Chapter 3: The Return of Jaden Ryumen

The air warped with cursed energy so heavy it pressed down on everything around the harbour.

 Megumi’s breath hitched.

His body shook—not just from the cracked ribs, but from the realization of what Cyan had done.

He remembered Elle’s warning months ago:

“If someone ever eats one of Sukuna’s fingers… the higher-ups won’t hesitate. Death will be their only sentence. Their body won’t belong to them anymore.”

Megumi’s eyes narrowed on Cyan.

 She’s … not Cyan anymore.

Her aura was suffocating. Ancient. Terrifying.

Megumi (thought): She’s sealed her fate. She is now the vessel to the most powerful sorcerer in history.

Johan stood frozen, sweat dripping from his forehead.

His two remaining special grades shrank back, trembling. But both, braver—or dumber— lunged at Cyan.

She raised one delicate arm, fingers cutting through the air.

 Her lips parted:

Cyan/Jaden: “Dismantle.”

The cursed spirits were sliced in half. Then into quarters.

Then into ribbons.

Then into dust.

The pieces never even hit the ground.

The harbour fell silent.

Jaden tilted his head, studying his hand. Long, slender fingers. Smooth skin. He flexed them, puzzled.

Jaden: “...Why’s my hand so small?”

He turned his gaze to Johan, confusion painted across his face.

Jaden: “Oi, you. Am I a girl?”

Johan blinked, stunned. “I… I’m not sure how to answer that… but—your host is a girl.”

Jaden’s face twisted in annoyance.

Jaden: “Tch. Don’t tell me I have to look at boobs every time I bathe. Or worse… other parts.”

Johan nearly tripped over his own feet.

This wasn’t the king of curses he’d imagined—this was something far stranger.

Jaden, ignoring him, turned toward the sea.

 He inhaled deeply, the salt wind filling his lungs. A crooked smile tugged at his lips.

Jaden: “Heh. I’m alive again.”

He swivelled back to Johan, extending a single finger.

Jaden: “Dismantle.”

Johan didn’t even scream.

His body was sliced apart instantly—obliterated into countless fragments that rained down onto the pier like butchered meat.

Megumi’s pulse hammered in his ears.

He couldn’t move.

Couldn’t fight back.

He was staring death in the face.

Jaden’s crimson-marked body turned slowly toward him, steps deliberate. His grin widened as he raised his hand.

Megumi (thought): So this is how I go out…

Jaden’s hand dropped.

But instead of Megumi’s body splitting apart, the attack ricocheted back.

An invisible force rebounded the cursed energy, slamming into Jaden himself.

 His eyes widened in shock as his own body was hurled across the harbour, colliding with a massive crane.

 Metal screamed as the 100-ton structure split in two, collapsing into the water.

Megumi blinked.

He looked up.

Standing between him and Jaden’s destruction was a woman. Her presence calm, yet sharp enough to cut glass.

Elle Abrahams.

Her long coat swayed in the sea breeze. Her gaze was locked on Jaden, but her words were for Megumi.

Elle: “You okay?”

Megumi coughed, clutching his side. “...You’re late.”

Elle’s lips curved faintly. “So you are okay.”

She shifted her stance, cursed energy humming subtly through the ground. Her eyes never left the figure climbing from the rubble.

Cyan’s body—or rather, Jaden in Cyan’s body—emerged, dust falling from his shoulders.

His aura twisted violently, markings crawling over his face.

Elle narrowed her eyes, recognition sparking.

Elle: “So… you’re a girl now.”

Jaden spat dust from his mouth and gave her a glare dripping with irritation.

Jaden: “Don’t remind me.”

Chapter 3 (continued)

The waves lapped quietly against the broken harbour.

Megumi, still clutching his ribs, could barely lift his head. But he forced his eyes open—he couldn’t miss this.

Across the ruined pier, Elle Abrahams and Jaden Ryumen began walking toward one another.

The air itself felt heavy.

Elle’s steps were steady, controlled.

Jaden’s, in Cyan’s body, radiated something else—swagger, menace, and a strange familiarity.

Elle: “Long time no see.”

Jaden smirked, crimson markings crawling faintly across his cheeks.

Jaden: “Is that how you greet your best friend after seven years?”

Megumi’s breath caught.

Megumi (muttering): “Best friend? …What the hell?”

Confusion clouded his thoughts.

Elle never treated anyone this casually—ever. 

Not clan heads. 

Not cursed spirits. 

Not even him.

She was always cold, grumpy, uninterested.

Yet here… she almost sounded human.

The two stopped a few paces apart.

Elle’s eyes didn’t blink.

Elle: “You don’t belong to this world anymore.”

Jaden tilted his head, examining her.

His gaze lingered—on how her brown curls had grown longer, how the dark circles under her eyes remained, how the years had carved weight into her face.

His smirk twisted, sharp.

Jaden: “Says the woman who was in the very same situation once.”

The words cut.

Deep.

Elle felt the ache in her chest, sharp as glass.

But her face never wavered.

The ground trembled as Jaden’s cursed energy flared, cracks spider webbing out from under his feet. The harbour groaned like it might collapse.

Elle’s lips curved upward—just slightly.

Elle: “You’ll need all twenty fingers before I take you seriously.”

That earned her a low, rumbling laugh. Jaden’s grin widened, teeth flashing, his aura shifting into something murderous.

