My first thought upon awakening was that life was a scam, and I should sleep forever. This was immediately followed by extreme sensory overload.
Everything was a blur, dull ringing filled my ears, a metallic scent overwhelmed everything else, my skin felt overly sensitive, and the less said about this eerie taste in my mouth, the better.
I also somehow felt taller, which was just compounded with everything else in a nauseating mixture.
"Ughhh." My head was throwing up, and I felt like spinning. "This sucks ass. Did I drink? I hate drinking. I think."
Yet, I remember have a fondness for some traditional sake despite never having tasted it? Or had I?
That was weird. I was speaking, but the words felt strange. Familiar, yet unfamiliar. Like a language I had spoken my entire life, but was somehow also speaking for the first time. This couldn't be normal, right?
Though as my headache eased, more important questions came to mind.
Who am I? My thoughts were just out of reach that such a question remained, well, a question. I needed to figure out where I was as well. This certainly wasn't a bed.
"Oh?" A voice, not my own, called out. "Isn't this quite the surprise?"
With my senses gradually returning to something closer to normalcy, I turned to look at this stranger in my 'bedroom'.
A monk of some sort with a massive stitch on his head, looking at me curiously. There was something awfully familiar about this person. A cosplayer, but of whom? Or did I happen to know some other monk?
Also, it appeared I was in some kind of station. I briefly thought of New York City, but immediately shot that down as all the posters I saw had some kind of script/kanji, advertisements for this or that product.
Was I in Japan? Obviously, why wouldn't I be?
That…might make sense? Another self-contradicting sense of familiarity and dissonance emerged. This was becoming an irritatingly familiar pattern of events.
"Erm, hello," I said, the words felt a bit smoother now. Still uncomfortable in a way that boggled my mind, but it was getting better. "Sorry to be a bother, but would you happen to know where I am?"
Sniffing slightly and noting that the metallic scent remained, I raised a hand under my nose and took it away.
It was red.
Blood.
This probably wasn't a good thing. Blood was supposed to stay on the inside, I was reasonably certain.
"Shibuya." The monk, kind enough to answer what he must think is a crazy drunk, answered politely. "I wonder…did that Domain Expansion damage your brain, somehow kickstarting a latent sorcerous potential? You aren't one of mine, that much I am certain."
"What are you talking about?" The haze following my return to the waking world had almost entirely lifted, and while my head still hurt, it wasn't overpowering my capacity for rational thought. Clarity of the self, who I was, remained out of reach, but I was beginning to get a proper grasp of my surroundings now. "Who are you?"
"Just an observer." The monk, who was probably not just an observer, smiled. "As interesting as this is, I have to keep an eye on something, and you seem a little out of sorts, no?"
I hesitated; the monk had gestured to a strange-looking box sitting on the shattered ground. There was something distinct, unnatural about this situation that was something even my technically functional mind could understand.
Though that seemed like all the more reason to remove myself from this situation.
"I'll take that as a yes." The monk's smile remained, but it seemed less like the comforting visage of some kindly man and more the kind of glee from an evil scientist, driven by curiosity. "I'd advise getting moving; it is going to get quite busy around here soon."
"Rush hour?" Once more, the specifics eluded me, but I would probably want to avoid that if Japan were anything like America. Which it sort of was, if more organized in its business.
Damn it all!
"In a manner of speaking, yes."
"Alright, then I'd best get going." Staying with the monk and his weird box seemed like a bad idea, but I also had a suspicion that this 'rush hour' was already here. "Up the stairs, right?"
"Yes, follow the signs, and you should reach the surface at some point." The monk waved, and it felt sincere. "Be careful, strangers can be terrifying."
You were still a stranger, too!
"Thanks?" I slowly started walking away before pausing for a moment. "I didn't get your name."
"I am known as Suguru Geto." I wasn't sure of much of anything right now, but I was certain that he hadn't actually answered my question.
"One last thing…" I turned back to see the monk's smile widen. A small stretching of the mouth, yet it transformed an almost warm smile into something that sent a shiver down my spine.
"Welcome to the world of Jujutsu sorcery."
Logically, I should have ignored such odd words, but there was a truth to his words that seemed to resonate with me. My circumstances, the monk and his box, and this deep, dark sensation that seemed to settle in my upset stomach.
I might not know who I was, but there was something that I did know.
I was a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Whatever that meant.
This was probably not good news.
[Cycling CE…]
"What are you doing?" Kenjaku smiled as Uraume questioned him bluntly. Sending one more cursed spirit out and about wasn't too taxing on his output, especially such a straightforward one. It was technically strong, on paper, but it was too situational to be valuable in the future.
"As you can see, I am stuck here until the Prison Realm adjusts to Gojo Satoru." The box remained stationary, even as he pulled at it demonstratively. "I'm killing time and indulging in a small curiosity."
Brain damage awakening a sorcerer. How amusing. The stars must have aligned or forces beyond even his comprehension were at play. Interesting, either way.
"Are you not worried they will exorcize that spirit?" It took a moment before Kenjaku understood the meaning of those words.
Ah, Mahito. An exceptionally talented Cursed Spirit, but ultimately expendable. Itadori and his friends had done a wonderful job developing his technique. Surely, by the end of the night everything would be set for the Culling Games.
"I have a few lesser spirits keeping an eye on things, I'll intervene if that is the case." Kenjaku doubted it would be that simple. Gojo Satoru's strength was incredible, but it had brought a certain complacency to the world of Jujutsu.
What was there to fear in the darkest shadows when the invincible Gojo would solve everything?
Nothing but his tolerance, of course.
As a result, Jujutsu Society's available combat prowess was woefully underprepared.
Okkotsu Yuta was in Africa, and the last remaining Special Grade was a free spirit and difficult to keep tabs on, but unlikely to intervene. She rarely did, after all.
Meanwhile, Jujutsu Society faced three Disaster Curses: Jogo, Mahito, and of course little Dagon.
Three Special Grades and not a single Special Grade sorcerer on site.
They might be able to beat Dagon, in fact they probably would.
That spirit possessed potential, but unactualized potential might as well not exist. Unless Dagon could evolve fast enough in combat, a few well synchronized Grade 1 Sorcerers like the Head of the Zenin and that Nanami Kento could pull through, even in spite of Dagon's Domain.
Mahito's power fluctuated, but his growth was undeniable the fast of the bunch. Given time and experience, he would likely be the strongest of them. Alas, his obsession with individuals who had proven resistant to his technique might spell his undoing.
And then there was Jogo, the strongest combatant barring himself. As long as he intervened, it was hopeless. His desire to convince Sukuna to join the cause was the real tragedy, because Kenjaku doubted that he would succeed or retain his life for attempting such a thing.
And of course, there was the King of Curses himself. Should things unfold properly, Sukuna would regain more of his power than he had lost and be capable of temporarily usurping control of Itadori Yuji's body.
The King of Curses would return, at least for a grand showing. Perhaps he would finally learn the reasons behind his unusual movements following his awakening. Something had caught his eye.
"I hope that you have everything under control." It was a statement, but the threat behind it was crystal clear.
"Absolute control is the great illusion, Uraume." He crouched down, tapping the Prison Realm. "The true mastermind acknowledges this and turns it to his advantage. Adaptability to surprises is a skill I value greatly for a reason."
What a fun day this was.
[Booting Up Technique…]
Whatever sort of magic Jujutsu Sorcerers had, an innate inner compass was not one of them, because I realized about ten to fifteen minutes later that I had somehow become hopelessly lost in what can only be Exit 8, Full Dive edition.
My instincts told me that something was going on here, but that was glaringly obvious.
Eerie corridors that were disturbingly well-lit and maintained? Add in the needlessly convoluted passages and lack of clear direction? Something was going on here.
