Not for a single moment did he remember the faces he had saved, or the Cursed Spirits he had exorcised. If anything, everything that came to the occupation of being a Jujutsu Sorcerer had become a blur over the passing of three years. From putting delinquents who couldn't show a modicum of respect to others in their place, to fighting for his life in highschool, and then accumulating all of his experiences together in college; his life had been drastically... changed. Yet at the same time, it was also dull.
Glancing at corpses made from Cursed Spirits was no longer the deep sting of a bladed weapon created to draw living blood, but the dull sensation of a butter knife lightly scraping against his skin. Was this how he wanted to live, to do this process constantly over the course of his life, while the world continued to pass him time and time again? It wasn't even the need to catch up to modern society's development that compelled him.
To liberate somebody from a Curse was easy. To liberate somebody from life was easy. To liberate somebody from death...? Impossible. The Curse which had afflicted his sister was no different from death. Not even the Strongest Sorcerer could banish it from her body and soul, proving its undying diligence in stripping the thread of life from a human body. Many cases had occurred across Japan and nobody knew why.
He couldn't investigate it, nor could he do anything about it. All he could do was move forward, and hope that someday she would wake up, or for himself to find some way to release the Curse that had been afflicting her. He... he just wanted to do anything, to return to the normal life which he adored so much.
To wake up early.
To feel the wind across his face in the early morning.
To see his sister off, under the soft kiss of the sun's golden afterglow.
Ah... it would have been a blessing.
Drifting. He felt as if he were drifting away somewhere. Wherever he was drifting off to, he didn't know, perhaps it was a state of consciousness that his mind strayed to, one of the most tantalizing ones out of all the others. Deep inside, in his heart of hearts, he knew what it was. Unconsciousness, the greatest freedom that he could grant himself from this world, a world of respite where his body and mind rejuvenated itself.
It was... amazing. But despite the amazement and love that he felt for such a feeling, it didn't do anything for him or for the world around him. Never once has this succeeded in one of his goals, so he knew that it would be useless to desire to be in this state for eternity. In the end though, it didn't really matter, because even if he were resting or standing upon his duty as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, when had he ever been conscious?
He had denied reality countless times. It wasn't good for him, and he knew that. To live in a world where he could only see the bleeding chasm of the abyss led by a fissure's path, instead of looking at the path around him illuminated by a light, had made him completely and utterly lost.
...So, as much as he begged, as much as he silently screamed, as much as he prayed, and as much as he Cursed for his sister to wake up...
...He too, wished he could wake up.
DISMANTLE
He was awake.
All four of his eyes were wide.
A beast as pale as heaven's cloud stood behind him with a towering stature, eclipsing even his own figure in its grandiose majesty. It was as if light was reflecting off of its skin in greater intensity, proving itself as a superior creation to the celestial stars of the blue heights themselves. It bore the wreath without pride and without care, for a subjugated Divine General need not heed their own folly, but their Sovereign's own. The valley flowed its waterless rivers and clamored its moveless hands, in celebration of Mahoraga.
Laurentina sidestepped the invisible slash which left a gaping wound on nature itself, cutting open a scar which would keep itself deep in the natural lands. Right after, her body jumped backwards as the ground where she once stood erupted into nothing but pressure and force from an exterminating sword, leaving not even a spec of debris to become airborne. Instantaneously, a black O-Katana had come her way in a reverse-grip, forcing her to raise her buzzsaw in order to block it. Unfortunately, it phased through her weapon and left a charcoal smooth liquid to run across her chest.
She watched as the weapon was dispelled back into its sheath, before Megumi called his Vajra into hand, lifting it upwards swiftly and bringing it down, causing endless thunder to pour down like rain toward her. Laurentina ducked under a slash from Mahoraga before moving to avoid the lightning, but some of the ceaseless barrages still struck true to her body and singed her skin.
Giving her no respite however, was the ground underneath her opening up to form a gorge in the ground itself, as the earth broke open from a certain spear forged by the heavens pointing downwards. Her body fell down as a result, but she was able to slam her buzzsaw on one of the sides, before utilizing its rotary capabilities to drive upwards, just as the chasm had sealed itself shut with an ancient crush. The earth was nothing but a simple material for Ame-no-Sakahoko.
An invisible force then bashed against Laurentina's weapon, the instinctive motion of blocking it having come to her in the precognitive mind. Just as she was about to be sent backwards, Mahoraga dashed to where she was with a mere stomp of its foot, leaving everything behind it blowing apart from the footwork. Its right arm was crossed over its body, as the Sword of Extermination was drawn across the air as a paint brush would to a canvas.
Laurentina twisted her buzzsaw and commanded water to flow to the point of impact—lessening it—but not to a degree where she wasn't sent rocketing backwards. It wouldn't last long, as an earthen pillar rose up behind her in order to let her body crash into it, but she twirled in the air and maneuvered to let her foot slam against it and disperse the force, lessening the potential damage she would have sustained. The structure, once again, towered over any skyscraper.
Turning around and running upwards, the Abyssal Hunter felt multiple golden lightning bolts attempting to catch her while she zig-zagged across. Each time the appendages of destruction formed by Cursed Energy missed their mark, there was also a large chunk of the pillar being blown off.
A stomp was heard in front of her as Laurentina halted in her steps, watching as Mahoraga had intercepted her path with its gigantic body. She raised her buzzsaw upwards by her side in order to swat the Shikigami away, but found black chains wrap around it and constrict her movements completely.
Lo' and behold, Fushiguro Megumi was behind her, pointing a blood-red Odachi at her.
"SCALE OF THE DRAGON."
"RECOIL."
"TWIN METEORS."
Laurentina leapt upwards while standing sideways on the structure as Mahoraga swung at her, twisting her chained weapon in a way where the beast's weapon tore at the chains and impacted her weapon, freeing it as a result.
"DISMANTLE!"
She was able to avoid the chanted slash due to her previous leap from earlier. She twisted into a pirouette while flipping back in preparation to land back on the structure Megumi had created with Ame-no-Sakahoko once more, but watched on in stupefaction as something absurd happened.
