Laurentina walked at a higher floor level than Fushiguro Megumi, gauging different books of her own. From where she was at, the railings at the higher section of the library overlooked the lower floors, so there was no need to worry about not being able to see him. If anything happened, then the Aegir would be able to act fast and diligently. At the moment, she was more content with looking at the wide assortment of books.
"Leithanian, Leithanian, and... Leithanian, are there any books that relate to the outside world?" Laurentina called out to Cora, who had been with her for the better length of their entire journey to the library. It was suggested by that angel lady that they were to split up to view what each were curious with, and of course she had ended up with her Princess.
"I'm afraid you will find them to be scarce," Cora couldn't read any of the titles, so all the Caprinae couldn't recommend any sections for books. "Especially for subjects relating to art. This is the art section you had wanted to visit, correct?"
"Indeed," Laurentina stopped in her steps, looking through more of the book titles. "They're still all Leithanian..."
"Do you have an aversion to Leithanian's arts?" Cora curiously asked, "it looks to me that you would prefer to look at other ones unrelated to the country."
"If my attitude comes off as negative, then please excuse me." Laurentina tilted her head at a peculiar title, but that was all there was to it. "I've already seen what Leithanien has to offer, that much has left me satisfied, but I still wish to see more. Gazing upon the same thing constantly becomes boring after a while."
"...Ahem, Frau Laurentina, have you not visited Leithanien just this morning?" Cora cleared her throat delicately, "to pass judgement so quickly..."
"Is that so?" The Abyssal Hunter moved to the railings, having not found any book that had caught her eye. "Well, it seems my standards for what makes art admirable are far too high to reach on dry land. There is not much I can do about it." Her elbows rested on them while overlooking the entire library's lower floor, her gaze locking on the seat where Megumi and Arturia were at.
"I don't believe I can share such a sentiment. Well, not anymore I would say," Cora sighed. She remembered the pasture of musical instruments across the Spire of the Witch King, the weapons of war emblazoned with platinum and gold. They always felt powerful whenever her hands covered by a cloth would wipe off any speck of dust which had gathered on them. "I've seen many beautiful scenes in my life, but looking back upon those memories makes me realize how illusory they were."
"I don't share that sentiment with you, either." Laurentina gazed at the cello placed beside Arturia as the Sankta and black haired man beside her were conversing. 'No, conversing isn't the right word... they're arguing.' Her sense of hearing detected what they were saying even from the distance they were at, "if there is anything about my past that I wish to say—then it is that I desire profoundly to go back to them."
"To reach back to the past is an impossibility, however."
"That I can agree with," Laurentina smiled, watching the black haired man grow a spine against the other woman, all the while she conversed with Cora. His words were becoming more... intense, "all there is to do is to look at what the future beholds to us. However it might be ugly or distasteful, we will look back on them with a nostalgic lens, won't we?"
Cora closed her eyes to gain more concentration. It was a habit that had bled into her despite having been turned blind, the many other years having spent being able to see the light of the world were showing. In her mind were many passing memories which she could hardly recall at her current point in life, all having become blurry motes of light coalescing to form a perplexing image.
To anybody else, it would be confusing and look to be a slate of scattered drawings. To herself, Cora found it to be as clear as the cloudless skies of the summer, wherein the baked lights lit up everything in its path. How beautiful it was, to be able to recall how the scenes were from emotion itself.
"So as much as I desire to indulge the purpose that had been given to me years ago, taking things with a small stride isn't something I am impartial to." Laurentina heard it, the story of the two Great Gods Izanami and Izanagi, finding it to be an interesting tale. Fushiguro Megumi had never told such stories of yore to her, making the Aegir more curious about what others he knew. "The time will come soon."
An abandonment of one's love due to superficial means, a tale of death and having to move on from it. Laurentina couldn't help but chide Izanagi-no-Mikoto in her mind for his betrayal and breakage of his promise.
"I can't say I completely understand you, but I agree to an extent." Cora gazed upon the bookshelf beside them, placing her hand upon them and tracing it across, "if there is anything you would like to read, then is it fine if I choose it for you?"
"Be my guest," Laurentina replied, turning her head around to make sure the blind woman heard her. "I can't guarantee it will catch my interest, though." It would be a one in a million chance for the blind woman to choose a random book which would pique her interest.
"I hope it does," Cora pressed her fingers against a book, feeling the... 'braille? Who would have known.' The Caprinae let out a small huff, wondering who had written the book she was feeling. Or was it out of consideration by Werner von Hochberg to include braille titled books in this section? There were also chances they were always...
"Are you done picking them out, or—" Laurentina called out to the other woman, but immediately stopped dead in her tracks when staring at the scene happening down below. 'What is that little angel doing?' Her grip on the railing tightened, watching Arturia grab her Princess' face and pull him closer to hers.
"Ah, I've decided upon a book, I believe the title reads..." Cora was about to turn to Laurentina and hand her the item she had picked out, but was slightly shocked when it was pulled from her hands so fast. "F-Frau Laurentina?" The woman felt the wind brush past her face, as the white haired woman vaulted off of the ledge. "Frau Laurentina!"
A thump was heard, signalling that the Abyssal Hunter had landed on the bottom floor from the height they were at. Suffice to say, the Caprinae 'watching' over the other woman had a mini-heart attack, before she thought fast enough to rush to the stairs.