The two possibilities were that I was someone hopeless with directions, a sentiment my inconsistently appearing memories refused to either corroborate or refute, or that fuck-ass monk had given me shitty directions into some sort of death trap.
I chose to blame someone else for my problems.
At least my nose had stopped bleeding. It was an uncomfortable sensation, and wiping it on the sleeve of this pretty nice suit seemed like a shame.
A light shattered, and I looked up. The bulb in front of me had apparently ended its life dramatically.
"Surely that has to be against some kind of safety regulation?" Nothing in me seemed to be an expert on Japanese metro code, though.
It was a bit odd, but one broken light bulb wasn't enough to worry me.
Which is why I started worrying only after the second and third lightbulbs, just after the first, followed their companion in shattering. After a brief pause, the lightbulbs further along continued to shatter, and the upcoming hall gradually darkened as each lightbulb shattered.
"Nope." I turned around. I wasn't walking into that. But Lady Luck did not smile upon me as I was met with a dead end that had not been there before. "Of course."
By this point, the hallway was almost completely darkened. The faint, flickering illumination of the occasional advertisement boards only made the corridor that much more unsettling.
I squinted, noting that there was a vague sense of befuddlement and that I did not have to wear glasses.
There was something in the middle of the path, down the corridor. Something that had not been there when the hallway was bright, only visible with the occasional flicker of a nearby advertisement board.
It was a pair of legs.
Not someone whose legs were the only thing I could see, but a literal pair of legs standing in the corridor. Chalk white, hairless, and androgenous limbs. The top of the thighs seemed more vivid, a dark red.
Bloodied.
Something supernatural was going on, even my discombobulated self could discern that much.
I blinked and found myself in a restored corridor. The lights had mystically repaired themselves, brightening the hallway again. Even the glass on the floor had disappeared.
But in the distance, the legs had disappeared. Beyond it, the corridor seemed to open up, not outside, but not this endless path to nowhere.
I was being hunted.
Presumably by a pair of legs.
"So, I'm walking into a trap." The worst part was that I didn't really have a choice in the matter. My path back was blocked, and the only way forward was in the direction my spectral stalker wanted to corral me towards.
This was a supernatural world and if that monk's words had any value, I was a 'Jujutsu Sorcerer' as well.
I had noted earlier that while the sensory overload had slowly lessened as I had wandered through this metro, that dark, overbearing sensation in my gut had remained. Yet it didn't feel harmful to me, despite the clear negativity.
Was this my 'mana'? It had to be, otherwise I was fucked. Whether this was a 'strong' opponent or some weak mob didn't really matter.
I wasn't some expert fighter, super genius, or a mysterious secret assassin. That much my scattered memories could agree on decisively. I was an American college student/Japanese salary man with no/minimal combat experience.
This meant that 'supernatural power' would need to be my crutch. This new sensation was noticeably different from anything I had experienced before, so perceiving it was no issue.
Like an entirely new limb, the sensation reacted to my will. From my gut, it spread throughout my body. Sluggishly, like it had just woken up as well, but something was happening.
I hoped I was doing this right. If this was anything like Nasuverse physical reinforcement, the danger of blowing myself up existed but I doubted I had any alternatives.
Sink or swim.
Raising my arm, I slammed into the walls. A little surprisingly, it cracked and caved in slightly on impact.
A promising start and hopefully enough to give me a fighting chance.
I walked forward, it would be rude to keep whoever this was waiting.
The relief at leaving the never-ending corridor was replaced by exasperation as I found myself in a metro station, just like the one I had met that monk upon waking up minutes ago.
It was a different one, more worn down, dirty, with poorly kept ads lining the walls. This would have been odd on its own, considering how well kept the hallway leading here was, but there were red marks everywhere.
Some were obviously handprints, but those were accompanied by strange smudges dragged along every which way. On the walls, the roof, and even over some of the faint lights; giving everything a faint red hue.
Handprints and smudges, so the legs weren't alone.
Actually, I couldn't see any footprints which meant that either it hid its tracks well or something else was in here. Or somethings. There were a lot of smears for just one thing to make.
I readied myself. This was my first fight. There was some fear, my heart beating faster and my skin tingling in a way that had me ready to pounce at any threat. But there was something more there.
Something beyond just anticipation.
Eagerness.
There was only the briefest of indications, something I barely perceived. An old tile crumbling as something with heft pressed down upon it and hurtled itself down the station faster than most living things should be capable of.
Turning towards it, barely, my energy reinforcing my body as best as it could before I was flung away into a wall, slamming into with enough momentum to leave a faint outline before dropping down to the floor.
My bones rattled and my arms stung from the force of the ram, yet I remained standing.
Not the legs this time, I had apparently found the rest of those legs' body as I looked upon a ragged girl dragging herself across the floor.
Her body only existed above the waist, everything below was a slow, but constant flow of blood that seemed to help lubricate well enough for high-speed attacks despite her disproportionate body.
Teke-Teke.
A Japanese urban legend about a girl who was cut in half by a train. Fitting spirit for the metro, I suppose.
Were the legs and the upper half of the body two separate spirits somehow? Or was there something more at play. How would killing one impact the other?
"Doesn't matter, I guess." I stretched my arms and legs as the girl's bloodshot eyes locked in my direction. "I'll be figuring it out soon enough."
I had no idea who I was.
I barely understood where I was.
But there were two things I knew for sure.
I was going to fight this thing.
And I am going to win.
[Cursed Technique Activated]
[Chaos Gacha Online]
Author's Note: I wasn't sure where to end this, but I felt like this was a good point. Bit shorter than I thought, but it leaves room to expand for Chapter 1 (which will be longer). Be sure to check out Jujutsu Kaisen: Death Trade on Webnovel, it was the base premise that inspired this (SI into a Shibuya Gojo DE Victim) though with a different technique and progression.
Originally, the Kenjaku PoV was going to be the ending, but I decided it broke up the MC PoV better instead.
As always, constructive criticism and compliments alike are always welcome! Be sure to point out any grammar mistakes. I've abandoned Grammarly, since it is garbage and basically just slop at this point, but that means I might miss some glaringly obvious mistakes since I am relying only on my own eyes and my computer's spell-check.Last edited: Apr 4, 2026321KingNecron101Mar 17, 2026NewView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 1: Sorcery Fight NewView contentKingNecron101Mar 19, 2026#9A Funeral for the Living
JJK Chaos Gacha SIChapter 1: Sorcery Fight[Cursed Technique Initiating]
[Chaos Gacha Online]
As I started to prepare myself to go on the offensive, I felt my Cursed Energy pulse and was taken off guard by a sudden rush of understanding regarding my power that followed.
There was nothing of it visible in the world, but it was impossible for me not to be aware of this facet of my existence from now on.
The Chaos Gacha.
Another name that was familiar to me, but I wasn't sure if it was a memory returning or this 'Technique' itself.
I could gain 'tickets' which would allow me to gain a myriad of different things ranging from abilities to skills, or even intrinsic traits.
I could only have two Techniques equipped at the moment, on top of the Chaos Gacha itself, with extras being stored
[Accrued Feats]['Survive' Unlimited Void]
[+1 Silver Ticket][Encounter Suguru Geto (?)]
[+1 Bronze Ticket][Comprehend Active Cursed Energy Reinforcement (No Teacher)]
[+1 Silver Choice Ticket] --> [+1 Gold Choice Ticket]
I looked forward and the half-bodied girl who had rammed into me like an angry boar.
Despite its earlier aggressive attack, it had entered an odd motionless state. It sat there, propped up by its arms and bleeding slowly over the floor all the while looking in some random direction.
Odd, but who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth?
