In the Academy as Sukuna

"To love is to wait, to suffer, and to believe—even when the world gives you every reason not to."

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(POV: Liam Amadeus)

(After the Tournament...)

"Black Flash!"

My eyes suddenly opened, my heart beating in my chest. I was in a dark room, a constant beep resounding in the silence.

My gaze went down to my hand, placed on the armrest of the wooden chair, placed next to a bed, I was sitting in. It was trembling.

Perspiration coated my forehead, the scene from the Tournament replaying in my mind endlessly, like a demonic chorus in my mind which I couldn't stop.

Sukuna.

The one who defeated me. It was the first time I had lost in a long time.

I sighed, leaning back on the chair, my eyes closing again as I tapped the armrest with my fingers, the sharp taps echoing in the confines of the room.

I had forgotten the feeling of losing... of being defeated... of not being the strongest. And it was weirdly... inspiring.

The way he moved, the way he attacked, the way he dodged, it was so... beautiful, almost as if he was not of this world.

That's right... he's not of this world. By this battle, I know... there are some heights that I will never reach.

"I lost," I muttered, leaning forward in the chair, my eyes slowly opening as I gazed at the person lying on the bed. "I lost, Sachi."

She didn't give any reaction, her body as lifeless as her eyes were. I could tell, even though they were closed.

Her skin was pale, but still beautiful, the intricate curves of her lips, the softness one could feel just from looking at her... it was all the same.

Men would kill for such a beauty, but obviously, I would feed them to eagles if they even dared to look at her.

She looked even more beautiful today... no, it was the whole world that looked more beautiful, more colorful.

That's not it either... it was my vision that had changed. I was... happy?

My hand went to her side, lifting the blanket slightly and groping its way to her hand, holding it tightly.

Our fingers interlocked... they were cold, so cold that one would mistake her for a corpse. Seeing her in this state, usually, sent a pang of pain through my heart. But today, I was excited... too excited.

"Your brother lost, Sachi, I was beat easily!" My voice rang out, echoing in the silent room.

The beeping of the machine connected to her was constant like always, her body motionless. But I knew she was listening... I knew.

"I fell to the ground helpless, while he stood there like he was swatting away a fly!" My grip on her hand tightened, my toes curling and uncurling in excitement as my face got closer to hers.

It was as if I was seeing the world in a new light, as if all the responsibilities placed on me were crumbling away.

"When I fought him..." I said, leaning away, pushing my excitement back down. "...I didn't think of you, nor did I think of anything else. I just fought."

My hand caressed hers like I usually did, as if trying to wake her up.

"I had fun," I muttered, a smile... a genuine one, forming on my face after a long time.

I almost teared up. Ever since this happened to her, had I ever been truly happy?

Suddenly, I felt a tug on my hand, my eyes shooting to her figure.

She... moved?

"D...Doc...tor," I muttered, my eyes wide in both shock as well as hope. This was the first reaction she had shown in months. "Doctor!"

Within a few seconds, a doctor, wearing a neat shirt rushed in, followed by a nurse, both staring at me.

"She... she moved." I managed to whisper out, tears forming in my eyes.

Their eyes widened, and they immediately got to work, calling in some other doctors to try to get her into consciousness.

I was thrown out of the room, but I didn't even register it... my mind was somewhere else.

My knees buckled. I fell to the floor, my back hitting the cold wall.

She... moved. They don't understand how much I waited... how much I suffered just to feel that one twitch in my hand.

A tear fell from my eyes, rolling down my cheek gently, going to my chin, and falling off onto the tiled floor with a plop.

Sukuna...

My head rose, staring at the ceiling. My breathing was ragged, my heart threatening to burst out of my chest by how hard it was beating.

...you really are...

I didn't even have words to describe what I felt... about Sachi... about Sukuna.

But what I felt was... he saved us.

I exhaled shakily, my whole body trembling with emotion. My work had paid off, Sachi's condition was improving. And it was because I... had fun?

I don't understand, Sachi...

A chuckle escaped my lips, echoing in the hallway, drowning in the panicked sounds of the doctors coming from the room.

...I don't understand you at all.

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(Present...)

My eyes widened as I saw the scene in front of me.

Ryogaku was standing in the middle of the battlefield, his silhouette, illuminated by the setting sun, showed what I feared the most.

His sword was through Sukuna's head... he killed him.

Chunks of rock were still falling from the sky as the black-eyed boy had lost control of them, but they were the least of my worries right now.

I stood there, silent, unmoving. My senses were numbed, as if my whole world had shattered.

Ever since that day, when Sachi showed a reaction for a first time, her condition only got better. And it was all because of Sukuna.

He was our savior... and now, Ryogaku had slaughtered that savior in such a cowardly manner.

My blood boiled, my teeth grit so much that blood flowed out of my gums.

Sukuna was mine... and Sachi's, God, and the one who killed God... must be eradicated.

My muscles burst out, pushing myself towards the traitor with a sonic boom. This speed surprised even me, it was as if something had possessed my body.

But, I couldn't stop... I will kill him even if it's the last thing I do.

I was halfway there within a second, but, before I got there, the black-eyed boy's kick sent him flying.

My eyes widened in shock at the display of speed... it was as if the boy just teleported.

My head snapped to the figure of Ryogaku, who was suddenly impaled by a spike that rose from the ground, blood flying out of his mouth as he writhe in pain.

As he deserves.

