark grew on his forehead.
Why the hell did Gojo Satoru teach him more in his apartment than he did in school...? Albeit, he had to admit, most of the subjects taught in the former location were rather useless.
He doubted space and time was anything he would need to learn to grow as a Jujutsu Sorcerer. He utilized the Ten Shadows after all.
Mephisto stared from where he was stationed. His hand fiddled with the cane he was holding, and off into the horizon of the abandoned part of Chernobog. Lungmen were just in view, and making those oppressors suffer for the misdeeds they had done for the Infected was coming ever closer. With Skullshatterer as the first one to make contact, he would be the one to go in next. Although he was scheduled by Talulah to go in at a much later time, some plans had been changed in order to accommodate himself—with some convincing on his part, too.
With a hit to their overall firepower, risks needed to be taken, and a change of plans was the best one to accommodate for such a factor. With his horde, it would be child's play to overrun Lungmen, Talulah had said enough about his capabilities, and she was the greatest tactician that he knew! So that meant his activities would be more than enough to compensate for their altered modus operandi. Recruit the Infected, and his own touch—converting the ones who refuse to his horde.
If he could sneak in of course, and with Faust and the Phantom Crossbowmen ready to assist him... then the slums would be free for him to play with! To turn it against the city which had abandoned them. They should be thanking him, because he was alleviating them from the pain and suffering they had endured with his upcoming actions. Ah, how great the wind felt when it was blowing his way, especially during a time such as this! For now, he could turn away from the anxiety of Talulah's current condition and wreak havoc!
Footsteps were heard behind him as he turned around to see... W, the scuttering bug which just didn't fit with the crowd of Reunion. Disgusting. "What do you want, W?" Mephisto crossed his arms and regarded her tastelessly. "I'd expect you to plant bombs all over Lungmen for vantage points we could take—as FrostNova had said. Oh, or are you dilly-dallying while everybody else including Patriot are doing their portion, hm?" He tapped his cane impatiently.
"Jeez, you're always a blabbermouth when I get close to you. Got a stick up your ass this time? Oh, wait! You always do!" W chuckled while rolling her eyes, habitually tossing a deactivated remote upwards and catching it—or was it actually deactivated? 'Food for thought,' she mused to herself.
"You're always tossing that remote around when anybody's near you," Mephisto pointed out. "I wonder, when is the day you're going to detonate explosives under our feet?"
"Aha, you really wanna find out? Curiosity kills the Feline, ya' know?" W gave him a large grin. "A shithead like you should know that, because it's enough to kill a Draco, too!"
"...Che, shut up, Talulah's still standing strong." He narrowed his eyes.
"You mean laying strong~?" she sang out. "Sorry little guy, I don't think anybody in Reunion knows how to treat her, they got all the doctors scrambling their asses to find a way, and the best results we got was FrostNova freezing her in a block of ice!" The Sarkaz was just about to break out into laughter when seeing the seething expression of the Liberi in front of him.
"If Talulah was here, she would have already burnt you to a crisp!" Mehpisto yelled out to her, his anger finally boiling over.
"Yap, yap, yap, she isn't here now, is she?" W callously continued on, "So? Whatcha gonna do now?"
"You're lucky FrostNova assigned you to assist Skullshatterer, because I would have already made you a part of my horde," he spat.
"Mhm, keep talking." W presented her ear to him and leaned toward him with it.
A shadow cast over Mephisto's eyes as his grip on his cane became tighter. A few seconds more, and he was sure he would have had his entire horde charging at the audacious Sarkaz in front of him.
"Alright, if that's all you have to say to me, then I'm leaving," W commented and turned around, twirling the remote between her fingers as she gave him a wave. "Die or don't die out there, it doesn't really change much."
He watched with a glare as she disappeared, before letting his wrath calm down and ease itself. Letting out an annoyed sigh as his ointment, he turned back to the city of Lungmen far off in the distance, the city being almost a dot with the distance it was to Chernobog.
'In time,' he swore to himself.
"Misha, Misha..." Amiya repeated the name while glancing down at the tablet which held information of where she would be. "Doctor, stay close..." she muttered in the process of walking down the street, but suddenly didn't feel his presence anymore. "Huh?" She turned to her side and found that he was gone, before turning back and—he was walking in the opposite direction! "Doctor!"
"...Er?" The Doctor glanced behind himself and glanced at the Cautus who had jogged up to him. "What's wrong, Amiya?" He tilted his head with a confused expression.
"You were going the wrong way..." Amiya said with a pout. "I thought you were leaving me for a second, please, don't do that again."
"I was going the wrong way?" He pointed to himself while glancing back at where he was walking and back at Amiya. "What are you talking about?"
