The night air of Tokyo was unusually cold, even for early autumn. A thin fog drifted through the empty streets while the distant glow of neon lights reflected on the wet asphalt. Most people had already returned to their homes, escaping the quiet chill that had begun to settle over the city. But in a forgotten alley between two aging apartment buildings, something unnatural stirred within the darkness.
At first, it looked like nothing more than a distortion in the air, a ripple of shadow moving slowly along the wall. Then the shape began to twist and stretch, forming something grotesque. Long, thin arms scraped against the concrete while a mouth filled with uneven teeth slowly opened, releasing a wet, distorted laugh.
A curse had been born.
Creatures like this existed beyond the awareness of ordinary humans. Born from fear, hatred, regret, and despair, curses thrived in places where negative emotions gathered. They hid in abandoned buildings, crowded train stations, hospitals, and schools, feeding on the invisibledarkness within human hearts.
This particular curse had awakened hungry.
Its hollow eyes moved slowly across the alley until they stopped at a faint glow coming from the window of an apartment on the third floor. The creature tilted its head, sensing something strange within that light. Something unusual. Something that did not belong in the world of ordinary humans.
The curse climbed the wall with unnatural speed.
Inside the apartment, a young man sat alone at his desk. His name was Akira Sato.
At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about him. He looked like an ordinary university student in his early twenties. His black hair fell slightly over his eyes, and a pair of headphones rested loosely around his neck. His desk was cluttered with notebooks, half-finished sketches, and empty coffee cups, the usual evidence of someone who spent long nights studying or working.
But the truth was very different.
Akira had always known that something about him was strange. Ever since he was a child, he had occasionally felt the presence of things that other people could not see. At first, he thought they were just nightmares or tricks of his imagination. Shadows that moved too quickly, whispers that disappeared when he turned around, the feeling that someone was standing behind him even when he was alone.
When he tried to tell people, they laughed. His parents said he had a vivid imagination. His teachers told him to focus on school instead of strange fantasies. Eventually, Akira stopped talking about it altogether.
But the feeling never disappeared. In fact, it had only grown stronger over the years.
Tonight was one of those nights.
Akira leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. The digital clock on his desk displayed 1:47 AM. Outside his window, the fog had thickened, covering the streetlights in a pale haze. For some reason, the air felt heavy. Uncomfortable. Like the moment before a storm.
Akira stood up and walked toward the window. As he pushed the curtain aside, he felt a sudden chill crawl down his spine. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Across the street, the shadows seemed darker than usual. They stretched across the buildings in strange shapes that shifted slightly whenever he blinked. Akira frowned, trying to convince himself that he was just tired.
Then he heard it.
Scratch.
A faint scraping sound against the wall outside. Akira froze. The sound came again.
Scratch… scratch…
Slowly, carefully, he leaned forward and looked down the side of the building. For a moment, he saw nothing. Then the creature lifted its head. Two hollow eyes locked onto his.
Akira's heart stopped. The curse grinned.
Its body twisted as it climbed the wall with horrifying speed, its limbs bending at unnatural angles. In seconds, it reached the edge of the window.
The glass shattered.
Akira stumbled backward as the creature crashed into the room, its distorted laughter filling the apartment. The smell of rot and damp concrete flooded the air. Most people would have screamed. Most people would have run. But Akira stood frozen in place, staring at the monster in disbelief.
"So they are real…" he whispered.
The curse tilted its head, confused by the boy's reaction. Normally, humans could not see curses. Yet this one clearly could.
The creature hissed and lunged forward. Akira raised his arm instinctively.
And something impossible happened.
A pulse of dark energy exploded from his body. The entire room shook violently as an invisible force slammed into the curse, throwing it across the apartment like a ragdoll. The creature smashed into the wall, leaving deep cracks in the concrete.
Both Akira and the curse froze. Neither of them understood what had just happened. Akira slowly looked down at his hands. A faint black aura flickered around his fingers before disappearing.
His voice trembled. "What… was that?"
Across the room, the curse struggled to stand. Fear now filled its empty eyes. Because the energy it had just felt was not normal. It was ancient. And dangerous.
The creature let out a furious scream and charged again. But this time, Akira did not panic. Something deep inside him had awakened. His body moved on instinct. The air around him distorted as invisible power gathered in his palm.
The curse jumped. Akira spoke one quiet word.
"Disappear."
The energy burst forward like an explosion. For a split second, the entire apartment glowed with dark light. Then the curse shattered into fragments of shadow and vanished completely.
Silence filled the room. The fog outside drifted slowly past the broken window. Akira stood in the middle of the destruction, breathing heavily as he tried to understand what had just happened.
He knew one thing for certain. His life would never be normal again.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Far away, on the rooftop of a tall building overlooking the district, a tall man wearing a blindfold began to laugh softly. The strongest sorcerer, Satoru Gojo, lowered his head slightly as if observing something interesting. Next to him stood a serious young sorcerer, Megumi Fushiguro.
Megumi frowned. "You felt that too?"
Gojo smiled. "Oh yeah." His voice carried excitement. "Someone just used cursed energy."
Megumi looked toward the distant apartment building. "But there aren't any registered sorcerers in that area."
Gojo chuckled. "Exactly." The wind moved gently across the rooftop as his smile widened. "And that makes it fun."
Back in the apartment, Akira stared at the shattered room around him. His heart had finally begun to slow.
But then—a whisper echoed inside his mind. Soft. Ancient. And very real.
"So… you finally woke me up."
Akira froze. The voice was not coming from outside. It was coming from inside his head. His breath became shallow.
"Who's there?"
For several seconds, there was only silence. Then the voice laughed. A deep, terrifying laugh that seemed to come from the depths of something sealed for centuries.
"You don't remember me?"
Akira felt a cold sensation spread through his chest. "No…"
The voice replied calmly. "You will."
Outside, thunder rolled across the distant sky. And somewhere deep within Akira's soul, something dark slowly opened its eyes.