I wasn't sure how long this brief reprieve would last, so I focused on processing the information on my best chance at survival, this 'Chaos Gacha'.
Surviving Unlimited Void? Context suggested that it was probably the 'Domain Expansion that this 'Geto' had mentioned. The quotation marks were honest, considering my current staggered mental breakdown.
Meeting Suguru Geto warranted a ticket? Definitely someone of importance. Maybe a mentor type of individual? Though he had sent me out into this mess, maybe it was an accident? Either way, it was better to keep up my guard next time I see him.
The final notification actually provided some interesting information. Cursed Energy reinforcement, which meant my idea was on point. Learning it by myself also appeared to have boosted the reward I got, maybe since it was more impressive?
A Choice ticket seemed to let me just choose the type of roll, making me wonder if there was something special about learning Reinforcement that warranted a different type of ticket.
More topically, each of these events was of some sort of significance, with the 'greater' reward being from something that I had actively accomplished rather than something that I had passively encountered.
Without hesitating, I began to roll the tickets I had.
The very first exchange of blows had already highlighted something, in spite of my instincts and some sort of basic martial arts knowledge, I was still in the dark about a lot of things. I would have to work under the assumption that I was the underdog, which made sense considering how easily this thing had rag dolled me. If I hadn't learned Reinforcement or readied myself beforehand, it was likely that the first attack would have injured me badly.
So, I started off with the Silver and Bronze tickets.
[Rolling Silver Ticket][Shadow Ball]
Uncommon Technique
Allows you to conjure and launch a fast-moving orb made of shadows that carries destructive power and deals additional damage to spirits. Contact has a 20% chance to reduce an enemy's defense.[Rolling Bronze Ticket][Daisy]
Trash Familiar
Doom - A cute, if not unremarkable brown pet rabbit named Daisy. Despite being the former pet rabbit of the Doom Slayer it is still just a regular brown rabbit.
The duality of my luck was something.
Shadow Ball was incredible, that was the only thing I could say as knowledge on this ability flooded my mind. The move from Pokémon, which made the special damage, make more sense.
Ghost-Types are weak to Ghost-Types.
For an Uncommon Technique it was surprisingly potent. The only real restriction was that it had to a 'fast-moving orb made of shadows', other properties seemed to depend on how it was cast by the user.
With practice, changing the amount of energy outputted by the technique might allow me to make some advanced moves using Shadow Ball as the base. Just off the top of my head, a low damage, but high fire rate barrage of miniature Shadow Balls like Balas from that one show.
The chance to reduce defense was icing on the cake.
On the other hand of the spectrum, we had my first 'Familiar'.
I had a pet if I didn't die here in this haunted metro station.
That was just Gacha, I suppose. Sometimes you get lucky, and sometimes you get fucked. Bronze, which I intuitively understood as the lowest ranking, might surprise you, but don't count on it at least.
The final ticket was my 'Choice' ticket and my highest ranking one yet, Gold.
The temptation to roll another Technique was present. Shadow Ball was exceptional and having another Technique might fill up any flaws that it happened to have in my current situation. After a moment, I ignored the urge.
I could only hold two additional Techniques at once and it was easier to focus on one new ability at a time. While I could get lucky and get a perfect Technique to work in tandem with Shadow Ball, something useless or poorly synergistic seemed more likely.
A trait or skill could provide a passive buff, which would give me an edge without juggling two different sets of powers.
I'd go with Trait, for now.
[Rolling Gold Choice Ticket: Trait][Sensor]
Uncommon Trait
You have always had a knack for sensing and locating energy/mana/chakra etc. Your ability to sense and locate energy as well as your Thinker abilities are enhanced.
Sensor?
My perception expanded as I could feel the Cursed Energy in the environment with clarity.
This was really a Gold Ticket worthy Trait.
What was really interesting was that I could faintly detect the 'flavor' or 'nature' of Cursed Energy. While it seemed CE in general was negative, there were subtle tints to it. My own was naturally chaotic but this Teke-Teke felt static.
A different energy seemed to permeate the area and even connected to the upper body of the Teke-Teke.
"Less a sentient being and more some kind of golem?" Were spirits just like this, or was it under something's control? What was the connection to the legs?
Why trap me if it wasn't going to attack?
Either there was some condition for it to attack that I was no longer fulfilling or something was making the controller stay their hand.
Caution? I had felt my Cursed Energy pulse and fluctuate, which means it might be detectable by someone.
A brief attempt at expanding my sensory radius and strength decided my course of action. Nothing changed.
Which wasn't surprising.
Sensor was an Uncommon Trait and frankly already gave me a foundation in a skill I had barely even touched upon, the future boost it could provide also boosted its value. It had given me more than enough for such a long-term Trait.
I could spend time and improve my sensory abilities later.
"Fine, hide if you want." I entered my ready stance again, hands out. Sensor not only allowed me to perceive around me, but also internal energy which I had briefly dabbled in with Cursed Energy Reinforcement.
I might as well test Shadow Ball now and get a proper feel for the Technique and its intricacies
Starting out simple, I stretched out my right hand and allowed my Cursed Energy to coalesce in my palm as the new Cursed Technique guided the formation of the Shadow Ball.
As soon as it formed, I launched the lowest power Shadow Ball into a wall away from the spirit and my own location. It struck swiftly, but seemed to be mostly concussive in nature at such a low level.
The Teke-Teke twitched, but outside of a small quirk of the head, it remained still.
I wanted to test each level of the Shadow Ball, from one second up to whatever the maximum was, but in the current situation I'd just go for the maximum and gauge how potent it was.
I allowed the Technique to activate at once and my Cursed Energy flowed into my palms as I began forming another Shadow Ball.
One second.
It started off as a small vortex of shadow forming a small marble of darkness while I felt a slight reduction in my reserves.
Two seconds.
With a continuous flow of Cursed Energy, it quickly bulked up to a size bigger than an apple. The shape was distinct and the form felt more stable than the 'marble' version.
Three seconds.
After three seconds, it reached the size of my head when I noticed an increase in demand for energy for the growth demonstrated seconds prior.
Four seconds
At the four second mark, the Shadow Ball ceased expanding and seemed to stabilize though the shape flickered slightly, either from reaching the limit of the Technique or my own inexperience.
A small stream of Cursed Energy continued to flow in, stabilizing the attack. Once I 'disconnected' this stream, the attack would launch and destabilize upon impact.
I took a moment to admire the attack. A writhing mass of shadows ready to destroy my enemies when launched. Maybe there was some avenue where I could use it as a close combat weapon, like a DIY Rasengan?
Putting the thought in the back of my mind, I turned my gaze back to the spirit.
The Teke-Teke still remained docile and while part of me acknowledged that this was some of trap, the truth was that I was stuck here and not springing the trap didn't seem like a possibility.
A twitch of my finger disconnected the slight flow of Cursed Energy I was feeding into the orb and sent the Shadow Ball launching. While not as fast as the One Second Shadow Ball, it was still deceptively fast as it flew across the room and straight into my target.
It wasn't like a fist sinking into flesh, but rather like an explosion of darkness bursting upon impact. So, too, did the Teke-Teke's body, flesh vanishing as it disappeared and the wall behind it shattered and crumbled.
I had my feet planted, which was fortunate since otherwise the force would have surely knocked me on my ass.
A Four Second Shadow Ball was powerful. There was nothing left and it possessed a considerable Area of Effect. Probably overkill depending on how strong this spirit was stacked up against others.
It was a decisive move, but the charging time was an issue. Normally, four seconds was a small interval.
In combat, however, it was unwieldy. I'd either need support from allies or possess and simultaneously use another Technique to buy myself the opportunity to charge it up.
