I canceled the skill immediately.
It was making me feel seriously weird , like other people's emotions were becoming part of me. Ren's feelings were sharp and real and raw. And Mishizani's emptiness...
I don't want to feel that emptiness again.
A question came to me while I was standing there.
I've used several skills by now but none of them have cost me anything. Normally they'd drain XP or stamina or something. I don't even know how I can sense cursed energy in the first place, or where these skills come from, or what the real price of using them is.
So many questions since I got to this place. And not a single answer yet.
Maybe I'll find something while exploring this world. Speaking of which ,even though I figured out what era I'm in, the mission still hasn't ended. Is the System literally asking me to just... wander around?
Fine.
I left the fortress. Seems like it's surrounded by a barrier, so that'll save me the trip back later. I headed out in no particular direction, just following wherever the road took me.
Maybe the answer will cross my path.
Hours passed before I reached one of the villages.
It was quiet. Unnaturally quiet.
Then I saw why.
Bodies everywhere. The smell hit before you could even get close ,the kind that stops you in your tracks. Same scene as the first world I landed in, except back then I understood why. Here I still don't know.
In the middle of the village I saw someone who wasn't exactly a stranger.
Different appearance, but I recognized him instantly. That specific kind of evil that seeps out of a person , there's only one person it could be.
Kenjaku.
The vessel looked like a girl. And honestly... actually kind of pretty?
Okay okay, seems like I forgot who I was talking about for a second. Pure evil doesn't get a pass just because it picked a feminine face.
There was someone else nearby too. Another girl.
They were talking.
I walked right between them and started listening.
We can't let the major clans unite against us. Even if "he" wouldn't object to it, it's still a dangerous idea.
Kenjaku smiled that signature villainous smile:
Don't worry. I'll personally stir the clans against each other. And if any of them even dare to stand against us...
A pause. Then:
Sukuna will wipe every last one of them off the face of the earth.
I heard that name and my whole body went cold.
Sukuna.
Right. He wiped out literally everyone who stood against him during the Heian era. No exceptions. No mercy.
Does that mean even Mishizani loses to him?
Thinking about it ... the original anime never gave details about that war. I don't know exactly who fought or how it went. All I could hope was that this world runs on a different timeline than what happened originally.
But hope isn't a plan.
Kenjaku and the other girl split up after that. And thinking about it ...Kenjaku never mentioned her name during the whole conversation. I wonder who she is.
I decided to follow Kenjaku. He's the one pulling all the strings here.
I kept following until he stopped in the middle of a completely barren stretch of land. Nothing alive anywhere.
Then
He opened a door in the middle of the air.
Illusion? Barrier? No idea. I stepped through.
And found myself in something completely different from anything I'd imagined.
A clean village. Peaceful looking. But...
Only women.
I walked around. It was genuinely beautiful ! and every woman here was not just attractive but clearly powerful too.
Then I felt it.
Massive pressure. Even heavier than what I felt standing near Mishizani.
There was only one person this could be.
Sukuna.
My heart picked up speed. But I pulled myself together and remembered ... I'm just an Observer. That's it. I headed toward where I'd felt it coming from something like a small fortress.
He doesn't seem to care about looking like royalty. He doesn't need to. His presence just fills whatever space he's in without trying.
I spotted him the moment I got close.
Same tattoos. Same arms. Same mouth and same eyes.
No different from the version I know , but this was the first time I was seeing his savagery directly, not through a screen or a manga page.
He was lounging on the floor, two girls nearby, food beside him. Looked like a guy completely drowned in his own pleasures. No worry. No tension. No sense at all that the world around him was plotting something.
Maybe that's the one thing that connects him to the Sukuna I know ... the absolute certainty that nothing is worth stressing about.
Then ...
Kenjaku and Uraume walked in and approached him.
Uraume said with that teasing tone:
Sukuna-sama... you seem to be in a good mood today!
He replied without even opening his eyes:
Why don't you drop the act, you fox, and just tell me what you want.
Fine fine... it's about the Zenin clan. We've received information that they're planning something big and we decided to look into it.
He raised an eyebrow slightly:
So?
Kenjaku:
Nothing that needs to concern you. We're just asking your permission to get involved.
He closed his eyes again and said with complete indifference:
Do whatever you want.
I slept in the village that night hoping to hear something new. Nothing interesting happened until the next day.
I followed Kenjaku to his next destination.
He walked into a village with a sign at the entrance that read:
— Zenin Clan —
Something like fear settled over me.
Toji Zenin was able to sense me for reasons I still don't understand. And this is his clan. Was I really going to risk walking in there?
I hesitated for a moment.
Then I pulled myself together and followed Kenjaku inside.
He stopped.
Who was he talking to now?
The person in front of him had black hair, was fairly muscular, and wore robes with writing on them. I moved closer until I could read it.
"Clan Head."
He was talking to the head of the clan.
Kenjaku spoke:
We'll provide you with support. In return, you handle the situation with Mishizani.
The Clan Head looked back with an expression that had zero room for jokes:
Who exactly do you think you're talking to? I'd wipe out you and that entire clan before I'd ever accept help from the likes of you.
A pause. Then:
Keep your support to yourself.
As for Mishizani —
I'll take his life with my own hands!
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