Ritsuka Fujimaru Point of View.
The cold of the Archipelago was different from anything I had experienced before. It wasn't the magical cold of the Singularities, not even the brutal cold of the Lostbelt Russia. It was a natural, primordial cold, the kind of cold that reminds you that you're an intruder in a place where human life is not welcome. It seeped through my clothes like invisible fingers, settling in my bones, making each breath a small agony of ice in my lungs.
I hugged myself, trying to conserve some warmth while watching my sister. Gudako slept on an improvised layer we had made from scraps of clothing and emergency blankets that Sukuna had materialized from his shadows (apparently, his shadow storage was useful for something other than stealing Grails). Her breathing forming small clouds of vapor in the darkness.
She looked peaceful now, far from the obscene murmurs that had escaped from her lips just minutes ago. Sukuna had said that her body was clean, healed of all physical damage, but that her mind and her soul... that was another story.
My chest ached looking at her. It wasn't the physical pain from the bindings or the blows I had received, but a crushing weight of guilt. I was the older brother, even though we were twins. I was supposed to protect her. I was supposed to realize that something was wrong.
How did I not see it?
That question spun in my mind like a broken record. Sukuna had told me that my memories had been altered, that there were conceptual scars in my hippocampus. That should be a comfort, a logical excuse for my ignorance. But it wasn't. Because even with broken memory, I should have felt that the world around me was rotting. I should have noticed that Mash's smiles were different, that my sister's closeness hid a perverse darkness, that Chaldea, my home, had become a nest of depravity under the influence of that damn "HAZE."
And then there was Sukuna. The King of Curses. A being who had massacred several Servants without batting an eye, who had made it very clear to me that he only kept me alive because I was useful, who would probably abandon me to my fate without a second thought if I stopped serving him.
And yet... he had saved me. He had risked his own existence to free me from... whatever BB and the others had planned to do to me. He had cleaned Gudako, had repaired my brain, had cut the Haze connections that turned us into trackers.
Why?
Not for the first time, that question resonated in my mind. If he only cared about his survival, why bother? He could have left me there. He could have fled alone, without the burden of three humans slowing him down.
But I knew the answer, even if I didn't want to admit it. Sukuna needed me. He needed a Master who could provide him with mana, needed Gudako and me to be functional to establish those contracts.
It was pure pragmatism. Nothing more.
Right?
I looked at my hands. They were dirty, trembling slightly. Sukuna had cleaned my magic circuits, cut my connection to the Haze. I felt lighter, yes, but also terribly empty. As if they had ripped out a part of myself that I didn't even know I had, leaving me exposed to the raw reality of our situation.
We're alone. Alone on a deserted island, hunted by our own friends, depending on a monster who just an hour ago was massacring other Servants with a smile on his face.
I sat on a frost-covered rock, watching the vapor from my own breath dissipate in the darkness. My hands moved to intertwine in front of my mouth to conserve some warmth; they were trembling. I couldn't stop seeing the images. They repeated in my mind like a corrupted file that refused to be deleted, even after Sukuna said he had repaired my hippocampus.
Gudako. My sister, my mirror, moaning another's name, despising me with a naturalness that chilled the blood.
Astolfo. The Paladin of joy, the friend I trusted to lift spirits in the darkest moments, turned into a creature of mocking lust.
And Mash...
I closed my eyes tightly, feeling a pang of physical pain in my chest.
Mash Kyrielight. My shield. My companion. The person who had been by my side from the first day, from the flames of Fuyuki to the edge of the cosmos. I had seen her in that room. I had heard her words. "Ritsuka could never make me feel like this."
"It's the Haze..." I whispered to myself, like a desperate mantra. "It's not them. It's the corruption. It's a disease."
Sukuna had explained it. An infection of soul and body. A methodical manipulation of their desires and perceptions. I knew, logically, that it wasn't their fault. I knew they were victims of something monstrous, something orchestrated by a sick mind hiding in the shadows.
But logical knowledge didn't erase emotional trauma. The human heart doesn't work with on and off switches. It hurts. Damn it, it hurts like they've ripped out my guts. The betrayal, even if induced, left a scar. The doubt, that small and poisonous seed that the Haze had planted, whispered: What if part of that was real? What if I really am pathetic? What if I wasn't enough to protect them?
I shook my head violently, forcing myself to open my eyes.
"No," I said firmly. "I'm not going to fall into that. That's what they want. They want to break me. They want me to give up."
And there was another problem. My altered memories.
How much of what I remember is real? I wondered, feeling panic threatening to take over me again. How many of my memories have been altered? How many completely erased?
Sukuna had said he found damage in my brain. Conceptual damage in the area responsible for memory formation. Scars where memories had been manipulated, rewritten, erased.
The idea was... violating. There was no other word for it. Someone had entered my mind, my most intimate being, and had changed things. Had taken my experiences, my thoughts, my own perceptions of reality and twisted them to fit some narrative I didn't know or understand.