Mahoraga caught the Dismantle with its Sword of Extermination, roaring with effort as it deflected it toward Laurentina. Sparks blew from its Cursed Tool as Laurentina raised her own with surprise in order to block the rebounded Cursed Technique. The impact settled in and passed through her body, forcing it to bend in order to disperse it, and sending her backwards. To make sure no other assault impede her, she turned around to block the inevitable sword slash of Juuchi Yosamu—
—Correction, Ame-no-Sakahoko's attack, which was held in Megumi's left hand. It was a thrusting maneuver which sent an incorporeal force to impact her body toward the location of Mahoraga, the Shikigami already preparing to play ping pong with the woman.
Stomping her feet and digging it into the ground while bending her knees, the water produced by her buzzsaw Cursed Tool gathered around her body, providing greater acuity and precision when it came to her movements; which allowed her to practically glide across the ground as she wished. In turn, the superheated weapon bathed in water's embrace clashed against the Sword of Extermination's purity blessed by the skies, leaving both the Shikigami and Abyssal Hunter at an impasse.
Mahoraga continued to apply a downwards pressure while Megumi summoned Daiitoku for a split second to converge multiple lightning bolts toward Laurentina.
As a result, she sidestepped the attack and let Mahoraga's blade slam into the pillar, sending a force which shook the entire structure's foundation. Jolting her right arm and twisting her body around, all of the lightning bolts were insulated in the pure water produced by her buzzsaw, before they completely dispersed from the outwards force of the strike. She gazed at Megumi who was brandishing both of his weapons now, Ame-no-Habakiri and Juuchi Yosamu, both of them tainted by the curse of unresting spirits.
Laurentina leapt backwards and ducked under a sweep which Mahoraga rebounded in order to catch the woman. Not long after, she was charged by both of her opponents. Megumi flanked her right while Mahoraga flanked her left, the both of them unleashing relentless blows which forced her to multitask between them. It didn't help that the two Higashinese blades the black-haired man possessed seemed to possess more range than what their sizes indicated.
The black one sent off water slashes with weapons hidden underneath it, while the red one distorted the air in flashes of crimson, as if reality was twisting at its every move.
All of them continued to run across the sides of the pillar in a spiral motion upwards, leaving destruction and ruin in their path. If seen from afar, only streaks of light could be seen across the object, as if such a phenomenon occurred to dress the unnatural structure with ornaments of various colors—ornaments which also tore it apart, limb by limb in the form of debris of brown snow flaking off.
KLNK!
Laurentina found that her unpredictable movements had been read by the Divine General when she had attempted to feign a strike toward it and switch toward Fushiguro Megumi, and paid the price for it. In the form of her body slamming into the skyscraper structure of mud, rock, and soil, her body caved inside as the insidious structure completely bent in half. Cracks started appearing, before it was severed into two, shooting her body through it and sending it flying toward the mountain ranges.
Right after, a certain water dragon had charged after her, from where she didn't know. What she did know however, was that it fired a torrent of electrified water which looked like it had come from a painting, forcing her to split it in half with her buzzsaw while she continued to stay airborne.
Laurentina then felt faint tremors across the ground as Mizuchi turned tail and off to somewhere else, watching as multiple pillars started to rise upwards in a path toward her. Atop them was Megumi and Mahoraga leaping across them, making way across them while the former manipulated their creation with the strange spear he held.
'A dangerous weapon, along with that dual-bladed dagger which dispels such irksome pestilence in the form of lightning,' she decided to keep note of them while her feet landed on the side of a mountain. 'The Divine General, it's more articulate than it lets on. Killing it would be annoying, and it's already stronger than Princess... hm, I'll target the latter first, then!' The Aegir set her sights on Megumi while he continued to move in perfect synchronization with Mahoraga.
On the side of Megumi, he dispelled Ame-no-Sakahoko after creating all the platforms he needed. Even with the primordial spear which forged the Earth, he didn't possess much skill with its second imbued Cursed Technique to clash against Laurentina. It was better to phase through her defenses with Ame-no-Habakiri, and avoid a direct confrontation.
With those thoughts in mind, he raised his free left hand upwards and swiped his hand, causing a large vortex portal to open above Laurentina. Multiple weapons were dumped out, reinforced by his own Cursed Energy. Much to his chagrin, he watched as Laurentina jumped upwards without a moment's hesitation, and shattered all of them with an upwards strike. For a moment, he could see the smug look on her face as she stared down on him, with all of her fangs showing.
He almost cursed at that moment, but reigned it in as his weapons continued to be cut apart into nothing but scrap metal. The only weapons that weren't completely destroyed were the Darksteel Spears, which relieved him to an extent.
When Laurentina flipped in the air and went for a direct dive bomb toward him, Megumi already had Mizuchi at the ready.
The Totality which had retreated into his shadows before shot outwards, moving to meet Laurentina with its surprise appearance. It was successful, catching her in its maw as it carried her away from Megumi.
Laurentina let out a huff of annoyance as she ran her buzzsaw through the sea dragon, leaving a large trail of blood to splash out. Unfortunately for her, the distraction was ample enough for Mahoraga to strafe around her, signaling her instinctual senses to go berserk.
SWORD OF EXTERMINATION - STELLAR CORONA
'Flames?' She blocked the blow, but some parts of the attack leaked through and licked her with golden fire, 'that's new...!' The Aegir leaned forward and applied more upwards pressure against the gigantic Shikigami, smiling wide as the creature reciprocated the same expression, pressing with a downwards pressure on her.
They were in a freefall now.
The results allowed Megumi to fire off a Dismantle from his sword with a large slash, and watched as it travelled forward.
Laurentina had already suspected such an action, and stomped her feet against Mahoraga's chest and leapt off of it, making her way toward Megumi for an attack.
Supreme Art: Morning Sun Sword Drawing
When she had attacked him, a blade left its sheath and evenly contended with her strength. She was surprised, but bounced from the blow to land back on her feet. Even then, she had decided to strafe around Megumi, just as Mahoraga had gone for a meteoric downwards blow at where she stood once it finished dropping.
The platform lifted as Megumi raised Juuchi Yosamu in a vertical strike, following the strafing path of Laurentina.
Supreme Art: Hell Severance Sword Drawing
Evenly matched—once again.