***
Megumi had nothing to say to retort the woman, and was about to physically break off from the contact instead. However, his actions were unneeded as something else cut between the two, a hand which separated them by forcefully pushing both back. When that happened, it felt like the wind had blown past his face along with Arturia's, the distance having widened by a large margin.
Blinking a few times after the sudden action, Megumi glanced at how had done the action. It was Laurentina, her white hair billowing in the wind along with all the fashionable accessories on her dress. The brief shock from earlier made him perceive the world in a slightly slower pace, so he bore sight to the Abyssal Hunter's gracious figure after having just executed a feat which casually broke the sound barrier.
Her head turned toward him. The white locks of her hair slightly obscured her face, but the crimson light that shone from her eyes shone strongly to the point where it was the one that caught his attention the most. It was then time resumed to normal for Megumi, the black haired man feeling more confusion build up.
"Well~ you two seemed to have been having quite the time alone," Laurentina faintly dusted her hands together, as if she had just taken out trash, "but there is a time and place for everything, isn't that right, little angel?" Her gaze turned toward the Sankta, keeping up her smile.
"Hm?" Arturia tilted her head, turning to where the Aegir was. She had decided what had happened, the white haired woman looked to have jumped off from where she was at to reach the two and separate them, "my, it seems I must have become too excited, so forgive me for my previous action." She brushed it off, "the request is still open for you, Princess." Her sights turned back to Megumi.
The black haired man creased his brows at Arturia, still recovering from the whiplash from the woman grabbing his face and pulling it close, "what the hell?" That was the only response he could give.
"Pfft~" Laurentina immediately widened her eyes and placed a hand over her mouth, hearing Megumi's blunt response, "ah, you mustn't be so critical to an overly excited angel... especially when she has unruly means of achieving what she wants, am I correct?" The Aegir's gaze turned back to Arturia—more specifically—the woman's cello case, which had two of its locks undone. She wasn't ignorant enough to not know that even musical instruments can be used as Arts Units. 'And who are you calling Princess?'
Megumi couldn't tell if her words were serious, or if she was just playing around.
"My apologies then," Arturia smiled sweetly, before flicking the locks of her cello case, "I merely wished to bring something interesting out, after all."
"Is that so?" Laurentina pressed a finger on her lower lip, "then would you want to see what happens after?" The Aegir hummed.
"I would love to be your guest, then."
Megumi turned away from the two, and placed his elbow on the table. He needed to process the Sankta's words, and listening to their conversation wouldn't get him anywhere. His hand moved to massage his forehead, getting rid of the headache that was forming. Now he had to deal with two eccentric people calling him 'Princess...' Whatever implications that had for the future, he didn't want to delve into it.
A fourth voice cut into the conversation, "Frau Laurentina! Are you alright?"
The three turned toward the approaching woman with various looks. Megumi looked sick and done with the day, while Laurentina and Arturia held their trademarked smiles, regarding Cora Lowenstein with a courteous flair.
"Oh, Cora, you needn't worry about my physical health, I'm in the best state I could be right now." Laurentina dismissively waved in front of her as Cora approached her, the latter letting out a small huff, as she couldn't gauge any wounds with her blindness.
"That was... quite reckless of you back then. Please, warn me when you will do an action such as that." Cora pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, wiping her forehead from the cold sweat forming.
"If I may inquire, what has gotten you in such a panic, Cora?" Arturia crossed her legs, giving one last glance toward the distressed Fushiguro Megumi, before turning her full attention to Cora.
"Ah, it was nothing much," Cora sighed while shaking her head, "have you two spent the time you need in the library?" The Caprinae woman turned to Megumi and Laurentina while asking the question.
Megumi quickly spoke up, "yes, we are. Please, take me to the place where we'll be staying over at." The black haired man pinched the bridge of his nose after, "I'm becoming... tired." It wasn't a complete lie, as he hadn't slept much in the past few days when journeying to Leithanien. It was just that the conversation he had with Arturia... that eccentric woman had been too mind-numbing.
Seriously... did she use her Arts?
"I don't see why not?" Cora responded.
It was much to Megumi's relief.
***
The rest of the journey toward the guest rooms for the Spire was uneventful to say the least. There were some Spire Casters and guards walking around, but that was just about it. Most of the time, either Laurentina or Arturia would attempt to strike up a conversation with him, but the Sorcerer would be damned if he didn't know how to deflect it off to somebody else, and Cora Lowenstein was the person he had chosen to be his victim. He felt slightly guilty for the woman, as she most likely didn't know what he was doing, but Megumi was far too tired to harbor such feelings.
Speaking of Laurentina and Arturia... the two of them seemed to get along well. Too well in his opinion, it was as if they were friends. Everytime he looked at the two, there was only flowers and pollen radiating between them, the Aegir and the Sankta seemingly giggling and laughing at each other's jokes as a refined lady would. If they had actually become close friends, Megumi was sure he would start to lose sleep overnight.
...But Laurentina seemed to keep a barrier between him and Arturia everytime they walked through the halls... or was he just seeing things from being exhausted? 'Whatever, it's not good to analyze things with a tired mind, Gojo-sensei said it would lead to misunderstandings because it doesn't function at its best capacity...' Megumi decided to leave it at that, letting out a sigh and entering his room.
