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"Reality is what we agree to see at a given time."
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The abandoned warehouse loomed against the sky, its broken windows reflecting the light dimly. Ryu approached with slow steps, cursed energy flowing through him.
'If Makoto is here, we'll talk. Clear the issues. Figure something out.'
The interior was similar to the last mission, concrete floors and rusted machinery. And there, sitting on an overturned crate near the far wall, was Makoto.
"You came," Makoto said, standing up.
"I wasn't sure you would."
"You asked me to. You wanted to spar." Ryu kept his distance, his instincts screaming caution for some reason.
"Though after yesterday---"
A knife materialized in Makoto's hand and flew toward Ryu's face with great speed.
Ryu dodged on pure reflex, cursed energy flowing through him now.
The blade passed close enough that he felt the displaced air against his cheek.
"What the hell, Makoto?!"
"No talking," Makoto's voice was cold.
"Just fighting. That's what you're good at, isn't it?"
More knives appeared, each one shifting mid-flight, some growing larger, others changing their trajectory, forcing Ryu into constant defensive movement.
Shadow Grasp erupted from beneath Ryu, forming a protective barrier of writhing tendrils.
'This isn't normal. His technique was related to Creation, not projectile manipulation.'
But the knives kept coming, each one more different than the last. Ryu's shadows intercepted them, but where they made contact, brown patches began spreading across the tendrils.
'What the heck?'
The infected tendrils grew rigid, losing flexibility, becoming brittle like obsidian. (Yeah Obsidian is not the endgame type block... It's actually really brittle like glass)
Ryu was forced to dissolve them and create new ones, burning through cursed energy at an alarming rate.
"You're holding back," Makoto taunted, and his smile became wide. Too wide compared to normal people.
"Come on, Ryu. Show me what you really are."
" Show me the monster."
'Something's not right. His face--'
Ryu activated Lucky Gamble without much thought, dice rolling in his mind. Six, six and two.
A smirk made its way into Ryu's face too.
'Lucky'
The Shadow Grasp that emerged was different, stronger, more in numbers and had more fluidity.
Eight tendrils emergef, each one responding to his will like additional limbs. Like an Octopus, but some chuthulu type thingy.
'This is incredible. This is what the technique can really do.'
He used the enhanced shadows to create distance, while trying to understand what was happening.
Meanwhile Makoto pursued him relentlessly , his creations changing into other things, nets that became spears, shields becoming shurikens.
"Fight back!" Makoto screamed, and now Ryu could see it clearly. The smile had stretched beyond human proportions, splitting Makoto's face into something nightmarish.
"You wanted to kill me before! Why stop now?"
"I never wanted to kill you!"
"LIAR!"
The assault intensified and bronzification spread wherever their powers collided.
Ryu's enhanced Shadow Grasp fought to maintain control, the eight tendrils working in perfect synchronization to deflect, redirect and restrain objects. But the brown patches kept spreading, turning his shadows to stone, making them heavy and useless.
'I can't keep this up. The energy drain is becoming too much'
"You're getting weaker," Makoto observed, and his voice had taken on an amused tone.
"Good. That's how you should feel. Weak. Helpless."
He moved closer, and Ryu finally saw what had been wrong all along.
Makoto had four eyes now. Two where they belonged, and two more below them, all of them fixed on Ryu intensely.
"What are you?" Ryu whispered.
"I am $#\π•@." The thing lunged forward with great speed.
Cold hands wrapped around Ryu's throt to hold him in place.
"You can't escape what you are. You can't run from the hunger. It will consume you, just like you consume everything else."
The bronzification was spreading up Ryu's arms now, turning flesh to stone. He could feel it creeping toward his chest, his heart, his brain. In moments, he would be nothing but a statue, frozen forever.
'Am I going to die here? From a human much less a cursed spirit....'
His face started becoming paler and paler when suddenly he felt like someone slapped him.
*Puh
"Wake the f*ck up!"
A serious face with glasses took over Ryu's vision.
---
Nanami had been following Ryu for approximately fifteen minutes when he realized something was very wrong.
The route made no sense. Ryu had walked into an abandoned warehouse district. The behavior was suspicious enough to warrant investigation.
'Subject exhibits atttaction towards isolated locations. Possible Yakuza or gang presence indicated.'
'Perhaps he owes them some money?
Negative... He would not give it back.'