The echoing shockwave produced from their clash continued to tear across where they stood, sending off debris in a circular shape as the ground sank even further.
Megumi lowered his posture into a thrust as Laurentina poised eloquently for her own. Two spiralling winds produced by their weapons were created, ready to clash against each other once more.
Supreme Art: Horizon Pierce Sword Drawing
They met.
CLANG!
At this moment, Laurentina had found herself losing in the contest of brute force. Her arm recoiled back as her buzzsaw was pulled upwards from the sheer tremendous potency of the attack, bringing it completely off course, and away from a traditional guard that would keep her defenses as sturdy as a castle wall.
His next plan was in motion.
Megumi lowered his left palm while dashing forward, black lightning lined with an emerald tinge flashing at the left hand, leading upwards to his elbow. It was highly concentrated and produced a strange presence different from the usual lightning that the two were used to. When it made contact with Laurentina's stomach, a brief flash of a beam passing through it was seen—illuminating and then dimming the entire scene in its bathing colors. A spiral of transparent destruction was created, hellbent on irradiating everything in its rotten path.
By utilizing Shadow Extension Nue, and setting a Binding Vow to make it so that he could only use the Shadow Extension Nue once per day, its output of actual lightning is cut in half, disallowing any other application of Shadow Extension Nue to be used except for the creation of Cursed Tools, forcing the applied body part outputting Shadow Extension Nue to undergo apoptosis, and forcing half of his Cursed Energy Reserves to be inaccessible for 20 seconds after usage of Shadow Extension Nue; Fushiguro Megumi was now able to increase the concentration of gamma rays in Nue's lightning. Thus, he had created a phenomenon known as "dark lightning"—in large quantities.
In short—for the slightest of moments—the shackles of human ingenuity have been broken. The power of nature's most powerful electromagnetic wave was at the palm of a single man's hands.
By manipulating the rules to his own benefit, he has revealed himself as a Jujutsu Sorcerer at heart!
Just as the colors of normalcy came back after it had ended, Laurentina's mouth dripped blood while she was launched back. At her stomach area was a burning scorch emitting steam which rose up in the air and forced the Abyssal Hunter to retreat while holding the section—as if her guts were going to spill at any second.
Megumi himself leapt back, his left hand and arm having turned black. They had undergone apoptosis, but the results from the attack had been satisfactory, "did you know what that was? It was a Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flash concentrated high enough to form a gamma laser." He recalled Mahoraga back to his side while cycling Positive Energy in order to heal the limb that had undergone apoptosis, "if you keep fighting, the radiation will eat away at your flesh and end up in your loss. So take my advice. Just. Give. Up..." He lost composure in that moment, and growled the last part toward the recovering Laurentina.
"Hah~ I don't think so," Laurentina stood back up with a disappointed sigh, still holding a domineering posture despite the blood flowing from her mouth. In a show of pure willpower, she flicked her hair with her free hand, "do you think... radiation is enough to stop me? That's hilarious."
"...Your physiology, of course. What a pain in the ass," Megumi dryly commented while twirling Juuchi Yosamu in his right hand with large gestures in order to accommodate for its large size. 'She has insane regeneration, based on the confident look on her face, it could possibly apply to radiation too.' It was a terrifying ability.
Without a doubt, before his eyes was a Hunter of the Seas who possessed the Skill to Survive, the Thirst to Survive, and...
Laurentina dashed forward without any hesitance, her crimson eyes bearing an illuminated path for only one objective, "don't get your hopes up!" she taunted.
...The Pressure to Survive.
A primordial chord was struck in his heart when bearing witness to the immense relentlessness of the woman, forcing him to command Mahoraga to charge in front of him and swing its Sword of Extermination in order to intercept Laurentina—especially with all the adaptations it has done to her fighting style. For a moment, he was excited at the prospect of victory with the Dharmachakra's utility at hand...
It was the essence of the battlefield where he would truly shine.
No regrets, no sorrow, for all the pleasures of the world would belong to him soon.
...But what the Dharmachakra hadn't accounted for, however, was the unpredictable nature of her attacks, for it hadn't adapted to such a chaotic aspect yet. So when she changed course and leapt over the blade instead of clashing or tampering it with a parry as she had always done, the Abyssal Hunter was able to weave a needle through its openings, and make way to Fushiguro Megumi.
KLNK!
Megumi was forced to block the blow with Juuchi Yosamu, with the Muramasa Blade's slimy fingers finally starting to sink its claws into the lobes of his brain—tearing off all reason that came with it. In order to endure the attack, that much was necessary, especially when he found himself rocketing backwards.
"You and your little summons are a little bit of an annoyance!" Laurentina dashed forward, attempting to outspeed Mahoraga and Megumi's backwards momentum, "I'll give you that!" Blood continued to slowly seep out of her mouth while she charged, but to a much lesser degree than last time.
"Tch...!" Megumi parried a blow, not giving the woman a response as he continued to let the Muramasa Blade's influence overtake his mental fortitude, "I already know that, why else am I using them?!" He laughed out loud, both from the stress and influence of Juuchi Yosamu. He just needed to stall her for one second, and Mahoraga could catch up.
If it wasn't such an arduous task.
"Oh~ how feisty!" Laurentina grinned while striking again, "where did all this energy come from, huh?!"
He forced Laurentina's buzzsaw to slide off Juuchi Yosamu, "what do you take me for!" Just as Mahoraga arrived behind her. "From beating your ass, what else?!" He spread his arms with continuous laughter.
Instead of going for a strike however, it delayed the attack in order for her to dash around Megumi, and then it unleashed the attack.
SWORD OF EXTERMINATION - UNSHEATHE
Suffice to say, Laurentina was blasted away, but not too far away. Its results ended up with the Abyssal Hunter being flanked by her two opponents, both of whom were brandishing their blades for a unified barrage.
All three of their figures flashed across the mountainscape, leaving sections blown off or slashed off into cubic shapes, along with constant sonic booms erupting across the surroundings.
Forced to parry the multitude of strikes which sometimes carved through her guard, Laurentina searched for any other opportunity to break off their offensive strikes.