The other three women were gone off to someplace else, Arturia and Cora showing Laurentina more of the Spire while he stayed back in his room to rest up. He didn't need or want to see any more of the structure's interior, he could do so in his free time and when he felt like partaking in that action. Right now, he decided to focus on something else before falling asleep, which he deemed to be the most important.
His growth was stagnant at the moment, and Megumi had found that to become a pet peeve of his. There was always a rush of exhilaration and high whenever there was a breakthrough or greater understanding of Jujutsu Sorcery which he had never achieved before, one that would make him press his palm against his forehead and wonder, 'how have I not thought of this before?!' An over exaggeration, but he already knew that Jujutsu Sorcery was all about exaggerations.
Then there was a distraction that invaded his thoughts, one of the recent events of today coming back to him.
Letting out a frustrated breath from what he had experienced not too long ago, Megumi had decided it was best to leave those matters as they were. He could mull over those words later, because training was of far more importance to him than anything else, especially when in his own private quarters. Reminiscing about today could come later, tomorrow was what he should focus on.
Where was he? Right, his growth. There were many things that came with a growing Jujutsu Sorcerer, and strength was only one of them. If somebody were to delve into more of the details, then Cursed Energy reserves, Cursed Energy control, and Cursed Energy refinement could be included. That didn't even scratch the surface of Cursed Techniques such as Innate Techniques and Non-Innate Techniques.
Despite all of which he had listed, what stuck out as the most observable among all of them was stagnation. Yes, stagnation of one's growth. To find that every training and effort made in the future would be nothing but a slow crawl, an agonizing process which was the main inspiration killer for Jujutsu Sorcerers and Curse Users alike. For Fushiguro Megumi, he had experienced it many times back on Earth, and it was only alleviated somewhat when taming a new Shikigami.
Right now, he was experiencing such a thing. Despite the explosive growth which had propelled him high into the sky, he was still worlds away from reaching the level of Ryomen Sukuna and Gojo Satoru. No matter what he wished to believe, Megumi could only see himself as an 'above-average' person in terms of talent. If it were those two who had put in extraneous effort into becoming stronger, he was one-hundred percent certain that they would reach such ungodly levels that he would never be able to catch up.
It was a mix of boredom and exhaustion that those two Sorcerers had stayed stagnant at their point. To grow ever stronger without any limit would only serve to make sure no other generation would even be able to reach your level, something that the black haired man assumed was true for them, which went against what they had wanted. Despite despairing in his own body back then, the Ten Shadows user had felt innately the two Strongest's passion during their relentless bout.
Megumi let his back fall onto his bed, while placing the back of his hand over his forehead. He needed to think, he needed to concentrate... What else could he do other than slowly train to become stronger? Training was always an effective method, but at the rate he was going at... the black haired man would much prefer to enter a life-or-death battle in order to land a Black Flash, and glimpse further into the workings of his soul and Cursed Technique. Speaking of soul...
...He moved his hand away from his forehead, gaining a clearer view of the ceiling. There was a chandelier placed off from the bed, a safety measure just in case it broke off from the chain holding it for whatever reason. The world of Terra was far different from Earth, so not all inanimate objects could possess souls, something that Megumi had scoffed at. It was far too obvious, and he should have expected such a thing.
Calling the Inverted Spear of Heaven into his hands, the black haired man could see the soul of the Cursed Tool clearly. Strangely enough, his perception of souls were only relegated to inanimate objects, with animate people's souls being far more difficult for him to gaze at. His own soul however? Megumi could gaze upon it without much of a pause, but it still required concentration.
'I've developed soul sensing in a... strange direction.' Despite the soul being a hard and obscure subject to understand even in the most advanced parts of Jujutsu knowledge, there was still some information along with theories regarding them. It was just... very lacking in the black haired man's opinion, but he was able to get a decent gauge of how it was, 'understanding one's soul was the easiest, seeing other's souls is the next step, and seeing the souls of objects was the most difficult step to reach.'
It was funny, really. How humorous was it that he had achieved the hardest step while lacking sorely in the basics? It reminded Megumi of the time how he was able to create a Domain Expansion, but was lacking in the basics of creating a barrier for it, so his Sure-Hit couldn't even be imbued into it. It only brought him to 120% of his potential, which let him instinctively use his Shikigami's abilities with a barely perceptible injection of Cursed Technique Reversal, and summon more than one copy of his Shikigamis.
'Okay... think of what you could do next,' Megumi said in his mind while dispelling the Inverted Spear of Heaven. It was much easier to use the Special Grade Cursed Tool now that he had placed the genius Binding Vow on it to make it... 'Wait...! Binding Vows!' His body immediately jolted upwards into a sitting position. He felt his black haori flow form the movement, his eyes pulsating even wider. 'Binding Vows, that's it! I just need to create more Binding Vows!' He felt a rush of adrenaline come into his body at the thought.
What could he do? What could be used to bolster his abilities without compromising anything important? Think... think... he needed to think of anything that could be abused to an unprecedented degree, to the point where even Ryomen Sukuna would be looking upon him with an amused smirk. Despite his hatred for the King of Curses, if Fushiguro Megumi could imagine the pink haired bastard looking at something with an impressed look then it must mean it was something genius.
