I wound up staying another day with Tamamo—probably not the best decision since I'd already been letting things wait for long enough as I pondered over my Black Flash given clarity, but eh.
I'm The Strongest anyway, what does it matter?
So I stayed the extra day and it was quite pleasant. Kon ran out of terrifying things to do and say with horrific implications after the last scare and the three of us wound up talking about illusions in an amusing mimicry of my previous conversation with Kamo-Sensei and Sukuna.
Of course, that conversation only came after Tamamo got done scolding Kon, and even now I've been ordered to leave Kon behind as I left. My Shikigami attempted an impressive display of puppy-dog eyes to sway me, but unfortunately for her, her mother's eyes are far more effective.
That said, it's not like Tamamo is only going to scold Kon; she apparently wants to raise Kon as a Yōkai, to which I have no complaints. As a Shikigami, Kon is closer to a Yōkai than a human anyway, and I have no doubt that my Shikigami-daughter will benefit greatly from Tamamo's tutoring in the arts of illusions.
They're both way better than me at it, it's kind of embarrassing to be honest. And since Konis the source of my illusory capabilities, I can literally never be better than her with illusions, since she will naturally be able to do anything that I can with them.
To be honest, it just makes me want to invent some way to make illusions without Kon's Technique. Just so I can show off really; I want my proud daughter to think highly of me, so sue me.
Regardless, in the wise words of Nina Simone, it's a new dawn and a new day and I still have a long list of shit to do and people to check in on.
Most important among them being Nagiko and Takiyasha. The former both because we are close and also because she wants to marry me and I'm no longer feeling so reticent to the idea. The latter however...
It's awkward. I wanna put it off, which is why I'm going to see Nagiko first.
...How in Yomi do you apologise to someone after killing their father? Especially when you can't really say the words without it being a lie.
I am sorry for any grief I may have caused, I will always be sorry for that. But for the act of killing him? For getting to experience the single greatest moment of either of my lives?
How could I ever sincerely apologise for such a thing?
The best I figure I can do is speak honestly and bear any hatred without complaint.
But that's for later, depending on how long my talk with Nagiko lasts. It's not like I have anything to show her like I did with Tamamo or my besties; I mostly just want to check in on her and make sure she's well.
Hm, though, there's an idea. I can at least make sure she knows that Ashiya lives. When I healed everyone in the capital, I did so all at once through Generous Deer, so I didn't really meet many people at the time. Ashiya just happened to be one of the people I saw with my own eyes, so I know he's doing alright.
I genuinely do not know if Nagiko and Ashiya actually care for one another and just bicker like siblings or if they honestly do wish each other dead, but either way, telling Nagiko that he's doing well will probably be funny.
Though, I imagine she'd already know by now. I'm the one that's way behind in news after all.
Eh. The important part is just seeing that she's doing well after having to be in the vicinity of Sukuna letting himself go. Can't have been easy, that guy's crazy.
A small chuckle leaves me at the thought that echoes through the glade around me with the wind and I shake my head to dismiss my mirth.
No time like the present, I seep my mind into my Shadow. Off to the side, I see through Kon's eyes Tamamo showing off illusory tricks. Past that, I look out into the unknowable Void that intersects all the Realm's shadows and I search for a Soul familiar enough to me that finding her is no challenge at all.
It's really a marvel how easy this is now. The ability to be anywhere in the Realm at any time is honestly a mite intoxicating; if for no other reason than the certain knowledge that I will never have to miss out on seeing something beautiful simply because it is distant.
...It's a little bit intimidating to be honest. Nothing quite makes one question their humanity like slapping a thick tree and watching it break in half as easy as a single piece of uncooked pasta.
I try not to think about that though; it always leaves me feeling morose. Best I can do is then think of Sukuna and blind myself with all the joy of pushing this incredible power against an equal.
A sigh leaves me at my thoughts as I peer through the shadows surrounding Nagiko and find that she is in a meeting with some fellows that I do not recognise. Seems important though.
