Blinking at the scenery around me, I shrug and move to plop myself down on a stair. I appear to have been moved to a shrine atop a mountain. It's not too different from my home, which is rather surprising considering the supposed resident. So, figuring that these 'Mushin' are going to come to me, I just set myself down on the top step and wait.
I don't think Inari-sama teleported me here. Not as I know it anyway; it didn't feel like teleporting.
Wacky God Magic it is. I'll think about it when I'm strong enough to beat the answers out of Gods.
They can't all be like Inari-sama. That'd be amazing. I have no idea if it's even possible for me to reach her level. The scale is so absurd that I don't even feel the challenge. Because there isn't one.
But that just means I'm going to have to actually put in a serious effort if I ever want to match her. Which I do, but I can wait a few hundred years for that. There's still a lot to see before then, and I don't want to skip too many steps.
I already missed out on enough just from the get-go.
Regardless, I don't know how long I'm supposed to wait here, so I wind up thinking about Jujutsu to pass the time, as per usual. Specifically, I think back to what Kamo-Sensei said, about Spells just being shitty Techniques.
Specifically, it's what he said about everything being a Ritual. The essence, as far as I can see it, is that an Innate Technique is as powerful as it is because one's entire existence is a component of the Ritual itself. A spiritual weight. Even more beyond, really.
Everything from your parents' bloodlines to their lives that led them to meet to your conception itself and then your birth and all the formative years of your life. Everything, down to a person's very base nature, is all considered as a part of the Ritual for their Innate Technique. It all has significance that culminates together.
So, if we were to expand further on the idea of the Ritual being the most base part of turning a Spell into something powerful enough to be used against an Innate Technique, then two things really need to be considered. The first is just how many Rituals I can fit into a single Spell. The second is how many Rituals of actual power can be used.
The former I would imagine that plenty of Sorcerers have tried out over the years. Kamo-Sensei was very clear that they've been trying to make Spells viable for a long time. The only advantage I have over the entire history of Jujutsu is that I'm better than all of them.
So quantity isn't where I'm going to find the answer, though it is certainly something to be considered anyway. But more as a base than as the main ingredient.
So what Rituals are powerful?
Anything with a weight to it. Spiritually, symbolically, even just personally. Permanent ones, like giving up an ability forever or the ability to laugh. Life and Death are of course both powerful. It's hard to get more meaningful than them, really. Love and Hate are pretty strong too, though perhaps I'm a tad bias in saying that Love is the stronger of them.
I know a certain someone that'd disagree.
Which is where a certain thought comes to mind. Life and Death are the most powerful components to use in a Ritual for sure, but it's pretty tough to use both of them at the same time. You kinda have to pick. Which gives me an idea.
"Divine Dog," I intone, summoning my furry companion. "Go fetch."
The big scary wolf gives a happy wamf! And disappears into the surrounding woods.
In essence, it's all about give and take. To gain, there must be loss. But it has to be meaningful. It's not a sacrifice if you're happy to give it up.
Divine Dog returns soon enough. Emerging from my shadow like some kind of cryptid, and within his maw? A struggling and panicking little deer.
I lurch forward without hesitation and wrap my arms around its neck while dissolving the Shikigami. I can feel its panic, and I do my best to calm it.
"Shh shh shhhh, it's okay," I whisper to the animal, projecting myself as clearly as I can. I know the words won't hold any meaning, but I feel for its tiny, scared little mind and I brush against it. Pressing my very 'self' outwards as honestly as I can, and to my great delight, the deer does calm. In time, it goes from panicking and thrashing to pushing its head against my chest. Safe. Affectionate. "There there little guy."
I help the deer down as I return to sitting. It's clearly crashing a bit from the burst of adrenaline, so I pull it with me until it is lying down, head resting on my lap. My hand reaches into my shadow and pulls out some berries that my Shikigami saw in the forest and I feed the little guy a few. He's so cute. It feels familiar to do so. It feels like home, and I feel that same affection from this deer as I remember from those at my home.
It doesn't feel like a stranger. The way it pushes its head against my chest, it is as if it is greeting a friend, not a stranger. It's odd, but nice.
