Taotie pushed open the heavy door of the morgue and stepped into the cool Tokyo night, the city lights sprawling before him like a buffet laid out under the stars.
The air was thick with the distant hum of traffic, the faint scent of rain on concrete, and an ever-present low pulse of cursed energy that seemed to blanket this modern world like an invisible sauce.
He paused on the sidewalk for a moment, inhaling deeply, his scarred body soaking in sensations of freedom after centuries spent in darkness and hunger.
Kurogane followed closely behind, his tattered robes whispering against the pavement as he maintained a respectful distance, scanning the empty street to ensure no one had noticed their exit from the building.
Taotie closed his eyes briefly, reaching out with his senses. A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face as a full picture unfolded in his mind: nineteen more Fangs scattered across the city and beyond, each one a piece of his power calling out to be reclaimed.
Beyond them pulsed twenty familiar little toys belonging to his brother, Sukuna's fingers sealed away somewhere in the night like forgotten snacks on a distant shelf.
The game had only just begun, yet Taotie could already feel the first stirrings of a deep, gnawing hunger building within him, an insatiable need that no mere morgue attendant could ever hope to satisfy.
He strolled down a quiet side street, his bare feet slapping against the cool pavement as Kurogane hurried to keep pace beside him.
The city pulsed with life in a way the Heian Era never had, alive with bright signs, distant sirens, and an undercurrent of fear that humans carried with them in this new age.
Taotie flexed his fingers as he walked, testing how his body responded after the long seal. Cursed energy flowed through him like warm blood returning to numbed limbs. It wasn't full strength yet, far from it but the small amount of energy he'd drawn from the morgue attendant was already working its magic, knitting together old wounds with a soft internal warmth that left his skin smoother and faded bite scars into something almost artistic.
He felt the power settling within him; the faint red glow of those scars dimmed into elegant patterns tracing across his chest and arms like ancient markings of consumption.
Kurogane watched him closely as they walked, finally speaking in a low, measured tone. "My lord, these streets are not like those you once knew. There are eyes everywhere, cameras and people who would call the authorities at any sign of something unnatural. I have a safe house prepared just a few blocks away, but if you wish to test your strength before we go there, I can guide you to places where no one important will notice. Low-grade curses have been gathering in alleys near old warehouses, and there are always street thugs who think they own the night. They would make suitable first bites, nothing too heavy, just enough to sharpen your edge."
Taotie chuckled softly at that; his laughter echoed down the empty street like a promise of things to come. "You really do think like a chef already, don't you? Pointing me toward the pantry before I even ask, I like it! Lead the way then; let's see what this new world has to offer a hungry king. I've been sealed for a thousand years; my body feels like it's been sleeping in too small a box. I need to stretch out, taste life again, to remember what it means to move and hunt without chains holding me back."
They turned down a narrower alley lined with overflowing dumpsters and flickering neon signs from the main road; shadows deepened as city noise faded behind them.
A group of four street thugs lounged against walls halfway down the passageway, cigarettes glowing in the dark as they passed around a bottle while laughing about some fight they'd won earlier that night.
They glanced up as Taotie and Kurogane approached, their expressions shifting from casual boredom to wary aggression at the sight of the tall, scarred man walking barefoot in tattered rags left over from his unsealing.
One of them, a broad-shouldered guy with tattoos snaking across his neck, stepped forward and sneered.
What are you two doing in our spot? This isn't a tourist area, freak. Get lost before we make you regret it."
Taotie halted a few feet away, tilting his head as he studied them with open curiosity, his red eyes gleaming in the dim light. "Listen to that, Chef. They think this alley is theirs, like they own the table and we're crashing their meal. How cute. Humans these days have really gotten bold, haven't they? Back in the Heian era, people like this would've offered themselves up as tribute the moment they sensed cursed energy in the air. But no, these ones want to play tough first. Fine by me; I could use a little warm-up before the real courses arrive."
With a lazy gesture, he raised one hand. Without warning, the air before him rippled like invisible teeth snapping shut. Gluttonous Rend activated at about thirty percentpower but was more than enough to slice cleanly through the nearest thug's arm as if something massive and invisible had bitten it off.
The man screamed and stumbled back, clutching his severed limb as blood sprayed across the alley wall.
His friends shouted and pulled out knives, charging forward in panic, but Taotie laughed again, this time louder, as the invisible teeth continued their work.
They sliced through another thug's leg and pulled away the severed pieces into a newly manifested mouth on Taotie's palm that swallowed them whole with wet satisfaction.
The energy from the thugs flowed into him immediately, a small but clean boost that healed his old womb wounds completelyand left his skin smooth except for new tattoo patterns glowing faintly red across his torso and shoulders, intertwined fangs and open mouths forming an ancient yet regal design.