Twenty-four hours.
That's all I had to make a decision that would define the rest of my life.
I stared at the parchment on my lap. Purple ribbon. Elegant script. A contract written by the devil himself.
'Become a weapon, or become a target.'
Those were my only choices.
Rustle—
I set the document aside and swung my legs over the edge of the hospital bed. My body protested immediately—muscles screaming, nerves firing warning shots through my limbs.
"Guh—!"
Crack!
Pain lanced through my shoulder. I gritted my teeth, waiting for it to pass.
Huff... huff...
Breathing was still difficult. Each inhale felt like swallowing broken glass.
But I couldn't just lie here. Not with this hanging over me.
Tap. Tap.
My bare feet hit the cold linoleum floor. The chill shot up through my legs, making me shiver.
Shhh—
I shuffled toward the window, one hand braced against the wall for support. The hospital gown felt too thin, too exposed.
Outside, the academy grounds stretched out beneath a gray sky. Students walked between buildings, laughing, talking. Normal lives. Normal problems.
'I'll never have that, will I?'
The thought settled in my chest like a stone.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
My reflection stared back at me from the glass. Bandages. Hollow eyes. I looked like a corpse that forgot to stay dead.
"Twenty-four hours..."
What would I even do with that time? Run? Mephisto said he had eyes everywhere. And even if I could escape True Cross Academy, where would I go?
Back home? To parents who didn't know their son could see Curses and hunt demons?
To Jujutsu High early? They'd just hand me over to the Zenin clan. A runaway with the Ten Shadows technique—I'd be dragged back in chains.
'There's no escape.'
I pressed my forehead against the cool glass.
Thunk.
"Damn it..."
The words came out weak. Pathetic.
I hated this. Hated being cornered. Hated having my choices stripped away.
But what I hated most?
The fact that part of me... wanted to accept.
Training. Resources. Protection.
Everything Mephisto offered was exactly what I needed. What I'd been desperately lacking since I discovered my cursed energy a month ago.
'But at what cost?'
Becoming someone's weapon. A tool to be used and discarded.
Just like—
Crack—
My hand clenched involuntarily. Blue-white sparks danced across my knuckles.
Ssszzzt—
I forced my fingers to relax. The lightning faded.
'Control. I need control.'
That's what this all came down to, wasn't it? Power without control was just a disaster waiting to happen.
Kamiki had said it herself: Ignorant power is the worst kind.
Buzzzzz.
The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, steady and uncaring.
I turned away from the window.
'If I'm going to make this decision, I need to know what I'm actually capable of.'
The Ten Shadows. Heavenly Disaster: Yin Lightning.
Two techniques that I barely understood, let alone mastered.
One month. That's all the time I'd had with them. And in that month, I'd nearly killed myself twice.
'Not exactly a glowing track record.'
But if I was going to survive—whether as Mephisto's weapon or on my own—I needed to get stronger.
Fast.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I made my way back to the bed and grabbed the parchment.
Rustle—
The contract felt heavier than before. Or maybe that was just the weight of what it represented.
I read through it carefully this time.
"Training regimen customized to individual capabilities..."
"Access to restricted archives and resources..."
"Assignments to be completed at the discretion of Mephisto Pheles..."
"Termination clause: Breach of contract results in immediate memory suppression and technique sealing..."
My eye twitched at that last part.
"Of course there's a termination clause."
This wasn't just a contract. It was a leash.
But...
'What other choice do I have?'
Twelve hours passed in a blur of restless thoughts and fitful sleep.
When I woke, it was dark outside. The hospital room was quiet except for the steady beep of the IV machine.
Beep... beep... beep...
I sat up slowly, testing my body's limits.
The pain was still there, but duller now. Manageable.
Shoko's Reverse Cursed Technique was no joke. I'd been half-dead twelve hours ago. Now I could at least move without wanting to scream.
Rustle—
I pulled out the IV needle with a wince.
Drip... drip...
A few drops of blood hit the floor before I pressed gauze against the puncture wound.
'Time to see what I can actually do.'
I couldn't make this decision blind. If Mephisto wanted a weapon, I needed to know what kind of weapon I'd be.
The hospital gown came off easily. Underneath, my clothes had been folded neatly on a chair—someone's idea of organization.
Swish—
I pulled on my shirt, then my pants. Every movement sent small jolts through my nerves, but I pushed through.
Finally dressed, I made my way to the door.
Creeeak—
It opened slowly, revealing an empty hallway. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting everything in harsh white.
Buzzzzz.
No nurses. No doctors. Just sterile silence.
'Convenient.'
I slipped out and headed for the nearest exit.
The training grounds were deserted at this hour.
Perfect.
I stood in the center of an open field, surrounded by trees on all sides. The moon hung low overhead, casting silver light across the grass.
Shhh—
A cold breeze cut through my shirt. I shivered but didn't move.
'Focus.'
I closed my eyes and reached inward, feeling for that familiar pulse of cursed energy.
Ba-dum.
There it was. Faint but present.
I let it flow through my body—slow at first, then faster. It moved like water through dry riverbeds, filling every channel and pathway.
Whoosh—
The air around me grew colder.
Moisture condensed from the atmosphere, tiny droplets forming and freezing mid-air.