What else had I forgotten? What else had been altered?
Fragments were already beginning to filter through. Blurred images, moments that didn't fit with my "official" memories of events. Like pieces of a puzzle that someone had deliberately hidden, now beginning to appear at the edges of my consciousness.
I saw Mash... but not as I remembered her recently. I saw her smiling, laughing, being the warm and protective kouhai she had always been. Without that distant look, without that strange behavior she had started showing in the last... months? Years?
I couldn't be sure.
I saw Gudako, my twin sister, my other half in so many ways. I saw her being fierce, brave, a little crazy in the best of ways. Not the version I had seen recently, with that empty look and those behaviors that made my stomach turn.
And I saw... other things. Fragments that didn't make sense. Servants acting in strange ways. Conversations that ended abruptly. Moments where my mind simply... stopped, as if someone had pressed the pause button on my brain.
God, I thought, closing my eyes tightly. How deep does this go? How compromised is everything?
A soft sound pulled me from my thoughts. I opened my eyes to see Mash approaching slowly. She moved cautiously, as if afraid to bother me, as if she wasn't sure whether she should approach or not.
That hurt more than I expected.
She looked... fragile. It was strange to see her like this. Mash had always been my rock, my constant support through everything. But now, with her shoulders slightly hunched and her eyes showing a mix of confusion and what appeared to be barely contained fear, she seemed smaller than I remembered.
"Senpai," she said quietly, stopping a few meters away. "Can I... can I sit with you?"
The question surprised me. Mash had never asked permission to sit beside me before. She had always just been there, like a constant and comforting presence.
The Haze, I reminded myself. She's still infected. Her body is clean, but her soul... Sukuna said her soul still carries the corruption. Does that mean she's still being influenced? Does she still believe everything that happened was... normal?
"Of course, Mash," I responded, trying to keep my voice soft and reassuring despite the knot in my throat. "You don't need to ask permission. You're always welcome."
She nodded slowly and approached, sitting on the rock beside me, but maintaining a small distance between us. As if... as if she wasn't sure she had the right to be closer.
We remained in silence for several seconds, only the sound of the wind and distant waves filling the space between us. I could feel the tension emanating from her, could see how her hands twisted in her lap as if she were struggling with something internally.
I had to talk to her. Sukuna had given us thirty minutes. Thirty minutes before moving toward the unknown. And as much as part of me was hurt and betrayed, my rational mind couldn't blame them for that. And even though her soul was still corrupted... I needed to see if I could help her somehow.
"Mash," I called softly.
She didn't respond immediately. Several eternal seconds passed before she turned her head slightly, enough so I could see her profile illuminated by the dim starlight through Sukuna's barrier. Her eyes, normally full of amethyst warmth, were dark, turbulent. There was fear there. And confusion.
"Senpai...," her voice was a whisper, almost lost in the breeze. "You should rest. Sukuna... he said you should recover energy."
"Sukuna isn't my boss, Mash," I said, trying to inject some lightness into my tone, though it sounded weak. I wanted to close the distance and hug her, but something in her body language stopped me. It was as if there was an invisible wall between us, more impenetrable than any Noble Phantasm. "And I can't sleep. Not when we're like this."
"Like what... senpai?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"You know what I mean," I said with a tired sigh, rubbing both hands and exhaling hot air in an attempt to calm my cold. "I mean us. You. What happened in that room."
I saw her shudder. Not from the cold.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Senpai," she said quickly, too quickly. There was a note of panic in her voice. "Everything was fine. We were... we were being happy. Everyone was happy. It was a blessing."
There it was. That damn word. "Blessing."
I moved closer until I was beside her. She kept her gaze fixed on nothing, her knuckles white from the force with which she gripped her shield. I could feel the conflict emanating from her, a silent war between the reality we knew and the lie that had been injected into her soul.
"Mash, look at me," I asked gently.
She shook her head, a short and spasmodic movement.
"I can't. If I look at you...," her voice broke. "If I look at you, I feel like something is wrong. But it shouldn't be wrong. Our gift... the Haze showed us the truth. It freed us from doubts, from pain. It made me feel... complete."
My chest tightened painfully. Seeing her like this—so lost, so confused, fighting against a corruption she couldn't even fully understand—was like watching someone trying to wake from a nightmare but unable to fully open their eyes.
"Is that what you still think?" I asked, feeling a knot in my throat. "That's not a blessing... Mash, just look at how it made them act... in a more vulgar way, and someone noticed it and look at the results of this supposed blessing... Astolfo, Altria, Musashi, Ibuki and possibly Scáthach are dead, BB disabled and much of Chaldea was destroyed."
"No... that was... that was Sukuna's fault," she said, and her voice trembled. "He's the monster. He broke the peace. Before he arrived, everything was perfect. Astolfo-san was kind; he made me feel good. Gudako-san was happy. You...," she stopped, her breathing becoming irregular. "You were suffering, Senpai. You looked so sad when you discovered us. But it was for your own good. You had to understand. You had to accept the blessing."