"Look, the map." The Cautus presented the tablet to him. "We're supposed to go in the other direction, not here."
"...Amiya, the tablet is upside-down."
"...Huh?" Amiya blinked once and then turned the object back around again, frantically taking a look at it, and... "Oh." It was upside-down. "Ah-ehm..." She didn't know what to say as her face became flushed from embarrassment.
"Okay, Amiya, let's go now." The Doctor sighed while patting her on the shoulder, and turned heel to go in the correct direction this time. "Did you get enough sleep last night?" Because he, himself, did not.
"Of course I did!" The brunette vehemently denied any suspicions he had. "It wouldn't be a good image for me if I didn't. Now come on, we need to find Misha as per our agreement with the L.G.D.." She grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him to where they were. "Penguin Logistics say they were located around here, and we also have Blacksteel mercenaries assisting us."
The Doctor kept his eyes peeled as his body continued to move with the Cautus pulling him. Chernobog felt like it was just yesterday despite the time that had passed, and the entire event still stuck to him, like the radiation that had been reverted by Operator Touch's Arts.
"Hold on..."
Suddenly, the Doctor was stopped in his tracks as Amiya stopped moving, and he saw sparks appear around her head, just ever so faintly. Her rabbit ears twitched while she closed her eyes in deep concentration, as if attempting to enhance her other senses. She was searching, searching for something extremely important, and by the second, the Doctor was confident that she had—
"I found her!" She sprung upwards. "Call the others here, we've completed this quicker than I thought!"
The Doctor nodded, agreeing to her words. "...Let's go then."
The walls of a bloodied and withered city were just in front of him as he had run upwards quickly to climb it. With silent footsteps and an excellent usage of the shadows to his stealthy advantage, he had completely scaled the structure of the parked Nomadic City and now had a good view of the familiar city. Chernobog, it was just in front of him—nay—right underneath his feet. The only problem was, he didn't know where Talulah was or where she was being stored, all he knew was that she had been cryofrozen by some Reunion member she had interrogated back in the slums, along with passing by some criminals while underway.
Killing had practically become second nature to him, but he felt nothing good or bad from it. A necessity was a necessity, and to forge a world that he wanted, that was an acquired still that he had to keep close to his heart. Saving, too, was just as great a necessity as killing was, however. So with those thoughts in mind, he took a deep breath to steady himself, before making haste to find out the Draco's location.
Megumi's answers were just right there. Now all he had to do—was reach it.
FrostNova didn't know when it began, but there had been a drastic change in Talulah that not even she or Patriot had anticipated. From the at times stern leader who could be the warming flame for Reunion was now a blazing inferno that would burn everything in her path without mercy. The one who would tolerate deserters and who possessed a heart of gold no longer existed, and she along with her father had seen it happen right before their very eyes. There were decisions made, there were deliberations made, but she couldn't bring herself to judge the Draco.
So here she stood, staring at the frozen state of Talulah as the marks of Oripathy had made its way on the surface of the dragon lady's skin. She slept serenely in the massive ice cube, as if she had been frozen in time itself. There was no anger, hatred, or some scheming look that hid her emotions, a state of existence that just... is. If only the Cautus could have understood more, but even she knew that it would prove to be a completely fruitless endeavor. Perhaps if things were different back then, but speculations and theorization would only bring her back to square one each and every time.
"Father..." FrostNova mumbled as she turned around, the surprisingly stealthy Wendigo having stepped up from behind her. "You keep doing that recently."
"Apologies, my daughter, it is a habit, I have honed over the course, of my time," Patriot responded while lowering his head. "I see you have, been in this room for, quite some time. Reunion needs a leader, my time has nearly gone, Talulah has fallen in both, mind and body, now there is only you, with a sensible mind."
"Don't say that, there are more sensible people other than me," she huffed. "I just don't think they possess the same authority as me. A majority of Reunion looks for a good speaker and a good fighter, I am only one of them."
"Nonsense, leadership is a, learned skill. Maybe if you had, listened to me instead of being so, headstrong like a gorilla in, Arts, then you could have, learned," the Wendigo countered.
"Eh? Me? A gorilla?" FrostNova deadpanned and pointed to herself. "Hah? You're the gorilla here with how tall you are," she spoke indignantly, with a hue of humor gracing her words.
"As harsh with your words, as ever." Patriot nodded, the motion laced with a small hint of pride and reciprocated humor. "Then we will see, how all else develops in the, future. With Rhodes Island, Lungmen, and the lost boy, we will bear witness to what Terra truly has, in waiting for us, and for or us all. There is no exception."
"There's no exception, huh?" FrostNova repeated what her father said in a lower tone. "We're all equal humans in the end... except for Mephisto," she whispered the last part out, "so death will arrive at our doorstep just as equally."
