▬▬ transcend, tales from the depths

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" you asked dryly.

"It's a secret!" Gojo giddily replied. He had linked his arm to your arm on his left, then onto Nanami as well to his right. "Yuji~ Come along!"

"Yes!" Yuji was fairly excited; in this mission, he could have a chance to get stronger, and might as well learn a thing or two from you.

"Why am I even here?" Nanami sighed, letting himself be dragged by Gojo.

Only by then, you, everyone, found themselves boarding in a private jet.

__________________________________________________

"Where are we?" you asked once again.

It took two hours and a half to land at a certain airport. In that span of hours, you four had eaten dinner and certainly got accommodated by the luxury features and amenities of the jet, and the hospitable service of the cabin crews. (All thanks to the Gojo clan's connection and generational wealth.).

Gojo rose from his seat, his high energy was unwavering. "Hokkaido!" he then declared with a thumb-up and imaginary sparkles around him.

"H-Hokkaido . . !" Obviously enough, it was only Yuji who was enthusiastic about it, forming a small 'o' on his mouth and twinkles in his eyes.

While you and Nanami remained indifferent.

"I hate colds, y'know?" You made face, expressing your dispiritedness.

"So, what's their mission about?" The man with glasses called Nanami stated, a glass of chardonnay wine with the perfection of his fingers.

"I'm boutta get there!" replied Gojo. "But before that, we hafta get off this jet and will move to our next ride!"

And the next ride he was pertaining was a luxury helicopter with layers of soundproofing. Everyone went aboard in the air. You sat in the same row with Nanami, while Gojo and Yuji were across from you. The high-speed chopper cut through the winds, embraced the crisp breeze. The sky was in deep black, and the horizon seemed endless. The site would be in a city located in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido—Bibai.

Gojo explained the mission through a headset for better communication. 

"The mission for Yuji's and Ryusei is to exorcise a haunted forest!"

Upon hearing him, you sardonically smiled at him while your two middle fingers were saluted.

Gojo only snickered.

"H-Haunted forest?" You sensed Yuji's hesitation.

Who wouldn't? It was a forest. How vast of a forest? A mountainous area. How many acres? How high the elevation was?

Now you got it why he kept the mission not until now.

"Yes!" Gojo took your annoyance as a delight. "Not only that! There was a castle hidden around the foot of the mountains that was protected by and a pentagonal-shaped moat. It seems to be protected by 50 acres of a haunted forest, and legend said that whenever enemies would approach the castle, a thick mist would descend upon it as a natural shield, or maybe attacked by spirits."

Fifty fucking acres . . . 

You just wanted to die at this point.

"Then?" you said with a brow raised up. "Why would those idiotic fucktards want to exorcise it? Just by the sound of it, it is an ancient and sacred site."

"Those idiotic fucktards want to build a hotel and leisure park to capitalize more on the tourists, for it is popular skiing and snowboarding."

"Well, yeah, of course, the root cause will always be capitalism. Fucking capitalism." You grimaced with your tongue showing.

Nanami regarded your comment as ironic humor . . . Coming from someone who was a former salaryman.

"Thus, when a rich developer wanted to start the clearing operations, multiple mishaps appeared." Gojo took a short pause then continued, "There are stories of people who worked into the site ruins returned but deranged, traumatized by what they experienced in the perimeters. One story goes that a certain group of workers were attacked and had barely made it back. Some have never returned. According to a group of sorcerers who had an initial investigation, they encountered a shimmering speckle inside the castle that the site is an interdimensional portal."

"It's an Innate Domain, then." You shrugged in a bored manner. It

"Innate Domain?" Yuji repeated. "Like the Cursed Womb one?"

You didn't get what he meant, but Gojo agreed.

"And that will be your mission! Retrieve the missing civilians—either dead or alive—and exorcise the area. Simple, right?"

You didn't say a word. Ever since you decided to make a deal with these sorcerers, you had accepted that doing special grade missions like this would be a part of your normal life. Though you didn't know what normal meant.

And yes, you would do it, but they should expect that you would complain a lot. Like A LOT.

"This is flight January 9-9-9-1, Delta Echo, we have reached our destination. Now preparing to land in two minutes."

You immediately interfered. "No, this point is good enough. Go higher and remain stationary in the air."

The pilot listened to you, going higher in the heights and making the blades of the helicopter generate a vertical lift to balance it in the force of gravity.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Gojo stated.

Nanami only tilted his head to you.

"I mean–" you made your voice sound innocent– "this point is good enough to jump and die."

