CHAPTER 156: The Rope and the Rock
The car door creaked open as Ren stepped out into the cold morning air. The sun hadn't even broken the horizon yet, and everything was painted in shades of blue and gray. The jungle before him was quiet—too quiet. Every leaf was still.
Behind him, Mei Mei shut her door and adjusted her white shirt, stifling a yawn.
'Yup, only Mei Mei,' Ren thought, casting a glance her way. 'After a little bit of thought, I did not bring Ogami or Jiro because I don't plan to actually confront anyone; I just plan to stalk with the help of Mei Mei's crows.'
His hands slid into his pockets.
'I will not do something without Rika; that would be stupid. But I can stalk from far away with the help of Mei Mei's crows, so I did not bring Ogami and Jiro with me. Plus, Miguel also knows Gojo, so let's say if I do confront Miguel, he might go and call Gojo—assuming he has Gojo's number, which, uh, yeah, he would, right? Uh, who knows… Anyway, I don't want that white-haired man to come around here.'
Ren exhaled slowly, a trace of paranoia sharpening his thoughts.
'If he noticed the stuff I was doing, ugh, he would sit on my head and not let me do anything… No more soul tests or any kind of tests… Plus, if Gojo learned that I had cursed users like Ogami and Jiro working under me… It won't look good now, will it?'
He blinked slowly.
'Plus, Ogami and Jiro are working on Project (Re)… Honestly, if that works, then this black rope means honestly nothing… But the problem with Project (Re) is that it's done. All the things are done. Preparations? Done. Tests? Done… It should be possible, but we have not tested it on an actual human… or a sorcerer yet…'
His jaw clenched.
'But the problem is the project (Re) was made in mind to work for me, so it will only work for my body… But that was my stupidity. Honestly, I should have made it first for another human, but ugh, I'm not trying it on myself for the first time, hell no... The requirements are… impossible.'
Ren's gaze moved up to the thick forest ahead. Fog clung to the roots of trees like old curses.
He spoke casually. "What do you see with your birds?"
Mei Mei, already in position, glanced at him briefly before handing him her phone. "Hmpf…"
Ren took it, surprised by how smooth the live feed looked. Dozens of video squares blinked across the screen, crows flying through the forest canopy from various angles. The phone hummed with multiple streams, all clean, all watching.
'Hmm… Isn't this the same way she later on will record Sukuna and Gojo's fight… She already had made something like this years before, huh? Did she make this just so she could not speak to me? And tell me what she saw. Oh my… anyway... now let's see what you are up to...'
His eyes locked onto one stream.
There he was.
Miguel.
Walking with three others—two women, one man. Their pace was calm, like this was a ritual.
They headed toward a cave.
Ren watched, tense.
The four entered.
And exactly eight minutes later… they came out.
This time, Miguel had something.
A thread?
No… not a thread.
It was red—barely visible—but unmistakably woven. Like a small piece of black rope, just unfinished. Raw.
Ren's brows furrowed.
'Huh? What the hell? They just went inside the cave and got a thread… of the black rope? Is that how it's made? But how? Uh, this does not make any sense. The last thing I expected was them to just go in a cave and come out with a thread of the black rope… or maybe I am just wrong...'
Miguel and his companions disappeared into the trees, their silhouettes vanishing.
Ren was still staring at the screen, the footage now looping, frozen on the moment Miguel held that red thread.
Mei Mei leaned on the car's door lazily, arms crossed. She hadn't said a word.
Ren glanced up from the phone.
'...It should not be dangerous, right?? No, they went in and came out in under 8 minutes… still no, there is a safer way to do this...'
He looked at Mei Mei. "Mei Mei, send your crows inside this cave. I want to see what's inside..."
She blinked slowly, eyes half-lidded from tiredness. "Ok. But, uh, the footage won't be as clear since it will be going inside a cave…"
She closed her eyes. A crow's vision took over.
Ren watched the phone screen as the perspective shifted—jittery and grainy from low light.
The crow flew in.
Inside, the cave was… empty.
Almost.
A broad stone surface sat in the center of the space. Not quite a pillar. Not quite a boulder. Just… wrong.
The footage glitched slightly, too dark to make out details, but Ren caught glimpses.
'Hmm, ok, so there is nothing inside other than a weird-looking rock… hmm, it should be safe to go inside… right? Uh, yes, since Miguel and his group were fine when they entered. Not only that, but Mei Mei's crew, which entered the cave, is also fine...'
He tapped the phone screen.
'But just to be careful, we leave before 8 minutes since that's the amount of time Miguel's crew was inside…'
Ren opened the car door and slid in.
"Mei Mei, let's go to the cave."
She climbed into the driver's seat, adjusting her seatbelt with a sigh. "Ugh, why does he want to go there? It's so early… not only that, in the cave was nothing but a rock…"
They drove forward slowly.
Carefully.
Stopping just 100 meters away from the cave's mouth.
The car halted.
Ren stepped out first.
The air smelled heavier here.
He looked back. "Gather your crows… just in case... hmm."
Mei Mei rolled her neck and did as he said. Soon, half a dozen crows were perched across the nearby branches, all staring down at them like silent observers.
Mei Mei leaned forward, grinning faintly. "Should we walk inside? Or should I catch a rat and throw it in to see what happens?"
Her tone was clearly mocking him.
Ren rolled his eyes. "Hmm, no. I already tested that when your crow went in, so it should be fine… But we will leave in under 8 minutes since that's how long it took Miguel's group to be inside the cave."
Mei Mei blinked.
She actually looked… impressed.
'Ah, he actually counted the amount of time they were inside the cave? Is he always so careful? And if yes, then why?'
Ren pulled out his phone and tapped the screen.
A countdown timer appeared: 08:00. He started it.
"Ok, chat later," Ren said calmly. "Let's enter. I want this done before sunrise."
The cave swallowed them quickly. Their footsteps echoed.
Inside, it was quiet.
And then…
There it was.
Ren's breath hitched.
Now that he could see it with his own eyes, the 'rock' was clearly something else.
It was shaped more like a wide, ancient pillar—but its surface was not natural. It shimmered faintly with a strange texture… and it was wrapped. Wrapped in strands of something dark, glossy, and almost alive.
The black rope.
Coiled again and again around the stone like a snake in hibernation.
Mei Mei's eyes widened slightly. Even she wasn't expecting this.
She knew of the black rope—but seeing it like this? In raw, unrefined form?
That was something else entirely.
Ren knelt beside the pillar.
'What? How? What is this? Is this how the black rope is made? By spinning it around the rock or something else?'
He narrowed his eyes.
'Oh wait… there are tiny strings coming out… Wait, don't tell me the black rope is just the combination of tiny strings that came from this rock… that's like pulling the strings out of a towel and then making a small rope out of it…'
He extended his hand slowly.
And gently touched the stone with one finger.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then—glow.
A red pulse radiated from the spot where his finger met the stone.
Faint.
Alive.
Ren's eyes widened.
'Did I hit the jackpot?'
The stone pulsed again.
And the glow deepened.