It was terrifying to hear her. The logic was there, but it was twisted, inverted. As if someone had taken her emotions and rewired them so that pain was love and betrayal was loyalty.
"Mash, that wasn't happiness," I said firmly, but keeping my voice soft. "That was control. They were using you. They were using all of us. What you felt... that warmth, that pleasure... wasn't yours. It was like a drug. You were just living in a lie."
"It felt real!" she exclaimed, finally turning toward me. Her eyes were moist, full of a desperation that broke my soul. "It felt more real than anything! When I was with them... when I stopped thinking and just... just did what felt good... the fear disappeared. The pressure to save the world, the fear of losing you, the fear of dying... everything went away. Only... pleasure remained. And peace. Why is that bad, Senpai? Why does it feel so wrong now that the connection is gone?"
I froze for a moment. Sukuna had cleaned her body and cut the physical connection, but her soul was still infected. She still remembered the artificial "peace" of the Haze and, in comparison, the cold, fear and guilt of reality must feel like torture.
"Because that peace had a price, Mash," I said, extending my hand cautiously to touch her arm. She didn't pull away, but trembled under my touch. "The price was your will. Your true self. The Mash I know, the one who stood before Goetia, who has fought through time... she would never accept a peace built on lies and degradation."
Mash lowered her gaze to her shield, the symbol of her determination, of everything she represented as a Heroine.
"But... there's a hole now," she whispered, bringing a hand to her chest, right over her heart. "Here inside. I feel like something is missing. The 'Blessing' filled that space. It told me what to do, what to feel. Now... now there's only silence. And fear. And...," her voice lowered even more. "And I'm afraid I hurt you, Senpai."
"Hurt me?" I repeated softly, though my heart beat faster.
"In the room... I said things to you. Gudako-san said things to you," she continued, her voice breaking. "And I... I let it happen. I let them tie you up. I thought it was right, that you needed to be 'corrected' to see the truth. But now I see you... I see the tiredness in your eyes, I see how you look at me with... with pain... and I feel like I'm breaking inside. If what I did was good, why does it hurt so much to see you like this?"
That was the crack. The small fissure in the armor of corruption that the Haze had built around her heart. Her love and loyalty toward me were fighting against the programming, creating that cognitive dissonance that tormented her.
"That's because you are Mash Kyrielight," I said with conviction, moving a bit closer to be completely in front of her. "And no corruption, no 'HAZE,' can completely erase that. That pain you feel... is your true self fighting to come back. It's your moral compass telling you that something was wrong, even if your mind can't explain what yet."
Mash looked up, her eyes desperately searching for something to hold onto in my face.
"But... I did things, Senpai. Things with Astolfo-san... and possibly with others...," her face tinged with a blush, but it wasn't conventional shame. It was confusion. For her, the acts themselves didn't register as "bad" due to the residual corruption, but she knew the context was wrong somehow. "I don't regret how it felt... but I know that somehow hurt you and I don't understand why... but I endured it because I thought you would stop feeling pain if you felt what I feel."
Mash frowned and ran her hands over her face with an expression of discomfort and anguish.
I waited, giving her time to organize her thoughts. I could see how she struggled with the words, how her face showed the internal conflict she was experiencing.
"I... don't understand why you don't like the... The Haze," she finally said, and I saw how her eyes lit up slightly when mentioning that name. "It's a blessing, Senpai. I can feel it. It frees us from unnecessary restrictions, allows us to experience pleasure and purpose without the weight of obsolete morality that keeps us bound. It's... it's something beautiful."
The words came out of her mouth with a conviction that made me shudder. But then I saw how her expression changed, how certainty faded, replaced by confusion and something similar to horror.
"But," she continued, her voice now trembling, "but I also know something is wrong. Something inside me screams that this isn't right, that I've done something terrible. I don't know what exactly—when I try to think about it, my thoughts become confused, slippery—but I know there's something."
She brought a hand to her chest, her fingers pressing against the fabric of her uniform.
"I feel like there are two versions of me in my head, Senpai," she whispered. "One that believes everything is fine, that everything I've done has been correct and necessary. And another that is terrified, that knows something horrible has happened, but can't identify exactly what."
I swallowed with difficulty. Seeing Mash—my Mash, the strongest and bravest girl I knew—so lost and scared was almost unbearable.
"Mash," I said softly, extending my hand toward her. I stopped halfway, unsure if I should touch her, if she would want me to touch her after everything that had happened. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault."
"Isn't it?" she asked, and there were tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Then why do I feel... why do I feel like I've done something that hurt you in a cruel way, Senpai? And I don't just mean what happened in the room, but other things too... but every time I try to think about it, I can't make sense of it, and I feel this... this overwhelming guilt."
The tears began to fall freely now, sliding down her cheeks.
