'...this is!'
Shock. Such was the sensation he felt this moment. His lone eye was wide as he stared straight ahead, his gaze fixed on a road.
'Huh...'
He stood at a Crossway, waiting for the Light to turn green. The weather was nothing short of impeccable, warm sunshine reflecting off of windows and cars. The place seemed familiar.
'...do i know this place...? I... stood at a Crossroad... with Hanami and Dagon...'
The moment the realization hit, Jogo's head turned to his left and right, expecting, nay hoping for their presence.
...
"...figured."
A car drove by as Jogo's head turned back to the front, his expression slightly down. There had been no one next to him.
He simply returned to staring ahead, his mind attempting to piece back his memories, until he saw it.
A small Bistro was on the other side of the road. . 'This... what is this. I burned that place to ashes!'
He remembered that place. It was where his group and Geto had met up to discuss the plan involving Sukuna!
'...No. It's not.'
He realized that a moment later. This place was not the same. The sidewalk larger and the decor a bit different from the place he had burned.
'But... this resemblance... It cannot be normal.'
This entire setting where he currently stood, was uncanny in the way it was familiar.
That day had been the start of Geto's plan, involving the Prison realm and the Sealing of Gojo Satoru. It had also been the day in which he had battled Gojo the first time.
'...Battled...'
Calling that instance a battle was large an overstatement. It had been a Humiliation, not as heavy as that of Sukuna, but meaningful as the first time he had not only failed, but been disregarded as weak.
The temperature around him rose as Jogo relived the memory of Gojo Satoru's domain. He did not even have the time to prepare, so quickly did his domain get overwhelmed.
'...Domain expansion. I will work on that.'
Ting! The Light in front of him turned green. He immediately started to walk to the other side of the road, his attention still focused on the Bistro.
Thwump! Someone bumped into him.
"Ah! Sorry Sir, you need some help? I wasn't paying attention."
'...what?!'
Jogo's cane had hit the ground. He himself still stood, his large eye focused on the smiling human who bent down and picked up his cane.
'...he can... see me...?'
The Human simply stood there, still smiling, cane in Hand, waiting for Jogo to take it. But he didn't. Instead, he simply stared at the... Human?
'...he shouldn't be able to see me.'
Then, came the second realization. It wasn't just that Human.
Around him, were plenty of people crossing the street... and plenty of them looked at him. Why did they look at him?
Jogo felt a strange sensation crawl up his spine. A sensation he had only felt once before. He'd felt it that time. In his battle against Sukuna, when he suddenly used that Fire. It was a profound sense of wrongness, his worldview being flipped on it's head. The Pressure in his head mounted and Jogo felt the Earplugs loosen as steam escaped his ears. His Volcano's Lava bubbled and the Temperature rose.
34°C
"Hey, umm, i'm really sorry if i hurt you in anyway..."
The man's voice was wary, maybe even scared. He still held the cane waiting for it to be taken out of his hands.
41°C
Jogo still stared, his mind racing. He had noticed something else. The people around him... not all of them were Human!
49°C
The temperature around him distorted the air and the people around him wore expressions of fear on their faces. But Jogo couldn't care less about their expressions. He had noticed a Curse with a Fly-Head. But, despite his appearance, the man wore a suit and carried a Briefcase.
And he talked with a human woman.
56°C
'What... is this?!?'
He saw more such figures. Curses. Humans. And some who had the traits of ...both.
"H-hey, is t-this y-your Q-Quirk? Please s-shut it off! I-I really d-didn't mean t-to bump into y-you! I-Is it r-really s-such a P-Problem?!?"
62°C
Jogo's attention snapped back to the man in front of him. He stared at him for a moment... then reigned in his Technique. Jogo's eye narrowed a little as he took back his cane.
"Hmpf. No. There is no problem."
Then, Jogo walked onwards, his head lowered and gaze darting from person to person as he scanned them for any abnormalities.
It was also then that he noticed the change in Cursed Energy. 'Why... Why can i not sense any other than my own?'
He did sense Cursed Energy by itself... but it was thin. Too thin to be like he remembered. Usually, Cursed Energy was emitted by Humans and then lingered, slowly filling places out until dense enough for a Curse to be born.
But here... the Cursed Energy did not linger. The passerby and people emitted Cursed Energy, large amounts of it infact, but they also emitted something else.
'This is...! Reverse Cursed Energy! Positive Energy!'
The people emitted Cursed Energy... and Positive Energy simultaneously!
'Is that why they the Cursed Energy in the Air is so weak? Is it diluted? Is that why they can see me?'
A myriad of questions flew about in the Curses Head. Questions about cursed Energy. About the people. Or were they Curses? Was he a Curse? Or was he... No. No point making up crazy theories.
The Curse's eye narrowed as he continued, his walk unhurried, his purpose unclear.
But the questions he attempted to push back kept swirling back, feeding him conflicting emotions.
Among them, was the most foolish emotion of all.
Hope.
Hope which clashed with what his experience told him he was.
He was Jogo, the Curse of the Iron Mountain.
Or... was he?