I don't know when the Mushin are set to arrive, but they're sure taking their time. So I decide then and there that I might as well see if I can make a Spell in the meantime.
So what comes first? The medium, of course. Usually wood or paper, where the Rituals would be in the preparation of the Talisman, of the care and Rituals given to the trees before they are turned into materials. Of the daily prayers and spiritual ceremonies.
Innate Techniques are able to be so powerful in part because the medium they are expressed through is so seeped in Ritual. In meaning. No amount of ceremony could match the spiritual weight of life itself.
So if I want to make a Spell, then why not just use my own body as the medium? I doubt I'm the first to have the thought, but that doesn't mean it's not the right path.
After that comes the 'ink'. In this case, it will be blood. Blood by itself already has spiritual and symbolic significance, but the choice of using a deer's blood isn't random. I Love deer, they're my favourite animal. They remind me of home, and so it is significant to use a deer's blood. It means something. Add the death of the deer to harvest the blood, and there is even more significance.
Because I do not want to kill a deer.
But Kamo-Sensei's words still ring in my ears.
The closest he's found to success is implanting the Spell in the newborn within the womb. Gross as fuck, but it's what gave me the idea.
Life and Death. Death alone isn't enough, there needs to be more.
So, I turn to the deer and raise its head so I might meet its beady little eyes. I feel its small mind locked on to me, its attention a simple thing, but still precious to me all the same.
"I have an unreasonable request to make of you," I say.
I know it's just an animal. It can't really understand my words. But it isn't a blank existence. I can feel its comprehension even as the words flow in one ear and out the other. It can understand me well enough when I projects my intentions so sincerely. It's like conversation through empathy.
"Will you die for me? Give me your life and your everything?"
The deer stares. I know it understands what I'm asking of it, even if it doesn't comprehend the words or the why. But I wait, because what I am looking for is not death. Not force. No.
I am looking for that cruellest choice of them all. Sacrifice.
It feels like hours that we simply stare into one another's eyes. Until eventually it pushes its head against my chest, and I feel acceptance.
I smile, though it is a sad smile. "Thank you."
I rise and move further into the shrine, so as to not be sitting on the stairs like a bum, and I drop to my knees in the centre of the front courtyard.
The deer walks after me, as if understanding exactly what I need of it as It drops to its belly right in front of me, head resting on my knees so that its snout presses against my belly.
"Are you sure?" I can't help but ask, and the deer merely closes its eyes, at peace.
Nodding once, I bring up my hands and push my kimono off of my shoulders, exposing my torso to cool, open air. Then, I take the deer's head and gently, delicately, I turn it enough to expose the neck.
One hand remains on the deer's head, providing what comfort it can, while the other presses gently against its neck.
"They say that blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb. Today, we test that, as I ask for blood freely given, neither stolen nor taken. I ask for Life to choose Death." My voice drops to a bare whisper as I finish the improvised aria, "I ask for all that you have to give and no more."
Shadows coil under my palm, as if excited by anticipation, but I hold them back until I feel something akin to consent emanate from the deer under my hand.
"Thank you."
My shadow juts forth like a thick syringe, jabbing into the deer's neck. The moment feels significant, as if the very air is weighted as I extract this deer's essence. I feel the energy in the atmosphere churning around us, like it can't decide if it wants to support or destroy what it sees.
The deer visibly dehydrates, like a scene straight out of The Mummy. In mere moments its bones become visible as if it had been starved, then even that falls away. Its fur all falls off near as one, and the skin is not far behind. All of it turns to dust in a macabre showing, and not a sound of complaint leaves the deer until all that remains is gleaming bone.
Bone, and a bright, glowing cylinder in my palm. Shining like a vial of transparent obsidian holding a vibrant crimson light in liquid form.
A tear leaves my eye as I smile, overjoyed and depressed, full of gratitude and grief.
I sit in silence for a moment. A brief moment to mourn the passing of Life unto Death.
But we're not done yet.
Using Death to enhance a Spell is definitely not anything new. But the point of this is to go farther than that. That's why I didn't only ask for Life. I asked for everything. And this deer gave it to me, willingly.