"I know something is wrong with me," she continued, her voice breaking. "I know my thoughts aren't normal, that the way I see certain things is... distorted somehow. But when I try to identify exactly what's wrong, my mind just... slides. As if there's something blocking my ability to see it clearly."
She wiped the tears with the back of her hand, but they kept falling.
"And I'm afraid, Senpai," she whispered. "I'm afraid of what I might have done. I'm afraid of what I might continue doing without even realizing it. I'm afraid of... of not really being myself at all. And of having become a monster."
Something inside me broke seeing her pain. Despite everything—despite the confusion, the betrayal, the horror of what I had witnessed—she was still Mash. She was still the girl who had protected me countless times. And now she needed me to protect her.
I moved closer, ignoring the hesitation, and did what I should have done before. I hugged her.
Mash tensed initially, surprised, but then melted into the embrace. Her arms wrapped around me tightly, clinging to me as if I were a lifeline in the middle of a storm. And she cried. She cried in a way I had never heard her cry, deep and broken sobs that shook her entire body.
"No," I denied categorically, hugging her body tightly. "Listen to me well, Mash. You're not a monster. You're a victim. What happened wasn't your choice. They drugged you, manipulated your soul. It's not your fault how your body or mind reacted under that influence."
"But I still want it...," she confessed, a sob escaping her lips. "Part of me wants to go back to the pleasure I feel with that. Wants to stop feeling this cold and this fear. It's... it's like a voice in my head that won't shut up."
"It will shut up. I swear it, Mash," I said trying to transmit all the warmth and certainty I had left.
"I'm sorry," she whispered between sobs. "I'm so sorry, Senpai. Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"Shh," I murmured, with one of my hands gently stroking her hair. "It's okay. It's not your fault. None of this is your fault, Mash."
"But I—"
"Listen to me," I interrupted her gently but firmly. I separated enough to be able to look into her eyes. "Whatever you did, whatever happened, it wasn't really you. It was that... that corruption, that Haze. It manipulated you, changed you, made you do and say things that the real you would never do. And I'll repeat it to you over and over until it sticks in your head."
"How can you be so sure?" she asked, her voice small and vulnerable in a way that broke my heart.
"Because I know you," I responded with total conviction. "I know who you really are, Mash Kyrielight. I know your heart, your kindness, your strength. And I know that whatever made this corrupted version of you act differently, it's not who you really are."
I saw how her eyes widened slightly, a spark of hope lighting up in them.
"Sukuna said he could clean the corruption from our bodies," I continued, "but that our souls are still infected. That means there's still work to be done. But I promise you, Mash," I squeezed her hands between mine. "I promise you that we're going to find a way to heal you completely. To return you to who you really are."
"And if... and if you can't?" she asked quietly. "And if the corruption is too deep? And if there's no way to separate it from me?"
"Then we'll try anyway," I said without hesitation. "Because you're worth it, Mash. You're worth every effort, every risk. And I'm not going to give up on you. Not on Gudako either. I'm going to heal both of you. And we're going to heal together. You, me and Gudako. And then we're going to reclaim our Chaldea."
New tears sprang from her eyes, but these were different. Not of despair, but of something warmer.
"Senpai," she whispered, and there was so much emotion in that single word that I felt my own throat tighten.
I hugged her again and we stayed like that for a long moment. I let her cry, let her release all the confusion and fear and guilt she had been accumulating. And while I held her, I made a silent promise.
We're going to get through this together. I'm going to help you heal. And then, when we're both better, we're going to heal together.
Eventually, Mash's sobs calmed. She slowly separated, wiping her eyes with an embarrassed expression.
"I'm sorry," she said with a small trembling laugh. "I didn't want... I didn't want to break down like that."
"You don't have to apologize," I assured her. "It's okay to feel. It's okay to be scared and confused. God knows I am too."
Mash nodded slowly, then took another deep breath, clearly composing herself.
"Senpai," she said after a moment, her voice firmer now. "About Sukuna... we have to be careful," she whispered, lowering her voice as if afraid the wind would carry her words. "He... Sukuna-san. He's dangerous."
"I know," I nodded, releasing her hands but staying close. "I saw what he did. I saw how he killed the others."
"It's not just that," Mash swallowed, her eyes moving nervously. "He's very different from other Servants senpai... I don't know how to describe it, but just his presence feels like Goetia's demons. It gives me goosebumps and that's just being near him... because when he was fighting...," Mash shuddered because Sukuna's energy was like staring into the abyss and having the abyss stare back, an intense and lascivious gaze, but not the perverted kind.
"I know. I've felt it too." The aura was so intense and evil, almost like a god. If I didn't know better, I'd compare it to Abigail in a state of madness. And she's a Foreigner Servant. "But I want you to listen to me... I know you're afraid of him. I know you don't like him. And you're right to do so. Sukuna is... complicated."