"When have you become, so cynical? It is unlike you, my daughter," Patriot chided his daughter while shaking his head.
"You're the one who keeps saying I read too many fairy tales," she countered back. "And now look at you, when your daughter's innocence is gone, you start become so melodramatic. Goodness, maybe Laurentina was right."
"She is a bad, influence."
"That didn't stop her or me, now did it."
"Sigh, my daughter has truly become, wayward. Mayhaps this is what, I had been warned with, by the other Wendigos during my, time. Such rebellious children."
FrostNova chuckled at his words after, for once feeling a warmth that wasn't merely just superficial, nor made from artificial means. For once, just as the everlasting frost of winter, she wished this moment could last forever, with herself, and her lost friend frozen in time. But alas, only scars remained a permanent mark, along with the constant tragedy that was Terra.
Moving forward, was the only option.
A/N: Crack Omakes, to alleviate the mood.
Amiya and Kal'tsit walked down the halls while discussing with one another, namely matters pertaining to Rhodes Island. It was just as similar to any other conversation they've shared with one another, rather mundane and one focused more on business than anything else. What made it different from most of the usual ones however, was the faint amicable air between them which could only be seen by a doctor's eye.
"How is the recent progress on installing the proposed features by the engineer?" Kal'tsit glanced down at her clipboard while another hand was placed over her mouth. Her brows were creased downwards in great focus as she analyzed every single detail on it meticulously, from the hidden meaning between words and the socioeconomic impact it could have for the world of Terra. "I heard Closure said it was a risky endeavour to have it installed, and all other engineers present had agreed with her. But if it succeeded as they had predicted, the positive results would have been, I quote, "unimaginable." The validity of such a statement has still yet to be seen."
"...Dr. Kal'tsit, you've told me this already." Amiya smiled nervously to some degree before a bead of sweat flowed down from the side of her cheek. "I'm pretty sure it's the third time. Or was it the fourth...?"
"Hm, be it as it may, analyzing and taking into factor everything that comes from a highly relegated project which poses many risks—along with benefits—should require a reasonable degree of scrutiny. Such is what I believe should be taken into consideration when taking into account a highly volatile project such as this, and from Closure no less, after her notably negative streak of failures in recent times when it came to conceptual projects with a clearly defined goal and benefit, but an uncharted—"
"Uhm, I think I understand," Amiya raised her hand and grabbed the clipboard. "Thank you for giving me the lecture, Dr. Kal'tsit. I'll be sure to take every single possible detail into consideration as you have said." The Cautus kept up her smile, hoping that the Lynx would finally stop yapping her ears off. She loved her like a parent, but sometimes she could... talk too much.
"I see, that's understandable and a relief to hear from you. After all, the position of—"
VROOM!
Just as Amiya had dreaded to hear another session of professional Yapanese of somebody who had spent their entire lifetime developing a PhD in, something had streak by the large hallway they were in, producing a billowing gray smoke from where the wheels had drifted. Yes, wheels, and they were of the four-pronged kind, below a mundane chair used for equally mundane activities, one not possessing a single backrest for the bearer of its mantle to enjoy.
Two stool chairs, and its driver's overwhelming intensity!
"I..." Kal'tsit blinked a few times and scrunched her eyebrows in slight irritation, as she waved her clipboard in the air to dispel the smoke. Once it had, she along with Amiya widened their eyes as they were brought to a brilliant/stupid (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) spectacle in front of them. "What is...?"
"Ah...?" Amiya finally saw what she was behind the smoke, and it immediately brought her memories of a certain time she had witnessed beforehand.
Indeed, the stool race racing competition. The most venerated championship in the entirety of Rhodes Island, which spoke of its unmitigated importance and significance amongst all Operators who hold any degree of respect for the landship. It was a symbol, a hierarchical statement amongst all members of where they stood upon the imaginary and infallible structure.
Atop their steel and leather vehicles of blistering speed, were the two and only...
LOGOS, THE STRONGEST CASTER OF TODAY!
And...
EIGHT-HANDLED SWORD DIVERGENT SILA DIVINE GENERAL MAHORAGA!
(Piloted by its Sovereign!)
The sick-ass drift had been finished, and the world paused for when dialogue was made between the two racers who could outspeed time itself.
Fushiguro Megumi, who sat atop Mahoraga in a piggy-back ride while steering the Dharmachakra like a car wheel spoke first, "You may have gained an advantage in Round 1 and the beginning of this Round, Logos, and I have to admit that you're more skilled than I could have expected..."
"I could say the same, Operator Megumi," Logos replied, sharing the same sentiment of ignoring the flabbergasted spectators who were attempting to register what they were seeing. "But I must admit I have remained undefeated in this sport before even time had been granted a name. So if I may ask, do you believe you will be the one to come out victorious?"