All that it was and could have been, held in the palm of my hand.
What a horrible sensation.
The shadow deforms, twisting into something resembling a dagger but still glowing radiant crimson. At the very tip of the blade, its sharpest point, crimson red wells up, a single droplet falling through a tiny opening.
I don't hesitate to bring the dagger to my skin. A bit of recklessness will only serve me well here. This is all about feeling. About spiritual meaning and symbolism. Cold calculation has no place here.
So I bring the dagger to my collarbone and I begin to carve. As my flesh breaks, I feel my own blood begin to mix with the deer's, and as the dagger moves on, they entwine together and become one. The wound I leave behind bleeds rivers as black as ink, shadow and blood becoming one and flowing down together.
I carve the wounds like antlers. From the centre of my chest and across my collarbone all the way to each shoulder at the tips.
A breath leaves me when I'm done. I can handle the pain easily enough, but it still hurts. The wounds still hurt as they bleed rivers of ink down my chest, staining my torso like dirty tear tracts.
I ignore it. My attention falls on the bones that remain, and with only a gesture, my shadow rises and curls around them. Gathering like a ball, a membrane. And then I squeeze and the shadow crushes. The deer's bones offer no resistance. They crumble to dust as if they want to. As if dust is what they wish to be, and so dust they become.
That bone dust, I gather. I pour it onto my hands and then I take a deep breath and take the final step, guided more by instinct and intuition tan any real plan.
Life to Death. Death to Life.
My hands slap against my collarbone and I grit my teeth as the bone burns like hot coals, fusing my skin closed like the world's worst cauterisation. It hurts. It hurts a surprising amount, but I don't let up. I rub the bone dust in, worse than salt in a wound. Grind it against where flesh had become blood and then become shadow, and then I spread it further along until eventually, there is none left to cover.
It feels as if my flesh is undulating. Like there is something moving beneath the skin I cannot see. But I recall Inari-sama's explanation of the afterlife and I don't hesitate to take this even further. There's no deep planning or consideration, that would only slow me down.
There is no thought, just feeling. It's refreshingly honest.
I speak. The words echo unnaturally. A Binding Vow more intense than anything I made with Kamo-Sensei. The sounds of the birds and the wind all fade away, as if the world itself wants to hear the words as they are spoken.
"From Life to Death. With Sacrifice willingly and knowingly given. I claim you to be me. By my own name alone, I free you from the Wheel of Samara and from the hands of Gods. In Death, you will only come to me, and so through Life, you shall be born anew as a piece of me. Be reborn in my service, follow my will as mine own flesh. Be reborn, as I name you Shikatsumi."
I feel an enormous, unfathomable presence brush against my mind. It is so vast that I can actually notice the difference between it and Inari-sama. But it is not crushing, not overwhelming like her. Instead, it feels... caring.
I find myself smiling without meaning to. I can recognise it, this time. This time it does not feel so vague.
Hello, Samsara.
It does not respond, not in words. Instead, I feel it reach for me, a tether in its metaphorical hand. Held out as if in offering. A passing of something precious. I take it without thought, pulling the tether deep into myself and layering it over the wound in my chest from the inside.
It burns. A boiling, scalding heat as if a branding. But almost as soon as it comes, the sensation fades and my eyes snap open. I hadn't realised they were closed. The weight of the Wheel of Samsara's overwhelming presence fades away with a feeling somehow akin to a proud pat on the back that has me grinning from ear to ear.
In its place, all that remains is that tiny tether branded into my flesh, and I look down at myself to see that the crying valley carved into my chest is no more. Instead, there is only a long pair of antlers staining my skin like a tattoo. And I can feel it. Within the tattoo, calling out to me through waves of feeling. Of contentment and safety and home.
That tiny little mind of Shikatsumi, bound now to me instead of the Cycle of Reincarnation.
Eternity traded away just for a single lifetime by my side.
I smile, and tears fall anew from my eyes, so full of effervescent joy that Shikatsumi would make that choice.