"He... he's evil, Senpai," Mash whispered, trembling. "What he did to the other Servants... to Artoria-san, to Astolfo-san... The way he enjoyed their pain. And how he looks at me... like I'm a disposable tool. We can't trust him. He'll betray us. He'll use us and then discard us."
"The possibility always exists," I admitted. "I have no illusions, Mash. Sukuna clearly has a malevolent nature—we can't ignore that. He's made it very clear that he enjoys violence, that he sees most people as inferior to him, that he only keeps us alive because we're useful."
I understood that clearly. Everything about him screamed danger, his aura, his nature. I supposed that's where the name King of Curses came from.
"Then why are we going with him?" she asked, the anguish evident in her voice. "Why do we trust him? He could kill us at any moment. He could... do things worse than kill us."
"I understand your fear, but... you have to understand that Sukuna, right now, Mash, is our monster."
Mash blinked, surprised by my frankness.
"Think about it," I said, looking into her eyes. "He's the only option we have, Mash. Look at us. We're alone, without supplies, without contact with the world, hunted by an entity that can control our friends like puppets. Sukuna is the only one who can fight the Haze. He's the only one so far who has proven not to be affected by that thing. And Sukuna has enough power to face several Servants at once and come out victorious, our only chance to fight whatever has taken Chaldea."
"But he's evil...," she insisted.
"We've worked with evil before," I reminded her gently, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "Remember Moriarty? He planned to destroy the planet. Kiara? She wanted to become the universe itself and use us for her pleasure. Douman? Well, he was simply detestable. And those aren't all who have committed evil or cruel acts and yet... we managed to work with them. We managed to direct them toward a common good."
"This feels different," Mash murmured. "They... when they were summoned somehow, they were bound to the summoning system, to you as Master. Sukuna... he simply ignores the security protections in case of betrayal as if it were a minor annoyance, even now, when his mana was disconnected from Chaldea, it doesn't seem like he's going to disappear. This feels like we're walking alongside a natural disaster that has decided, on a whim, not to crush us yet."
"You're right. It's different," I admitted. "But he saved us. In his twisted and brutal way, he saved us. He could have left us there. He could have killed us along with the others or just used us for his benefit. But he protected us and got us out. He cut your connection and Gudako's. He healed my memory."
I looked toward the darkness where I knew Sukuna was, probably planning his next move with that calculating coldness.
"I don't trust his goodness, Mash, because I know he doesn't have it. But I trust his pragmatism. He needs us for something. Maybe as mana batteries, maybe as guides in this world... I don't know. But as long as we're useful, he'll keep us alive. And as long as we're alive, we have a chance to save Gudako, to save you completely and to reclaim our home."
"Pragmatism...," she repeated quietly. "Being useful and maintaining this alliance of convenience."
"I'm not asking you to trust him. I'm asking you to trust me." I looked at her intently. "He's our weapon right now. A dangerous weapon, but functional. This alliance we have for convenience can work. And honestly, right now, I'll take it. We need all the help we can get."
"I understand, Senpai. If you believe it's the way... I'll follow you. I'll protect you, come what may, no matter what the Haze whispers to me... it's the least I can do."
"And I'll protect you," I responded. "So I promise you that when all this is over... when you're healed and you're yourself again...," I whispered. "Then we'll deal with the memories. We'll deal with the trauma. Together. You don't have to carry that alone. If you feel like you're a monster, then I'll be a monster with you. If you feel you're stained, I'll share that stain. But I won't leave you behind. Never."
I brought my forehead close to hers, gently bumping against her bangs. She stayed still, holding her breath. We were both silent for a moment, clearly processing everything. I could feel her body trembling slightly. I separated slightly from her to look at her face and I could see her face in conflict, thinking about something.
Then, suddenly, Mash shuddered, her hand going to her head.
"Mash, what's wrong?" I asked with concern.
"Nothing," she said quickly, perhaps too quickly. "Just... just a momentary headache. It's gone now."
But I had seen something in her eyes. A flash of... frustration and resignation. It seemed like she wanted to confess something to me, but hadn't been able to... or was it my imagination? I would have thought so, if it weren't for her briefly looking in Sukuna's direction momentarily.
What happened between her and Sukuna? I wondered. What else happened that I didn't see?
But before I could press, Mash looked down and she intertwined our hands again. Eventually, Mash spoke again.
"Senpai," she said quietly, "Thank you. For... for not abandoning me. For promising me that we're going to get through this together. I... know I can trust you on that and I really thank you."
"Always, Mash," I responded sincerely. "We've been through too much together for something—even something as terrible as the Haze—to permanently separate us."
She gave me a small smile, the first genuinely happy expression I had seen on her face since we landed on this desolate island.
We sat in silence for several more minutes, simply enjoying each other's closeness. It was comforting, familiar—a reminder of all the times we had shared quiet moments between battles, between crises.
Mash broke the silence again.
"Senpai," she said, her voice adopting a more practical tone, "what are we going to do now? Sukuna said we can't stay here. But where are we going? How are we going to survive with all of Chaldea probably looking for us?"