"EHHHHHH???!!!" Yuji's exaggerated shriek. "Are you serious, sensei?!" He was pertaining to you, now regarding you as his teacher.

"He he." You created a sneering laugh. "I'm serious about the jumping part. We're talking about a looping Innate Domain here, y'know? Because in a wide range of locations with a thousand possibilities of getting lost, striking the base of the enemy at high altitudes is better than doing in the lands, right?"

"Y-Yeah, you have a point there, sensei," Yuji trailed, "b-but the parachute . . . Parachute?"

You all didn't have parachutes. Everyone expected to land on the ground, not to skydive.

You only smiled sweetly. "Who the fuck cares about a parachute?"

"Eh?!?!?! But I do care!" He burst out in a boisterous qualm, but his child-like demeanor was more profound.

"Ryusei~," Gojo called, his voice was smeared with mirth, "don't lump Yuji with an immortal like you."

You scrunched your face, a brow lifted. "But you can properly use your cursed energy, can't you?"

"Yes," the young man replied.

It was Gojo who would mostly train him, occasional times with Nanami.

"Then you will be fine." You shrugged while standing up. Removing your headset, you stood near the helicopter door.

You opened it. The wintry night breeze enveloped your whole being. Your senses instantly went gnawing. This frigid and icy temperature was your enemy. Given how you put your décoletage in a show with your plunging neckline tops, tucked in high-waisted trousers and emerald green suit jacket.

And for the last look back at the three men, you specifically mouthed at Yuji: "Don't die~♡"

As if on cue, you jumped.

You willingly get carried by the wind, prepared to be lulled by the call of gravity. Falling was another kind of flying, and you relaxed because you learned how to land and survive the fall.

You saw how absolutely dark the world was below you, plummeting about 200 kilometers per hour without a parachute. You even realized that skydiving during nighttime was the wrong thing; you couldn't see anything.

Damn it.

Before you located the mountain castle they pertained about, you slowed down your breathing and thoughts. You had to keep your senses sharp and mind rational. When reaching your calm state, you also slow your descent by spreading your limbs to make an 'X' shape, pointing your chest towards the ground, and arching your back, head upward. With this, it created more air resistance and slowed down your acceleration. It gave you some seconds to choose where to land.

You glanced back, seeing and hearing Yuji shouting his heart out. But after seeing how composed you were, he imitated your form.

He could adapt well, you commented in your mind, it was a good trait.

Soon, you started to visualize the roof of the mountain castle they pertained about. There was a technique to track land on the place of your choice and steered towards the direction. 

It was ideal to land on your feet, yet you didn't want to injure yourself or ruin your clothes. Mustering your cursed energy, you covered your whole form.

You pointed the ankle of your foot—body shielded with cursed energy—before you landed on the ground. You slid on the ground on your feet, the friction force you created opposed your motion. At this point, you didn't get hurt or tear your clothes and shoes. 

A little after your touchdown, Yuji reached the land as well. It was because this was his first time skydiving more than 2.5 kilometers above the earth, his balance was off. He knocked off the ground—sliding due to the acceleration—with his feet while his hands latching on to the trees. He clawed into a certain bark, supporting his weight. He then swung his body, pulled himself in the opposite direction, and began standing on his feet.

"Good job," you grinned at Yuji.

Yuji grimaced while panting as he reached to where you were standing. "You landed flawlessly, sensei! Have you been doing this ever since?"

You chuckled, "Yeah, I just love the feeling of my hair against the wind while I fall."

This time, Yuji would never be surprised by all of your odd ways. "I can never predict you, sensei."

"You don't have to, y'know." You then searched your cigarettes and lighter on the pockets of your pants. After lighting one stick, you urged Yuji to enter the Japanese mountain castle along with you.

The night scene of the place was fascinatingly eerie, watched by countless eyes hiding behind the shadows. It was surrounded by overgrown woods and the grounds of the property have become a thick tangle of excessive brush, and the moat of the castle was almost buried in forest growth.

Those who investigated the site claimed that the surrounding woods were haunted by bobbing, mysterious lights, and half-glimpsed shadowy figures, and the night was often pierced by screams as well as other less discernible noises.

In addition to the information given, this ancient structure required human sacrifices buried alive as the foundations. That explained the terrifying tales of all sorts of supernatural events in and around the property, overwhelmed by negative spiritual energy.

More sinister rumors of the people going off to explore the ruins only to disappear without a trace. Perhaps worse yet were those said to have come back completely insane, driven over the brink of madness by whatever it was they had seen.

Upon setting foot on the main hall of the castle in ruins, you two had heard voices and footsteps, the feeling of being watched, shrill screams from the woods at night, and even attacks from shadowy figures that emerge from the corners.