Shikigamis, he had Shikigamis which only required one summon before they were pulled out. Instead of dispelling them to reposition them without his enemy knowing, Megumi knew that he could hide them in the shadows and make them go elsewhere. Although they could still be attacked in such a state, it provided enough of a cover for them to escape and find a more advantageous striking point. But the main factor the Sorcerer was focusing on was how they didn't need to be fired off constantly like Dismantles or Cleaves to cause widespread destruction.
They merely existed, draining his Cursed Energy reserves very slowly while they were out. Unlike Shrine where he had to constantly fire off and expend Cursed Energy, his Shikigamis were the most Cursed Energy efficient things in his arsenal. Especially with the fact that they only needed to be summoned once. He would dub it as a 'one-effort manifestation' for this brief moment.
So... what Binding Vow could he make to capitalize on their 'one-effort manifestation' trait? 'Sacrifices... I could sacrifice parts of my body, right?' An insane thought came to Fushiguro Megumi, the black haired man having already set his sights on a method of increasing his overall combat capabilities. 'If I sacrifice a part of my body to summon my Shikigamis, then it must provide a tremendous boost, right?'
He stood up from his bed, taking one more look at the vast room he had found himself in. There wasn't much to say about it other than the German influence bleeding into every single furniture and corner of decoration. Although it was more luxurious than what a traditional German room would be, Megumi didn't care about such things anymore. He walked on the carpet and made it to the center of the room, before moving objects out of the way to create more space.
"Okay, let's start..."
He closed his eyes and concentrated. There was an aspect of creating Binding Vows which inhibited people from making them in the heat of battle, because it required a great amount of concentration in order to do so. Megumi no longer suffered from such a problem, as doing so during battles had already embedded the feeling deep into his muscle memory and instincts, making him as proficient as the King of Curses in doing so. Well, he could also give some credit to Ryomen Sukuna's bleeding influence...
***
Under this Binding Vow:
Condition 1: Fushiguro Megumi can sacrifice parts of his body by forcing his cells to undergo 'apoptosis,' turning them into pure Cursed Energy proportional to what was sacrificed.
Condition 2: Fushiguro Megumi can only and always has to sacrifice a part of his body when summoning Shikigamis of the Ten Shadows.
Results: Fushiguro Megumi's output is thus raised as a result of the sacrifice taken when sacrificing a limb, and is able to utilize the Cursed Energy made from cells having undergone apoptosis to its fullest degree.
***
Something enchained his heart and soul, Megumi could feel it. Without the adrenaline constantly pumping through his veins and disabling any sense of discomfort that would come to him, it was vivid and knee-jerking in its nature. Letting out a breath to relieve himself of the stress that came with it, the Sorcerer paced around the room in a circle. Honestly, he didn't know how the Binding Vow would be applied, and he was nervous in that regard...
...Yet at the same time, excited.
Clasping his hands together after making his decision on the fly, Megumi concentrated his Cursed Energy just as he would when summoning his Shikigamis. He wasn't going to apply the Binding Vow to Shrine or Shadow Extension, because it would mean the Sorcerer would be required to sacrifice a part of his body every time he channeled their powers. So he had only decided for his Shikigami, as they only needed to be casted once to be utilized to their fullest potential.
"Divine Dogs!"
A black puddle formed in front of him, the liquid bubbling as it encompassed the floor in its entirety. Megumi's eyes widened, feeling his hands leading up to his arm start to burn up in dark shadows, the flames eating at the limbs and making him repulse. A grunt of pain escaped him as his arms departed from each other, exiting from the shadow puppet of a wolf while he stepped back.
Immediately, the black haired man cycled Positive Energy into the damaged limbs, watching as green-white steam came out of it, healing the wounds that had been incurred. It was gone fast, all the while Divine Dogs were coming out of the summoning puddle, their form becoming more transparent before his eyes. The black haired man turned away from his hands, already having counteracted the downside by healing his apoptosed cells. His gaze turned toward the puddle, where—
—Two three headed dogs came out, one dressed in darkness while the other was stapled with light. They looked fierce, a large amount of Cursed Energy emanating from their body along with their more 'wild' looking fur. The Shikigamis turned toward Megumi, immediately recognized him as their master on an instinctive level. They were the same ones that he was familiar with, even if their physical appearance had changed drastically.
"Amazing..." Megumi breathed out, "this isn't even a Totality," the black haired man reached down to pet one of the three heads of the black Divine Dog. The other two converged onto his hand, also wanting to be part of the petting extravaganza happening. 'Interpretation? Is that it?' A theory formed in his head. All Cursed Techniques were based on interpretation, which dictates how they were manifested. Case in point, Itadori Yuji's Cleaves and Dismantles were kitchen shears while Ryomen Sukuna's were kitchen knives. It was the same for the Ten Shadows Shikigami for him and Sukuna, where he had wolves and more 'bright' Shikigamis, the latter had bulldogs and 'decrepit' Shikigamis.
So by overloading his Shikigamis with immense output from sacrificing parts of his body, they were then increased in strength and altered in appearance as a result. They weren't Totalities, but they certainly looked like they could be Totalities. Now Megumi was even more curious about what his other Shikigamis would look like, bubbling a greater sense of satisfaction within him.