That was the question, wasn't it? The question I had been avoiding thinking about because the answer was terrifying in its uncertainty.
"I don't know," I admitted honestly. "Sukuna has a plan, I think. Or at least he has ideas. He mentioned something about finding a place where we can hide long-term. Where he can work on completely purging the corruption from our souls. And where we can summon new allies."
"Summon new allies?" Mash blinked in surprise. "But how? We don't have access to Chaldea's system. And the Grails..."
Honestly, I was more surprised that she hadn't heard our conversation, but remembering the conflicting thoughts she had at the beginning of our conversation, it's not surprising that she hadn't paid attention to what I talked about with Sukuna.
"Sukuna stole them," I revealed, seeing her eyes widen with shock. "The last two Grails that remained in Chaldea's vault. He took them before the whole battle started."
"How... how is that possible?" Mash stammered. "The vault is protected, monitored..."
"Apparently not enough against someone with Sukuna's abilities," I said with a small ironic smile. "He used his shadows somehow. Three seconds, he said. That was all he needed."
Mash shook her head in disbelief.
"That's... that's incredible. And terrifying."
"Yes," I agreed. "Both things. Although unfortunately he said they were corrupted."
Mash looked at me briefly surprised before frowning. "But then... if he used them for wishes, wouldn't that be dangerous for us?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "But he said they could be useful for summoning. It's risky—the Servants we summon could be influenced by the corruption in the Grails. But if Sukuna can purge that influence the same way he purged the Haze from our bodies..."
I didn't finish the sentence, but Mash understood.
"It's a risk we might have to take," she said quietly. "Because, despite Sukuna's strength, he alone isn't enough to win against all the Servants that Chaldea can deploy."
I nodded grimly.
"Exactly. So we need allies. Servants we can trust, who haven't been touched by the Haze. And if the only way to get them is to take a risk, then so be it." Then I thought of that strange white Shikigami. "Besides, maybe his Shikigami, Mahoraga, can help us in that regard."
I wasn't sure of the exact function of that monster, but from what I came to understand, it adapted to anything and it's not surprising that Musashi and Scáthach lost to such an adaptive monster.
"Right... Mahoraga." Mash shuddered; Sukuna, by himself, was already very strong, and having a completely obedient adaptive monster under his command only increased Sukuna's threat level.
We fell silent again, each lost in our own thoughts. I looked toward where Gudako still lay unconscious, her breathing calm and steady.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Mash asked softly, following my gaze. "When she wakes up, I mean."
"Sukuna said her body is completely healed," I responded. "That he repaired all the physical damage. But her mind, her soul... those are going to take more time."
I paused, feeling my throat tighten with emotion.
"She's going to need a lot of help," I continued quietly. "Therapy, probably. Years to fully process what they did to her. But she's strong, Mash. Stronger than people give her credit for. If anyone can recover from this, it's her."
"I know," Mash said softly. "Gudako has always been incredibly resilient. Even when things seemed impossible, she found a way to keep going."
"Like brother and sister," I said with a small sad smile. "We're both too stubborn to give up."
Mash smiled slightly at that, but then her expression became serious again.
"Senpai," she said slowly, "about what happened in Chaldea... I still can't see what I did wrong... but I want to tell you something, because despite the damage I did to you I need you to understand that... that you know I'm sorry. For everything. For anything I did that hurt you, that betrayed your trust."
Her eyes met mine, and in them I saw absolute sincerity.
"You're the most important person in my life, Senpai," she continued, her voice trembling slightly. "You've saved me countless times, not just physically but emotionally too. You've given me a purpose, a reason to exist beyond being simply a Designer Baby. And the idea that I could have done something to hurt you... kills me inside."
I felt my own eyes moisten at her words.
"Mash," I said softly, taking her hands between mine again. "You're incredibly important to me too. You're my shield, yes, but you're much more than that. You're my friend, my confidant, someone I trust implicitly."
I paused, choosing my next words carefully.
"And yes, what I saw tonight... hurt. It confused and scared me. But knowing what I know now, knowing that it wasn't really you, that you were manipulated by that corruption... but as I told you... I don't blame you, Mash. I can't blame you for something that was out of your control."
I saw new tears beginning to form in her eyes, but this time there was relief in her expression.
"We're going to get through this," I promised. "Together. And I promise you that we're going to find out who's behind all this and we'll make them pay absolutely the person who hurt you, who hurt Gudako, each of my friends."
We hugged again, and this time it felt different. It wasn't just comfort or support. It was a promise. A promise that no matter what came, no matter how difficult it got, we would be there for each other.
When we finally separated, we both wiped our eyes, smiling a bit embarrassed by the emotional display.
"I must look terrible," Mash said with a small trembling laugh.
"You look perfect," I said honestly. "A bit teary, maybe, but perfect."