But when Nanami reached the warehouse Ryu had entered, what he saw through the broken windows made him struggle to process what he was seeing.
Ryu was in a vast space, but he was fighting...
NO ONE.
Shadow Grasp tendrils whipped through the air, striking at Nothing. Ryu dodged and weaved, avoiding invisible attacks. His cursed energy flared with each defensive maneuver, that suggested he was responding to a genuine threat.
Except there was no threat. No curse, no person, no manifestation of any kind.
'Hallucination? Technique malfunction? Cursed energy disruption?'
Nanami activated his own cursed energy, scanning for any presence.
Nothing.... The warehouse was empty except for Ryu and the air he was fighting.
At first, it almost looked like shadow boxing. But as Nanami watched, the movements became increasingly frantic.
Ryu was losing.
His shadows grew sluggish, dissolving into wisps before they could fully form. He stumbled backward, arms raised defensively against attacks that didn't exist. And most disturbing... He froze in a place acting like he couldn't breathe.
"Aghhh!" Ryu screamed at nothing. "You are wrong.... I will survive Makoto!"
'Makoto? The injured partner from the previous mission?'
Then Ryu's hands went to his own throat.
Nanami moved without thinking. He grabbed Ryu's wrists, pulling them away from his neck and giving them a push to his face.
*Puh
"Wake the f*ck up!"
Ryu's eyes went wild, unfocused.
"Wha..... Nanami how did you appear here? Where did he go?"
"There is no Makoto. There is no one here except me."
(Except you too my readers)
"You're alone in an empty warehouse, experiencing a type of episode."
"But I can see him! He's--" Ryu's gaze focused on where Nanami was looking, seeing only empty space.
"He was just..."
The brown patches on Ryu's arms began to fade, revealing unmarked skin beneath.
Ryu collapsed to his knees, breathing hard. "What's happening to me?"
---
Nanami helped Ryu to a relatively clean section of floor, keeping careful watch for any sign of a presence. Ryu meanwhile looked exhausted physically and emotionally.
"That cursed object," Nanami said after a long silence.
"Sukuna's finger. When did you first experience these... Hallucinations?"
"After I found it. That morning." Ryu's voice was barely above a whisper. "I had nightmares first. Then I saw Makoto, or thought I did. But today it felt so real. The attacks, all of it."
"Cursed objects of that magnitude can cause severe mental disruption. Especially ones connected to beings like Ryomen Sukuna."
"Your mind might be struggling to process the residual cursed energy."
"So I'm going crazy."
"You're experiencing temporary psychosis induced by external influence. There's a difference." Nanami's tone remained simple. "The human brain wasn't designed to process energy signatures from thousand-year-old cursed objects. Hallucinations are a viable response."
Ryu looked at his hands which were normal now.
"I was fighting nothing. All that cursed energy wasted."
"On the contrary. Your defensive techniques were improving, your technique application showed improvement."
"While under extreme psychological stress. Which makes the achievement more notable, not less."
They sat in silence for several minutes. Finally, Ryu spoke again.
"What do I do? How do I know what's real anymore?"
"Verify with others. When something seems off, find someone else to confirm what you're perceiving."
Nanami stood, offering a hand to help Ryu up.
"And you need rest. Actual rest, not just sleep."
"I can't afford to rest. There's training, missions--"
"You can't afford not to. If you continue operating in this state, the hallucinations will worsen. Eventually, you won't be able to distinguish reality from delusion at all."
The bluntness seemed to reach Ryu in a way gentler words wouldn't have. He nodded slowly.
"Okay. Rest. I can do that."
"Good. I'll walk you back."
"Nanami?" Ryu's voice was quiet. "Thank you. For following me. For stopping me before..."
"Before you injured yourself fighting nothing?" Nanami kept his tone neutral.
"When a teammate exhibits unusual behavior, investigation is warranted."
"Still. You didn't have to help."
"Incorrect. Teams require intervention when members are compromised." He glanced at Ryu.
"Besides, your technique development is fascinating from my perspective. It would be inefficient to allow you to destroy yourself before I finish documenting the progression."
Despite everything, Ryu almost smiled. "Your concern is touching."
"My concern is practical. Don't confuse the two."
---
Status Update :-
Technique Development:
- Enhanced Shadow Grasp:
Eight tendrils achieved
- Combat Sophistication:
Advanced defensive techniques
- Energy Cost:
Significant cursed energy depletion from extended technique use
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