His painful movements sent a jolt of satisfaction through me, my head snapping back to where Sukuna lay on the ground.

However, my eyes widened even more, to a degree I thought to be impossible.

The boy was about to kill him, his fist mere inches away from Sukuna's face.

I got desperate... I have to save Sukuna.

I tried to go faster, but my movements were too slow... I was too weak.

I could only watch as his fist got closer and closer to Sukuna, whose eyes were closed.

He must be thinking about how a mere insect like the boy could kill him.

Time seemed to have slowed down. I could see everything clearly, every movement that would lead to Sukuna's death.

It was a curse. I was forced to watch the moment my savior dies stretched out into minutes.

But, what happened was something none of us had expected. A black energy suddenly formed under him, as if space itself was being cut away.

He was pulled down... and he disappeared.

The boy's fist hit the ground, cracking it like glass as he growled in frustration, saliva dripping down its mouth.

I stopped my movements immediately, coming to a stop as my eyes met that of the boy, deep black, as if home to an unending darkness.

I felt a chill go down my spine. That's right, this boy fought Sukuna one on one... I have no chance of winning.

"Well this is quite problematic." A voice rang behind me, making me jump slightly.

My head snapped to the figure of a man who had seemingly appeared behind me, a small boy in his hand.

Aiden Arceid.

He walked past me, towards the black-eyed boy, who was staring at him cautiously, as if acknowledging a threat.

Suddenly, I remembered something, my head flicking to the right, where I saw Ryogaku, far away, covered in blood, healing his injury that he got when he was impaled my the spike.

Without a second thought, I rushed at him.

I will kill him.

But suddenly, I felt my vision go dark. My body fell to the ground, sliding a long way before coming to a halt.

What... happened?

I felt my consciousness fade away slowly, images of both Sachi and Sukuna flashed in my mind... Ryogaku... this isn't over.

.

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(POV: Aiden Arceid)

"Not even leaving the bystander, huh?" I said loudly to Ren, who turned back to me.

He had just sent a blast of fire and wind magic towards Liam, who was running away.

I left Yaen, who landed on both his feet with a thud. Well, I was controlling him for now, but my soul in him was getting unstable, he would regain control soon.

It seems I have spent too long watching the battle.

The most interesting was, however, Sukuna creating a portal... to the demon realm.

Us anomalies are independent of the Rivers of Fate.

The River of Fate, which formed at the very start of time, divided into three smaller streams.

Two neighbor streams—The Human Realm, and the Demon Realm—and one farther away from them, one which even I hadn't been able to figure what it is.

Humans will always stay in the river of Fate of humans, and same for demons.

But we, anomalies, who stay in neither of these streams, but in between them, can move from on to the other freely, the only way to connect these two worlds.

However, it is impossible to do this voluntarily, it is always seemingly arbitrary.

This is exactly how I escaped from the demon realm while running away from the sect assassins.

I groaned, some painful memories resurfacing, which I quickly pushed away.

Sukuna, who was on the verge of death, had unconsciously created a temporary link between the human and demon realm, escaping to save his life.

Humanity had lost a soldier... or maybe, humanity's soldier had infiltrated the demon realm.

It is only a matter of time before we get to know.

Suddenly, I saw Ren in front of me, his fist mere inches away from my face.

With a simple raise of my hand, I blocked his punch. A torrent of sparks and flames shot to the sides. He had used fire and wind magic in the punch.

Using magic to improve his physical attacks was quite impressive, though if Sukuna was struggling against just this much, he needs to grow a lot.

Maybe it was because he doesn't know how to imbue soul into attacks yet.

With a swift movement, I restrained him into the ground, and Yaen finished the sealing spell.

Yaen's ability was quite overpowered, I must say, he requires to cast only a single spell to permanently seal someone.

Though, there were obviously restriction, especially about how long he took to cast the spell.

Black paper-like fabric seemed to form from thin air near him, slowly engulfing Ren.

Ren's resistance slowly died down as almost half of his body was covered in the paper-like substance, completely immobilizing him.

It took a long time though, maybe I was just too lost in thoughts to notice, but there was a lot of movement around me, the people... healers, were moving around treating people.

With a flick, I knocked Yaen out. The sealing was complete.

I got up with a sigh, looking down at Ren, who was looking up at me with his deep black eyes, filled with revulsion.

With a little chuckle, I raised a foot, stomping his face. He groaned under the pressure, trying to move, but his body was kept motionless by the seals.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself..." I said, increasing the pressure under my foot.

His face, his left eye restrained by the black, paper-like seal.

"...Ren Killes." I stepped away, grabbing him with wind magic, flying up.

Suddenly, I remembered something, my eyes darting to the figure of Yaen sprawled on the floor.

I almost forgot him, that would've been bad.

I grabbed him by the collar, flying away.

Now, I was a man flying across the battlefield with a child in my hand and a boy wrapped in seals behind me, this was quite a scene, honestly.

My mind went back to Sukuna, who was now in the demons' realm.

Ryomen Sukuna... how much more will you do?

A sense of anticipation gripped my heart, but something else too. Is it... alarm?

Not just in the demon realm, but I feel that the human realm will go through a huge change too, and very soon as well.

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Exams have retuuuurned TvT

The update schedule WILL be either ooga booga or completely nonexistent, cuz these exams are IMPORTANT AF.

I apologize in advance (Don't leave pls xd)

welp, gimme POWER STONES and CYAAA.