Monogatari Series.
"Perhaps that's the reason her mara-struck affliction erupted?" Koyomi sighed. "Baiheng died in battle, and Dan Feng desecrated her death by transforming her into a mara-struck dragon… Let alone Jingliu—even just thinking about it would break me."
"Do you pity her?"
"No, I just think… she's too tired." Koyomi shook his head. "The longer Xianzhou people live, the more burdens they carry on their backs. Someone like her, who has lived for over a thousand years, probably feels like she's walking forward every day with a mountain on her shoulders, right?"
"But compared to her, I think there's someone even more tragic." Shinobu Oshino said softly.
"Who?"
"Jing Yuan."
Shinobu Oshino sat on the railing of the rooftop, her pale little legs swinging gently. Her golden eyes gazed into the distance: "Her master Jingliu fell to mara-struck madness, comrade Baiheng died in battle, and two others of the Quintet—Yingxing and Dan Feng—committed grave crimes… Meanwhile, he still has the duties of General: externally always on guard against threats from Abundance, internally playing political games with the Six Charioteers and Alliance higher-ups…"
"Aaah, enough, enough!" Koyomi hurriedly interrupted her. "Just listening is exhausting enough… To sit in the General's seat for centuries without succumbing to mara-struck—this guy is the real monster."
"Heh, to become General, one naturally needs ambition far beyond the ordinary."
Shinobu Oshino gave a faint smile. "That's why when that pink-haired little dwarf Fu Xuan said she wanted to take over as General, I thought she was too green… Though she's decent at handling Xianzhou affairs, to hold that chair long-term without weathering centuries of storms and forging a mindset like Jing Yuan's—she's still far from ready."
——
[Jingliu walked to the starskiff and placed a wine flask that should have belonged to her inside.]
["I brought your wine flask… Baiheng. This was originally a gift that person carved for you, but he never got to give it to you personally."]
["I'm sorry. It was only recently that I recovered it. Only by returning it to your side can my nightmares find a moment's peace." Jingliu raised her head to look at the azure dome of the Xianzhou. "And what you asked me to do—I will definitely accomplish it. Even if it means severing the stars in the sky, I will never break my promise."]
[Jingliu watched as the starskiff carrying Baiheng's relics slowly ascended, turning into a faint point of light before finally vanishing through the Jade Gate.]
——
Akame ga Kill!
"That wine flask was carved by Yingxing, right? Their relationship… has it reached the point where they won't even speak each other's names?"
"I remember Blade also referred to Jingliu as… 'that woman.'" Mine recalled the battle between Yanqing and Blade. When Yanqing unleashed that massive ice sword conjured from thin air, Blade's expression had clearly changed.
…He had originally only intended to toy with Yanqing casually, but after seeing that move, the urge to cut him down could no longer be concealed.
The grudge between these two seemed far deeper than just the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion.
"You guys were talking about that?" Najenda slowly approached from behind. "Compared to her grudge with Blade, I'm actually more interested in Blade's own transformation."
"Transformation?"
Najenda nodded: "According to Rakshasa, Blade—as one of the High-Cloud Quintet—was originally a short-life species with only a century of lifespan. Yet after the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion, he became a long-life species—immortal and unaging… His vitality and regenerative ability far exceed that of ordinary Xianzhou natives."
"The source of that change wasn't just Dan Feng's dragon-transformation art, but something hidden within it—something with even deeper, far-reaching influence… likely tied to that Emanator of Abundance [Impermanence]."
——
[The next stop was the Artisanship Commission. The group arrived inside the Commission and, seeing mara-struck creatures scattered everywhere, Jingliu couldn't help but recall an old acquaintance who had always looked down on others.]
["If he saw this mess in the Artisanship Commission, he'd probably laugh at how incompetent the Xianzhou people are."]
[Jingliu looked around, her gaze finally settling on Yanqing. "Little brother, how about another match like last time? Let me see how much progress your proud swordsmanship has made?"]
[Though somewhat reluctant, Yanqing still agreed. The two arranged to meet at the Creation Furnace. After sending Yanqing away, Dan Heng asked in a low voice: "You deliberately sent that child away—what is your purpose?"]
[Jingliu's intention was simple: she just wanted to observe Dan Heng's every move and see how much of their old comrade's shadow remained within them.]
[The two used the mara-struck creatures along the way as practice targets. Watching Dan Heng's familiar spear techniques, Jingliu only came back to herself after a long while. She asked calmly: "This spear still recognizes you as its master. Imbibitor Lunae… do you remember the person who forged it for you?"]
["From the time I was exiled, it has stayed by my side… I don't remember when I began wielding it."]
["Your spear techniques are identical to those Imbibitor Lunae once used." Jingliu spoke faintly. "'Combat is like repeated forging—use blazing flames to melt away impurities and reveal a person's true nature.' The one who forged this Cloud-Piercer once said that to you. Do you remember?"]
["Among us, the one who walked closest to him could only be you. How strange—an arrogant man who looked down his nose at everyone somehow got along so well with another who did the same."]
[Dan Heng struggled to recall that experience. The name Jingliu mentioned danced like fallen leaves in the wind, stirring vague voices.]
["Better to burn like a fleeting firefly than linger like a useless ailanthus tree through endless spring. I will make all the Xianzhou people know that Yingxing's brief life held more value than their long, useless years."]
——
Jujutsu Kaisen.
"Not linger like a useless ailanthus tree through endless spring… Hmph." Ryomen Sukuna's lips curled into an appreciative smirk.
With just that casually spoken sentence, Sukuna could almost picture the proud, white-haired man's expression as he said it.
The Yingxing of back then was the Blade of today. Thinking of how he had become undying—not only gaining the endless lifespan of the Xianzhou but possessing regenerative power even more exaggerated than his own Reverse Cursed Technique… Sukuna felt an inexplicable sense of irony.
"Not bad?" Kenjaku did not agree with Yingxing's philosophy and gently shook his head. Compared to a fleeting few decades of brilliance, Kenjaku looked forward far more to those centuries-long stretches—even stretches so long they could be called utterly boring.
As long as one lived long enough, time would eventually bring interesting things. He lifted his eyes toward Jingliu's sword-like figure in the light screen: "If I had died a thousand years ago and missed out on something this entertaining—even in hell, I would regret it."
"That's true."
Propping his cheek with one hand, Ryomen Sukuna suddenly recalled the myriad emotions that had surged within him the first time he beheld Nanook of Destruction.
Insignificance, awe, terror, resonance…
And countless things he could not put into words.
It was a novelty he had never experienced in a thousand years. In an instant, it pressed down on him—nearly crushing his bones and soul—leaving him momentarily dazed, his limbs and body filled with cold dread.
For a thousand years, countless people had called him a battle-crazed madman, the incarnation of violence. But Ryomen Sukuna himself understood: he simply sought through combat the intense stimulation that would make this dull existence no longer boring.
Yet those humans—strong or weak—passed through his body like water, turning to decay and leaving behind nothing but bloodstains.
And even that pervasive scent of blood would silently dissipate under the sunrise. Like mayflies—born at dawn, dead by dusk. What awaited him was still only that unfulfilled emptiness.
But in the moment he locked eyes with Nanook, that abyss-like, colossal emptiness was satisfied in an instant.
Truly… unbelievable.