Sidestepping Megumi while blocking Mahoraga, the Abyssal Hunter had to ponder when the Shikigami had gained such immense strength, but shrugged it off as—
KLNK!
—It grew in size, increasing its force as the sudden change made Laurentina back off, only to be met with a gash to her side as Megumi had gone for a vertical strike. Right after, she had been kicked away by the now colossal Mahoraga, opening a path for Mizuchi to come out of hiding and come from the behind.
Instead of a physical blow, it fired off its electric torrent of water, crashing against Laurentina's body and tampering with her nerves, allowing for Megumi to brandish Ame-no-Habakiri in a reverse-grip and go for his own attack.
Laurentina had already known what came with the weapon he held, so she ignored the numbing feeling of electricity and swiftly avoided direct confrontation with the weapon, but it hadn't provided much as the re-shrunken Mahoraga had already struck at her.
SWORD OF EXTERMINATION - COLLAPSING FEAR
Now... that was an immense blow that she hadn't felt since the first strike of Mahoraga when he had sent the golden sword slash which streaked across the air itself. This one felt like an explosion to her, distorting the reality of which she stood and leaving her bones rattled at the mighty swing. Although its size had decreased, Mahoraga still kept the strength increase via an adaptive process.
Megumi ran forward, his pupils constricting at the opportunity. His body was in such great focus that he dropped Juuchi Yosamu, and burst forward with as much speed as possible in order to catch up to Laurentina.
Toward the Shikigami—only one command was given, "look closely, MAHORAGA!" Megumi palmed his right fist as he was in front of Laurentina, his gaze meeting with her as she was in her recovery period.
The Divine General halted all autonomous movements as its attention turned toward its Sovereign. There was a pause in the world, everything slowing around it as Mahoraga attempted to compute what exactly it was told to watch.
The flash of inspiration in its master's eyes.
The chosen spark granted to him by forces unseen.
The liberation of hidden potential roaring with its entrance toward the world.
BLACK FLASH!
That was it.
It saw it.
The thunderous cracks spread all across space, creating unseen fissures in the form of black and red—
KLNK!
—There was nothing else that needed to be said.
Mahoraga understood it now.
It charged forward without the need for a command, its sword acting at the guillotine which would sever the lifeforce of the battle itself. Gliding across the wind with its six eye wings dispersing the air, the Divine General was now by its esteemed ruler's side.
The blade trailed with untold power, fervent in its purpose of dismantling any Curse that had dared find its way in the weapon's path.
Before it, the sparks have settled, leaving naught but embers, flaking off into non-existence.
But—such an indicator was merely paving way for a new spark to rise!
All with tremendous will!
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BLACK...
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...FLASH!!!
A second force transcendent in nature, chosen not by the Sparks of Black, but by itself—as the Divine General of Yakushi Nyorai!
Let it be known: nothing shall bless Mahoraga but it and its own master!
Another ripple across space formed, pressuring Laurentina and causing her irradiated body to suffer an aching pain furthermore. For once, the strength in her body left as she crashed across the multiple pillars formed beforehand by Ame-no-Sakahoko, with absolutely no resistance. One by one, all of the earthen structures collapsed without bias.
Megumi felt euphoric.
This was... unquestionably what he had needed, after so long.
The essence of his soul, the malleable shape which he had only seen once before back in the Grand Knight Territory was once more before his eyes. It wasn't the falsified one tainted by the King of Curses, but the pure and unadulterated light that he would have never expected to see. Never would he have expected...
...To see the lotus bloom!
"LIGHT OF LAZULI."
His hands solemnly gathered together to form the Yakushi Nyorai-In Mudra. The interlocking of fingers which almost looked like a prayer sent towards the heavens, to heal the world. A sign of resilience, both mental and physical, was presented for himself only. Nevermore was there malevolence or malignance decorating his manicure as he made the sign, as he bore the full weight of his true title once more.
"MIRROR OF YAKUSHI."
There was a rumble in front of him. The earth quaked in order to herald the approach of a human bound by the sea's clutches, yet eternally did they resist the unsleeping tide's grasp. Above the rubble arose the Abyssal Hunter, eyes hyper focused on one single objective, and that was to slay their prey, no matter the cost. Even if said prey were radiating a light of pure lapis, enshrouding the entire land with his unbridled presence.
"HARMONY OF SUN AND MOON."
There was something charging at him, and he already knew it. Yet, despite the feverous bloodlust vying to claim his body and bones, Fushiguro Megumi felt only tranquility where he stood, speaking the mantra of his own Nirvana. Blessed was he to be granted the power of existence itself, stored deep in his chest, ready to be brought out and shaped into however he wished to imagine it.
Laurentina's fangs were at the ready, all rows of shark teeth plastered on her intricate buzzsaw having been sharpened to the edge of oblivion itself. Nothing could impede her, and with a single step, the entire smokescreen around her dispersed. The world had been split, all to usher in the force of nature ready to lash out!
Megumi simply spread his arms outwards, exiting the Mudra. In fact, he had even recalled Mahoraga.
He embraced the jagged teeth of the blade, with no hesitation.
Just as the ichor spilt from a gash across his body, his tongue articulated the last part of the Mantra.
His Mantra.
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"MAXIMUM: VAIḌŪRYANIRBHĀSA"
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A light engulfed all.
***
'...?'
Megumi stared at the street which he stood on, glancing down at the palm of his hands. There was no damage, there was no stress, and the never ending rage of battle that had consumed his body had completely dispersed—gone off to some place that he didn't know. On his chest were the black square t-shirt and grey pants that he remembered wearing on more casual days that didn't require Jujutsu work. It was further accentuated by the normalcy his sneakers brought, an essence which completely tore away from the traditionality his hakama pants, black haori, and white martial arts gi gave off.
There was light dashed across his body, diluted by the earth's atmosphere in the properties that it held. He stood at a cobblestone road that he... goodness, he could feel his eyes quaking the moment he came to process what it was. There were many houses of a lower living class aligning each side of the street that he stood, a place which wouldn't allow any vehicle too large to pass through. Shattered rocks of aged fissures marring them were of minimal amounts, but the frequency of those blocks denied of their forged purpose was enough to pull one's eyes to them.