Ordinary people would truly faint once getting inside, immediately overcome by a clinging, unsettling coldness. You and Yuji specifically sensed something that seemed to be a powerful cursed spirit that crept along. This was followed by a series of escalating paranormal experiences—items being knocked over, doors slamming shut, it was as though you were being shoved by some invisible entity. 

You roamed your eyes around, barely seeing anything but the gleaming residuals of the curses. But looking closely, you easily discerned that countless cursed spirits had fused with the structures themselves.

You smirked mentally. Now we're talkin'.

The longer staying inside, the more the intensity of these events increased, getting to the point where there was no way back outside. Thus, a black form congealed out of the shadows and followed you two.

Over time, your intuition had improved beyond what you could realize and perceive. You knew how living beings or objects would exactly move. Combined with your cursed ability, it allowed you to determine what would the foes take action by accessing all the earthly factors required: balance, wind movement, presence, energy, form, alignment, angle, and anything in between. In physics's point-of-view, all things were working in unison.

This powerful cursed spirit must have learned to be cunning and adapted humanely skills. It was because when going for a kill, it had kept its presence suppressed. No bloodlust. Stealthy movements. Attacking as naturally as breathing. As if nothing was out of the ordinary.

When the cursed spirit was about to assault, as fast as a twinkling of an eye, you weaved a hand to cast your defense.

Just like the usual, with your desired space, you paused the impeding worst case; you had a premonition of having a hole in your chest.

And if ever you activated your cursed technique a little late, you might have lost one of your endless life.

Yuji was astounded by it, whilst you eyed the vicious creature on your side. The curse didn't have a visage like a human, but it had a form like a mantis and a height that towered you and Yuji. It had scruffy long hair and the opening of its mouth was up to its stomach. It had teeth were as the legs of a centipede. And it had tails like unto scorpions—certainly, there were stings in its tails. The head of the cursed spirit had a triangular head with bulging eyes supported on a flexible neck. What was deathly was its forelegs that were greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping its prey; surely, it could impale your chest by the ruthless blade-like forelegs of the supernatural beast.

"A-Are you okay, sensei?" stuttered Yuji while staring at the sharp tip almost touching your built.

"I'm fine, thank you." You only grinned. "And Yuji, I know you're aware why Satoru paired you with me, whilst entirely comprehending that I can finish this mission on my own. Now, do you want me to exorcise it or you will do the honor?"

Yuji resolved to assist you in this mission, not to rely on you. His expression was full of conviction as he declared in a loud voice, "I will exorcise it!"

And it made you glad. "Well then, I'll roam around more." That thing is not the main co(u)rse(d). "I'll set up the Veil, too."

"Ossu!"

Then you began leaving the young man, continuing the time for the space you set and creating a Veil around the perimeters.

Making your way through the deeper hallways of the ruins, the strange sounds could still reach you. Diabolic giggles. Incoherent curses. Sounds of snapping bones and flesh. Disembodied footsteps echoing out all around you. You only shrugged them all off; they couldn't hurt you, nevertheless.

Now, now, where's that special grade cursed spirit?

Still sucking the smoke from your cig, you located it. The sensation was omnipresent, but somehow, it was not.

It ain't some kind of a riddle, tho.

You pursed your lips, thinking while heaving a huge amount of air into your lungs.

The non-appearance of the omnipresent.

It's somehow relative to the mysterious tale of the witnesses: to a sort of vortex or inter-dimensional doorway within the ancient mountain castle.

And when reaching one room, you came across a faintly glowing opening in the wall, which supposedly shimmered and rippled.

You were astounded!

Really, a portal? Was it an illusion?

You couldn't tell; it didn't seem to fit into the idea that this was a site that harbored some sort of doorway through dimensions. You found it awfully haunting, because it might be a cross-over of another realm into reality.

You smirked exultantly.

And even without any reluctance, you entered the peculiar, out-of-this-world doorway.

But you didn't expect you'd fall! 

You almost forgot how to breathe, only swallowing your screams to your lungs. Once you regained your composure, you braced yourself for another landing. It must be a deep hole, because it took almost a minute to land. 

Haha. A rabbit hole to Wonderland or a gateway to hell?

You didn't care, either way.

You fell on your hips, caught by the bed of human bones, breathing in the aroma of the decomposition, and peering at the otherworldly dimension as if it was atmospheric poetry.

You were never hurt because you covered your body with cursed energy, and were able to see because of it as well.

You kept it activated—gathered on your hand like a torch—to sustain your source of light in this dark wonderland.