When viewing the world from the shadows, it's not necessarily accurate to call it 'sight'. I can't see facial expressions or clothing or any such thing to indicate that a meeting is of significance.
What I can 'see' is the shadows of those present, and through that I can feel much more, enough to make the difference meaningless. I can feel the mixture of tenseness and solemnity within them, and thus have no need to see their faces to picture their expressions. I ca feel the self importance of those meeting Nagiko—and of Nagiko herself if I am to be honest—and thus know them all to be important people without having to see the quality of their dress.
Point is, Nagiko would probably rather I not interrupt, and something seems to be bothering her already so I'd rather not add to her troubles when my intention is to check on her wellbeing in the first place.
That does leave me with time to spare however. I don't know how long her meeting will last, so I don't really want to go visit someone else since I'd either have to delay seeing Nagiko even further or I'd have to depart too soon after arriving to really be polite.
All this leaves the question of what to do in the meantime.
Not to say that I am lacking in options; to be honest there is so much that I want to do right now that I'm almost paralyzed by the breadth of options. I want to experiment with my Technique; get a better understanding of all the Extension Techniques that I used against Mahoraga, observe my Souled Shikigami and test certain thoughts out with them, experiment on the nature of Mahorga's Technique.
I also want to take my Spell system to the next level and finalise its function enough that I can formally call it complete, I want to see how much my Black Flash has affected my use of energies beyond the Cursed—mostly just Touki, but I have some thoughts on Positive Energy that I want to experiment with. I also want to try and mimic Youki. Depending on how Kon's training with Tamamo goes, I might have an avenue to that through her and since I figured out Reverse Cursed Technique by observing Generous Deer, I might be able to achieve something similar.
I also have some experiments I want to run regarding my biology. Tattoos could technically be considered a biomodification, so if that works than what about something deeper? What if instead of just tattooing my skin I let the ink flow through my muscles? My bones? Can I graft bits from foreign species into myself in order to claim their 'identity' for the sake of rituals? Could that be a path to Youki?
Kamo-Sensei has really messed me up; every time we talk I find my Curiosity enflamed beyond reason. And that's just some of the things that I want to do with my own abilities, not counting all the people I intend to visit, the locations I want to visit and the things I want to make—since my crafting of my sword got interrupted and then gifted away.
Ah... Right, I should probably apologise to Inari-sama about that too. Or maybe not? It's not like I threw the sword away with contempt, and Suz—Akeno was a loyal servant of the Kami so it should be fine.
A sigh leaves me as I struggle to decide and I allow myself to fall backwards until my back hits grass with a thump. I make no attempt to catch my fall and yet I feel no discomfort when my skull bounces against the earth.
It's the little things like that that stand out to me. I wonder if Sukuna would think of them too if he had led a normal life before this one like I did...
The sky is fuzzy.
I blink as the sight comes to me and reminds me of another matter I wanted to look into.
I have no idea why, but after that Black Flash, the sky has become a touch blurry to look at. Like it is a reflection from a slightly smudged mirror. It is decidedly odd.
My lips twitch into a grin as I push myself back up to my feet, course set. The thrum of excitement in my chest almost feels foreign, which is really just depressing to notice.
They say that the difference between a Sorcerer who has hit a Black Flash and one who hasn't is that of heaven and earth. Personally, I'd never really noticed a difference. Sorcerers who had, Sorcerers who hadn't; the difference was always negligible to my eyes.
Then I hit one or myself and my entire life changed. It took near enough two weeks just for my brain to finish processing it all before I could even move about, and since then I've spent the past few days seemingly failing to regain my bearings.
But now, as I look at the strangeness of the sky? I feel like myself again, just a simple boy with the simple desire to explore and adventure.
The sky has become a mystery, and mysteries are always fun.