Though, maybe I could use some faster Shadow Balls as an intermediary? I had the feeling that multiple simultaneously Shadow Balls were possible, especially if the others were much quicker and lower powered.
The concussive nature of the One Second Shadow Ball seemed optimal for buying time.
I didn't get too much time to ponder as a faint ringing started emanating from somewhere. The intercom?
Well, it started out faint and slowly grew in both pitch and volume, distorting slightly.
The flickering lights also grew brighter and brighter, turning the room from one bathed in shadows with only the faintest hints of red into a bright red, like those old film processing rooms.
My ears began to sting as the sound and light continued to escalate as I kept a watchful eye around the room. My sensory abilities, limited though they may be, also helped me as whatever was going on progressed further.
It reached a finale as the lights shattered and the noise from the intercom became a garbled mess.
The only source of brightness in the room was a lone light at the center of the station, strained and dim but still hanging on in spite of everything. It also was one of the few lights that hadn't been stained by that thing's smeared blood.
Tentatively, I walked away from the wall and towards the center. Sensor increased my perception to a degree, but standing in the dark with whatever creature was watching me was asking for trouble.
As I reached the center of the room, a crumbling sound caught my ear. I had briefly considered if it was the structural instability from my destruction of the Teke-Teke, but this noise was coming from another side of the station entirely.
Faintly, in the shadows I could just barely make out the wall collapsing. Not from structural damage, but from physical force as something clawed its way through.
The Teke-Teke, again.
Or perhaps more accurately, a Teke-Teke as more sounds from different positions popped up.
The thud of something falling from the roof, the shattering of a wall, and even the vibrations as the floor itself was sundered by things climbing out.
It made sense now.
That first Teke-Teke had indeed been a trap, but not for any condition or counter-attack move like I had initially suspected.
It had been bait.
To draw my attention and also examine whatever I could do.
"As soon as the appetizer is finished, in comes the main course." My mouth felt dry as I took stalk of my situation.
My Cursed Energy felt plentiful, I barely felt a drop after Shadow Ball but destroying these copies would just be entering into a battle of attrition. I didn't know how many there were or how cumbersome making more might be for whatever was creating it.
There were multiple upper bodies, so were there more legs? What was the purpose of the legs?
In the legend of the Teke-Teke, it was about a girl who was cut in half by a train. Did the legs represent some kind of weakness? Or were the legs, somehow, the actual main body of this spirit? Like some kind of reverse Dullahan?
Or was the legend only loosely related to the actual nature of this spirit?
Looks like I would be stress testing Shadow Balls limits after all. Four seconds was the most efficient in terms of energy expenditure to raw damage, especially with the AoE, but there was the worry of the roof collapsing on my head.
Doubly so with how these things were wrecking their way into the room.
Which meant that I would have to rely on either Two Second or Three Second Shadow Balls all the while limiting collateral damage.
What mattered most to me, as I dodged a surprisingly agile leap from a Teke-Teke, was how many Shadow Balls I could make at a time.
The Technique had some internal restrictions where I had to coalesce Cursed Energy to produce the Shadow Ball. I was still an amateur at this and anywhere outside of hands felt off limits for now.
For now, at least.
I felt confident in trying to make two higher level Shadow Balls at a time, one in each palm. But with the attacks coming from every direction, this battle would quickly turn into a losing one.
I allowed a Shadow Ball to form in each hand, dodging as they charged up to Two Seconds before blasting them at the heads of the Teke.
I wasn't willing to test the Three Second Shadow Balls with how torn up and surely collapsible the station was, but I could note that the Two Seconds Shadow Balls could kill these Teke-Teke with a single shot provided it struck either center mass or their head.
Which meant finding some way to turn the tide of this situation before one of these things landed a hit or I hit a rut in my flow.
Unlike their predecessor, Teke-Teke the First, these next generation versions were less inclined to just sit and patiently await death. They continued leaping at me, getting the drop from the roof, or even pulling from underneath the tiles.
The only mercy of fortune was that they still remained clumsy and incapable of cooperating properly with one another, often slamming into or turning hostile to each other.
But the overall situation was bad, with swarm tactics that seemed to have no end.
The fear remained, my heart still beating loud enough for me to hear.
But there was something else.
Something that felt unfamiliar to both sides of me, the American college student and the Japanese salary man.
Exhilaration at the thought of the incoming battle.
How odd.
Nothing in my memories, either set, seemed to hint at any battle mania.
Yet both sides of me seem to revel at the thought of the battle, of dancing so audacious with death.
Two menial, replaceable cogs in the machine of society. Granted the opportunity to be more than are, to go from ordinary to extraordinary?
How could I not smile, how could I not laugh?
Maybe it wasn't odd at all, but just the perfect sense of a madman.
Two more Shadow Balls charged in my palms as I pushed more Cursed Energy into my legs and kicked an opportunistic Teke-Teke away before it slammed into me.
At first, it took multiple attacks to finish off an enemy. My aim wasn't perfect when moving so direct headshots or even strikes to the 'heart' were difficult in some cases.
Dodging and counterattacking became my mantra. Each time, it felt a little more natural. Before long, my strikes became more accurate and more efficient. At this point, only one Shadow Ball per Teke-Teke was needed.
They were strong but couldn't take a hit. Glass canons through and through.
As I dodged another attack, a thought popped into my head. Calling it a plan was needlessly generous.
Instead of stopping at Two Seconds, I allowed my Shadow Balls to charge to the maximum while rushing and vaulting over the swarm of Teke-Teke.
Compared to my previous defensive movements, the change in pace had thrown them off enough for me to return to that winding, endless corridor.
"Fuck off, the lot of you." I released the Shadow Balls roughly to where the largest pillars were before turning and dashing down the hallway. I didn't look back, though the crushing noise indicated that the room had indeed collapsed.
The station had also been bait, just like the initial Teke-Teke. The real weakness had been at the beginning.
If the upper body wasn't special, then perhaps the legs really were the most important piece of this puzzle.
A path to victory existed, I just had to find it.
And by it, I meant those damn legs!
[Compiling Feats…]
Geto Suguru had high expectations for the Cursed Spirit Teke-Teke, at one point. It had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and developed swiftly to the point where it could be considered a high-level Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.
Following his split from Gojo, he had found himself in need of Spirits strong enough to be the vaunted 'Special Grade' and Teke-Teke had at first seemed like a contender for the title.
Such an increase in strength during such a short window of time without external influencers, like the Fingers of Ryomen Sukuna?
It seemed like something special.
Seemed being the key word.
Its passive nature had allowed it to be hidden from Jujutsu Society, but it ran into a serious problem.
Just as swiftly as it had burst into existence, the spirit's growth cut off as well. It remained plateaued at the same level of power for months before Geto had understood that, for whatever reason, it had reached its limit. So, he had claimed it, just in case he ran into a situation where its power might give him an edge.
While it went unused during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons due to how circumstantial its abilities were, it still remained a Cursed Spirit that stood at the apex of the designation of Grade 1 though arguments could be made that it was simply the weakest Special Grade in existence.
Kenjaku had let it out on a whim. It was decently strong, easily controlled, and the current location, the Metro station, was a perfect hunting ground.
It was a present and a challenge for the newly born sorcerer who had emerged from Gojo Satoru's Domain Expansion.
Holding back enough to teach some basic lessons on Jujutsu, while being enough of a danger to kill him if he was lacking.
Kenjaku had wondered if that ball of shadow was really the nature of the technique, but he doubted it. There had been a notable shift in the Cursed Energy followed by a secondary shift which was correlated with his usage of those shadow attacks. There was something more to that technique.
As such, he had set restrictions to make sure Teke-Teke didn't waste an opportunity for Kenjaku to learn about a new technique or some unique interpretation of an older ability.