Some wooden fences had holes in them, denoting the uncare and abuse it had taken over the course of their continued birth into the world. Barely rusted sheens of metal were placed over shattered windows to compensate for their destruction. Even then, despite all of the blemishes making themselves known before his eyes.
'What...?'
He looked upwards, seeing the all too familiar cables streaking across the skies with blots of black and casting its spell upon the earth with its shadows. The clouds higher above it were shifting as they always have done, leaving passing phantoms to pass through slowly across where he stood—but the true beauty came from the nostalgic light that seemed to permeate the environment as a flood would. Unlike a flood, however, there was no pressure that forcefully carried him awake in its might. Instead, he found himself being carried away by his own whims.
The zephyr was fresh, fresher than any that blew in the summer day or the spring mornings. It was rejuvenating, filling him with a new life he hadn't felt in so long, one not created from the artificiality of Jujutsu Sorcery, but the natural world. One which he had long since forgotten, buried deep beneath the mystique and absurdity of the society that was unwillingly stepped into. For a moment, even if it were for a passing breath, he felt as if he had been freed from the crevices of torture that been afflicting him, that—
"What a strange sight."
Megumi felt his muscles lock up and his nerves fire off. The veins which had been relaxed with their blood flow immediately spiked, granting it an unhealthy rise in blood pressure. Frantically, he turned around to register who the voice was from. But deep down, he already knew who it was from.
His eyes saw her. A gorgeous woman enamored by the elegance of ivory, with an ornamental dress that bespoke a beauty never before seen. Every single fiber of her being was woven with such pirouetted tapestry that his gaze forced itself to not tear away from the scene of his dreams. Each delicate pale skin latched onto her body was crafted with such perfection that it surpassed even the purest of jades, and the tantalizing vermillion jewels of her eyes became the most unutterable aspect—to the point where even he found himself at a loss.
But... it had clarified one thing to him, bringing back to the cold harsh pavement of reality, "ah... aha... of course, it's never that simple." A bitter voice left his lips as he realized it all too clearly, "I would have never thought this would have happened."
"Hm?" Laurentina crossed her arms and leaned back, bewildered herself. Her gaze continued to linger on Megumi and his changed attire before she turned her eyes elsewhere, toward where they were, "I don't remember our bout being in a place such as this... nor do I remember being in such a calm state of mind." It was jarring and indescribable in a way that she found—natural? Unnatural? It was hard to put into words.
"Between two Jujutsu Sorcerers in the midst of combat..." Megumi felt his heart and muscles at ease, despite what had happened earlier, "they might connect with each other." He glanced back at Laurentina, a strange feeling overcoming him. In a flash, he had been battling her, and now he was experiencing this, "Cursed Energy is rooted into emotions. So this occurs, but it doesn't make any sense—because you don't possess any..." he mumbled the last part under his breath.
"Jujutsu Sorcerer... Cursed Energy... Emotions... I believe I understand a gist of the jibber jabber you've just spoken," Laurentina kept her arms crossed, a smirk coming across her expression, "emotions, huh? I guess that's what I must be feeling right now, when liberated from the fervor of a hunt." She reached her right hand outwards, clenching and unclenching her fingers, "at the climax, too. I can't quite recall what had occurred..."
"You sliced open my chest."
"—Oh! Indeed, I did," Laurentina snapped her finger, "so~? Does that mean my victory?"
"Not necessarily," Megumi placed his hands in his pockets and brushed her off, letting his gaze linger elsewhere. "Why we're here in the first place, I don't really know." It was all such a familiar sight toward him, that he felt like collapsing onto his knees. But he kept strong, he couldn't fall weak to an illusion produced by his mind.
"...You have many problems, I sure hope you've understood that by now."
"When haven't I?"
"That's a good question, when haven't you?"
"Perhaps when I was an adolescent... no, a teenager? Perhaps, when I was a child...? No, no, when I was born. Yes, that's it." Megumi was finally able to place his finger on it.
"Goodness," Laurentina was both taken aback by his statement and casualness, but what was she expecting from the blunt truthfulness? "I can't tell if our minds are being tampered with this strange place, or if this is only a natural process that we're undergoing. You're the one with all the secrets, so why don't you explain this more? You owe me that much, don't you~?"
"Like I said, I don't have much of a clue about how we truly came to this place either—" Megumi interjected, but eventually gave in his two cents "—but I do know... that this place is my hometown."
Laurentina's interest spiked a thousandfold, and her hand instinctively moved to place over her mouth, "your hometown? I see, so this place is crafted by a figment of your mind, as our emotions connect in the heat of battle, is that right?"
Megumi gave her a side eye, before glancing away, "sounds about right." He didn't know what else to say. Being in this position was... utterly confusing and befuddling, even for himself. The only time he had experienced anything like this was back in—
"This is your hometown, that much has already been clarified," Laurentina spoke up, placing her index finger over her lower lip while looking thoughtful, "the results of our dance are still unclear—do you know how to liberate ourselves from this plane?"
"Not a clue."
"Curious," Laurentina chirped. "So, why don't we have a trip?" She suggested, turning an amused eye toward Megumi.
"After all of that...?" Megumi referred to what had happened previously.
"This is the best you can do," Laurentina's face immediately fell into a deadpan, "Mr. Clown."
"...Fair." Megumi let out a sigh while closing his eyes, the adrenaline in his body having long since faded away. "Follow me, then." The best he could do...
...Was to follow what his one and only had done before.
***
There was a school in front of him, the layout of the building holding a blocky "U" shape, as he and Laurentina stood at the mouth of it. It was gaping and wide open, beckoning the both of them to follow into the place and be swallowed whole by it. That was what it was, a place filled with what normally would have been delinquents ready to pounce like predators on any tender soul that they saw.
"Saitama Urami East Junior High," Megumi let his voice unleash what he wished to say, "it was... a school. That's pretty much it." He didn't have many fond memories of the place, other than some woman who kept pestering him for some reason, the delinquents he would bash, and his sister who would admonish him.
But still... it was there.
"Is that so?" Laurentina rhetorically asked, "a boring answer if I say so myself."
"Boring? That's fitting," Megumi didn't even deny her words, "it was probably the most boring place I've ever visited." The course work was far too easy, the delinquents were annoying to the point that he beat them black and blue, and—
"My~ do we have a vigilante?"