Good luck getting more spiritual and symbolic than that, I think with vindication, even though I have no one to be vindicated from in this.
A Ritual involving willing sacrifice, rebirth and a permanent connection. Life, Death, Permanence. The three strongest forms of Ritual all in one, bundled up with everything else.
I'm not sure if this counts as fatherhood or not, since I am technically Shikatsumi's father now, which is a weird thought. After all, I did exactly as Kamo-Sensei did. Technically.
Giving Shikatsumi life through my own flesh, even naming him, I've technically filled the same steps as using a pregnancy as the Ritual would go through.
Shaking that thought away, I press my mind against the connection that I can now feel up there. Like I've got a roommate now. Did I just give myself schizophrenia?
I feel Shikatsumi respond. Not with words, he's still just a deer. His mind isn't very developed, not compared to a human anyway. I'm sure he's very advanced for a deer.
He responds with feelings. They aren't particularly intense or motivating. A deer only wants what a deer wants. Food when it's hungry, sleep when it's tired, sex when it's mating season. Simple things.
So he does not speak to me. He just feels.
Safety. Comfort. Family.
I smile some even more at that, and I push back my own feelings. Love. Joy. Welcome.
A snort leaves me, totally ruining the moment as I have a stupid thought.
"It's like that thing," I say into the air, before changing my voice into a mock-deep. "Inside of me there are two wolves. One is a deer, the other is also a deer. Ignore the rest. Damn, I have a lot of animals inside of me... I am so glad no one heard me say that."
Shaking the silly thoughts away, I figure I should see if this even actually worked or not. I'll be keeping Shikatsumi regardless.
Normally, to cast a Spell one must write out the appropriate script, and then simply activate. For advanced user like myself, it's possible to write that script on the air with just Cursed Energy.
Waving a hand to the dirt bracketing this path to the shrine, I cast a simple Spell, and a small field of flowers grows from the dirt. That much is possible with just a normal Spell.
Were I to try growing a tree, then either it would be three inches tall or the Spell would just come undone in the air.
A hand brushes against the tattoo now emblazoned on my collar. It's surprisingly smooth, as if it has had time to heal. Well, if I ignore the drying and chunky blood still coating basically my entire torso, but that'll wash off.
I reach for my Cursed Energy, and instead of guiding it into a Spell formation, I guide it to the antlers on my collar.
I feel Shikatsumi respond to my prodding, and then I am caught entirely off-guard when my new tattoo flashes and a small, ethereal deer ghost flies out of my chest, floats around my head and lands on my shoulder.
...Huh.
Did I invent Pokémon by accident?
This isn't a Shikigami. I think I'm something of an expert in the field, so I can say that much definitively. This is not a Shikigami.
I don't really know what it is though. A Ghost? A Yūrei, I guess? Seems more like a Spirit than a Yōkai or Shikigami.
"Hey, Shikatsumi-kun, do you know what you are?" It can't hurt to ask.
Unfortunately, a question like that is too vague for him to understand it, so it only responds with a faint feeling of confusion/affection.
Smiling, I pet the tiny Spirit and am only a little bit surprised when my hand doesn't just phase straight through.
"Do you think we could grow a tree?" I ask again, and it pushes into me with confidence/eagerness.
Nodding my head and grinning at the little guy, I push more of my Cursed Energy through to him. I don't write any script or formula. Shikatsumi is the Spell script, and so my Cursed Energy flows through him and out into the world.
Where a normal Spell would fall, Shikatsumi does not. A tree starts to grow from the earth, sprouting before my very eyes. It's not particularly fast, certainly not quite viable in combat, but it is working.
The Spell is holding. My Cursed Energy isn't overwhelming it and Shika isn't pathetically weak.
I push more Cursed Energy in, and though I do feel Shika begin to waver, the tree grows faster still.
A laugh bubbles its way up my throat and out into the world, endlessly giddy at such a strong opener. It'll need some fine-tuning, but I really think I've got something here. A way for anyone to wield Magic.
Through Shikatsumi, I've basically gained a really weak Nature Manipulation Technique, isn't that cool?