Ice crystals hung suspended around me, each one crackling with blue-white lightning.
Ssszzzt—
[Heavenly Disaster: Yin Lightning]
This was my first technique. Dangerous. Unstable. A power that could freeze and electrify simultaneously.
I opened my eyes.
The world looked different now—sharper, clearer. Every molecule of moisture visible to my enhanced perception.
'Let's see how far I can push this.'
I raised my hand.
Crack—
The ice crystals shot forward, converging into a single point above my palm. They spun and merged, forming a jagged sphere of frozen lightning.
Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt!
The sphere pulsed with energy, growing larger with each rotation.
My arm trembled from the strain.
Huff... huff...
Breathing was getting harder again.
'More. I need more.'
I poured more cursed energy into it.
The sphere doubled in size.
Crack! Crack!
Fissures appeared along its surface, leaking electricity in wild arcs.
Ssszzzt! Ssszzzt!
'Almost there—'
CRACK!!
The sphere exploded.
BOOM!
I was thrown backward, slamming into the ground hard.
Thud!
"Gah—!"
Pain erupted across my back. My vision swam.
Huff... huff... huff...
I lay there, staring up at the sky, trying to remember how to breathe properly.
'Okay... note to self. Don't overcharge the lightning sphere.'
Slowly, painfully, I pushed myself upright.
My hands were smoking slightly, skin reddened from the backlash.
Sssss—
"Damn it..."
That was sloppy. Reckless.
But I'd learned something important: Yin Lightning had a threshold. Push past it, and it would explode in my face.
'What about the other one?'
I stood, brushing dirt off my clothes.
[Ten Shadows Technique]
This one was different. More controlled. More... precise.
I pressed my hands together, fingers forming the familiar hand sign.
Whoosh—
My shadow stretched beneath me, growing darker and deeper.
From within that darkness, something stirred.
Growl—
A low, rumbling sound.
Then they emerged.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
Divine Dogs. Two of them. White and black, with glowing eyes and fur that seemed to absorb light.
They materialized fully and sat at my sides, waiting.
"Good boys..."
I reached out to pat the white one's head.
Soft. Warm.
It leaned into my touch, tail wagging slightly.
Thump. Thump.
The black one huffed, clearly jealous.
I couldn't help but smile.
'These guys... they're reliable.'
But they weren't enough. Not for what was coming.
I dismissed them with a wave.
Whoosh—
They melted back into my shadow without complaint.
Now for the real test.
I reached into the darkness again, pulling out something different.
Shhhhk—
A long katana materialized in my hands.
The blade was black as midnight, with a subtle blue sheen running along its edge. The handle was wrapped in white cord, perfectly balanced.
This was my main weapon when using Ten Shadows.
Not the Divine Dogs.
Not the other shikigami.
This blade.
I gave it an experimental swing.
Whoosh!
The air split cleanly. No resistance.
'Perfect.'
I fell into a ready stance—left foot forward, blade held at mid-guard.
This was more familiar territory. Twenty years with a sword in my hand. That muscle memory didn't just disappear.
I moved.
Swish!
A horizontal slash.
Whoosh!
A vertical cut.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
Diagonal strikes, one after another, each one flowing seamlessly into the next.
My body remembered. Even after everything, it remembered.
But this wasn't just a normal katana.
I channeled cursed energy into the blade.
Hummm—
The weapon vibrated in my hands, the blue sheen growing brighter.
Then I activated Yin Lightning.
Crack!
Blue-white electricity surged along the blade's length, frost forming on the steel.
Ssszzzt—
The combination was volatile. Ice and lightning, bound together by cursed energy and channeled through a blade.
I swung at a nearby tree.
CRACK!!
The katana cut through the trunk effortlessly. Where the blade touched, the wood flash-froze and shattered, electrified fragments exploding outward.
BOOM!
The tree toppled.
Crash!
I stood there, breathing hard, staring at the destruction.
Huff... huff...
'This... this is what I'm capable of.'
Power.
Raw, uncontrolled, dangerous power.
Kamiki was right. I was a walking disaster.
But Mephisto... he wanted to turn that disaster into a weapon.
'Could he actually do it?'
Could anyone teach me to control this?
Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
My heart pounded in my chest.
I looked down at the katana in my hands. The lightning had faded, but frost still clung to the blade.
'If I accept his offer...'
I'd get the training I desperately needed.
But I'd also become his tool. His weapon to aim and fire.
'And if I refuse...'
The Zenin clan. Memory suppression. Technique sealing.
A different kind of imprisonment.
'Damn it...'
I dismissed the katana.
Whoosh—
It melted back into shadow.
I was back where I started. Trapped between two impossible choices.
But now, at least, I knew what I was choosing with.
Not just potential.
Actual power.
Dangerous, unstable, deadly power.
Sighhhh...
I exhaled slowly and looked up at the moon.
'Twelve hours left.'
Twelve hours to decide whether to become Mephisto's weapon...
Or face whatever hell waited on the other side.
Buzzzzz.
Somewhere in the distance, the academy's lights hummed on.
Unchanging.
Uncaring.
Just like my options.
I turned and walked back toward the hospital.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
By morning, I'd have my answer.
One way or another.
'What the hell am I supposed to do?'