He said that out loud... "view me however you like." Megumi rolled his eyes, he'd make sure to watch his words again.
"Now I'm pondering, what ever could they have done to earn your ire?" She asked sarcastically
"...There's one fundamental rule when interacting with others," Megumi turned back to the place where he remembered reciting the words, "do you know what that is?" His thumb moved upwards and lightly rubbed his forehead.
"Nope." Laurentina shrugged. She had her own opinions, but she wasn't patient enough at the moment to articulate a well thought out response.
"It's "I won't kill you, so please don't kill me either." Breaking that rule, swaggering about, and having others try not to anger you, must have felt real pleasant for those guys."
"Mhm~ hmmh~" Laurentina chuckled with her lips shut, closing her eyes with a brief sense of humor overcoming her. "Aren't you such a philosopher?" She joked.
"Yes," Megumi replied half-heartedly, "I also told them to go die, if they didn't understand what I said."
"Hehe~ Hahaha~!" Laurentina broke out into laughter.
"Was it that funny?"
"Hehe~ do you—even know what you j-just said? Haha~!" Laurentina continued laughing while wiping a tear drop forming in her eye, "did you f-feel like a... ah, pardon my tongue, but "badass" when you said such a line?" She let her last chuckles leave while crossing her arms and leaned one of her hips to the side, staring at the black-haired man with a smile.
"I was young back then," Megumi thinned his lips with his hands still in his pocket.
"Weren't we all?" Laurentina turned her gaze back to the school, "it's no different from what I've seen on dry land. Though, for an educational institution, allowing what I assume to be delinquents run about in—how such quantities?"
"Twenty and above?"
"Goodness, that's a problem." Laurentina's eyes slightly widened, "something like that would have never occurred in Aegir."
"Bringing it up even here?"
"Aren't you curious?"
"No."
Laurentina's eyes softened—but not in a good way.
For the recipient, it felt like it was piercing through him.
"...Please, go on then," Megumi said.
***
"Ah..." Megumi let out a breath of recognition while his eyes softened. What became clear to him was something that he was familiar with, reverting him back to the childhood memories he had of the place. "I remember visiting this restaurant with my sister. It was usually a treat, and we would sneak out with the money we've taken from our mother."
"You stole from your mother?" Laurentina raised an eyebrow.
"She never took care of us, and she also left later on in the future."
"Oh..."
"The family who runs this place was shocked at first," Megumi continued on, "but they eventually came to accept us. Even gave us a free first meal too..." his eyes scanned the many tables that spanned the area.
There were utensils placed in their designated spots, ready to be taken out and be used, just as they always had. A faint aroma invaded the room purely on his nostalgic feelings. The taste of salt, the umami melted upon his tongue, the soft caress of miso broth, the sweetness of fruit, and the bite of ginger, but it hadn't become a material thing. It was the best he could recall, as he had lost such a sense ages ago when taking the brunt of useless information, faded away in those clusters of eternal damnation.
"Do you feel anything?" Laurentina asked him a question, "from this memory, I mean. I don't share the same sentiment as you do, as these are not my own after all. I've had my own fair experiences of visiting establishments such as these—but I must say, a place decorated like this is something I am not familiar with." The Aegir walked through with patterned steps, her gaze lingering upon a few features that had caught her eye. Namely pictures or paintings.
"It's my memory after all, I do feel something," Megumi admitted while standing where he was at, "the taste of the food is only a memory I can recall back to, but the rest of it is diluted. Eventually, I'm sure that it will become something that I won't be able to recall." Something that would be thrown into the trash bin that was known as the past, a place where it would be forgotten and left to deteriorate until time immemorial.
"Then cling to it," Laurentina suggested.
"Cling... to it?" Megumi raised an eyebrow while echoing back what had been said to him. He could imagine it, the tips of his fingers grasping at the memory as the joints of his fingers coiled together to latch upon the immaterial object which resided in his mind, desperately attempting to keep unto something that was ever fading. "Cling to it..." he repeated one last time.
"Made your decision?"
"I believe so," Megumi replied.
***
"I'm smelling chocolate," Laurentina sniffed the air as she glanced around the interior of the shop, the aroma becoming the most intense when she had walked into the place manufactured by Economy's hands, "it's decent."
"I can't smell it," Megumi casually responded.
"You can't?" Laurentina huffed, "what? Can't smell?"
"I can't smell or taste, yeah."
"I wouldn't be surpri—oh?" Laurentina had to do a double-take. "Pardon me?"
"That's right. I can't smell or taste," Megumi said, "that's probably why my cooking was so god awful."
"Oh... ah..." Laurentina didn't know to say toward that, finding herself genuinely lost, "well... if you didn't know, I actually preferred some of your meals—"
"Save it."
"Hmph," Laurentina crossed her arms indignantly while turning away. She wasn't lying when she said the previous line, she had just been a hardass all those other times—because there were some meals that she had enjoyed. Particularly, because they were made by him. "If you want to be that way, then fine."
"Ah, there it is," Megumi didn't listen to her words as he approached a section, letting his hands exit his pockets as he found what it was, "these chocolates... I remember them." He picked up one of them, seeing it for himself. "It depicts a wizard from the west, with a cloak and hood over their head. Some of them even have masks, how familiar."
"That's... a lot of oversized words on that plastic wrapping."
"Oversized words?" Megumi raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, right, you land-dweller love your advertisements," Laurentina shook her head, "back in Aegir, they would only have factual information presented on the plastic wrappings. Such things like nutritional value, their chemical make-up, the process of which they were made, where they were made from, and the exact digital time of which it had been created and placed on the shelves. But most of the time, people buy such things via an automatic system."
"You all must be lazy."
"Hah! You wish," Laurentina coyly shot back, "I'd say we're the most productive out of all countries which exist in Terra—we haven't had a war since... forever, basically. All disputes are verbal, and all disputes end with a clear victory. Both sides have to recognize that, it's been like that ever since Aegir had united completely."
"Seems like a utopia, then." Megumi boredly said, "good for you."
"Good for me? Why thank you."