Two things do come to mind though. The first is that the sacrificial blood being willingly given is likely more important than I'd have thought it would have been, because Shikatsumi is so clearly still here. I don't get the feeling that he'd want to be very cooperative if he didn't choose this.
The second thing is that I'll likely have to narrow the scope a little. A lot, really, if I want to make this work.
That makes sense, and I really was being too vague with Shika. I'm trying to make Spells here, not Techniques, though that is cool too.
So next time, I think I'll find something like a bat, maybe. Then instead of turning it into a Spell that compounds its entire existence, I'll try and narrow it down some. Sacrifice all the rest in exchange for just the echolocation. Or a sonic attack or something. Just a single ability per tattoo.
That way they should have some actual oomph to them. Because as versatile as nature manipulation is, it's not very useful in a fight if it takes a whole minute just to grow a normal tree.
It's still cool though, so I'm not going to get rid of Shika.
Besides, I get the feeling that these Spells will be ale to grow with time. That probably won't be relevant for most people, but I plan to live a long life. So what will Shika look like a century from now? Will he develop enough that I will actually just have a Nature Manipulation equivalent on hand?
That'd be awesome. I'd be like a Technique merchant or something.
"Hm?"
I tilt my head and turn away from the new tree and my thoughts. Shika fades away, returning to my flesh the moment I stop feeding him Cursed Energy.
My eyes turn to the horizon, as I feel something weird. I don't know how to describe it. It's like...
I really don't know how to describe it.
Kind of like Positive Energy? Not really. It's more like Positive Energy than it is like Cursed Energy, but that hardly narrows tings down.
It's... Thicker? Than Positive Energy? Maybe rigid would be a better descriptor? Yeah, I nod at the thought. Rigid feels right.
It's kind of like Positive Energy, but it doesn't flow the same. It feels more structured. Orderly. As if it was designed by a will instead of simply being present with the world.
It's also coming this way at quite the steady clip. Is this the Mushin I've been waiting for?
I remain seated in the courtyard as I wait for them to close in. I'm not left waiting long.
My jaw drops.
Is that a fucking Angel?!? Like from the Bible?!? Thank God they aren't biblically accurate, literally. Wait no, a biblically accurate Angel would be awesome. Tsk, my excitement has plunged.
There are four of them. Humanoids of actually impossible beauty, carried on the air by feathery wings of pure snow white. Three of them have six wings and the one in the lead has eight. I have no idea if there is any significance to that, but I'm going to guess that there is.
Also, there is a barrier around this shrine. It basically says to anyone with eyes, 'go away, this is sacred grounds, entry will be punished by Divine Retribution.'
These fellows broke through the barrier without even slowing. They didn't even drop from the sky and walk up the stairs like you're supposed to, which I honestly do find a little bit upsetting. It's disrespectful. Like trekking mud into someone else's house.
"Yo!" I call out to the Angels once they get close enough. Waving an arm in greeting. They all look at me, but none say anything. "Hey, are you lot ever called Mushin? Because I'm supposed to be here waiting for some Mushin? I'm assuming that's you since you just broke into the shrine I'm supposed to be guarding. I wanna be sure though, y'know?!"
Eyes are narrowed, but in that kind of way where you know the one doing the narrowing thinks that they are above you. They look at me like I'm an unruly child running around an art gallery trying to touch everything you're not allowed to touch.
It's kind of annoying. Also kind of funny, so I give them a pass.
"What shall we do, Bezaliel?" One of the three female Angels present asks the leader. She doesn't bother lowering her voice at all, as if I am so inconsequential that it doesn't matter if I hear.
These guys are pretty uptight, huh? Also, I'm kinda surprised by the gender ratio. Three women to one man. Well, I suppose it might not even matter. I have no idea if Angels are just barbie and ken dolls down there or not. Do thy even have genders?
"Adriel," the leader guy begins, his tone one of soft chiding. "One must stand ever prepared, open with heart, for The Father calls upon us to bear salvation to the wandering lambs of His lost flock."
What?
Then Mr Bezaliel's attention falls on me, and his eyes seem calm but his attention feels condescending.
