Jujutsu Kaisen: False Dawn

The Edge of Madness - Chapter 139

Ren sat cross-legged on the floor of his room, the faint glow of cursed energy reflecting off the smooth glass containers that held the four Cursed Womb: Death Painting fetuses. They were unnerving to look at—each one suspended in its eerie state of half-life, twisted expressions frozen like grotesque dolls.

He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand as a dark grin curved his lips.

"Human testing… That's the final step, not the first. I'll start with curses and push the limits there. If a week passes and I still don't see results, then… yeah, I guess I'll step into the real nightmare stuff. But I don't need to hunt curses outside. I already have the best test material right in front of me."

Ren's fingers lightly tapped the container holding the first Death Painting. His grin widened.

"These… are masterpieces. People don't get how insane this is. Kenjaku made these things half-human, half-curse. Even he called them failures, but no—these are some of the most impressive creations I've ever seen. If I could learn how he did this, how he made this hybrid… I'd have the perfect template."

Ren's mind raced faster with every passing second.

"Think about it—a half-curse, half-human body. It's perfect. You'd have a monstrous cursed energy pool, probably far beyond anything a normal sorcerer can muster. You wouldn't suffer the full drawbacks of being a cursed spirit, like instability or the inability to blend in with humans. Healing would be easier too, since curse traits naturally regenerate. Sorcerers would have trouble detecting you unless they knew exactly what they were looking for. Yeah… a hybrid body would crush most people. It would be better than anything out there… except maybe Sukuna's freakish body."

His eyes sharpened as he muttered, "Sukuna… that bastard. Four arms. Two months. Four eyes. A monster designed purely for jujutsu. He's like a weapon forged for the highest level of combat. If I can crack this hybridization concept, if I can figure out how Kenjaku did it, I could create something close. Hell, I could even make myself into something better."

Ren stopped for a second, his grin fading into a cold, thoughtful expression.

"But no… This isn't just about having a freakish body. My real problem is cursed energy. I'm thinking too far ahead. Without a bigger cursed energy pool, none of this matters. I'm overthinking it. Focus, Ren. Start small. Test, learn, adapt."

He raised one of the containers and poured a trickle of cursed energy into it, carefully observing the reaction. The fetus twitched, a weak, unsettling movement—like it wanted to wake up but didn't have the strength.

"Interesting. Even in this state, they react instinctively to cursed energy. But that's just the surface layer."

His eyes narrowed, the gears in his mind spinning faster.

"What if I treat them the same way I tamed Kai2 and Worm? Could I bind these things? Make them my pets with binding vows? If I do that, then what? I could tell them not to dominate any host they enter… and then I'd consume the Death Painting myself."

A dangerous idea began to take form.

"If I eat them after binding them, they might not fight me for control. The transformation should still happen, though. I'd become something… new. Something half-human, half-curse. My cursed energy would skyrocket. I might even inherit their cursed techniques."

Ren clenched his jaw, conflicted.

"But… there's no proof this would work. It could backfire. I could lose control entirely and just… become them. Or worse, I could die before I even finish the process."

He leaned back, exhaling slowly. His gaze remained fixed on the Death Paintings, as if staring at them long enough would reveal Kenjaku's secrets.

"No. I need tests first. I can't gamble my body on a theory. I'll run trials with curses and see how binding and merging affect them. Once I know it's stable… then maybe I'll take the plunge."

The room was silent except for the faint hum of cursed energy radiating from the Death Paintings. Worm squirmed near his feet while Kai2 hovered lazily by the ceiling, both of them strangely quiet, almost as if they sensed the weight of Ren's thoughts.

"This is it," Ren muttered under his breath, his voice low and sharp. "I'm walking down a darker path than ever before. But if I can pull this off… I'll be unstoppable."