She blushed slightly at that, and for a moment, I saw a flash of the old Mash—the girl who blushed at the slightest compliment, who stammered when she was nervous, who had that sweet shyness I had always found charming.
She's still there, I realized with relief. The real Mash is still there, fighting to come out from under the corruption.
At that moment, a mocking and deep voice cut through the emotional moment like a sharp katana.
"How touching. I almost vomit my last meal, if I had any in my stomach." He said mockingly, but had an amused look in his eyes from the way they crinkled.
Mash tensed instantly. I stood up, helping Mash to her feet; she recovered her shield from the ground in a fluid motion and positioned herself between the voice and me. I turned to see Sukuna approaching us. He had put the upper part of his kimono back on (or had materialized it with shadows, I was never sure) and walked with that predatory arrogance that was so natural to him.
"The thirty minutes are up," he announced, looking at the dark sky with indifference. "I hope you've finished with your little emotional therapy session. Because it's time to move. Chaldea won't take long to realize their lab rats have disappeared from the radar."
"I understand," I said with a sigh; then I looked toward where Gudako slept peacefully. "Do we wake her up?" I asked.
Sukuna shook his head.
"Let her sleep," he ordered. "Her body has been through significant trauma. Rest will help in her recovery. We'll carry her."
I nodded, approaching my sister and gently lifting her in my arms. She was lighter than I remembered, or maybe the adrenaline of the situation was giving me extra strength.
"Where are we going?" I asked, returning to my position behind Mash. I wanted to put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, but I couldn't do it while carrying my sister.
"Far," Sukuna responded, cryptic. "To a place where I can work on your souls without interruptions and where we can prepare the next step... but first, we need to make sure the journey is discreet. My barrier blocked tracking here, but the moment we fly out on Nue, we'll be visible to anyone with decent eyes or magical sensors."
"So... what do we do?" I asked, looking at the barrier rising above us. Mash also looked at the barrier with a thoughtful frown.
Sukuna smiled and his four eyes narrowed with amusement.
"Sorcery, of course."
He raised a hand and, out of nowhere, three strips of paper appeared. They looked like ancient ofudas, talismans written with red ink that glowed with an ominous light. The characters weren't normal Japanese kanji; they seemed more ancient, primitive, vibrating with that strange cursed magical energy.
"What are those?" Mash asked curiously.
"Talismans," Sukuna responded, his tone adopting a touch of arrogance that was becoming familiar. "Specifically, concealment and perception diversion talismans."
He handed one to each of us—to me, to Mash, and gently placed the third in Gudako's jacket pocket without waking her. The paper adhered to her skin and then became ethereal before disappearing from view.
"Concealment talismans?" I repeated, examining the paper carefully. The symbols were intricate, reminding me of the seals I had seen Abe-no-Seimei and other sorcerers use, but there was something different about these. Though I didn't know what exactly.
"They won't make us literally invisible," Sukuna explained, clearly enjoying our confusion. "That would be too obvious and easy to detect for any Servant with decent perception abilities. Instead, these talismans do something more subtle and, frankly, more effective."
He paused dramatically, and I could swear I saw a flash of genuine amusement in his eyes.
"They alter perception," he continued. "They make anyone who looks at us simply... lose interest. Their eyes will slide over us without registering us as anything important. Their minds will rationalize our presence as something mundane and not worthy of attention. It's as if we become part of the background—technically visible, but completely forgettable. So don't do stupid things. If you stand in front of someone, they'll see you."
Both Mash and I looked at him with genuine surprise.
"That's... incredibly sophisticated," I said, unable to hide my astonishment. "I didn't know you could do something like that. I thought your specialty was destruction and combat."
"Don't look at me like that, brat," Sukuna mocked, walking toward us. Then he smiled and, to my surprise, it wasn't his usual cruel and sadistic smile. This was different. More... proud. Almost cheerful. "Though I'll let it pass since... I suppose you idiots have only seen my work with combat techniques so far. Dismantle, Cleave, my shikigamis, my domain expansion... all impressive tools for killing. But I'm not a one-trick pony, children."
He crossed his arms, clearly enjoying the opportunity to show off.
"My title in the Heian Era wasn't just 'King of Curses,'" he continued. "I was also known as the greatest sorcerer of my time. And that wasn't just for my brute strength or my combat techniques, although those certainly helped cement my reputation."
He gestured toward the talismans in our hands.
"Sorcery—true sorcery, not just throwing cursed or magical energy and hoping for the best—requires understanding. It requires study, practice, refinement. It requires knowing not just how to do something, but why it works, what fundamental principles underlie the technique."
His smile widened.
"I mastered barrier techniques, anti-domain techniques, sealing techniques, techniques for attracting curses... practically any branch of jujutsu sorcery that existed in my time, I studied and perfected it. These talismans are just a simple example of that knowledge."
I looked at the paper in my hand with new respect. This represented centuries of knowledge and skill distilled into a simple symbol.