So, with a simple bend of the knees and a casual push, I find the wind battering against my face as I soar into the sky. As I hit the parabola of my jump and begin to slow, a laugh leaves me unbidden at the freeing feeling. Soaring through the sky will always feel amazing, I think, and I allow myself a moment to luxuriate in the feeling.
Before my fall can pick up too much speed however, I bring my hands together and intone a single word.
"Nue."
However, I do not allow the Shikigami to manifest fully; instead, I push only its wings out of my back and with a single great heave, they reverse my course and throw me yet further into he sky.
It's somewhat interesting that I can bear my Shikigami with my own body without having to use the Extension Technique that achieved the same manner. Though, the two can hardly be compared, as what I wear right now is simply Nue sharing with me its wings whereas Extension Technique: Touch of the Sky requires Nue to wrap me with its 'Identity'.
I'd say Soul, but...
Another flap of my wings brings me further and in no time at all I am piercing through the cloud-line and higher still. The sky above still seems blurry and still seems distant. I wonder if I'll have to break the atmosphere and into space? Maybe that's what I'm seeing?
I've never been to space before. Can I—never mind I just figured out how I can survive a vacuum. Boring.
Ah well, seeing space sounds like it'll be a blast. Even beyond the assuredly beautiful sight, I could claim myself the title of astronaut, wouldn't that be a laugh?
Even before reaching space, the view is magnificent. Amaterasu shines on the vast world below, reflecting off of the sparce patches of clouds below. I see forests and fields and mountains in all directions; spots of colour where flowers or colourful trees grow, small and less small settlements sporadically spread in near every direction, all to the backdrop of the beautifully blue sky.
It's beautiful, and only after I have had my fill admiring the sight do I pause to take a—probably excessive—number of pictures.
However, as I fly ever farther from the earth, far enough that the distance between myself and the clouds is about twice that of the clouds and the sea, I feel something odd. That ever present preternatural sense I have of my surroundings begins to bend, like a balloon pressed against a wall.
Nue's wings flare and I rapidly slow to a stop, standing on the sky and feeling as if my nose is pressed against a wall.
That blurriness no longer seems so distant. I never felt like it was getting closer, except now it seems like it is right in front of me.
I feel my head tilt at the curiosity of what I am feeling. Frankly, I have no idea what is above me right now. As someone who has gotten quite used to being able to feel everything around me, it is distinctly odd.
Ponderously, as I stand at the top of the world, I bring a hand up and rise it over my head—hesitant in that way one moves when in the dark and searching for a wall to follow.
And a wall I do hit. About an inch before my arm can fully extend, my fingers brush against something undeniably solid and I see the sky ripple above me as if it were water.
"Huh."
I pull my hand back slightly and twist it around so that I can knock the back of my forefinger against this invisible wall—for the sky still seems to exist beyond it—and I note how my finger does not sink in, yet the sky still ripples. A solid wall that reacts like it is pretending to be a liquid. Yet...
It doesn't feel that sturdy. Less like a defence and more like a boundary.
I wonder what's behind you?
My hand comes up again, this time intending to imply push through and see if I can part whatever is blocking me enough to see the other side, when I am abruptly interrupted.
"You would be wise not to do that, Sorcerer." The voice comes from my left and it comes with a sense of weight that I feel so surely in my bones that my teeth ache hearing it, and so I turn that way and almost lose my footing at the sight that greets me.
A fat green man.
He's not even standing like I am, instead choosing to lounge backwards as if the air at his back is instead some great pillow.
"Huh."
Shrek quirks a brow. "This is how you greet the Great Kami of the Wind, Fūjin?" The apparent God scoffs at his own words. "Of course it would take a Sorcerer's arrogance to touch upon the boundary between Heaven and Earth, it is no wonder your greeting lacks manners."
As Fūjin-sama speaks, I look closer upon him and realise that calling him Shrek in my head was rather rude. Not just for the obvious reasons, but because the only real similarity between the two is the colour of their skin.