To help matters, there were even two Jujutsu sorcerers strong enough to aid him in the vicinity.
And to think Tengen had once accused him of a callous disregard for human life when he offered such charity!
Thinking on it, wasn't it just so very interesting?
Brain damage creating a sorcerer.
It was a novel concept.
The universe had a cruel humor to it.
There are some sorcerers who possess barely enough cursed energy, no technique, nor the talent to carry them through. Why wouldn't there be the inverse, civilians who possessed the capacity, technique, and talent yet remained uninitiated by happenstance.
Geto and, to a lesser extent due to his supposed distant relation to the Gojo Clan, Okkotsu Yuta were examples of the potential that existed in the civilian population.
Even the current wielder of the Ten Shadows technique was born not from the pure blood of the Zenin and another sorcerer but from two 'mere monkeys'.
Another mark towards shaking up the status quo.
He was just surprised it happened so naturally, without Soul Manipulation or any other decisive modification element like he had set up.
Maybe it was fortunate that he was stuck in Shibuya for the moment.
It was interesting how despite fate itself seeming to oppose him in centuries prior, here it helped him.
He had initially intended to feign some nonsense about the Prison Realm and use the reversal of his previous body's Anti-Gravity technique to force the Disaster Curses to fight and Mahito into a stage of growth, but Gojo had decided to make it a real situation.
In spite of the minor setback, everything was going smoothly. Usually something had gone wrong by this time.
That greedy woman and her brother were getting closer than he liked. That Smallpox Deity would stall them, but her reputation did not have him betting in its victory. Which meant either he or Uraume would have to go and deal with her themselves, and asking anything of that sycophant was a trial in patience. Plus wherever they were, it was beyond his current range of surveillance.
He got up with a sigh, stretching his body. It was good that Geto had trained himself as much as his technique. Piloting fragile bodies was irritating and worse, training them up himself was just an utter drag.
With a whistle and a pep in his step, Kenjaku made his way to deal with Mrs. Mei Mei himself.
In the crater on the floor, the Prison Realm shuddered. Tears flowed from its eyes, but gradually they lessened.
The process of adapting to its prisoner…was nearly complete.
[Calculating Rewards]
The corridor had not stopped being endless upon me leaving. It was nice to be back in a bright hallway, but as I continued to dash I went from empty hallway to empty hallway.
If this was before, than I would have had no choice but to continue to mess around until I stumbled onto something by happenstance.
I was not the same as before though.
This time?
I had Sensor.
Reaching out with my budding sensory capabilities, I felt the Cursed Energy permeating this irritating hallway.
Describing it was hard, but rather than being a truly endless hallway it seemed as if I was trapped in some sort of pocket space where space was 'looped', though it seemed to be somewhat controllable as I had been directed outside towards that station filled with Teke-Teke.
I had seen the legs here earlier, which brought a new theory to mind.
I might have been led into a trap, but that had not been the real aim. The real goal of this spirit was to get me out of this hallway, the safe space for the legs itself.
I also had Shadow Ball this time around.
Summoning one in my right hand, I allowed it to charge up to Three Seconds before blasting at the upcoming corner.
There was a shrieking noise as the attack slammed into the corner, like metal grating on metal, but eventually the attack served its purpose as the image of the endless, meticulously kept hallway vanished and a run down, dark corridor revealed itself.
More importantly, a pair of pale white legs stood there.
Menacingly.
A Shadow Ball began forming in my hand
"Stand and fight." I smiled. I wasn't sure if this thing could even hear, being literally legs, but it did respond.
Just not in a fashion I expected.
The top of the thighs, where the bloody wound from where the original victim in the legend was cut in half by a train, began to bubble and pulsed as a giant sack of flesh emerged like it was regenerating an upper body.
The flesh contorted itself and shifted with a disturbing quickness and grotesqueness into a familiar sight.
The upper body of the Teke-Teke, just connected to legs this time. Interestingly, the Cursed Energy seemed to pacify itself for a moment as this occurred. A sense of relief. Contentment.
However, this was brief as it began to shriek when the upper body blasted off in a fountain of blood.
Launching straight towards me.
My fully charged Shadow Ball struck it before then, though it was close enough that the force of the blast pushed me back further away.
As I got my bearings I noted it was repeating the process immediately. Regrowing an upper body and launching or dropping it immediately, at a concerning pace. Worse, more 'reserves' seemed to claw their way out of the walls of the corridor just as they had back in the station itself.
The mobs were pointless, destroying the legs was the key to ending this fight.
But the corridor was cramped compared to the Metro which meant avoiding everything would be a much more difficult task then back there.
Also, based on the rumbling and shifting, more full power Shadow Balls was a bad idea if I didn't want this place to cave in.
As I thought, I lobbed Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball. Unfortunately, this thing was making upper bodies faster than I was destroying them. Ever so slightly, but it was noticeable. I was losing ground in this exchange of blows.
Worse, I had to turn back on occasion and deal with attacks from behind while this thing could just spam attacks in one direction.
Just before I decided to flip the table and collapse everything on top of us, something changed the balance of the fight.
From behind the pair of legs, a giant dog bounded down and slammed into it. It bit down and began slamming it into the walls and sinking its fangs in.
A sense of relief washed over me as the swarm of Teke-Teke paused and went into disarray. I didn't let up though and took advantage of the brief window to launch as many Shadow Balls and carve my way through the enemy.
Following close behind was a boy, younger than me and wearing a black uniform. That monotonous expression on his face seemed oddly familiar and a memory came back to me.
"Sasuke?"
The grimace he shot at me seemed to indicate that I was wrong.
"It's Megumi, smartass." Probably should have just let him introduce himself, though even that name seemed familiar to me. For some strange reason, I felt a little less reassured than I had a minute ago. "Aren't you a Curse User. Why are you fighting a Cursed Spirit, isn't it supposed to be your ally? I suppose Curses are unreliable-"
"I am sorcerer, I think?" I answered, cutting him off. He said Curse User in a way that made it seem like a bad thing and I didn't really need another enemy. "I am kind of new to this whole 'Jujutsu' thing."
As in, literally less than an hour since I had got caught up in this mess.
"New…" Megumi's eyes widened, incredulously. "Are you trying to make me believe that you became a sorcerer tonight?"
He caught on a little faster than I thought, so this wasn't his first rodeo.
"It doesn't matter what you believe, it is the truth."
Somehow, this seemed to mollify him of all things. What a weird kid.
"In that case, you should get out of here." Shockingly considerate. "You did pretty well for someone new to Jujutsu but there are much worse Curses running around here tonight."
[Meet Megumi Fushiguro]
[+1 Bronze Ticket]
So, he was someone important?
At least as important as Suguru Geto (?).
His words seemed sound, but if things were this bad then sticking with someone knowledgeable was probably better than just running out there and hoping for the best. My luck had proven to be poor, running into a Curse Spirit immediately upon leaving that metro station.
I was about to explain that much as well when I caught something flying towards the back of the kid's head.
Reacting fast, I shoved him out of the way as his giant dog was chucked straight down the corridor with a giant footprint on its face. It slid across the floor and came to a stop.
Alive, but injured.
Both of our gazes turned to the pair of legs. It was no longer unharmed, with chunks torn out of it, blood oozing from scratches, bite marks, and debris stuck in it from being slammed around.
What was weird was that it had sat down in a yoga position while the Teke-Teke had lined themselves up and down the hallway, reaching out and clasping their hands in a way that very vaguely resembled train tracks.
Their blood pooled together, flowing faster and faster until a thin layer covered the entire floor, soaking my shoes and even some of my pants as I pulled myself and the kid off the floor.