So, the portal was real. And if this was an innate domain, then alas, it wasn't created by a puny cursed spirit. You now wondered how would you going to escape here. You shrugged. That would be your problem after you exorcise the cursed spirit residing in this place.

The underworld you arrived at had no portal other than the one in front of you. It looked like a tunnel without an end.

A sudden realization sparked in your mind. The place you were transported to was somewhere around the Bibai premises, not in another mystical dimension.

Sigh. Humans really like to exaggerate testimonies.

Did the cursed spirit make that portal in order to keep the trespassers away or want to show something?

Well, as per usual, it didn't bother you.

You proceeded walking on the underground path, never having the idea where it would lead you.

You also remembered Yuji.

How's that kid doing up there?

He should be fine; he was a host for a resilient curse.

As you paced, you were thinking about the possibilities you would face in this mission. The Innate Domain would never deactivate unless the main enemy was defeated—it was the only way to get out of here. You also couldn't help to marvel. You weren't that knowledgeable about the Law of Stratigraphy—the study of layers of rocks in Earth's outer surface—but you could say that this site once had life because of the differentiation of the layers.

An ancient community?

You began to speculate, expecting that this passage would lead you to something stirring.

Hidden beneath the vast canopy of at least fifty acres of lush greens, there must be a centuries-old settlement that was riddled with mysteries. Then, how could a sophisticated society fail? Relying on your experience, it could have been wars, religious cults, and mass sacrifice. Truly an example of negative emotions. Powerful curses with high cursed energy tended to generate domains like this.

You had been walking for some time now, and you hadn't reached the main lair yet. And you had come to notice as well that it was harder to breathe the more you went deeper. A cold island was inclined to exert thin air, not to mention it was underground, because of this, it caused your blood vessels to narrow which restricts blood flow and reduces oxygen levels, and your heart must pump much harder than usual.

Sighing, you became irritated. If there was something you hated the most, it was dying slowly and tortuously. 

A'ight! Time to get serious.

You couldn't afford to waste more time.

Pausing on your tracks, you did a deep inhale and slowed exhale. Focusing, you should be able to sharpen your senses. Yes, you only rely on senses, because you weren't born to have an x-ray-like vision that reconstructed shapes under one wielder's eyes.

Unexpectedly, with your deep concentration, you felt a faint movement of air in an enclosed tunnel. You tracked it down, treading in a faster stride. 

Not too long when you finally reached the main point. 

There was a monumental gateway, trabeated in form, made out of stones and woods. It had bold, projecting roofs, and three openings. These symbolic pai-lou structures were erected as a memorial for eminent personas in history.

Smirking, you immediately perceived that beyond these gateways, it led to a sacred place. A sanctuary, perhaps.

Once reaching inside, you were welcomed by an octagonal-shaped crypt. Each angle had a series of pictures or carvings portraying certain events.

The series of stations is as follows: an angel once ascended to a forest; she hung her feather mantle on the trees; then climbed a neighboring mountain to view the plains; a wandering mortal man, however, found the wings and was about to carry it off with him; the angel reappeared and begged him to give it back to her, as without it she could not return to the moon where she lived. On the fifth portrait, the mortal only consented to do so, however, on the condition that she would dance with him. You went to the next stone carvings. The angel accordingly did, draped in her feathery robe on, she danced with the man under the dazzling light of the moon. In the last picture, after the mesmerizing dance, the man fell in love as he watched the angel floating heavenward and was lost to view.

Grimly fascinating.

But what was more fascinating was the female colossal statue that was seated on her throne. She seemed to be an angel. Though the statue was made out of stone, her wings were surreal. She had four wings, and each had an account of beauty, adorned with splendor.

You hummed, thinking. Was this a sort of goddess that those humans worshiped? How could they worship something that was made out of human hands and stones? Pity.

You went closer to the statue, then saw a tablet that had an ancient cursed text.

You read it, because you were an ancient yourself. And a curse as well.

how doth thy castle seated in solidarity?
all thy beauty departed in darkness.
shadows forming under the moonlight,
one shouldest descry;
curses of thy pasts lurketh that lasts.
heathen solitude in the world undone—
ascending the throne towards the chasm—
it was where the cries of the broken
weepeth their melted stars-like tears to dry.

"Hoh . . . How melodramatic." You faked a sob.

When you stepped back to investigate more of the ancient wonder, you could see what your ears and skin receptors were telling you already.

Stealthy attack from behind.

You went to your defensive stance and lept away from the range of assault.

You weren't hit, but the ground where you stood created ice.