Fūjin-sama is fat, but he is fat in the way of pure strength rather than fat in the way of decadence; the sort of man who seems rotund yet by just seeing him one can know that he has a strength that defies aesthetic musculature.
His skin is green and leathery, rough instead of smooth and behind his lips I see a set of four fangs amongst his teeth. By human standards, his face would probably be considered ugly and goblin-like, yet nothing about his appearance triggers that instinctual sense of disquiet that I normally feel in the back of my head seeing ugly Curses.
I suppose even an ugly God cannot be ugly.
He wears only the loincloth of some large cat, I can't say for sure what species, and carries around his neck a thin bag puffed up with air that reminds me of those neck comforters people like to take on planes. His eyes are what captivate me the most however, for instead of pupil or iris, he seems to have a literal gust of wind in his eyes.
Fascinating.
"My deepest apologies, Fūjin-sama." I offer him a light bow with my words, apparently too light from how his eyes narrow. "I was merely stunned by your appearance and forgot myself. I hadn't felt your approach, please do forgive the impasse."
The Kami of Wind—and I do recognise his name and the stories I have been told of him, just not his appearance—scoffs at my words. "Of course you could not feel my approach, I am the Wind and you have trespassed into my Domain. You speak of sincerity yet you arrive without my permission and you bow without depth or supplication."
"Well, I am an arrogant Sorcerer," I reply with a disarming smile and a light shrug. "It can't be helped, right?"
It strikes me only after I say the words that I am saying them to a God and my brain short-circuits all over again.
This a God.
Like an actual God.
A genuine, real God.
Inari is one thing, I was summoned at her behest and sent on a quest. That much made it feel more natural, plus just how overwhelming her presence was. But this? This stands out more to me because there was no summons or quest or any such thing.
We just ran into each other.
It's like if I bumped into a member of the royal family at the supermarket and then just spoke to them.
Holy shit my life is crazy, this is a God.
"You speak far too freely, Human. Tell me your name so that I may know the man I strike down."
Ey, I've been downgraded from Sorcerer to Human?
The threat honestly washes off my back. Fūjin-sama is definitely stronger than me, so I'd rather not fight him. I don't want to step onto his heights without Sukuna by my side.
That said, I don't want to die either, so if my hand is forced..? Well, I certainly won't complain much about getting to fight a God.
"This one is known as Narauko—" I see a widening of his eyes at the name but do not stop to react to it, "—and it is a true honour to acquaint myself with the venerable Kami of Wind."
"Narauko." He says my name like it is an accusation. "You are the one who sings in queer tongues."
My face immediately falls as I feel a flush rise on my face and I barely hold myself back from swinging a punch at his face in embarrassment.
"How many people have been listening to that!?" I am not ashamed to admit the pathetic whine to my tone. I only ever wanted to sing to Amaterasu! It's embarrassing as Yomi that so many people have also been listening! And it couldn't even be Humans listening in, it just had to be Kami instead!
"You sing your strange songs out to the Realm itself," Fūjin-sama answers with a quirked brow. "All who care to listen can, least of all me, for the winds may carry any whisper of sound to mine ears."
A miserable groan leaves me at his words and I fall into a crouch to cradle my burning face in my knees. However, the embarrassment soon fades and I find myself laughing.
It is good to know that I can still feel embarrassment so strongly.
Rising back to full height, Fūjin-sama meets my good cheer without a change in expression.
"Do you like the songs at least?"
Fūjin-sama nods sedately. "I do, and for that, I shall spare your life and grant you one boon."
"Huh, neat." Thank you, Frank Sinatra, you are my hero. I feel absolutely no hesitation taking Fūjin-sama up on his offer and immediately turn to point up at the invisible barrier in the sky. "I thought the sky would just give way to space and I could fly to the moon, what's up with this barrier?"
"The proper manner of your diction did not last for very long," Fūjin-sama points out, his tone almost absent but not quite.
"Breezy~," I agree with a nod before realising that that doesn't really convey what I meant it to, or anything at all really.
