Disclaimer
While the story, characters and their abilities are nearly all creations of my own, all my work here is based off of Gege Akutami's world, manga and anime Jujutsu Kaisen, so all credit goes to him as without the basis of his world none of this story would be happening.
This story and its characters is just an idea I thought would be fun after reading Jujutsu Kaisen. While I'll try to make it as reader friendly as possible for people who've never read or seen JJK I would highly recommend either watching the anime or reading the manga or both as it is an amazing story and will make your experience with my own fan novel smoother. Without spoiling anything the main inspiration of this story was some of the OC's you'll come across while reading as well as what could the Jujutsu societies of other countries exist. Of course if you've read or watched the series you know that in the canon Japan is the heart of Jujutsu and only they produce enough energy to possess a society but my story follows a world where that's not the case (or maybe how it become the case in the future).
I hope you enjoy my fan novel as much as I've enjoyed creating it.
Prologue – The Boy In The Dungeon
7 Years Ago
Cold.
…
So cold. He wanted to shiver but couldn't.
…
The boy felt like he was sinking through an endless ocean, his mind clouded and consumed by its inky waters.
"A late awakener?"
He thought he might've heard someone speak but the sensations were flushed from his mind as fast as they came leaving him sinking into a slumber once again.
…
…
…
'Why was it so cold?' Was the first thought to come to his mind as his consciousness slowly rose from what felt like a coma.
In the end it was a powerful, bizarre incense that finally woke the boy. The scent so sharp it felt like as if an irritant had been sprayed directly up his nose. It dominated the subtler stale stench of whatever room he was in. Despite his abrupt awakening his eyes only slowly crept open, steadily forcing their way through a layer of deep sleep. As he sluggishly became more conscious his hearing was the second sense to return to him. Then touch soon followed.
Why couldn't he move? He tried to shift his limbs but they'd been restricted. He analysed the chilling sensation against his wrists and metallic jingle.
'Chains? What's going on?' Panic began to rise in his heart.
His vision slowly returned to him, a slit of light finally piercing the haze of darkness. Instantly he wished it hadn't and wanted nothing more than to just go back to sleep and not have to deal with any of this. Pray it was just a nightmare and he'd happily awaken in his own bed back … home. Oh wait, he didn't have one anymore. A surge of sorrow and guilt threatened to take him but he forced it down into the abyss.
With a brave breath, he opened his eyes wider and was met with walls of warmly lit, giant stone bricks and after a quick glance he could see the ceiling and floor were built the same way. He was directly facing a solid steel door. Was he in a dungeon!? No … well maybe. It was far cleaner than he ever imagined a dungeon would be. Maybe it was just a basement or cellar, not that that made any difference. Why the hell was he here?
As he examined his surroundings further, an intense fear slowly crept up his spine. Was he about to be used for some kind of ritual?
Buring candles and incense lined the edges of the floor, encaging him. As his vision fully became his again he noticed that the surfaces of the room weren't just bare stone, in fact they were far from it. Dozens of aged and worn scrolls, papers and scriptures had been planted on the walls, attached by engraved waxed seals that the boy would've expected to see in ancient England. He looked down to see that his legs had been chained to a sturdy, bolted down chair and there were actually even more of those strange papers attached to the chain links. Although he couldn't look around and check, he imagined the restraints on his wrists were identical. He leaned forward as much as the restraints would allow to get better look at the papers. They were covered in ink-drawn writing, some of it looked to be English and some were these strange hieroglyphics. He couldn't make sense of any of it. He didn't know why but a strange instinctual voice at the back of his mind told him they were wards and seals. But if that was true, why were they covering him … because of what he'd done? But … it was an accident … he didn't mean to … it wasn't his fault.
Suddenly the steel door was pulled open.
"Anyone else getting Déjà vu? How many times do think this has happened in the Jujutsu world?" A voice mused. The boy's heart jumped and his body turned to stone. The voice was deep, masculine and despite its perfect English possessed a foreign accent. "I wonder how many times it'll happen again? Why is the poor kid even locked up here? What's the point of all this?"
"You know exactly why," a second sterner voice responded.
"… It's ridiculous. Murdering a child all because of possibility." The first voice spoke bitterly.
The boy's attention snapped to the shadows ahead and he felt all the colour drain from his skin. His cage's steel door had been replaced by a wall of darkness so terrifyingly thick not even the room's candles could do a thing to pierce it.
"While I don't agree with the council's decision, enough has happened to this nation to justify their decision. What is one boy's life when weighed against millions."
The foreign accented voice grumbled.
A man then emerged from the doorway and the shadows almost seemed to retreat from his presence making the room seem brighter as he covered the doorway. He casually strode over the perimeter of candles and incense and crossed the room. Without caution of fear, he crouched down before the boy, so they were eye level, and it took all the boy's determination and energy to avoid trembling.