He motioned for his two Divine Dogs to step to the side after finishing petting all six of their heads in totality. If he summoned them as Divine Dog: Totality, the Sorcerer was confident that they would immediately burst out of the room with their sheer strength and fall down the Spire. In fact, they wouldn't even fall from the Spire, as they were guaranteed to have the capabilities to run down it entirely.
Once his Divine Dogs were on the other side of the room and sat down in a docile manner did Megumi bring his hands together. They formed a 'rabbit' shadow puppet, the shadows produced from his motion creating its silhouette with grand immensity. Once more, his Cursed Energy gathered together with black flames erupting across his hand and arms, scarring its tissue and killing off the cells to make them into Cursed Energy. Not only that, but his output spiked greatly, further adding on to boosting his next summon.
"Rabbit Escape!"
The burning pain returned, but that was it. It was just pain, his body was already prepared for the sensation and melting of his flesh and skin, so there was naught but a mere twitch of his eye when the sensation came to him. He healed his hands and section leading up to the rest of his arm with Reverse Cursed Technique. Right after, the main body of Rabbit Escape popped out, the rabbit...
...It lacked its fur, showing its white skin that was underneath it. They were no longer the small holdable size, but were not of a size which reached up to his chest. The main body of Rabbit Escape was stacked upon its clones, all of them sharing the exact same features as each other, which was a multitude of white piercing eyes adorning their faces. It ranged from four to six in total, each producing an incandescent light that looked to be alien and unnatural.
Their limbs were extended along with their size. Parts of their ears looked to be torn at parts, with skin flaking off harmlessly at them. What was most notable were not even their multiple white glowing eyes plastered across where their face would be, but the sharp claws and sharper teeth, indicating that they were more combat capable than before. Fierce creatures of the Ten Shadows they finally were.
'Haha... how terrifying,' Megumi placed a hand over his mouth feeling a slight bit of regret, but that feeling was immediately washed away from the gratification felt. There was no use in having his Shikigami look all cutesy and possessing fluffy fur when they could become more powerful, thus letting him be more efficient in combat.
He dispelled his Shikigamis with a wave of his hand, before deciding to undertake another Binding Vow. This one was to improve the function of his previous one by a greater degree, in order to make it far more effective than it was.
***
Under this Binding Vow:
Condition 1: Pain produced by Fushiguro Megumi's cells undergoing apoptosis increases incrementally to Fushiguro Megumi's pain tolerance.
Condition 2: Pain in general can never be fully adapted to in terms of tolerance.
Result: Cursed Energy produced by cells undergoing apoptosis is increased by 10%.
***
An extra chain was added around his soul, Megumi starting to find the sensation to be more comforting than restricting. Indeed, he wouldn't mind burying himself under a mountain of chains, the security and defense provided would be unrivalled, especially since they came from Binding Vows abused to increase his strength.
He clasped his hands together without another thought. The amount of damage he was doing to his arms and constantly healing with Reverse Cursed Technique was actually productive, considering how he was training two things at once and also discovering a new facet of the Ten Shadows. The shadow puppet that was formed made that of a snake.
"Great Serpent."
The same process as the Shikigami's two predecessors happened. It sprouted from the womb of shadows and into the light of the real world, no longer trapped within the Innate Domain of its Sovereign. It was gigantic, nearly taking up the entire room despite circling around and curling its form. What was once a two-eyed snake became a six-eyed one, its fangs far sharper and more fierce, along with venom dripping from them.
Its yellow eyes which were relatively tame became more wild and ferocious, showing itself as an apex predator which surpassed Tiger Funeral itself. Well, the Tiger Funeral that he had faced back in Lungmen, Megumi wasn't sure what the second strongest Shikigami of the Ten Shadows looked like now. He could only become slightly more anticipated when thinking of what sort of growth it would take.
So then began the process of summoning his Shikigamis and dispelling them. When the Sorcerer underwent the process of destroying his cells and then restoring them with new parts, the pain started to gradually grow. Despite healing his arm and hands, it started to become more 'tender' when they were healed, because of his falling output from overexerting his Reverse Cursed Technique.
It didn't matter though, as it would serve to make him grow even more in the future.
The changes in his Shikigami soon became completely apparent to him. He had already seen Divine Dogs, Rabbit Escape, and Great Serpent. The other ones such as Nue and the rest of the Shikigamis hadn't been seen yet. So when he summoned them each one by one, Megumi was pleasantly surprised to find the new features added to them. To start off, Nue had sharper feathers, with pure purple lightning that flickered in an unstable manner. The mask on their face was no longer bone white, but an obsidian black dripping with black liquid, and their talons were more honed in their razor's edge.
Instead of two wings were six wings in total, each stretching out far longer than its body. Each side of Nue's body possessed three of them, creating a pattern reminiscent of a Seraphim's winged attributes. Beautiful, it was simply beautiful in all regards, with the extra wings being able to provide the Shikigami for more maneuverability and speed.
The spike in its Cursed Energy also made the Shikigami be able to do what he had been teaching it for the past few days... which was tracing a Domain trajectory as a Culling Game player had once done. Dhruv's Shikigamis were special in that regard, but because Nue possessed greater intelligence than even them (he assumed that to be so), along with a more 'special' aspect in their creation, Nue could now do the same.
There was also some sections of Nue's skin which had traditional Japanese cloud patterns, much to Megumi's curiosity.