***
His steps came to a stop upon a gravel road. There were rocks placed over it as its blanket sheets, all separated apart with thin openings, and leading toward a structure off in the distance. It was a construct of historic beauty, yet possessing a state that could hardly be called admirable in any way. Chipped pieces of wood were falling off of the structures, and the infrequent signs placed around had whatever messages written upon them vanquished from matters unknown. Even then, the majestic permanence that seemed to soak its soils and bury into the ground was undeniable, giving off a sense toward him that everything was not as it seems.
Megumi did not delve too much into it, and continued his steps, "A familiar place," he said, glancing around with his hands in his pockets. "The Saitama Prefecture has a lot of shrines dedicated to "Kannon," or "Guanyin," also known as her male counterpart, "Avalokitesvara," the Bodhisattva of Compassion," he continued on, while Laurentina trailed behind him with an interested eye. "This was one of the shrines, I remember going here, and there would be an old man sitting by the bench over there." He pointed toward a bench that looked like a portion of it was missing, but overall, it still looked as ordinary as any other, "he knew everything about it. Perhaps it held a special place in his heart—but I never thought much of it."
"A shrine, a place of worship and offering," Laurentina followed wherever his fingers pointed, and listened to every word that he spoke, "how strange. A place like this suffering from uncare would usually be an unsightly view for many, but I can't help but find..." the words died out the more she dragged it on, as if expecting the other person to finish it for her—and yet he did.
"Maybe that's the charm that I felt," Megumi dryly responded, stopping at the entrance toward the shrine, "I was never one for prayer, or for offerings." He walked inside, taking in the interior for himself. A light shone through the hole of the ceiling as if to draw everybody's eyes toward the epicenter of where it wished to direct them, by keeping the rest of the room darkened with its counterpart. "The thing about this Kannon shrine is..." he saw what was at the center, a statue not of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, but a different figure entirely "...it doesn't hold a sculpture of Kannon, but somebody else. I never knew why, and neither did the old man who would visit this place. But he did know..."
There it stood, legs criss-crossed as a palm was raised upwards. The motion told those who stood before it to fear not the hardships that the world would bear upon them, and to embrace the healing that the rejuvenation of their Sutra would grant. Despite the double halo possessing no hint of radiance from its stoned and mineral existence, the message spoken by it was clear enough, that the being in front of them was the most radiant existence that stood in the room. Upon their expression were closed eyes and calm lips, not a hint of worldly troubles afflicting it in the slightest—even if nature has clung unto it with her misplaced love.
"...That this sculpture is called Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing." A Buddha, one who had reached enlightenment, similar to a Bodhisattva, but different at the same time. The latter delayed their path, after all, "there is usually the Twelve Heavenly Generals which accompany this one..." he felt Laurentina's interest become even more piqued, despite not seeing her, "but I doubt any of them would be brought to an abandoned place such as this."
"Buddha of Healing... and so it seeks to heal the world and preserve life?" Laurentina asked, receiving a nod from Megumi, "the material it's made from is lackluster, but that never did matter in art. The structure, the components, and the way it was sculpted leaves much to be desired. However, deep down, I feel it. The passion behind the artist as they chipped off, piece by piece, each flake of stone in order to chisel this object of adoration and worship into whatever it is."
Megumi continued to listen to her words and observations, glancing to his side as she came past him. The furrows of her skirt dashed along with the many accessories placed across it. When she had first received it from that Iberian tailor from Primavera, it had less than what she wore at the moment. Through their visit through many other places, it had become completed through the many souvenirs that had caught her interest.
"In spite of everything..." Laurentina hovered a hand over the sculpture, analyzing clinically every single part that made it up. From the aged cracks, moss, and mold building across it; along with the altered color of the materials which made it up... there was still—something—which caught her eye. "Who could have known? For such a sculpture that would have pretentious critics turning their eyes away from it, I can't help but feel..." she could hardly describe it in words. It fell short of what she wished to express, to describe the immaculate form of presentation that is the object of the unmoving life.
Purity, healing, and respite. How calming it was to gaze upon it, to drink in every drop of its viscous life, and everything that it was attempting to portray in between.
"Nara is the most populated place with shrines dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai, mainly because it has the Yakushi Nyorai-ji, so it's rare to even find one in the Saitama Prefecture," Megumi said, "it's strange to find a shrine of it here. I never understood how or why." Such was the reason he had always felt the need to visit it, every time he saw the road leading to it. Most likely, somebody had put the structure there in place of Kannon's.
Laurentina continued to stare at the sculpture in a trance, "grace and elegance set in stone. It's quite difficult to evoke an emotion like this, and you visit it everyday?"
"Not everyday, but frequently," Megumi clarified.
She let out a hum of acknowledgement while her gaze shifted between the untroubled expression of Yakushi Nyorai, set in stone with no changes or blemishes, and back to Fushiguro Megumi, before amusedly pointing out, "Isn't it ironic?" She continued to shift between the two, slowly and steadily, as if to take in all that they were.
"What's ironic?" Megumi raised an eyebrow.
Laurentina placed a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, setting in both the statue of Yakushi Nyorai's expression and Megumi's own in her mind, "there's no need to complicate such matters. At times, it's best to simply let it go."
Megumi looked confused, still expecting an answer toward what was "ironic." He never received an answer.
***
"My sister was Cursed," Megumi said without a tone in his voice, sitting at a chair in the sterile room, and listening to the beeps of the machine close by the bed. "I don't know how it happened back then, and neither did my teacher. The best I could have done was become a Jujutsu Sorcerer, to find a way to cure her. It never worked." His gaze continued to stare at the empty bed, the sheets perfectly fitted as they should upon the lonely object. Over and over again, his mind drew the image of his sister. But just like everything else here, it was left to be nothing but a memory.
Laurentina kept silent.
"I had to ask myself, why did somebody like her have to become afflicted? Out of everybody I knew, out of everybody else in the world, bar none during that time, she was the greatest of them all." There was no need to mince his words or hesitate to state what he believed, "all good people eventually suffer. For reasons, I don't know, and I hated that." He wanted to scream at Fate for allowing such transgressions to happen, he wanted to scream at any god for allowing such tribulations to befall those who didn't deserve it, all the while the scum of the Earth would walk free, to do as they pleased. "It disgusts me."
