Threads of Infinity chapter 7: Infinity Unleashed
The echoes of Tsukasa's violent outbursts still rang in the air, the tremors of his cursed energy shaking the earth beneath his feet. His breath came in ragged gasps, his body trembling, but the fire in his eyes was unyielding. The destruction around him felt insufficient, like it could never be enough to fill the chasm Satoru's departure had left behind.
The ground beneath his feet cracked once more, the force of his frustration bursting outward in another blast of energy. As he stood in the center of the wreckage, his heart thudding painfully in his chest, a voice broke through the chaos.
"Tsukasa, enough."
An elder from the Gojo clan stepped out from the shadows of the estate, his graying hair reflecting the dim light of the moon. The man's eyes were sharp, filled with a calm disapproval that did nothing to cool Tsukasa's rage.
"You think this kind of outburst will get you anywhere?" the elder demanded, his tone stern but not unkind. "Control your emotions. You're wasting your energy."
Tsukasa spun around, his eyes wild with fury. "Control? Control?! What do you know about control?!" His voice cracked, the anger threatening to boil over. "Satoru left me! He abandoned me!"
"Enough!" The elder's voice was more forceful this time, his frame stiffening as he took a step forward. "Stop wallowing in your pity. If you want to be strong, you must learn to control yourself. Letting your emotions dictate your actions will only hold you back."
Tsukasa's fists clenched again, his entire body trembling with the weight of his frustration. "I don't need your advice! I don't need any of you!" His voice was raw with pain, and without warning, he surged forward, a spike of cursed energy flaring up from him.
The elder, seeing the fury in Tsukasa's eyes, moved swiftly. His hand shot out to slap Tsukasa across the face, as if to knock some sense into him. But just as the slap descended, a strange, oppressive stillness filled the air.
Tsukasa's cursed energy surged to an unearthly level, far beyond his control. His eyes flared with power as something inside him snapped—a barrier of unseen force surrounded him, like a veil of infinite distance between him and everything else. The elder's hand stopped, suspended in midair just inches from Tsukasa's face.
The elder's eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat. "What...?" His hand trembled, unable to move any closer, as if it had hit an invisible wall. The very air around Tsukasa was thick with the weight of an overwhelming power.
Tsukasa stood still, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths, his heart racing with the intensity of what was happening. The overwhelming surge of cursed energy that had exploded from his grief and rage was now manifesting as a tangible force, one that froze everything in its path.
It was Infinity.
The elder took a step back, his gaze shifting between Tsukasa and the stillness in the air, realizing the gravity of what had just unfolded. "You... you unlocked Infinity," he murmured, more to himself than to Tsukasa.
Tsukasa's eyes glinted with a mix of disbelief and dark satisfaction. The slap had been stopped—not by his will, but by the power he was beginning to wield. He could feel the immense, oppressive power flowing through him, and yet, it felt hollow. Empty.
His voice was low, the anger still boiling beneath the surface. "I don't need anyone. I'll get stronger on my own."
The elder said nothing, his expression unreadable as he turned on his heel, leaving Tsukasa alone in the silence that followed. The barrier of Infinity dissolved, and the night air settled back into its oppressive stillness.
Tsukasa stood in the center of the ruined training ground, his small body trembling with the weight of what he had just unlocked. His emotions, his rage, had given birth to this terrifying new power. But even as he basked in the overwhelming surge of energy, the emptiness inside him remained. The one person he had relied on had left him, and now, he was alone.
But perhaps... perhaps that was the way it was always meant to be.