The man had a sharp face with thick, unruly black hair that fell down his neck and cascaded down his forehead in wild, curtain like bangs. His eyes were dark, so dark the boy couldn't make out a colour, just barely distinguish the transition between iris and pupil. They made him involuntarily shiver. While emanating no malice, they were like bottomless ink wells or a starless night sky, somehow holding such vast information and experiences the boy couldn't even began to comprehend them. The man only looked to be in twenties.
"So, who we do have here?" he asked, his accent even thicker now he was close. Was that German?
The boy didn't respond, he couldn't, annoyingly his terror had a steel hold of his voice.
The man didn't seem fazed by the boy's lack of response and carried on in a friendly manner. "I'm Kaizer. Jujutsu sorcerer and instructor at Blackrock Jujutsu Academy," Kaizer informed gesturing up above them. "Do you have a name?" He spoke with a stern, blank face but his voice remained gentle.
Of course he had a name the boy snapped in his head but once again failed to produce any sound. What was wrong with him.
"It's okay to be scared kid -"
The boy felt his face flush and quickly found his voice. "I'm not scared," the boy lashed out angrily, lying through gritted teeth.
"Oh?" Kaizer said amused, a smile playing at the edges of his mouth.
"Ryan … my name's Ryan Azhur," Ryan finally answered, quelling his childish rage as best as possible.
Curiosity flashed across the man's gaze as Ryan spoke his full name. "Kaizer Loric." Kazier then turned his head towards the shadows, speaking to someone Ryan couldn't see. "I'll take him. Go tell that council of pricks that nothing will be happening to him whilst he's under my protection. They can take all they fears and caution and keep it far from me. Oh! And can you get him a room set up, he won't be able enrol for a bit, but he can start with me soon, perhaps even tomorrow."
There was a huff from outside his cage, that Ryan could've sworn sounded relieved, followed by footsteps striding away.
Everything began to overwhelm Ryan and a sharp pain bubbled in his brain as he tried to decipher it all. His emotions burst.
"… What do you mean you'll take me! I'm not for sale!" Ryan growled, forcing down his fear, despite his youth and situation.
Kaizer once again remained completely calm and unfazed by Ryan's outburst. "I told you I was an instructor did I not? I'll take you on, teach you how to harness your cursed technique, your power. So nothing like this ever happens again. So you don't accidentally harm others, so you can protect yourself."
"And if I don't want to? If I want to go home?"
"You don't have a home any longer," Kaizer stated bluntly. "But I'm offering you a new one."
His guilt came back double fold and Ryan felt a rock grow in his throat. Fear forcing it's way up his spine, he thought about the reality of his situation and recalled Kaizer's conversation moments ago. Whoever this council are, they want to kill him? "… Do I have a choice?"
"You do," Kaizer admitted. "But I don't think you'll like it. I'm not going to sugarcoat it Ryan, the promise of my protection is the only thing that'll keep you alive until you're strong enough on your own."
Ryan couldn't explain it but suddenly he felt a strange sensation of energy flow beneath him and up the back of the chair. Suddenly the chains around his wrist broke apart, freeing his arms. He instantly pulled them forward trying to rub out the soreness and warm the chill the metal links had caused.
Kaizer stood from his crouch and now that he was close up Ryan could he was quite a tall man. He wore an imposing black trenchcoat that he reached inside of. Kaizer retrieved a black revolver, holding it by the barrel as he revealed it to the room. Ryan stiffened. Steadily Kaizer offered out the revolver with one arm and an open palm with the other.
Kaizer gave a slight shrug. "Choice is yours Ryan."
Ryan looked up at the man wide eyed, not even trying to hide his terror anymore. Not caring if people saw him scared. Time felt like it'd slowed, his heart slammed against his ribs and his breath stopped. He didn't want to make a choice. All he wanted to do was go back to bed and wake up from this nightmare. It had to be a nightmare right? They weren't dead. Ryan hadn't killed them. He'd just close his eyes and wake up in the morning and get ready for school.
'No.'
It didn't matter how many times Ryan tried to convince himself he knew the truth. This was real, and now he had a choice to make. He looked up at Kaizer's offer. It was painfully simple with no room to escape. Would he live on or die. He remained silent and frozen, as his erratic mind warped his thoughts. His gaze passed back and forth over the gun and hand. Did he want to live? After everything that had happened, everything he'd done, did he deserve to live? His parents and older sister and brother flooded his mind.
Ryan sucked in a deep breath, only then remembering to breath and realising how dry his throat had gotten. "Will I ever … become strong enough?"
A small smile broke across Kaizer's face. "With a power like yours, I'll make sure of it."
Ryan Azhur reached out and grasped Kaizen Loric's hand.