"Did you ever let any of them go?"
"...Who?"
"Those bad people."
"You already know the answer to that," Megumi said, interlocking his fingers as he leaned over on the chair, mimicking the same motion as he had done when he glanced at his sister. "I could never sleep knowing that they would continue with their atrocious actions all over again, while my sister had to continuously suffer on the bed." His hand hovered where her cheek should have been, as if replaying a scene in his head. "Karma would come, I would reason all day. Yet, was that ever enough confirmation, did that even exist?"
"In a world such as this?" Laurentina questioned.
"It doesn't. What happens, happens." Megumi's eyes became half-lidded, as his eardrums continuously felt the digital thrums of the machine. "I hate it. I hated the world. I wanted to change something, I wanted to succeed, but I guess that's just not how it works. I've come to terms with it."
"Have you given up? Have you surrendered?"
There was no response given by him, as he continued to hover his hand over an invisible body. Only the sound of the machinery's heartbeats echoed across the room from where they sat, giving time for the black-haired man to mull over the words. His eyes had now fully closed, and his lips were thinned. It was a postulating posture, fit for only the most still of Greek statues that had been crafted ages ago.
It was then, when enough time had passed, that he gave his answer.
"...I might have."
***
"I wanted to see it," Megumi sat at the mat of the house that he stayed in, watching out the opening of the shoji, the scene of nature in front of him. "The orange afterglow of the sun bleeding into the horizon as it pierced through the sky with its color. I wanted to see it, the harmonious silence as I sat with my sister. It was such a beautiful sight, that I've imagined it in my head over and over again." He wouldn't want anybody else, other than his one and only to be his sister's everlasting partner.
In a perfect world.
"It's beautiful," Laurentina muttered out while watching the sun fall to its sleeping bed, as its radiance finally started to fade off in the distance. "Never once have I seen a scene such as this on dryland. In Aegir, they were merely simulations, but here... nothing can beat naturality." The dancing colors and ebb of the night continued to plaster itself across her vision, and the twist of the heat distorting the sights in front of her was uncontested. "You still seek such a life, don't you? You told me this back in Primavera."
"I have, I remember that too," Megumi's gaze never once tore off from the horizon, and neither did Laurentina's, "but at this point—I've had enough. Even back then, I've given up countless times, leaving myself to fester doing nothing. I don't know what to think of this anymore, neither do I know what to think of my place in the world." He whole-heartedly admitted, spilling his heart out for the first time since he had entered this world. He didn't understand why, but Megumi did know he wished to keep it that way.
"You don't have to be alone."
"It's not a matter of being a burden to you, Laurentina."
"I know... so, why? I don't understand."
"I don't deserve somebody like you," Megumi said.
"To the tides with that," Laurentina let out a deep breath. "What do you deserve?"
"I don't know." That was his only reply.
"You don't know." She repeated
"I never did. I don't know what I want. I don't know what I need. I don't know what I deserve."
"You're lost."
"That's a fact, and I know it."
"Let me help," Laurentina's hand moved to his own, grasping it. "Let me help you, to find a reason."
"...I was always told that a Jujutsu Sorcerer can't die without regrets," the words from Gojo Satoru spread from another man echoed in his ears, "I have a million regrets. They are boundless and bare before me, but I've come to understand... that maybe... that's okay."
"Megumi..."
"Laurentina..." Megumi's voice died out.
"I can't understand this place fully, not even with an artist's eye, or a logical eye. Everything here stems from a root that never followed logic in the first place," Laurentina said, "of course—all I know is that it is beautiful. Since when did you possess such a grandiose view here? Since when have I come to understand even a smidgen of you?"
"..."
"I never once cared for what place we visited, or what unruly people we encountered. All that mattered was you."
"..."
"You... I want to be with you, is that hard enough to understand?" Laurentina asked, not a single change in her tone was detectable. "Please, we've always danced together back then. We haven't done one in, oh, so long. So—indulge me one more time, why don't you? I've always been looking forward to another one."
Megumi silently held in a breath as his gaze never shifted toward the woman beside him. He didn't need to turn his head, and he didn't need to strain his mind to understand that something light and liquid had fallen to the ground. He couldn't deny it, he truly couldn't, lest he could never face the world again.
Their final dance.
He couldn't deny it.
"...Okay. I've been looking for it too."
His hand was grasped. As if on instinct, they rose.
A single step.
A second step.
A third step.
And soon, he lost count of them.
There were endless steps made under the bathing light of the sun.
There were infinite twists and turns as they moved out of the light, into the shadows, across the shadows, and then back into the light once more.
Flickering everforth, they continued to dance.
One last time.
He was not a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
He was not the King of Curses.
He was not the Clown of Fate.
He was not the Strongest.
He was Fushiguro Megumi.
When the final step fell, so did his dream.
***
Across the valley, broken trees left as twigs, and towering mountains left shaved was the only thing that could be seen. The already dead grass had turned further charred, leaving them a blackened mess to be sunk into the wasted soil once more—never to breed life ever again. Flickers of embers flew across as flames lazed around in their spread, emitting smoke which rose up the sky never to be seen again.
Footsteps were heard moving across. A group of people dressed in combat gear, as if they were ready to take on whatever horrors the world threw at them. Their eyes continued to scan the scenery as they cautiously moved through, spearheaded by a woman with white hair and Lynx ears. Ever so frequently, a few words were spoken or a few hand signs were given, a testament to their skill and synergy as they continued with masterful precision—taking in any potential dangers around them.
...Eventually, they came to a stop. There was something that had caught their eye and attention, that they just had to pause to take in the full scenery. Across the ground ladened with dry blood, and the many debris which now laid themselves to rest, was somebody sitting upon a particularly large rock.
A woman.
She was conscious, staring dazedly at the ground with a weapon laid lazily by her side. No, it was more accurate to say that the weapon had been dropped completely, left to bear the full brunt of the ground's apathy.
Across her face, a shadow was casted over.
Only then, when it had been illuminated by the sun when she had turned upwards, did everybody witnessing the scene truly understand the emotions.
Defeat.
She had lost.