"Are you simple?" He seems genuinely concerned as he asks that, which has me laughing again.
"Nah, but you have already said that you'd spare my life and I don't think you're dishonourable enough to go against your word so easily, so I figure that as long as I do not outright dishonour you, then I have nothing to fear from speaking freely~."
"...So you are indeed simple."
Another snicker leaves me, but I hold myself back from saying that I am just stronger than him. It's not even technically true right now and he'd definitely not take that well and kick my ass.
It will be true though; only a mere three years from now.
"Or just arrogant," I lightly suggest with a wink. It's a more accurate explanation for why I'd speak so freely, after all. "Regardless of that though, I am terribly curious, if you would do me the kindness of explaining why I cannot reach the moon?"
Fūjin-sama scoffs in a manner that I think is more amusement than scorn. It's tough to say, honestly.
"You appear to be under a misunderstanding of the nature of the cosmos," he begins, immediately ensnaring my full and total attention. "I have no idea what this 'space' you speak of is to mean, except perhaps the Dimensional Gap. One can not simply fly from the Realm of Man to what you Humans call the moon."
"That," Fūjin-sama gestures above us with a lazy swing of his arm, "Is the boundary that encloses the Human Realm from the Dimensional Gap. As you seem to lack even this knowledge, the Dimensional Gap is the opposite of what is real, it is the nonexistence that exists in all places that existence does not. The Gap is not hospitable to mortal life, should you pass that boundary, your existence would unravel into nothing."
My mind drifts to the sight from within my Shadow. That unknowable Void that permeated all the space between every pillar of shadow. Is that this Dimensional Gap Fūjin-sama speaks of? I don't see why it wouldn't be, and it's nice to have the proper name for what I could see but not understand.
"Even if you could withstand the Gap, you seem to be one of the Humans that for some reason believe Tsukuyomi's Palace to be a mere rock sitting at a distance away from land." Fūjin-sama seems personally offended by the notion. "What you see reflected in the sky are not merely distant objects or locations, but reflections of Higher Realms. The 'moon' you speak of is merely the reflection of Tsukuyomi's Palace, every 'star' you see reflects yet more Realms; Divine Palaces mostly. With the Ame-no-ukihashi collapsed, you could not reach Tsukuyomi's Palace without either being invited or able to navigate the Gap, a feat I can personally assure you incapable of."
Distantly, I recall that the Ame-no-ukihashi, or Floating Bridge of Heaven, is said to be the bride that Izanagi-sama and Izanami-sama stood on as they gave form to the world.
However, it's hard to focus on that with the weight of information pouring into my ears.
I always knew that this world was different to my first; that I hadn't just travelled through time but through realities as well. But... to think that the difference was to this extent...
If I am to take Fūjin-sama's words as fact, which I have no reason not to, then I can conclude several things.
Mainly, space doesn't exist.
Just that alone, what the fuck.
The moon isn't a moon, it's a Palace and it is not orbiting the earth, it is just elsewhere, because longitude and latitude are hardly relevant factors to the Dimensional Gap. Not that I think they're really relevant to space travel either but that's besides the point.
Wait— Wait one moment.
Realm. It's always Realm.
...Have I ever heard anyone else say 'planet'?
"...Fūjin-sama, I am aware that you have already answered my question and granted me your boon, but may I please beg one more revelation from you?"
Fūjin-sama seems ready to dismiss me out of hand, but he must have seen something in my face or in my tone because he visibly reconsiders.
"If only the question is a simple one."
How do I even word this?
I briefly wet my lips before I speak, nerves filling me for reasons that I cannot comprehend.
"...The world... is it round?" I realise from his face that my question isn't clear enough. He doesn't understand what I am asking, which is honestly itself enough of an answer, yet I would hear the words directly. "My understanding was that all Realms of Man, from this one that I call home to the mainland west of us under the Jade Emperor to the land and sea under the Olympians... My understanding was that all of these lands were one. One large celestial object, one earth so large that the curve of the sphere couldn't be seen standing... Is that not the case?"
