Sora reached the temple gates just as the evening bells finished ringing.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
His body moved on instinct more than willpower. The thin layer of liquid metal that had protected him during the run had already dissolved, leaving him pale and unsteady.
The familiar wooden gate creaked as he pushed it open.
Warm light spilled out from the temple courtyard.
Sora paused for a moment.
Made it…
His vision swayed slightly, but he forced himself forward.
Inside the courtyard, a middle-aged woman was standing near the entrance hall, sorting through some baskets. She was the caretaker of the small orphanage connected to the temple.
When she noticed him, her eyes widened.
"Sora?"
He walked toward her slowly and dropped the bag he had been carrying onto the wooden floor with a dull thud.
"Got the groceries," he muttered.
The caretaker blinked.
"You— wait, you left hours ago! Where did you disappear to?" she asked, stepping closer.
Sora scratched the back of his head weakly.
"Got… lost."
It was a terrible excuse.
The woman crossed her arms, clearly unconvinced.
"You always say that," she sighed. "You can't just vanish like that without telling anyone. Everyone was worried."
Sora didn't respond.
He simply nudged the bag toward her with his foot.
"Everything should be there."
She looked down at the bag, then back at him.
Her expression softened slightly.
"You look awful," she said. "Did you run all the way back or something?"
"…Something like that."
Before she could ask more questions, Sora had already started walking away.
His steps were uneven now.
"Hey— wait," she called out. "At least eat something before—"
But Sora was already gone.
He climbed the wooden stairs slowly, gripping the railing once when the world tilted sideways.
The hallway upstairs was quiet.
Most of the younger kids were already asleep.
Sora reached his room and slid the door open.
The small room was dimly lit by the faint glow of the streetlamp outside. His bunk bed stood in the corner, the top mattress slightly messy from the morning.
Perfect.
Without even bothering to change clothes, he dropped onto the bed.
His body sank into the mattress.
For a moment, he stared at the wooden ceiling.
His muscles throbbed.
His cursed energy reserves felt completely empty.
Even thinking was tiring.
"…That curse was annoying," he mumbled.
His eyelids grew heavier.
The last thing he remembered was the quiet sound of the night wind outside.
Then darkness took him.
Sora was asleep almost instantly.
---
Morning light slipped quietly through the thin paper window of Sora's room.
Dust particles floated in the golden beam, drifting lazily in the still air.
Sora lay motionless on the bed.
Then his fingers twitched.
A quiet groan escaped him as consciousness slowly returned.
"…ugh."
Every part of his body felt heavy. His muscles protested even the smallest movement, and his head throbbed faintly.
Sora blinked at the wooden ceiling.
Memories from the previous night resurfaced piece by piece—the alley, the curse, the hammer, the desperate gamble with liquid metal.
"…I actually won," he muttered hoarsely.
For a moment he simply lay there, letting his breathing steady.
His cursed energy reserves were still low, but they were slowly recovering.
Which meant only one thing.
Sora pushed himself into a sitting position.
"Time to work."
Most people would rest after a fight like that.
Sora was not most people.
If anything, surviving had only confirmed something important.
His body was still too fragile.
That Grade 2 curse had nearly ended him several times. His techniques had worked, but barely.
If he wanted to survive the next fight, he needed something better.
He slid off the bed and sat cross-legged on the floor.
"First step… Reverse Cursed Technique."
Sora closed his eyes.
Cursed energy stirred within him like a sluggish current. Normally it was heavy and corrosive, the negative energy born from human emotions.
But Reverse Cursed Technique required something different.
It required multiplying negative energy together to create positive energy.
Healing energy.
Concentrating at his brain.
He inhaled slowly.
Two streams of cursed energy formed in his mind.
They collided.
The first attempt fizzled out immediately.
"…still bad at this," Sora muttered.
He tried again.
This time the energy twisted together more smoothly. A faint warmth spread across his palms.
A thin glow formed.
Reverse cursed energy.
Sora guided the energy carefully into his body.
The warmth spread through his muscles, soothing the lingering fatigue from last night.
"Good… stable enough."
But that wasn't his main goal.
Sora opened one eye slightly.
"Now the dangerous part."
His liquid metal technique gathered in his palm, forming a small silvery sphere.
Normally he used the metal outside his body.
Weapons.
Shields.
Traps.
But yesterday's fight had given him an idea.
When the curse's claw had nearly struck him, the metal from his abdomen had hardened and blocked it.
Which meant something important.
The metal could harden directly from his body.
So the question was simple.
What if he used it inside?
Sora frowned slightly.
"Most sorcerers would call this suicidal."
He rolled his shoulders.
"Good thing I'm not most sorcerers."
The metal dissolved into a thin stream and slowly slid along his arm.
Sora focused carefully.
"Inner layer… muscles first."
The liquid metal seeped through his skin like mist, guided by cursed energy. Normally this would damage tissue immediately.
But Sora released a steady flow of Reverse Cursed Technique at the same time.
Healing energy balanced the strain.
A thin metallic coating formed around the muscle fibers of his forearm.
Sora's eyes widened slightly.
"…it worked?"
He clenched his fist.
His arm felt heavier.
But stronger.
The muscle movement felt sharper, more controlled.
However, the cursed energy cost immediately spiked and the strain from the metal to his tendons and ligaments was noticeable.
"Ah… that's expensive."
Sweat formed on his forehead.
Maintaining both reverse cursed energy and metal control was draining.
Still, Sora pushed further.
"Next… bones."
This time he moved slower.
A thin metallic film crept toward the bone structure of his arm.
For a moment—
Pain shot through his nerves.
Sora gritted his teeth.
"Too fast."
He adjusted the flow, feeding more reverse cursed energy into the process.
The pain slowly subsided.
The metal settled around the bone like a reinforcing shell.
Sora flexed his arm again.
A dull metallic weight pulsed beneath his skin.
"…Interesting."
His strikes would be far stronger now.
But the cost was enormous.
His breathing grew heavier.
After a few seconds he released the technique.
The metal flowed back out of his arm and gathered in his palm again before dissolving.
Sora leaned back against the wall.
"…prototype successful."
His lips curled slightly.
"Still inefficient though."
He stared at his hand thoughtfully.
"If I can reduce the energy consumption…"
Then something like last night's fight would be far less dangerous.
Sora exhaled slowly.
Outside, the temple courtyard had begun to fill with morning noise—children talking, footsteps moving, birds calling.
But inside the room, Sora's mind was already racing with possibilities.
Weapons were useful.
Armor was better.
But reinforcing his own body?
That was something entirely different.
And far more dangerous.
Sora smiled faintly.
"Let's try it more."