Mash hesitated a second, looking at me. I nodded. She placed the paper on her chest. Like with Gudako, the talisman glowed briefly with a reddish light and vanished, merging with her clothes.
I did the same. I felt a strange sensation of cold run through my body, as if I had been submerged in icy water for an instant, and then... silence. Not auditory silence, but a kind of existential silence. Something in my mind recognized it and I was curious about how these things work.
"And you?" I asked. "Don't you need one?"
Sukuna snorted.
"I am the source of the spell. I can hide my own presence without needing little pieces of paper. This is for you, who are beacons of magical incompetence."
He straightened up, admiring his work with arrogant satisfaction.
"So," Mash said slowly, also looking at her hands with astonishment, "How much knowledge do you have?"
"Now, wouldn't you like to know that?" Sukuna smiled mockingly, using that arrogant tone that somehow managed to be both irritating and impressive at the same time. "Though I admit that many of those techniques consume much more time and energy than I can afford to waste in our current situation. That's why I'm limiting myself to simple and efficient things like these talismans."
I found myself smiling slightly despite the gravity of our situation. There was something almost... refreshing about Sukuna's shameless arrogance. He wasn't trying to be humble or pretend to be something he wasn't. He simply stated his abilities with total confidence.
"Well," I said, carefully folding the talisman and putting it in my pocket, "I guess it's good to know we have more resources than I thought. Thank you, Sukuna."
He looked at me, and for a moment, I thought I saw something like surprise cross his features. As if he hadn't expected genuine gratitude.
"Don't thank me yet," he finally said, his tone returning to its usual indifference. "These talismans will only give us a marginal advantage. If Chaldea really concentrates on finding us, they eventually will. But at least this should buy us some time."
"Time we desperately need," Mash added, smiling softly, and I couldn't help but feel satisfied... my talk with her had helped her somehow.
"Exactly," Sukuna agreed. "Now, stop wasting time with unnecessary conversation. We have to cover as much ground as possible before dawn."
He gestured with his hand, and the shadows at his feet stirred violently. Nue emerged again, this time larger than before, its orange feathers almost glowing in the darkness, static electricity running through its wings.
"Get on." Sukuna ordered. "Mash, you carry the redhead. Ritsuka, hold on tight and try not to fall off. I'm not going to turn around if you slip."
Mash looked at me before dematerializing her shield, then took Gudako easily from my arms, carrying her on her shoulder, and climbed onto the Shikigami. I followed her, sitting behind her and making sure I had a good grip on the creature's electrified fur (which surprisingly didn't electrocute me, thanks to Sukuna's control).
Sukuna jumped to the front with a fluid grace that made it seem effortless, taking the leadership position on Nue's neck.
"Ready?" Sukuna asked without looking back.
"As ready as we can be," I responded.
"Not for nothing," he said, turning his head slightly to look at us with that smile full of sharp teeth, "but you should feel honored. Not just anyone receives personalized protection from the King of Curses."
"Just get us out of here, Sukuna," I said, tired but determined.
He let out a short, dry laugh. "Hold on."
With a powerful beat of its electric wings, Nue rose into the air. The barrier that Sukuna had established around the island didn't interfere with our exit—it had been designed to repel the Haze and block surveillance, not to trap us inside.
As we rose higher and higher, I looked back one last time at the desolate island where we had spent the last half hour. From above, it seemed even smaller and more insignificant—just another mass of rock and ice in the middle of the vast ocean.
But it had been the place where Sukuna had cut the Haze connections, where he had begun the process of freeing us. Where Mash and I had had that conversation that, despite being painful, had felt like the first real step toward healing.
Thank you, I thought, not completely sure to whom I was thanking. The universe, fate, or maybe even Sukuna despite everything.
I looked down, seeing how the waves passed at a dizzying speed. We were fleeing. We were wounded, traumatized and in the company of a monster.
But we were alive. And as long as I was alive, there was hope.
Then I turned forward, looking toward the horizon where the night sky was beginning to show the first barely perceptible touches of light that preceded dawn.
We were still in danger. We were still being hunted. We still had to find a way to completely purge the Haze from the souls of Mash, Gudako and any other victims we could save.
But for the first time since all this horror had begun, I felt something like hope.
We had a plan, however unstable it was. We had Sukuna, however complicated that arrangement was. And most importantly, we had each other.
As Nue carried us toward an unknown destination, I tightened my grip on Gudako and felt how Mash leaned slightly against me seeking support.
We're going to survive this, I promised myself. We're going to find a way to win. And we're going to reclaim Chaldea from whoever is behind this corruption.
No matter what it costs.
The wind howled around us as we flew toward the fading night, leaving behind the small island and Sukuna's protective barrier. Ahead lay uncertainty, danger and challenges I could barely imagine.
But ahead also lay the possibility of salvation. Of redemption. Of healing.
And that, I decided, was enough to keep going.
For now, it was more than enough.
.
.
.
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