Megumi seemed to figure out what was going on as he tried to do some weird hand sign as soon as I got him standing, but that thing beat him to the punch.
Bloodshot eyes gazing at us in the darkness of the ruined hallway. In unison, the Teke-Teke spoke for the first time and the last.
"Domain Expansion: Iron Serpent."
Author's Note: Well, that was something. I was considering making the initial part of the fight longer, but I think if I let it drag too much it would become draining rather than interesting. Teke-Teke, as it is, is basically the weakest Special Grade outside of maybe the Finger Bearer. However, it is in its perfect environment and Megumi already just got out of one fight with a Curse User.
Spoiler: Minor Changes to Chaos Gacha
One thing I wanted to explore is how these abilities can be stretched, overlap, and build up on each other. Most Chaos Gacha fics just end up focusing on the 'biggest' powers instead of doing interesting things with those relatively 'minor' abilities. Granted, sometime they really do just get garbage, but there are some instances where fascinating powers are just left to the wayside or barely used creatively.
Hopefully I did well. If there is anything glaringly wrong with this, feel free to point it out. Respectfully if possible though. Constructive criticism and compliments alike are always welcome!Last edited: Apr 4, 2026317KingNecron101Mar 19, 2026NewView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 2: Sorcery Fight II NewView contentKingNecron101Mar 19, 2026#19A Funeral for the Living
JJK Chaos Gacha SIChapter 2: Sorcery Fight II[Domain Expansion Detected]
[Threat Level: High]
"Domain Expansion: Iron Serpent."
Before anything else, what stood out to me was the flood of Cursed Energy. The Teke-Teke that had bowed, hands reaching out and clasping another, literally dissolved into blood and Cursed Energy.
No, dissolved didn't give it justice.
They exploded in Cursed Energy, which crashed through the corridor and seemed to completely change the ambient Cursed Energy in the air.
By the time I blinked, I realized that both Megumi and I were in a different place.
No, the same location but somehow interposed with a different location.
I didn't even need to ask for knowledge from Megumi as direct understanding of what was going on appeared in my mind.
Domain Expansion.
Creating a barrier using Cursed Energy and imbuing one's Innate Technique onto it. This created a unique environment where the caster's attacks were imbued with a sure-hit effect, which were attacks that were incapable of being dodge, deflected, or traditionally 'blocked'.
Megumi and I were on the tracks, and the exact function of this domain became clear. It was recreating the story of the Teke-Teke. A girl who fell on the tracks and was hit by a train, getting carved in half.
While I could move my Cursed Energy and even my limbs a little bit, I was stuck in place. Looking to my side, Megumi was no different.
Worse, our durability was downgraded to the level of the girl in the story. Specifically, of a young non-sorcerous girl who was then hit by a train.
Surviving a train directly striking me would have been tough from the start, considering how much of an amateur I was still with Cursed Energy.
Without reinforcement, and with what appeared to be durability below even my natural reserves?
This was a death sentence, as is.
In the distant tunnel, a deep red light shone. It was far away at the moment, but it would get closer.
"This must be a condition of the Domain Expansion." Megumi muttered, loud enough for me to hear though I wasn't sure if that was intentional or if he was just speaking to himself. "The paralysis and durability negation are a powerful combination, but in return the actual attack takes a while to 'arrive'. Punching downwards."
"What do you mean?" While I was proud of what I had scraped through on intuition alone, the greatest strides in any field were made by a collaborative effort. There is a reason why knowledge began expanding rapidly with globalization and people weren't having to reinvent the wheel repeatedly and could work off the foundation laid by others.
While I listened, I decided to roll my latest ticket. It was only Bronze, but as long as it didn't hurt his chances then what was the harm?
[Rolling Bronze Ticket][Bulk Up]
|Uncommon Technique|
You are able to bulk up, reinforcing and strengthening all of your muscles to superhuman levels, allowing you to exert superhuman strength. Even as a base human, you can easily tear apart and throw around cars. Overuse can lead to extreme soreness and muscle tears.
A CQC Technique?
That would be an excellent addition to my repertoire.
Even the side-effects of overuse seemed minor. Did healing abilities exist? If I could either get an ally with one, or some sort of minor regeneration or self-healing ability then it would be a game changer.
"There are a few ways to resist a Domain Expansion." Megumi began explaining and I decided to focus up for the moment.
"Range?" If you killed the user from far away, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Yes, but more often is the use of a technique called Simple Domain, which basically makes an empty barrier to remove the sure-hit of a Domain." Megumi, quite thoughtfully explained in the face of our apparent imminent death. "The paralysis means that unless you had already started using the technique before the Domain Expanded, your one defense is removed."
"That is annoying, you know this skill?" Not that it would do any good here, but it would suck to have a perfect counter just get utterly countered out of nowhere by the one exception to the rule.
"No." Oh, so it was basically irrelevant then.
"You seem awfully calm about this." I'd make a note to learn Simple Domain at some point. Sure-hits seemed like a nightmare to have no counter to. "I assume you have a way out of this then?"
"The best way to counter a Domain is with another Domain, entering into a Domain Clash." Megumi said.
Ah, I get it now.
This Domain prevented people who didn't have their own Domain from doing shit. The paralysis was too weak to prevent a hand sign or whatever, but it could stop whatever the mechanism for Simple Domain was.
A Domain that picked on the weak, to put it succinctly.
"Do you happen to have a domain?" I noticed earlier that upon seeing those legs do that weird symbol, Megumi had made his own. A faint memory rang at that and for some reason I believe that he had something similar up his sleeve.
"Sort of." The kid admitted. "The issue is that it is incomplete since I can't make the-"
Megumi stopped talking mid-sentence, a flash of realization going through him.
"Actually, that doesn't matter right now." With some twitching, he remade that odd hand sign from earlier.
"This thing already made a barrier for me, I hope it won't be too pissed when I take it for myself."
The intricacies of a Domain were somewhat of a mystery to me, but I could guess what was going to happen based on this and my own sensory understanding of the 'barrier'.
Megumi was going to hijack Teke-Teke's own barrier for his own Domain Expansion. This would remove the sure-hit effect, but winning the Domain Clash?
Hopeless.
Even if he won, by some miracle, Teke-Teke's barrier should collapse and the support it gave to Megumi's would follow right.
The reality was though that the only guarantee was that we would be freed from our state of certain death with the removal of the sure-hit.
The other boosts from a Domain, however, would remain. That didn't matter now, though. One disaster at a time.
"Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden."
Life or death situations seemed to encourage either spontaneously perfect teamwork or complete failure.
Megumi and I were the former.
As soon as the Domain Clash began and the sure-hit paralytic effect was removed.
A familiar sort of darkness blasted out and began to ripple through the Iron Serpent Domain. Like a new layer of paint obscuring and smudging the old.
While not fully manifested, this was Megumi's Domain.
As soon as the sure-hit and the associated paralytic effect were removed, Megumi and I immediately leapt from the tracks onto the sides of the platform.
A wise decision as mere seconds after, the 'train' crashed through our previous location with a vengeance.
"That was close." Megumi stated the obvious, still straining as he kept his Domain clashing. Neutralizing the sure-hit was all he could manage right now, but it was enough.
"Maybe it is the brain damage talking, but are trains supposed to do that?" I asked, pointing. "Or look like that?"
After missing us, the train didn't continue on or stop. Instead, it somehow travelled up the far wall and onto the ceiling where it looked down at us.
Now we had a clear picture of it and train was technically a word that could be used to describe it.
So too would "Thomas the Tank Engine from Hell".
The Teke-Teke's face was its front, a cruel grin with yellow and blackened teeth in darkened bleeding gums. The 'light' came from it's tongue, a slimy twitching thing with a glowing, giant eye gazing at us with unrestrained hatred.