The queer look he sends me is again answer enough. I still wait to hear his answer.
"No. The Human Realm belonging to our Shinto Pantheon is a Realm unto itself. All Human Realm exist in proximity to one another, and many bridges unknowable to mortals exist on the edges of each Realm such that a mortal could easily believe them connected, but they are not connected in truth, no."
That's crazy. This is crazy.
"Huh."
This is genuinely insane. Everything I thought I knew about science has just been thrown into question. The universe does not function how I thought it did.
Perhaps I should have expected this, what with the knowledge that Gods are real. It only makes sense then that their stories of creation would be real too, right? Right?
This is insane.
Yet, the moment that my mind finishes processing all of this information and accepting it as fact...
I laugh.
This is amazing!
It's hilarious!
It's exciting!
There is so much more to learn!!
This is wonderful, wonderful news. My entire understanding of the universe has just been flipped and it feels amazing~.
Ahh~, I love being wrong~.
"Is the Human mind truly so fragile?" Fūjin-sama questions as my laughter eventually starts to peter down, though I can't help the occasional snicker that breaks through.
"You—" another snicker interrupts me before I push my words out through grinning lips, "You wouldn't get it."
"Hmph. Perhaps. Regardless, your questions have been answered, my boon has been given. Now it is time for you to exit my Domain." Fūjin-sama raises a finger pointed up and my eyes blow wide as a spark of lightning arcs around the finger and a sense of impending doom abruptly weighs on me like a heavy blanket. "I said you would live, but punishment for transgressions must still be observed."
Before he even finishes his words, I am acting, moving my will as fast as I can think.
I fail to move even a single step before I feel an unstoppable force crash against my shoulders with the weight of an ocean, sending me hurtling the entire distance to the earth in the span of a single heartbeat.
My entire body tenses and burns under the feeling of lightning arcing through every cell in my body and every bone in my body must be little more than dust as I impact the earth hard enough to crater it such that the surrounding earth raises away from me like a liquid wave.
My ears ring with the sound of static and howling winds and every sense is dulled and confused.
Naturally, none of this lasts for very long, but even Generous Deer takes several seconds to heal me. That alone is proof enough of how thoroughly broken my body was moments ago.
Ow.
"So you did live," I hear from above me, but with my face buried into the earth and my body still aching even after being healed, I don't bother to turn over. "It is tough to measure these things. I borrowed Raijin's Lightning to give you a chance; should there be a next time, my Wind will hammer with thrice the force."
A gust of wind brushes against my back and I just know that with it Fūjin-sama is gone.
Good.
A grin cracks on my lips only to collapse into a grimace of pain as I push myself up and roll over onto my back so that I may stare at the sky.
My smile returns easily and the phantom pain soon fades.
"Hehehe," I begin to giggle, my smile stretching wide enough that I feel it in my cheeks, a euphoric joy filling me like a drug's high that I can feel in my gut. Fūjin-sama might have struck me faster than I could dodge, but that doesn't mean that I managed to achieve nothing~.
"So, heheha, did you get that, Mahoraga?"
In response to my words, I feel something within me twist and a hand comes up to my chest as if I could feel it twist inside of me as in that moment, deep within my Soul...
A wheel turns.
My laughter redoubles and then grows even greater as a flood of 'Information' floods into my mind.
It is just a fragment, an echo, a flake of paint peeled from the wall of a palace; a miniscule part of a much greater hole. Truthfully, it is a useless piece of information by itself, one that explains nothing and provides little.
Yet...
So that is what Divinity looks like~.
It's beautiful.
But it is not something that Mahoraga needs.
Sukuna fights with slashes and apparently fire now. He doesn't fight with Lightning, so Mahoraga does not need this piece of Information.
So I take it from him.
I reach into my Soul and I rip the Information straight out of his Wheel and hold it within my mind, cupping this fractional spark of Divinity within metaphysical hands.