There came a cursed spirit that was taller and possessed a larger, more muscular body structure than an average human. It had blue-grey skin, bright red eyes, narrow ridges on the face, and had unique patterns across its body—cursed marks. He appeared more of a human than normal curses.

"Ugh, finally," you said exasperatingly, rolling your eyes, "you came to sight."

This cursed spirit can control ice.

Fair enough; this island had favorable conditions of extreme cold, which it was generally more adapted to.

You had fought a lot of ice cursed users or spirits before, and their attacks and defense were mostly the same.

The monster was heaving angrily, its breaths were frosty beneath its dull, rotting teeth.

Then it spoke, vocalizing in a language that lacked comprehensive meaning. 

You boringly stared at the cursed spirit.  As per usual, you understood what it meant.

"Brazen mortal! Thou set foot on thy blessed area, thou shouldest give praise to the hallowed deity!"

You couldn't help but laugh in a derisive manner. "Give a fucking praise?" You tilted your head to portray more of your contempt. "Sure, let me give my praise." Then you smiled even more evil, raising both of your middle fingers. "Eat fucking shit."

With its most primitive emotions, its anger was followed by a menacing scream. 

"Repent! Thou transgressest of thine deity's presence, repent!"

You would just grimace at its retaliation, sighing while sticking your tongue out. "How nonsense."

And one of the things you truly hate was those devout worshippers of false gods.

Another empty scream was the pain of its offense. It constructed a weapon and shield from solid ice as its ability to naturally form and manipulate ice.

You sighed once again. "Getting boiled up in anger for an ice freak like you? Anger will cost you far more than you earn, y'know?" 

But who the fuck cares?  It'll be exorcised in no time.

You were in the defensive mode for a time being, dodging all its vicious attacks. Yet you noticed a particular something: as much as its abilities could, it was avoiding the statues to get damaged. Thankfully, though; the sanctuary was very spacious to hold its onslaught.

It only sickened you. "For a lowly cursed spirit, you do have sentimental emotions, no? How about I'll play your emotions first before you'll be a goner?"

You also feigned to attack the spirit just to divert its attention to something. The plan went a success. Really a single-celled organism. 

You created a hand seal, clasping your hands as if you were praying.

"Temporal Cursed Arts: Dead Zone."

Once your cursed technique was released, it ripped every object apart—the statues, the ground, even making its way towards the angle statue. The explosion rented the air as if it was intent on shattering the underworld.

And in unexpected movement, instead of the cursed spirit fleeing, it used its body to shield the angel statue.

Aww, what an act of loyalty and service.

It was too heartwarming that you could die.

This monster sold its soul for this earthly belief, and instead, it found hell.

Now that you have realized . . . Sacrificing this far only for a mere statue, giving its utmost honor and defense.

This curse must be the man in the stone carvings—the one who fell in love with the angel. The angel was long gone. Was it waiting for her return? 

No. The angel must have returned, for her wings were left in the mortal realm.

They fell in love, huh?

At this moment, you really wanted to vomit, just thinking about that phrase. In this frail belief of humanity, it was said that love was the most corrupted curse of all, conquering against all odds.

Feh, how stupid.

You thought that the curse got annihilated along with the angel statue . . . But no harm was done to it. What was more trifling was it seemed like it doubled in form and changed in appearance. Gaining more eyes, hideous mouth, gigantic body, numerous and swirling limbs, and strength on a new level.

Another ghastly scream was unleashed from the beast's mouth and lungs, reverberating in every corner of this underground hole. The curse also had a full grasp of control in this place; the ground, even the ceiling, started shaking along with the bellowing shrieks of it.

"Death shall I bequeath thee!"

On a fast cue, the cursed spirit opened its jaw wide. Then a mass of powerful cursed energy was being concentrated into a dark violet sphere.

You only chuckled ruefully, sighing in the process. "Arya-ya . . . This is bad news."

It would only take a few seconds before this wonderland would collapse and trample you.

"Haa . . . What a drag."

If there was a weakness anointed on you, it must be getting blown to pieces and trapped in rubbles, buried while still alive.

world-building faken suqsss .
if it's in a novel form. it's sure
easier if i did a quick illustra
tion lmao i planned it for weeks
and weeks, then i re-read the
whole chapter and i was
leikk.... ew that's all ? all
of the writer;s block i suffered thru
that;'s all what it took? XDD
and it's still not finished yet
considering you and the three
only met for only two days now
😃😃 mendokuseeee yknow

idk if u get what i mean ajsdgkjsgdkj

- ' ; handtheIrend ~ ! <3