The sounds of the day had long faded. The younger children had gone to sleep hours ago, and the faint glow of lanterns along the hallway had dimmed to a soft amber.
Sora slipped silently out of his room. Again.
This time to satiate his curiosity on the caught curses.
He walked barefoot across the wooden floor so it wouldn't creak. The orphanage was old, and certain boards had a habit of announcing every step.
His destination was the small storage room near the back of the building.
It was rarely used except to store old boxes, broken furniture, and cleaning supplies.
Perfect.
He closed the door quietly behind him.
For a moment the room was completely dark.
Then Sora exhaled slowly.
A ripple of cursed energy moved through the air.
From beneath his sleeve, a thin stream of liquid metal flowed out. It glimmered faintly even in the darkness, reflecting the small amount of moonlight that slipped through the dusty window.
The metal slid across the floor like living mercury.
It separated into several small spheres.
Inside each sphere, something twisted.
Weak curses.
The ones he had captured earlier.
The spheres trembled as the curses inside struggled. Their distorted limbs pressed against the inner surface of the metal, trying to claw their way out.
Sora crouched down and observed them calmly.
"Relax," he muttered quietly.
One sphere rolled closer to him.
Inside was a small grade-4 curse, something that looked vaguely like a deformed insect with too many legs.
Its mouth opened and closed repeatedly, letting out silent screeches.
Sora lifted a finger.
The liquid metal responded instantly.
The sphere loosened slightly.
Immediately the curse surged forward, trying to break free.
The metal reacted like a living thing.
It tightened again.
The curse slammed against the inside and failed to escape.
Sora watched carefully.
"Interesting."
He tapped the sphere lightly.
The metal rippled.
The curse struck the surface again with its clawed limbs, pushing cursed energy outward in its desperation.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then Sora noticed something strange.
The metal shimmered.
Very faintly… the cursed energy leaking from the curse began to disappear.
The curse inside twitched violently.
Sora's eyes narrowed slightly.
"My curse energy is slowly filling up."
He leaned closer.
Another pulse of cursed energy erupted from the trapped spirit as it tried to break free.
Again the metal surface rippled.
Again the energy faded.
The curse looked slightly weaker.
Sora didn't move for several seconds.
Then a shit eating grin appeared on his face.
"So that's how it works."
He had originally assumed the metal was simply leeching the cursed energy when used alongside reversal.
But this was different.
The metal wasn't just reducing curse energy.
It was draining them.
Sora adjusted the sphere again, reducing its size slightly.
The pressure inside increased.
The curse shrieked silently.
Its limbs thrashed wildly as more cursed energy leaked out of its body.
The metal absorbed it.
Slowly.
Steadily.
The curse weakened.
Sora leaned back against one of the old wooden shelves, watching the process with quiet interest.
"If I destroy them immediately… I won't gain much."
The sphere shrank another fraction.
The curse inside twitched.
Its body had begun to distort under the pressure.
"But if I keep them…"
He extended his hand.
The liquid metal sphere floated upward slightly.
The curse inside was now significantly weaker than before.
Its movements had slowed.
Its cursed energy had been partially drained.
Sora observed the result thoughtfully.
"Then they could solve my problem with energy. "
He gestured again.
Several other metal spheres rolled closer to him.
Inside them were the remaining curses he had captured.
Each one struggled against its captivity.
Sora decided to try something else.
He spread a thin layer of liquid metal across the floor.
Then he placed one of the spheres in the center of the metal pool.
The metal connected instantly.
The curse inside began to struggle again.
More cursed energy leaked out.
The metal surface shimmered.
The energy vanished into the liquid metal.
Sora tilted his head slightly.
"So it works even through contact."
That meant something important.
If he spread enough metal across an area…
Curses would slowly weaken simply by standing on it.
He looked down at the trembling sphere.
The curse inside had grown noticeably smaller.
Eventually its body collapsed inward.
Its form dissolved.
Silence returned to the room.
Only the metal sphere remained.
But something had changed.
The sphere now felt slightly heavier with cursed energy.
Sora held it in his palm.
"A battery," he murmured quietly.
Stored cursed energy.
Not a massive amount.
But useful.
He placed the sphere down and moved to the next one.
The process repeated.
Observation.
Adjustment.
Absorption.
Sora lost track of time as he experimented.
The orphanage remained silent around him.
Hours passed.
Eventually only one sphere remained.
But this one was behaving strangely.
The metal shell trembled violently.
Sora frowned.
"This one's reacting differently."
Inside the sphere, the curse twisted unnaturally.
Instead of weakening, it was beginning to mutate.
The pressure inside the sphere had forced its cursed energy into a strange unstable state.
The metal vibrated.
Cracks of dark energy flickered across its surface.
Sora watched with calm curiosity.
"So even curses react to pressure."
The sphere pulsed once.
Then again.
"This might be useful."
The metal tightened slightly.
The curse fell silent.
The experiment was over.
But Sora had learned something important tonight.
Curses weren't just enemies.
They were fuel.
At least for him.
---
Elsewhere in Kyoto
Two minor jujutsu sorcerers stood near the entrance of a narrow alley.
The ground around them was quiet.
Too quiet.
One of them frowned as he checked the area again.
"There should've been a curse here. Asahi did you check the location properly."
His partner nodded.
"Yeah. The location is correct."
The first sorcerer looked around.
But the cursed presence had completely vanished.
This wasn't the first time it had happened recently.
Certain curses across this district had disappeared without explanation.
The second sorcerer crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"Something is out there, hunting curses. Do you think it's a clan sorcerer?"
"Maybe. But which clan has a cursed metal user?"
They stood in silence for a moment.
Then the first sorcerer spoke quietly.
"Probably none."
He glanced toward the distant streets.
"Maybe its a rogue sorcerer. "
The wind rustled through the empty alley.
Somewhere in the quiet city, Sora continued his experiments—completely unaware that rumors about him had already begun to spread.