When it was time for Max Elephant to come out, Megumi was already expecting the same feature changes as all of his other Shikigamis. He was right, he was completely right! The magnificent creature possessed far longer tusks with three trunks instead of one, while its eyes became lifeless and hollow. In fact, it didn't even look like the elephant had eyes any longer, as they were sunken and completely black. Looking into them was like looking into an abyss. Its skin was also no longer its smooth texture, but had Japanese wave patterns on them.
Round Deer had six eyes instead of four, along with four antlers in total compared to its previous two. There were also ancient scriptures written in sanskrit aligning some parts of its body rather than the clear skin from before, and a vast amount of Positive Energy emanating from it. Usually, Positive Energy came from the head, and therefore the Shikigami's nose would be the best place to touch in order to be healed by it. However, any part of its body worked, and he could choose who he wished to heal.
Positive Energy could also disrupt Cursed Energy itself if it is intense enough. Despite Ryomen Sukun and Gojo Satoru having immense Cursed Energy output and control, they couldn't make their Positive Energy disrupt Cursed Energy as much as Round Deer did with its sheer presence alone. In terms of Arts, Positive Energy couldn't do such a thing... even with the enhancement placed on Round Deer.
So, he decided to undertake yet another Binding Vow.
***
Under this Binding Vow:
Condition: Fushiguro Megumi's Positive Energy from himself and Ten Shadows Shikigami Round Deer can no longer disrupt Cursed Energy in any way, shape, or form.
Result: Fushiguro Megumi's Positive Energy from himself and Ten Shadows Shikigami Round Deer can now disrupt Arts in any way, shape, or form.
***
Once Round Deer was finished being looked at and assessed, Megumi moved onto Piercing Ox. The Shikigami had six horns instead of two in total, the usual two that had come as a standard facing the same way as they had before... but the other four pointing forward in order to provide a 'piercing' strike rather than just a blunt one from its head. Piercing Ox's teeth had also become more sharp and hot steam was coming out of its nose every time it breathed from it.
The last Shikigami that came out was obviously Tiger Funeral. The muscular and building collapsing Shikigami which stood with the same build as Mahoraga was now... leaner. However, it wasn't in the 'natural' lean sense, as its muscles looked like they were distorted and twisted to unnatural proportions. To summarize its build, the muscles of Tiger Funeral had become more compressed, lean, and some parts possessed traditional Japanese flame patterns on them. On to other features, its burning white and orange eyes became more decadent, streaks of mist in the color of their eyes coming out of it every time the Shikigami moved.
Overall, all of Shikigamis looked like they possessed certain art features present within traditional Japanese paintings.
Now... All that was left was the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga. But the black haired man did not feel like summoning at the moment, wanting to be utterly surprised at what his Divine General could provide for him in its change. Letting his breath calm, Megumi glanced down at his steaming black hands, the scars leading up to his arms. It was going to take quite some time before they were fully restored, and before the scars were completely healed.
If he kept this up, it could become a permanent mark for all the world to see. Well, it didn't matter, as the fissure-like black cracks started to seal themselves with white steam laced with green. The damage caused by the black flames igniting had been completely restored in no time, but Megumi still found his muscles to be in an uncomfortable state. It wouldn't be much of a problem in the future, as he was becoming more used to holding in not letting pain hamper him—rather than numbing it entirely.
Heaving a large sigh of both satisfaction and relief, Megumi slowly took off his black haori. It was still the late afternoon, but there was nothing else he could do with exhaustion starting to pile up on his body. It became more especially apparent when he remembered how he hadn't had a lick of sleep yesterday, staying up all day and all night to train his Ten Shadows Cursed Technique, along with his physical strength.
The excessive use of Reverse Cursed Technique to keep his mind intact was extremely helpful, but overexerting it today only made things worse. So, it was best for him to sleep... and then spend the entire next day training and getting a new 'standard' weapon for himself to use. In his mind, that was a good idea, for a great deal of development had been made.
Megumi found himself standing over his bed with droopy eyes, ready to shut close at any moment. The moment they did, the black haired man fell onto the fluffy sheets, dragging his body on it as his consciousness had started to fade. Due to how tired he was, the Sorcerer couldn't even muster any dissatisfaction or satisfaction of what had happened today, all energy having already been expended doing the both of them before. Now, there was only...
...Unconsciousness.
The next day wouldn't be eventful, he hoped.
***
"I don't get it, why don't Jujutsu Sorcerers use armor?" Megumi stared at the pictures in the scroll that was given to him, depicting a Sengoku Era samurai dressed in a dashing samurai armor that reeked of traditional pride for its time. Even in modern days, such articles of armor still rang a loud echo as an important model of Japan's rich history—not just through the Sengoku Era—but also through many parts of history.
The implicit messages that came from them, the code of Bushido which had died out as chivalry had also been further west. In modern day, they were either looked up as a Code of Honor, or a foolish man's endeavour of a time that lacked pragmatism. For Fushiguro Megumi, he'd say the past was the past, there was no need to delve in the matter too deeply for himself, because that was what historians were for.
...But for Jujutsu Society, he was slightly more curious than he usually would be.
"They used to, a lot actually." Gojo tossed a key in the air, catching it and fiddling with the object a few times before he spoke up again, "if that little depiction in your hands is any indicator, there were just a lot of circumstances that came into their decline over the years."