The entire thing was fleshy in a way that felt uncomfortable to describe. Instead of wheels it had numerous spider-like arms whose arms gripped on the ceiling and somehow supporting its own weight. The flesh stretched and contorted like a glove two sizes too small, straining and tearing at random intervals.
It was as much some kind of humanoid centipede as it was a 'train', fleshy and bleeding with a 'face' just human enough to revolt the senses.
It's good mood was temporary.
Upon noticing us, it's smile turned into a frown and the energy it released indicating it had fully processed our survival and was not pleased. The flesh bubbled and instead of the classic train whistle it released a horrifying screech that had us covering our ears while its eye began flashing.
"I think I would have preferred an actual train!" I yelled. While he didn't respond, the lack of any sassy response seemed to indicate agreement. I would take what I could get.
The train bastard was sneering at us from above.
The Domain shifted as Teke-Teke's Iron Serpent attempted to overwhelm the presence of Chimera Shadow Garden to little success.
Clearly it wanted the easy win with the sure-hit and was trying to win the Domain Clash. Which was not a bad idea and would likely succeed. As if I needed more reasons to finish this quickly.
There was no point in taking things cautiously, so I allowed Bulk Up take effect and felt my body become stronger. Reinforcement took a few moments longer as I had to readjust to my new physical baseline, but I felt more powerful than ever now.
"Any ideas?" I asked.
"I didn't think we would get this far." Megumi admitted and neither had I. "I'm open to anything."
"Hit it till it dies?" Megumi stared, unamused. "The weakness is probably still the same. If that is the same Teke-Teke, I think there is a pair of legs inside we need to destroy."
"So…"
"Hit it till it dies." Same result, different process. "Your Technique has something to do with shadows right?"
"I can store things in my shadow and directly manipulate shadows." Megumi said, unsure. "Those are supplementary though. The main thing are my Shikigami. The Ten Shadows. Why?"
"I have a stupid plan."
There was silence, outside of the noise of two Domains clashing against one another.
"Better than no plan." He said until I explained my plan. "Really banking a lot on that specific interaction, aren't you?"
"I think it will work, you felt the similarity as well right?" Megumi grunted, like an Uchiha. Ah, that was where Sasuke was from. Naruto. Right.
A screech moved us to action, Teke-Teke had given up trying to win the Domain Clash and instead decided to kill us manually.
Instead of racing across the roof like I half suspected it would, the damn thing dropped down, twisting in midair, and landed on its endless supply of hands in front of us and then screeched again.
Without hesitating, I launched my Shadow Balls straight at it as Megumi summoned a giant bird he called "Nue", flying above to force it to focus on two separate opponents.
Which wasn't an issue for it apparently as its flesh bubbled and bloodshot eyes began to pop up randomly across its body.
I began to charge up Shadow Balls and lob them at the massive creature. Unlike before, this was a singular, vastly more powerful enemy than the individual Teke-Teke's. This time, I focused only on making the Four Second Shadow Balls to try and determine where in its body the legs were hiding.
Unlike the underlings, this 'Iron Serpent' was far more agile and seemed to thrash around and avoid the Shadow Balls.
My current ability to make only two at a time prevented anything from actually landing, but I had prepared for that upon seeing that things speed earlier. We just had to build up momentum.
When it thrashed at me, Megumi's Nue blasted it with lightning.
While it struck at him, I struck with my newfound physical prowess and implemented the DIY Rasengan idea with one hand and shot Shadow Balls at the largest chunks of its spindly body with the other.
Physical attacks made more contact, but I kept lobbing Shadow Balls, nevertheless.
Shadow Ball was a Technique that was built around shooting from a distance. Direct contact was not what it was designed for and there was a price to pay. While I possessed some resistance to my own attack and CE, I felt minor knockback and damage. Bulk Up and Reinforcement still allowed me to weather through the damage I caused myself.
The damage against the Curse was also building up, slowly, but surely.
Truthfully, my main worry was that Megumi's Domain clash would fall through, and the paralytic and durability negation would be reapplied.
Bulk Up and Cursed Energy reinforcement allowed me to dodge the thrashes whereas Megumi had to avoid miniature Teke-Teke's being shot from its skin like some kind of artillery canon.
What kind of curse was worse than this thing Megumi?!
Yet, I grinned.
Then I smiled.
And I even laughed.
Joy at the thrill of battle erupted in me and I couldn't imagine any place I'd rather be than right there, right then.
Getting stronger by the moment.
The more I used my Techniques, the more proficient I became.
Remembering some concepts from a manga called Hunter X Hunter, I made sure to focus my Bulk Up and Reinforcement on certain limbs as needed to reduce the strain and maximize the boost it provided.
It was a dangerous game. With only partial usage of Bulk Up, getting hit once meant being knocked out of the fight or even killed.
But that just upped the thrill.
Sometimes you needed to almost die to really be alive.
I boosted my legs when I needed to pounce at an opening, my arms as I chucked a curving Shadow Ball like a trick baseball shot, and even my back and the entirety of my arm as I delivered a basic, but brutal punch into a Shadow Ball that slammed into its body, the combination of physical force and the anti-Spirit property of the Shadow Ball knocking it off balance and weakening it.
By some miracle, Megumi and I had managed to not just stalemate this thing but slowly wear it down.
We were winning.
Strike by strike.
Blast by blast.
It wasn't decisive or fast, but it was certain and it seemed even this dull thing was noticing as its undulation and strikes became increasing panicked and random.
A beast was its most dangerous when cornered, but I only felt utter elation at the prospect.
Somewhere along the line, I felt a sort of flow to the battle. Not just to the battle, actually. But to my very movements.
Bulk Up continued to flow easier and more naturally, even as the strain built up. Not the burn from exercise, but the slight pulse of pain that indicated that my body was slowly being pushed to its current limit. Reinforcement multiplied the results even further and I felt myself either ascending or breaking down into pieces.
Maybe both?
Yeah, both.
The decisive moment was coming and eventually I saw my opening. Deep within its body, my Sensor trait felt a familiar Cursed Energy.
Not mine or even Teke-Teke's own.
No, it was the faintest hint of Megumi's Divine Dog. And there was only one thing that could signify.
There were two options.
Sit and wait for an opening or make one. The former seemed more reliable. More cautious, at least.
The latter was greedy and risky.
To a normal person, the choice was obvious.
But that's how losers think!
That is why normal people aren't Jujutsu Sorcerers!
My body was already getting stretched to its limits and even Megumi seemed to be barely dodging attacks at this point.
Patience would damn us, so I decided to get greedy.
It was impossible to land a hit without getting thrashed, so I didn't bother avoiding it.
So what if it hit me? I'd just hit it harder!
Instead of futilely dodging, I focused Bulk Up across my body and punched it to the max with the exception of my right arm. As I got close, I leaned back and swung with a Shadow Ball in hand.
There was something in the air as I flew into its body as fast and hard as I could manage. Like I was riding lightning itself, or my punch would shatter the world.
And when my blow struck, that was exactly what happened.
The sparks of black ignited.
Like lightning without a storm, it shattered space and sank into the weak spot exactly where the central core, the 'legs', of Teke-Teke hid.
[Hit your first Black Flash]
[+1 Platinum Ticket]
My mouth was dry as my body locked up so I couldn't say the line, but I now understood what this was.
Black Flash.
A moment where Cursed Energy and a physical strike occurred simultaneously.
The blow struck with a cacophony of sound.
My body, boosted by the Bulk Up, Reinforcement, and the Black Flash felt a qualitative change.
The static shape of the Shadow Ball in my hand shifted in that moment as I simply understood my own Cursed Energy better than before and broke through an arbitrary restriction of my Technique.
