"Some people see curses. Others see through them."
---
Tokyo Jujutsu High — Midnight
The moonlight barely reached the training grounds. Trees cast jagged shadows across the cobblestones. The silence of the night was occasionally broken by the sound of distant laughter from inside the dorms—other students, still awake, still living normal cursed lives.
Sora Kazehaya stood alone, facing a wooden training dummy.
He wasn't training.
He was watching his own shadow.
It moved when he didn't.
It pulsed.
---
> "You're getting louder," Sora whispered.
A silence answered him—but it wasn't empty. It was full. Full of whispers. Emotions that didn't belong to him. Fear. Apathy. Hunger.
Shōkyo, the Hollow Star, stirred inside his chest.
It didn't speak in words.
It pressed against his mind like a fog trying to become real.
His eyes glowed faintly under the moonlight.
He blinked—and for a second, everything around him turned black. Trees melted into darkness. Stones turned to dust. The moon vanished.
Then—
> "Hey! You spacing out again, Void Boy?"
A voice cut through the void.
Sora blinked again—and the world snapped back.
A girl stood across the courtyard, one hand on her hip, the other tossing a pebble into the air like a coin. Her uniform was modified—no sleeves, combat wraps on her arms, and a metal blindfold over her eyes.
---
Sora didn't move.
Rei whistled. "Wow, so you can hear people. Was starting to think your brain had fully evaporated."
"…You're loud," he muttered.
"Yeah, and you're creepy. Anyway, Gojo sent me."
Sora looked away.
"I don't need a babysitter."
"Well, tough luck," she said, walking up and jabbing a finger into his chest. "You erased two curses in one day and collapsed. That makes you officially grounded. Or... partnered."
"…Partnered?" His voice darkened slightly.
"Yup. You and me. New assignment. We're leaving at dawn."
---
She handed him a mission slip.
> Cursed Activity Detected – Osaka District
Grade: Unclassified
Witness Reports: Sudden emotional collapse, suicides, memory loss.
Notes: Suspected interference from Shadowborne Cult.
Sora narrowed his eyes.
> "Shadowborne..."
"Yeah," Rei said. "You've heard of them?"
"Only rumors. A cult that believes cursed energy is holy. That it comes from divine suffering."
"Sounds fun, right?" she said, deadpan. "They worship the thing inside you, by the way. The Hollow Star. Shōkyo, right?"
Sora flinched.
Rei caught it and grinned.
"Bingo. Looks like I hit a nerve."
---
He folded the paper and turned away.
"I don't care about cults."
"Yeah? Well they care about you. A lot. And I don't think they want to give you a birthday cake."
Sora's jaw clenched. He hated this—being observed. Prodded. Labeled. Even by another sorcerer. Especially one with sight like hers.
He began to walk away.
Rei followed.
"So, what's it like?" she asked suddenly. "Having a curse live inside you? Does it whisper? Moan? Beg for blood?"
Sora stopped walking.
Then looked over his shoulder.
"…It's not noise," he said.
"It's silence. But it stretches. It… wants."
Rei raised an eyebrow. "That's cryptic as hell."
"I know."
---
They walked side by side toward the dorms.
Rei finally asked, "What happens if you lose control?"
Sora answered without looking at her.
> "Then the world forgets it ever existed."
---
The Next Morning — Shinkansen to Osaka
The train was nearly empty.
Rei munched chips while balancing her sword on her lap.
Sora sat across from her, staring out the window, headphones in—but no music playing. He was listening. Always listening.
Rei tilted her head. "So, serious question."
He looked at her.
"If I get possessed by some crazy shadow curse out there... will you erase me?"
Sora blinked once.
Then: "Yes."
Rei stared, then burst out laughing.
"Damn, you're cold."
"You asked."
"I like you already."
---
The train passed through a tunnel—and the light flickered.
For just a second, Sora saw his reflection in the glass.
Only it wasn't his reflection.
It had no eyes.
And it was smiling.
---