"Stand aside, lost lamb of His great flock. You are lost, but have now been found. Stand aside as we, humble servants of the Most Holy God, fulfil the Will of the Creator, and you may join your brothers and your sisters within his loving embrace, poor, savage child."
...Que?
I blink. Just.. stunned.
Also savage? Is that because of all the blood? Because that's just bad timing.
"So uhhh, thanks for the offer? I suppose? But I'm Shinto." Damn, it feels weirdly good to say that. "I have my God and she is not your father. My God is far cuter. Also, this is a Shinto shrine in Shinto lands. I don't think I'm the one that's lost."
"I see," Bezaliel replies, seeming to genuinely mourn. For all of a few seconds anyway. "Then I shall pray that your ignorant soul may find embrace within His loving arms in death, for our mission is too important to allow delay. May you be at peace, knowing that your death is Just."
Damn, that is some confidence right there. This dude should be a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Though, I guess it's probably all the same right? If what I was feeling that is similar to Positive Energy was in fact Faith or Holy Energy or some such thing, then it'd make sense. My Faith in myself makes me stronger, so his Faith in God makes him strong?
That makes about as much sense as anything else. Also, I sure hope that the Biblical God isn't as omnipotent as omnipotent implies, because I am totally about to murder some Angels and I somehow don't think He'd still be preaching forgiveness about that.
Or maybe He would? I don't know, I've never met the guy. Or girl, who knows. Maybe He's a ken doll too.
Why does 'he' keep sounding weird when I'm thinking about God? He he He he He he. This is weird. It's like the word gets capitalised whenever its referring to God. I don't know how I feel about that.
No, I know. It's impressive as Yomi. I'm impressed. And Jealous. i wanna be capitalised.
Absently, I slap a spear of pure Light out of the air instead of letting it pierce my chest.
Right, probably shouldn't get lost in thought.
Turning back to the Angels, I see their pinched expressions. Not because what I just did was scary, but because I didn't die.
It takes me a second, but I remember that my Cursed Energy is sneaky.
Right. They probably thought I was just some guy, in which case that spear would have killed me for sure.
"Yeah, sorry but I'm actually stronger than you," I don't know how strong they are, I'm just assuming. "So that isn't gonna work."
There are some glances exchanged, concern heard and comforted, and then Bez....
...I forgot.
Bez-chan returns his attention to me, face solemn. Well, they kinda always seem solemn to be honest.
"We have already reached our objective," he says, speaking to the others while keeping an eye on me. So he's at least not stupid. "We can afford to be caught now, so long as we make haste."
"You mean to release our limiters?" Addy-chan, whatever her name is, sounds almost insulted by the idea. I'm not sure if I should be insulted by that or not.
"Yes. We must not fail Him. I shall apologies, child. You do not deserve this fate, for your only crime is ignorance of His guiding hand. But if thou shalt stand opposed to the Lord, then I shall strike you down."
As he speaks, arcs of golden energy erupt from him, bouncing over his body like static. His fellow Angels all follow suit, releasing what I can only assume were some manner of stealth seal on their power.
I find myself surprised once again by the auras that fall down on me. Because each of the six-winged Angels feel almost as strong as Setsura, and she's one of the strongest people I've met so far.
But Bez-chan really steals the show, because he's even stronger than Setsura. He's stronger than anyone I've met below Ultimate-class.
He feels like he might actually be as strong as I am. At least close to it, anyway.
I feel a grin start to grow as I just enjoy the sensation.
I don't fail to notice that this fight has been dropped on my lap literally the same day as I got so disappointed by my fellow Sorcerers. I can't help but feel suspicious that Inari-sama planned it this way.
"Goodbye, lost lamb."
I turn my head up at Bez-chan's words and the accompanying spear of Light, and then I smirk and I speak a single word.
"Kon."
///
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
I wrote half this chapter on a train so if I didn't make the moment feel immersive enough, then that's why, and the rest was rushed as I'm both tired and apparently expected to get up at 8am, which I was not informed of until 10pm, an hour and a half ago. So imma go beddy bies now :P
(Also, google Bezaliel. I did a funny :))