Snow covered the streets of Kyoto in a thin white blanket.
The cold air carried a quiet stillness that softened the usual noise of the city. Footprints marked the sidewalks where people had already passed, while rooftops held small layers of snow that glittered faintly under the pale afternoon sun.
Sora walked down the street with his hands tucked into his pockets.
His breath fogged in front of him as he exhaled.
School had just ended.
Students were leaving in small groups, laughing, talking about homework, or discussing plans for the weekend.
Behind him, hurried footsteps caught up.
"Sora, wait!"
He stopped and turned slightly.
A girl from his class jogged toward him, her scarf bouncing slightly as she ran.
She stopped a few steps away, slightly out of breath.
"Do you have plans tomorrow?"
Sora blinked.
"Tomorrow?"
"Yeah, it's Sunday." She smiled awkwardly. "A few of us are going to hang out near the shopping street. You should come too."
Sora thought about it for a moment.
Normal people would probably say yes.
It sounded simple enough.
But Sundays were usually when he had time to train properly.
And tonight—
He already had something else in mind.
"…Sorry," he said calmly.
"I have somewhere I need to go."
The girl looked a little disappointed but nodded anyway.
"Oh… okay."
She kicked lightly at the snow near her shoes.
"Maybe next time then."
Sora nodded politely.
"Maybe."
They parted ways shortly after.
As Sora continued walking through the snow-covered streets, the sounds of the school crowd slowly faded behind him.
The temple eventually came into view.
The wooden gate looked slightly frosted from the cold air.
He stepped inside quietly.
The courtyard was peaceful.
Thin snow rested along the edges of the stone path while the garden trees stood bare against the winter sky.
Inside, the warmth of the building wrapped around him immediately.
Sora went straight to his room.
A few minutes later, he was changing clothes.
The school uniform was folded neatly and set aside.
Instead, he pulled on a pair of black pants and a white shirt.
Light.
Flexible.
Easy to move in.
Over it, he wore a dark air-cheater jacket to block the cold February wind.
Today was going to be risky.
He looked into the small mirror hanging on the wall.
A grey mask covered the lower half of his face.
Then he pulled a black cap down over his hair.
Simple.
Unnoticeable.
Perfect for moving around at night.
Sora adjusted the sleeve of his jacket and paused for a moment.
A thin shimmer passed briefly over his skin.
Liquid metal.
It flowed across his body in a nearly invisible layer before settling completely.
Passive concealment.
A technique he had spent nearly a full year refining.
Now it covered him constantly without requiring active focus.
Sound could be dampened, making him harder to hear.
Presence suppression, his cursed energy didn't flow outwards.
Majority of the Sorcerers of this era couldn't sense his cursed energy by just looking.
Then there was light distortion to make him harder to notice.
Perfect stealth.
"…Not bad."
Over the past year, he had deliberately avoided practicing reversal again.
The reversed technique was still too unstable.
Each attempt risked losing control of the construct entirely.
It wasn't something he wanted to experiment with alone.
If he wanted to develop that ability properly…
He would need guidance.
Guidance that only trained sorcerers could provide.
Which meant one place.
Jujutsu High.
But that could wait.
For now, his regular cursed technique had improved dramatically.
Liquid metal flowed easily through his control.
He could change its density faster.
Shape it quicker.
And mimic cursed energy pattern of others.
And more importantly—
He could now adjust its nature slightly.
The metal could behave like normal liquid.
Or—
He flexed his fingers slowly.
A thin strand of metal stretched between his fingertips.
Elastic.
Flexible.
It snapped back smoothly when released.
That development had taken months to stabilize.
But it made his technique far more versatile.
Sora slipped his hands into his pockets again and stepped outside.
The evening air was colder now.
Snow crunched softly beneath his shoes as he left the temple gate.
Inside his mind, he evaluated his current strength calmly.
Technically speaking—
He had already reached the level of a semi-Grade 2 sorcerer.
His cursed energy control was stable.
His technique was refined.
His stealth was excellent.
But there was still one problem.
Experience.
Real fights were rare.
Most curses he encountered were weak.
Nothing that truly pushed him.
Which meant his combat instincts still needed sharpening.
That was why he was walking through the winter streets now.
Toward a place he had been quietly observing for months.
The city gradually grew quieter as he moved farther away from the populated areas.
Streetlights became fewer.
Buildings grew more traditional.
Eventually the paved roads turned narrower.
Rural Kyoto stretched quietly beneath the winter sky.
Sora stopped near the edge of a forest path.
The wind rustled faintly through the trees.
Ahead—
Something invisible hung in the air.
A faint distortion.
A boundary.
A veil.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Beyond this area stood a well-known residence among certain circles.
One of the three great sorcerer families.
The Zenin household.
He hoped that it was the actual household. Not some substitute household.
Sora adjusted his cap slightly.
"…Let's see."
Snow continued falling softly as he stepped closer to the veiled land in the northwest outskirts of Kyoto.