Jaden: “Let’s see if that’s true.”

In a blur, Jaden launched forward, the pier exploding under his step.

Jaden’s feet slammed against the harbour stones as he lunged.

Elle didn’t flinch.

He threw a straight palm strike—fast, precise.

 She tilted her head, the blow slicing past her cheek.

Their arms blurred, parries and counters snapping into place, Wing Chun exchanges clashing like steel on steel.

Pak sau—lop sau—chain punch—low kick.

Elle’s movements flowed like water, economy of motion perfected by years of training.

Jaden’s were rawer, sharper, but wild—like someone rediscovering their body.

His chain punch rattled against her guard, the sound like gunfire.

In three swift beats, Elle slipped past his guard and struck—

a sharp elbow to his ribs, a palm strike to his sternum, and a rising back fist across his jaw.

The force staggered him backward, his shoes grinding sparks across the cracked pier.

Jaden’s teeth gnashed.

With a snarl, he slashed his hand forward—

Jaden: “Dismantle!”

The air tore open, a slicing void ripping toward Elle.

She was already gone, stepping off to the side like a shadow brushing past candlelight.

Megumi, clutching his ribs in the distance, felt sweat bead on his forehead.

 His eyes tracked every exchange, mind racing.

Megumi (thinking): “Elle’s not just faster… she’s more accurate in her striking. Jaden’s cursed energy is overwhelming, but it’s incomplete. One finger’s worth… he’s nowhere near full power.”

Jaden’s lips curled, frustration burning in his eyes.

He leapt back, breathing hard.

Jaden: “Tch… you were right. I can’t beat you… not with one finger’s worth of cursed energy.”

His smirk returned, sharper, crueller.

Jaden: “But once I have all twenty… I’ll come for you.”

The cursed markings flickered across his host’s skin, then faded.

His aura receded like a tide going out. And with a dull thud, Cyan collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The harbour fell silent.

Elle stood motionless for a moment, her eyes lingering on the unconscious girl. Her hands trembled faintly before she forced them still.

 The ghost of seven years past clawed at her chest.

She walked over, knelt, and lifted Cyan into her arms.

Turning toward Megumi, she asked quietly:

Elle: “What do we do with her?”

Megumi’s breath hitched. His mind replayed Phillip Mowbray’s words: “If you see her… look out for her.”

Now, here she was—caught between her clan’s chains, Jaden’s curse, and the higher-ups’ inevitable death sentence.

He clenched his jaw, conflicted.

Megumi (thinking): Do I hand her over… or…?

The night air hung heavy with his silence.

Cyan’s body hit the pier with a dull thud, unconscious.

The crimson markings faded, leaving her small and fragile again.

Elle froze, staring at the girl’s still form.

Her chest tightened.

She knew what she was supposed to do—deliver the vessel to the higher-ups. End this problem before it grew teeth.

Her hands trembled.

Because the weight in her chest wasn’t Cyan’s—it was his.

Jaden’s grin, his voice, & his return.

Her breath hitched.

For the first time in years, she felt seventeen again, standing outside Cavendish Mall, her hands sticky with Cinnabon glaze, her chest too heavy with words she never dared to speak—

 

Flashback

Eight years ago, the sun was setting over Cape Town.

 Jaden, Elle, and Aiden, all special grade sorcerers at Seventeen, stepped out of Cavendish Mall after watching Guardians of the Galaxy.

Elle’s eyes shimmered with tears as she sniffled.

Elle: “That… that felt like an actual family.”

Aiden laughed, shaking his head.

Aiden: “Overdramatic as always. But seriously… how is no one talking about the talking raccoon?”

Jaden chuckled, shoulders shaking.

Jaden: “And no one mentioned Thanos in the post-credit scene!”

They wandered past the mall, each carrying a warm Cinnabon.

All three: “Ahh…”

They bit in unison.

Aiden: “This is why I exercise cursed spirits.”

Both Elle and Jaden raised an eyebrow.

Elle & Jaden (in unison): “Calm down.”

The three made their way to the bus stop.

Aiden: “This is my bus. See you guys tomorrow!”

He waved and jogged onto his bus.

Jaden and Elle waited silently for theirs. The city around them buzzed with life, mundane and unthreatening.

Elle glanced at Jaden, her voice soft.

Elle: “Do you think… sorcerers can live a normal life?”

Jaden tilted his head, curious.

Jaden: “What do you mean?”

Elle: “I mean… can we fall in love? Have families? Just… normal things?”

Jaden studied her face for a moment, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

Jaden: “Is this about Aiden?”

Elle screamed, punching his shoulder.

Elle: “No!”

Jaden laughed, rubbing his arm.

Jaden: “Maybe… it’s possible. But I wouldn’t know. I mean… I’m half…. How could I…”

He trailed off, the weight of truth unspoken.

Elle’s eyes softened, guilt flickering across her face.

Elle: “Sorry… if that triggered anything.”

Jaden: “It’s okay.”

The bus arrived.

They climbed on.

Elle stepped in first, leaning close enough to whisper under the engine’s roar.

Elle (whispering): “It’s you.”

Jaden didn’t hear her words.

The bus pulled away, leaving the mall behind, bathed in the soft glow of the setting sun.

And the world felt… ordinary, if only for a moment.