The Shadow Ball I used to attack destabilized, but it did not explode. Instead, it not only wrapped around my hand but also imbued into the flesh.
I could feel the slight damage. This was not the natural state of the Technique. Bulk Up and Reinforcement deadened the pain and reduced the impact, but damage occurred nevertheless but it was worth it.
A new derivative technique emerged in the moment of genius called the Black Flash.
Shadow Claw.
[Modify a Technique with a Binding Vow]
[+1 Gold Ticket]
In that instant, guided by intuition I touched on that concept of Giving to Gain. A power called a 'Binding Vow' according to my Technique.
A conditional power emerged.
Shadow Claw would only activate after a special trigger was met.
Only when a Shadow Ball landed upon the enemy and activated the Defense reduction feature would I be able to use Shadow Claw.
In return, this new Technique drastically increased the synchronization between Cursed Energy flow and physical impact.
And thus, greatly increase the chance of these fickle sparks reigniting.
If I had felt elated before, than I was euphoric now. Even underground, I felt like I was on top of the world!
For a moment, at least.
The blow knocked out the executive function of Teke-Teke for a moment, but only a moment before it reflexively struck and I was in no position to dodge while in midair.
The thrashing body of the Curse slammed into me and I sank into the cold hard floor with a dull thud.
Bulk Up and Reinforcement had saved me from the worst of it, but I was sure some ribs were cracked and my muscles would be screaming at me tomorrow.
"Haha, I made a stone angel." I also think I was lightly concussed. Maybe the brain damages would cancel each other out?
The Curse's dazed state was temporary, momentary. It regained lucidity and immediately noticed my weakened state and prepared to strike.
But it was too late and our moment arrived as it lagged from the aftershocks of my strike.
Megumi noticed the opportunity provided and no more words were needed as he played our ace.
"You were strong Curse." He said, drawing its attention away from me. "Maybe even stronger than we are. You could have won, if you were a little smarter. A little wiser. Didn't you wonder why all those Shadow Balls that missed didn't crash into your barrier?"
The Teke-Teke was smarter than either of us thought as it seemed to actually process the words instead of striking at me or the now stationary Megumi in the air.
"My Cursed Technique is Ten Shadows." Megumi explained. Revealing his hand, something in me understood. A way to strengthen your technique by explaining it to the enemy. "While the primary nature of this technique is to summon my Shikigami to fight alongside me, there are secondary functions such as shadow manipulation and shadow storage."
The top of the domain began to drip.
Not water, but liquid shadow as Chimera Shadow Garden partially manifested itself. The Domain Clash continued thus far as well.
Megumi hadn't won, but he didn't need to.
He just couldn't lose.
From the blackness of his Domain, emerged orbs of spiraling darkness.
Shadow Balls.
Every Shadow Ball that Teke-Teke had dodged to be precise.
All Four Second Shadow Balls, maximum charge and maximum damage. The shadows of Ten Shadow and the Cursed Energy used to stabilize the Shadow Ball were extraordinarily similar.
The plan proposed had been for Megumi to catch missed Shadow Balls and slowly accumulate a stockpile before launching them all at once. It all depended on a potential power interaction, but instinct had screamed at me that it was possible.
Besides, if it failed, we could just go for the old 'hit it till it dies' approach that had also been kind of working.
But it had worked.
"It seems like a shame to let all this Cursed Energy go to waste." Megumi said. "How about you take it."
The Curse tried to dodge.
But it was futile.
Unlike the initial lobbing of two Shadow Balls at a time, this was an entire barrage.
A literal wall of attacks.
Worse, all of them were fully charged, volatile, and possessed a special attribute making them significantly more effective upon Spiritual entities.
It did not just die.
It was not merely blown to chunks.
It vanished and its Domain shattered.
We were back in the corridor. Or what remained of it.
At this point, it was more like a cavern as the Domain had apparently torn through everything.
[Exorcise your first Curse (Pseudo-Special Grade)]
[+1 Gold Ticket] --> [+1 Gold Choice Ticket]
Megumi landed on Nue and dropped to the ground, looking shell-shocked but confident whereas I continued laying down in the imprint I had made in the ground.
I felt content.
Like I just accomplished something meaningful. What an addicting feeling.
"That was…" Megumi began.
"The greatest thing ever." I finished, upon which I received a flabbergasted look that I promptly ignored. "I know what I want to do with my life."
Be a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
And in the clarity of the Black Flash, something clicked. Not everything, not even most things, but enough.
"Jujutsu Kaisen, huh?"
[Comprehend your Reality]
[+1 Silver Ticket]
Interesting.
Whatever thoughts I was about to have were interrupted by clapping, I didn't even need to look to know it wasn't Megumi.
Despite the soreness of my body, I pulled myself up and looked up.
The cavern that the Domain clash had caused had torn a hole to the surface as the night sky seemed to indicate.
At the top was a muscular man with a bun who seemed to be applauding us.
"Excellent!" He roared. I knew he was a character in the show, and the name was on the top of my tongue. "A spectacular showing!"
"You were watching?" Megumi asked. "You entered the Domain and you didn't say or do anything? Why didn't you help?"
"You two had it perfectly handled." The newcomer said. "If I intervened at that point, it would be more a detriment then a benefit. Besides, it was all but wrapped up by the time I could do anything."
Megumi didn't appear to believe him if his glower was anything to go by.
"Still, as a true genius I have to admit when I am mistaken just as I must say the truth when I am certain I am correct."
"You could just do neither."
"I was wrong Megumi; there is a true sorcerer inside that boring soul of yours." The man said. "Somewhere. As for you! What improvement! And a spectacular Black Flash. That look on your face, you never forget your first. The difference between a sorcerer who has hit a Black Flash and hasn't is greater than the gap between Heaven and Earth, don't you think."
His words seemed hyperbolic, but honestly, they felt true. I felt so much more than I had been before landing that Black Flash. More in tune with myself, my Cursed Energy, and even my mind as my memories seemed to have settled significantly more from that single strike.
It wasn't like everything had returned or settled, but I felt like a person rather than a collection of thoughts and instincts driven by sheer mania.
"Ah, in my hurry I forgot to introduce myself." The guy smacked himself on the forehead. "My name is…TODO AOI. And you are?"
[Meet TODO AOI!]
[+1 Bronze Ticket]
Yeah, that made sense.
"Yeah, I forgot to ask as well." Megumi said, shrugging. "Sorry."
How sincere, potential man. Still, we fought together so I'll give him a pass this time.
"I…" A Japanese salary-man whose identity had been lost due to Unlimited Void? A college student from America who never graduated before being reborn. Both? Neither? "…don't know. When I woke up as a sorcerer, it was because of someone's 'Domain' causing me to have brain damage."
Megumi seemed to realize the cause as he pursed his lips before staying silent. Not that it mattered, what is done is done and maybe I'd be all the better for it.
"Ah." Todo said and then went silent for a moment, deep in thought. "That's fine, personalities are easy to create as you need them. More importantly, what's your type of woman?"
This was going to be an experience.
Author's Note: Surprised huh? So am I, I just couldn't stop writing until the end of this fight. Decided to make it slightly shorter as a result since there isn't enough time to set up anything more without stretching it unnecessarily. I'll take a bit of a break now; I wrote a lot these last three or so days. I'll try and update on the weekend but no promises.
Lots of tickets this fight, since it was the first proper one but also a crazy ton of stuff happened. I wouldn't expect these many pulls at one time very often, if at all.
I did this all in one sitting and wanted to post it. So, I am worried about some mistakes, if you see anything please point it out and I'll fix them sometime tomorrow or day after when I am refreshed.