"Heh, you don't seem to understand..." Megumi gravely spoke, along with the markings of the King of Curses and his quadruple eyes formed, "Mahoraga has already adapted!"
In a blink of an eye, the scene in front of Amiya and Kal'tsit flashed as Fushiguro Megumi spun the Dharmachakra like a car wheel and distorted the air of space itself, all the while cryptic texts of unspoken power flowed from Logos' body; encompassing him like a wreath of primordial elegance and splendor.
KLNK!
FWOOSH!
VROOM!
The two were lost from sight, driving straight out of the scene and leaving another cloud of smoke.
The other two spectators who were watching felt their clothes being thrown up and kicked about by the wind, staring at where the two had departed.
Salus grinned as she finished her whispers, along with the needed process to read through Fushiguro Megumi's memories. As her Arts worked its effect on the stunned man, the information started to flow into her mind like a cacophony of sounds spiraling into a symphony of elegant notes. She knew, that at this moment, all secrets of Cursed Energy, Cursed Spirits, and the other world will be revealed—
"As JOGOAT opened his Domain, he said are you the strongest because you're nah I'd win in history the one who left it all behind always bet on Hakari or because you are stand proud you're strong with this sacred treasure, I summon I'm you turn up the volume—"
'W-what...?' The teal-haired Sarkaz found her eyes widening as she was stunned by the... utterly incomprehensible sentence being thrown her way. No... it wasn't even a sentence at all! It was just... words!
"Throughout Heaven and Earth You Are My Specialz Domain Expansion Have Brought Out 120% Of Their Potential The Exception But That's How Losers Think To The One Who Left It All Behind For The Funeral For The Living I Alone Am Strong—"
'S-stop it...!' Salus felt her hands shaking as he walked back, and grasped her head. "Enough of this! W-what is this...?!" A yell left her mouth as she could feel the endless information start to fully set itself in her mind, "G-gahk!"
"Ah, yes..." Megumi let out a sigh as he casually stood up, having recovered from the stunned state he was previously in. "My Lobotomy Technique I haven't used since the Lungmen Era. Lay ashamed, you're weak."
While he stood in a magnificent pose in order to aura farm, Salus continued to grasp at her head at the endless and unbridled might of Lobotomy Kaisen's brain rotting influence.
The Dossoles Warrior Championship, a testament of skill for whoever participated, and the activity that Fushiguro Megumi was about to participate in after having been dragged into by Lin Yuhsia and Ch'en Hui-chieh.
D.D.D. looked at the black-haired man, and then at the two other people who were standing at the side. "So... you're the next contestant that's been nominated? Ah, great! All the spots have been filled then!" A hyped up voice left him as she grinned from under the strange hood he wore, as he struck a pose. "Can I get a name, esteemed warrior who's decided to assist these two girls in their endeavors?"
"...I'm not participating." The black-haired man deadpanned.
"Huh?!" Ch'en yelled out from the side. "You're not participating? But you agreed to help!" She was practically fuming, already recalling the promise he had made when they had cleared out a bunch of thugs in the preliminaries.
"She's right, you made a promise." Lin was more calm between the two, but even her peeved attitude couldn't be disguised. "Don't tell us you're bailing out at the last second."
"I said I would help you guys, not that I would participate," Megumi off-handedly remarked while glancing away, toward where the championships were happening. "D.D.D., you said that the last contestant here has yet to make his entrance, right?"
"Come again?" Although D.D.D. was quite confused with the feud happening in front of him, he still had enough sense to answer his question. "Uh, yeah! You're supposed to be the last contestant, right? Or do you not wanna participate and disappoint all the fans who are anticipating this year's Championship? Come on, man!"
"Don't worry." A small chuckle escaped the Jujutsu Sorcerer's lips as he turned to where the tunnel leading to the debut catwalk. "If I had to participate in the Dossoles Warrior Championship, and I was nominated as the last member through a misunderstanding, then it might be a bit difficult to get out..."
"...But would you fail to find a way out?" Ch'en crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"Nah, I'd WITH THIS SACRED TREASURE, I SUMMON...!"
EIGHT-HANDLED SWORD DIVERGENT SILA DIVINE GENERAL MAHORAGA
Lin and Ch'en blinked with confusion as a cocoon appeared, before quickly splitting open and tearing apart the strings which were attached to it. D.D.D. blinked owlishly while taking a step back, while the gigantic beast of pale skin fell onto the ground and stomped its foot, producing a reverberation which shook the entire stage and beyond.
"Big raga," Megumi said toward his Divine General, "fuck up them opps and win this tournament."
The wheel spun.
KLNK!
Ch'en and Lin could feel the color leaving their faces.