"Why is that so?" Megumi knew the Sengoku Era possessed many bloodthirsty Jujutsu Sorcerers, as the Warring States Period was one filled with endless bloodshed to the point where mountains would flow rivers of blood. "Is it because of the lack of Jujutsu Sorcerers in modern day after a lot of them were lost in wars?"
"Both in the Sengoku Era and World War II? Yeah, that's a major reason that played into it." Gojo tossed his key in the air one last time before catching it and setting it down on a table, sitting upwards into a bent posture. "With the large decline of the amount of Sorcerers over the years, in both quantity and quality, leading into the Edo Period, that was when Jujutsu Sorcerers saw their biggest decline in history."
"Shouldn't the decline be during World War II?" Megumi raised an eyebrow. After all, Japan had lost that war and it was the largest one all across the world, so some Sorcerers must have participated in it.
"Nah," Gojo waved his hand dismissively, "you were branded a Curse User if you used Cursed Techniques during World War II, those who did participate... Let's just say they weren't strong enough to handle the marvels of developing technology. It'd be a different story if it were me, though." He jokingly pointed to himself after. "It was a Binding Vow that was passed until the war ended, but a scant few avoided it and never undertook it. Overall, most Jujutsu Sorcerers were busy with the Cursed Spirits that kept appearing like ants across Japan."
"...So, about the lack of protective armor?"
"Oh, right, right," Gojo stopped his rambling for a second, leaning back on the couch, "Well, you see... since there was a decline in Jujutsu Sorcerers as a result of the Sengoku Era—such as Cursed Tool and Cursed Object blacksmiths—many secret crafting techniques and skilled bloodlines were destroyed as a result."
"But doesn't Jujutsu Tech have an entire armory of Cursed Tools?" Megumi raised an eyebrow, "there are hundreds of weapons in there, did they decide not to create armor, then?" The young Sorcerer was now even more confused.
"That brings us to our second reason," Gojo Satoru flashed a second finger upwards, "Megumi-chan~," before needlessly winking with his shades lowering, "which is that Sorcerers don't really need armor per se."
"What do you mean by that?" Megumi raised an eyebrow.
"Cursed Energy reinforcement already provides enough defense," Gojo shrugged. "Unless you mindlessly imbue Cursed Energy into armor for a year straight, and have to go through the process of filling in every little hole needed for it with great precision..." his voice drew on "...then it'd take a far longer time than you can imagine."
"I take the idea that it is more complex than creating Cursed Tools?"
"Definitely, what do you think Cursed Energy is for?" Gojo pointed a finger gun towards Megumi, before faux firing it off, "destruction, and Cursed Energy reinforcement to increase defense is a teensy bit more complex than using it for offense, but not by a large margin."
"Hn."
"There's also the fact that not many Cursed Techniques specifically provide for defense, and only for defense in its nature."
"In its nature? I gave a gist of what you're talking about..." Megumi cupped his chin with a complex look.
"For example, my Cursed Technique, Limitless," Gojo drew an infinity symbol in the air, "is mainly for offensive purposes if you look at how Blue is applied. But, if you take a look at Neutral Limitless, you will also see it has defensive capabilities, along with the offensive capability that is Blue. Well, this is an overgeneralization, but you get my point ,right?"
"Yes," Megumi nodded.
"So, because my Cursed Technique isn't only for defensive purposes, whenever I imbue it into a weapon or object to create a Cursed Tool, it wouldn't solely be focused on Limitless' defensive properties, and if I want it to, I would need a greater degree of control." Gojo finished his explanation with one last comment, "unless I tried to, of course. Would only take a month of practice at most, hehe~!"
Megumi watched his giggling compliment to himself with a deadpan, almost imagining the white haired man as a... nevermind. "So then why don't you do that?" Wouldn't it be helpful to create Cursed Tools for his students, in order to better defend themselves in battles?
In fact, the black haired man vividly remembered a week ago where his sensei had forced him to fight a serpentine Cursed Spirit that was being worshipped as a god by the local villagers. Suffice to say, it required his incomplete Domain Expansion to defeat, much weaker than what a Shinto manifestation of a Cursed Spirit would be.
"Eh, too lazy," Gojo Satoru admitted without a hint of hesitation. "You guys can handle your own, c'mon~! There's also me who can step in," he winked his eyes while pointing to himself with his thumb. "Whaddya say?"
"I want to punch you."
"Bahahahaha~!"
***
"Oi, Megumi-chan!" Gojo leaned back on his chair, having gotten all the laughter out of his system. "You know Yuta-chan, right?" The white haired man turned toward his black haired student, heaving a small sigh.
"Okkotsu-senpai?" Megumi crossed his arms with a softer look, "yes, what about him?"
"Well~, I know I've told the other students before, but I haven't told you yet..." Gojo placed his hands behind his head, relaxing as if what he was sitting on were a retractable chair. It wasn't "...Yuta-chan is a descendant of Sugawara-no-Michizane."
"Hm?" Megumi blinked in surprise, "one of the Three Great Vengeful Spirits, that Sugawara-no-Michizane?!" He found his interest spiking, having heard mention of a historical figure who he once questioned the validity of, but had come around when he was introduced to Jujutsu Society.