My laughter only increases in size and my grin only grows more and more until it is more a caricature than anything natural, and then my laughter pauses for only a brief moment enough for me to utter a single word.
"Nue."
Within my Soul, I feel my Shikigami move like a coiled snake snapping at its prey, surging forth with my will with an eagerness that makes no sense to exist within the essence of a Shikigami with no mind.
Yet rush it does, snapping at the spark I hold with the hunger of the starved and no hesitation at all and as it swallows its new Identity into itself, I watch with my eyes as my Shikigami erupts from my shadow in a blur and shoots straight into the sky before banking hard and blurring straight back down with the crack of thunder trailing behind it like a footprint.
His wings flare right before it would hit the earth and a great gust of wind and dust is blown up around is as he slams to a stop at my feet.
Observing him, he's bigger than he used to be and the underside of each feather now colours green by the roots. I watch as Nue preens under my gaze, standing with his chest puffed out and wings flared.
Unlike his siblings before him, Nue was borne from no memories or experiences, so his mind speaks no words and his understanding and perception of the world is no different to any other avian.
However, there is one thing that I feel from him; one feeling so overwhelming that I doubt there will ever be space for anything else within my dear Shikigami.
Pride.
Nue, as if determined to prove my thoughts true, begins pruning his feathers as if there is any need for a Shikigami to do such a thing.
I can only laugh again.
Both at the incredible narcissism of my Shikigami and at the fact that he was even born at all. I can do naught but laugh.
Yet, even as I laugh, I find my mind falling back to that feeling. To the sensation of what I held briefly in my hands.
It was only a fragment; only the tiniest portion of something much greater, a single pixel of a much larger photo, and yet...
I felt it. Divinity.
For a moment, I saw the shape of Divinity, and so I really can do nothing but laugh.
And you would call me arrogant? I think to nothing, peals of joyous laughter leaving me at beautiful irony of it all. What a hypocrite you are~.
"Hahaha..." A deeply amused sigh leaves me when my laughter eventually calms, and I spent a moment simply staring at the sky and letting my thoughts lazily drift through everything that I have learned today, brushing over the memories without really thinking anything at all.
Even then, my thoughts always come back to the same thing. To Fūjin-sama's words and that fractional sight of Divinity.
I would have felt scorn if I could feel anything but Love.
"What a laugh."
///
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
I really did mean to start the Nagiko bit this chapter :/. I have some dialogue I wanna write...
Ah well. What'd ya think of the woldbuilding? This has always been how the universe was gonna work in this fic, and I'm glad I can finally explain it cuz I've had to avoid a lot of questions cuz answering them would require revealing all this stuff about how there is no earth, but realms. Basically, I'm dividing the earth into realms based on regional creation myths. They're all true. :3
Anywho, You know what's funny about the inevitable battle between sukuna and narauko? I legitimately don't even know who will win lmao. Like I have ideas for where the story can go either way, so I genuinely have no idea. It'll literally just be up to the two of them and who's the better sorcerer lol.
also, something I was thinking about earlier about the powerscaling in this fic, just to maybe make things a bit clearer if anyone's confused or needs reminding. Assuming you know worm, (which if you don't go read it on wordpress) then y'know the Endbringers? Yeah, they're High-class. In some ways they're pushing the boundary, such as in durability, but every endbringer is singularly lacking in even a single facet of their being reaching high enough to be considered an honest Ultimate-class in this fic.
Nurarihyon isn't even combat focused and he could cut any endbringer in half without a sweat. The Transcendent-class beings could cut the planet in half with about as much effort btw.
...I like overpowered characters, what can I say? oblivon2991 is my otp (I can't remember any of their fics yet somehow I remember what their ff.net profile description says? Why???)
Fūjin is one of the strongest Ultimate-class beings in the Shinto Pantheon also btw, Narauko really has the bad luck of never seeming to meet any of the more average gods lol.