The clearing stank of damp soil and rot.
Faint whispers swirled in the mist,curses, restless and hungry.
Roy swallowed hard, his fists tight at his sides, but his lips still twisted into that half grin.
Geto stood at the meadow's edge, arms folded.
His presence was calm, almost priest like, but the curses around them trembled as though leashed to him.
"You've fought curses before,"
Geto said.
"Weak ones. Strays. This will be different. These are mine. Stronger, sharper, disciplined. You'll learn the truth today, your life depends on it."
Roy cocked an eyebrow.
"So what, this is like… a pop quiz?"
"Think of it as baptism,"
Geto replied smoothly.
"If you survive, you're reborn."
Roy exhaled, muttering to himself,
'Okay. Trickster. Threadstep. Keep moving, make them see what isn't there.'
With a snap of Geto's fingers, three curses slithered from the mist.
One hulking mass of teeth and muscle, another thin and jointed like a mantis, and a third that looked almost human, save for the void where its face should have been.
Roy's grin sharpened.
"Alright then. Let's dance."
He flared his cursed energy, and the air shimmered.
Illusions cracked reality's surface, three duplicates of Roy blurred into existence, each taking a different stance.
The hulking curse roared and charged straight for one clone, smashing through it, but the second and third clones darted away, drawing the mantis thing's scythe like claws after them.
Meanwhile, Roy crouched low, pulling threads into existence under his feet.
The cursed energy buzzed hot in his veins.
One thread.
Two.
He launched himself sideways just as the faceless curse lunged.
The acceleration cracked the air, flinging him ten meters across the meadow.
His stomach twisted from the sudden force, but he didn't stop.
He sent another clone sprinting toward the faceless curse, baiting it into attacking nothing.
"Good,"
Geto's voice rang out, calm but sharp.
"You understand misdirection. But you hesitate to strike."
Roy grit his teeth, darting past the mantis curse with another thread step.
His fist grazed its carapace but barely scratched it.
The mantis whirled, claws slicing through an illusion, then through Roy's sleeve.
He barely pulled back, a red line blooming on his forearm.
"Dammit…"
He hissed, clutching the wound.
'Can't just play around. Gotta hit harder.'
He funneled more cursed energy into his real body, masking it with his clones.
The hulking curse barreled past him again, smashing dirt where his illusions had stood.
As it turned, Roy darted forward, thread launching him like a bullet.
He slammed his fist, this time enhanced with every drop of cursed energy he could muster into the side of the hulking curse's head.
The impact echoed like a hammer against stone.
The creature reeled, roaring, before collapsing into dust.
Roy stumbled back, gasping, sweat rolling down his temple.
"One down…"
Geto's expression shifted, faint approval hidden beneath that ever calm mask.
"Not bad. But you'll need far more than clever tricks and desperation. You'll need conviction."
The remaining curses circled Roy, restless and hungry still.
Roy's grin returned, though thinner now, weighed with exhaustion.
"Conviction, huh? Guess I'll have to fake it until I make it."
Geto's smirk was slight, but his eyes gleamed.
"Then let's see how long you can fake."