"Is it that much of a surprise~? I'm a descendant too, ya' know? He's the ancestor of the Gojo Clan after all, " Gojo playfully smirked, pointing to himself and looking at Megumi's flabbergasted expression. "There's a reason why we have such a high degree of Cursed Energy, because our bloodline comes from him."
"I... I see," Megumi concentrated, synthesizing all knowledge he knew of the Three Great Vengeful Spirits. "The ancestor of the Gojo Clan, then does that mean...?"
"Exactly so," Gojo cut in, "Emperor Sutoku isn't really the ancestor to the Kamo Clan, since it existed way~ before him, but he does have connections to it with his own bloodline and all." The Strongest Sorcerer continued on, "what is more interesting however, is Taira-no-Masakado, because by proxy—Megumi-chan—you are a descendant of his, no matter how diluted you and his blood may be after so many centuries."
"Hm," Megumi nodded with vested interest. "Does that mean I also..."
"Also have a high reserve of Cursed Energy, sorry, but no." Gojo Satoru immediately shot the notion down, watching in amusement as his student's eyebrows started twitching. "Ah—ah—ah, but!" Immediately, the white haired man placed a finger in the air and started shaking it, "what do you remember of the history of Taira-no-Masakado? Before you start blowing your fuse."
"I wasn't going to," Megumi retorted, "but..." his mood shifted afterwards, sighing out "...he was the "First Samurai" of Japan, right? His daughter was also recorded to be able to summon toads and a gigantic skeleton named Gashadokuro." A look of realization struck him at the last few lines.
"Hehe~ I thought you would have connected the dots ages ago," Gojo laughed heartily, "aw, c'mon, don't glare at me like that~ fine, fine, I'll cut to the chase." He looked upwards while letting out the rest of the laughter stuck in his chest. "Alright, so—he's the First Samurai—and not by normal means either. His flesh was stronger than most, despite possessing the least recorded amount of Cursed Energy compared to everybody else during his time period."
Megumi listened in silence.
Gojo Satoru however, found it amusing. The daughter of the first Heavenly Restriction user giving birth to the first recorded case of a Ten Shadows user, "his genetics are ingrained with the aptitude to learn how to use weaponry, or that's what I've theorized. I may not be one hundred percent accurate, but I believe that to be the case." After all, he had experienced two Zen'in Clan members wielding Cursed Tools skillfully to develop such a thought.
"That's absurd," Megumi raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "can skill be passed down by genetics?"
"This is Jujutsu Society, Megumi-chan," Gojo lowered his blindfold to give him a deadpan look, "having a genetic trait in regards to weaponry being passed down should be the least of your concerns. Some experiments and research has been done here and there too, so it has been factually proven that genetic skill over such concepts is, in fact, conceivable."
"So I don't have a large reserve of Cursed Energy..."
"Above average at best," Gojo chimed in.
"...Then does that mean I have the genetic trait of being able to wield weapons efficiently?"
"I dunno!" Gojo shrugged.
"Huh?"
"Well, why don't we find out? You wanted to use Cursed Tools after all, what better way than to go on a mission!" The white haired man sprung up from his seat, stretching his arms. "I already have a place, an abandoned section of Tokyo which is rumored to possess ghosts, and better yet—it's only recently sprung up. A huge opportunity to exorcise some Cursed Spirits and see where your level with that Jet Black Blade is at right now, so let's go!"
Megumi watched as his mentor pointed forward like a child, before marching out of the room. Feeling at a slight loss at the sudden declaration of Gojo Satoru, he sprung up from his seat with a frantic movement, feeling anxiety start to bottle up inside him with what his sensei was plotting.
***
The glittering lights from the view atop the Spire was certainly a sight to bear witness to. That was something that Megumi had told himself countless times in other places, especially when his sensei had rented him an overly expensive apartment complex. Really, his thoughts always came back to his eccentric spending habits whenever the black haired man gazed upon a 'luxurious' view.
Once more, just as he woke up, so did the city. The morning dew plastered across the air after a small storm had passed through a delicate sight to see, especially with the calm moisture lingering in the air. Taking in a deep breath to fill himself with nature's vitality... he felt nothing. There wasn't any ecstasy or admiration of the sight in front of him, all the Sorcerer felt was lethargy.
The whiplash from the previous dream wasn't something he had completely ridded himself of. Although his mind had already registered it as nothing more than a hoax crafted from the most desire-ridden part of his brain, Megumi couldn't stand falling back down on his bed for a sleep. The reason was clear in his mind, and he hated it the more that his thoughts lingered upon it.
Megumi got off of his bed, feeling a lethargic sensation overtake his entire body. Hissing at the response, the black haired man noticed how it was very early in the morning, making him estimate how long he had just fallen asleep for while using Reverse Cursed Technique. At his lowest estimate, it was about ten hours. It was a good amount for somebody his age, but what made it a... terrible experience was how groggily he had woken up.
'It's really starting to show...' Megumi shook his head, deciding to leave the Spire and go ahead for his next plans. He had been desiring to create his last weapon, so that was his goals for now. Letting himself bathe under the light of the sun for now, the black haired man cleared his mind of any misgivings at the moment. Once everything had been said and done, he stood up, grabbing for his black haori.
Donning the article of clothing, the Sorcerer then decided to make his way out of the Spire, and to a Leithanien blacksmith.